Before I get into day one of the two-day Teen Tournament final, my friend Robert tells me that a new book has been written about Jeopardy! It’s called How I Got on Jeopardy!…and Actually Won! It’s written by 2-time champ and blogger Jared Cohen. Unfortunately only an electronic version is available, so I can’t read it and thus don’t know if it’s any good. But maybe you can read it!
I’d been wondering when Power Players Week will start. I just find out while I’m blogging, it’s Monday. But this week, who will take the Teen Tournament crown from Raynell Cooper? One of these girls:
 |
| Rose Schaefer |
 |
| Elyse Mancuso |
 |
| Catherine Briley (Kelly Clarkson? D.J. Tanner?) |
I have an idea now why the third picture is black-and-white. Maybe the picture message I send from my phone is too big for all three pictures to be in color?
Omaha’s Elyse found the Daily Double in Dinosaurs only four clues in. She had 1000, Catherine still had 0, and Rose had 200. She wagered it all, to applause, on this clue: “Tyrannosaurus Rex didn’t live during the Jurassic period but rather in this one.” I don’t really know how someone would know this, but Elyse did.
I swept Wheel of Movie Taglines, which included this triple-stumper:
 |
| “Some Assembly Required” |
I can hardly stomach Wheel of Fortune, but maybe I should take a crack at it just because I’d do well. I’d have to start watching it so I’d know how to play. I have my eye on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. They’ll be having auditions this summer, but I don’t know if maybe it’s too soon after Jeopardy! to try out. How long would I have to wait to be on another game show; a year? And how long is one in the Millionaire contestant pool? I took the test once and passed, but didn’t make the contestant pool. While I’m at it, how come they don’t talk about the show on the message boards that are supposedly devoted to it? I went there looking for advice, and it’s a mess. Our message boards (not the official ones) have superior moderating. We’re lucky people.
But I digress.
At the first break, Elyse had 3000, Catherine had 2200, and Rose had 200. I was surprised to hear that Elyse is on a quiz bowl team. As far as I know, the National History Bowl is still looking for a regional site in Omaha or Lincoln, if anyone from Elyse’s school is reading this. You can e-mail me if you want. (Click on my name under “Contributors” at the bottom of this page.)
I got this triple-stumper in State Capital Attractions, the first clue after the break: “The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site & CNN Center.”
How’d do you do in Internet Shorthand? I only didn’t get this one: “TBH, short for this, is used before a statement the recipient won’t like.”
At the end of the round (which ended two clues early), Elyse had 7400, Catherine had 4200, and Rose had 0. I was pretty happy about the Double Jeopardy categories, til I went 0/5 in two of ’em (Physics and TV Shows by Character). I don’t think I’ve heard of “Switched at Birth,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “Portlandia,” or “Happy Endings.” The contestants didn’t get that last one, either. They’ve surely heard of “cauliflower” but didn’t get this triple-stumper like I did, in Foreign Foods: “Blumenkohl is German for this cabbage family member.”
I don’t think I’ve heard of this one, in In the Dictionary. It was a triple-stumper, too: “You may want to ward off these strips of wood that make a barrel.”
I swept Famous French Folks.
Rose found the first Daily Double of the round, in Completes the Poetic Line. She still trailed with 6400, while Elyse still led with 11800 and Catherine had 9400. Rose wagered just 3000 on this clue: “‘For the children, they mark, and the children, they know the place where the ________ ends.” I took a guess and it was right. Rose got it, too.
Elyse found the last Daily Double in Physics, also the last clue of the round. Oh, how to wager! She has tomorrow to consider, too. She had 10200, Catherine had 7400, and Rose had 9400. Elyse wagered 3000 on this one: “This elementary particle that makes up light has no mass or electric charge.” She got it right!
Like the contestants, I said “Santa Fe,” “zucchini,” and “defeat” on the clues where the correct responses were “Phoenix,” “cucumber,” and “disaster.” Who knew cucumber was a gourd?
The Final Jeopardy category was Olympics History. This is the softball clue: “Besides Antarctica, the 2 continents that have never hosted the summer or winter Olympics.” All three contestants got it right. Catherine added 2600. Rose added 3000. (Conservative, yeah?) Elyse made a relatively bold wager of 10000, prompting Mr. Trebek to say someone who’s trailing may still win the tournament! Predictions?
By the way, see here for Andy’s entry on how to wager in a two-day final of a tournament. And here’s an entry from Ursula on how she learned to wager in time for her 5-24 appearance.
Here’s the message board thread for today’s episode.
