Just when I thought I had been wrong about 10 or 11 stumpers being a lot in an episode, today’s episode
had 4. I will keep counting….
Today’s episode seemed evenly-matched in the first round. Cyd Musni, 1-day champ from FL, and
Leslie Sommer from CA each had $4600 at the end of the round, while Ryan Stander from MO had $3200. Then Double Jeopardy separated the men from, er, Leslie. Off the bat, Cyd swept a category
on the NFL, and picked up $3600 on a Daily Double at the end of that category: “When a team switched
cities in 1988, this new full team name contained two birds, one real, one mythic.”* Cyd then answered the
next clue correctly, and the next one was the other Daily Double of the round. This time he lost $3000 on
it: Playtime: “There’s only one character in ‘The Belle of Amherst,’ and it’s her.” I thought this was a
no-brainer, but I guess it wasn’t. Cyd threw something out there I’d never heard of that closed captioning
spelled “Deo Volente.” Strangely, this was the same response that he gave yesterday to a stumper I wrote
about when the answer was supposed to be “yellowhammer.” When I looked online just now, I saw the
words supposedly mean, “God willing.” Does anyone have any insight?
Later in the round, Ryan went on a tear and answered 9 clues in a row, including one that Leslie
answered incorrectly first. The clues were in the categories Biblical Megadeaths and 19th Century Africa.
Then, Cyd almost swept a category called Floral Patterns. Cyd ended the round with $15600, Ryan had
$16800, and Leslie had $7400.
The Final Jeopardy category was The Nuclear Age. Clue: “This country has 104 nuclear reactors, more
than any other country.” Leslie and Ryan both guessed what I did, and Alex said he was expecting someone
to guess that. Cyd, however, answered correctly and nearly doubled his earnings for the day. I’m hoping
Alex will ask Cyd about “Deo Volente” tomorrow.
Finally, here are two calendar clues for you: $200 in “Dress”ed: “The final full-scale practice of a play before opening night.” And for $200 in Kick the Cannes: “In 2002, this director’s The Pianist took home the Palme d’Or.” (Correct questions to appear in the next entry.)
*Phoenix Cardinals, Emily Dickinson, the United States