As if it needs to! I considered saying it rocks more than usual, but I of course think it could not rock any more. Anyway, today I think I got my first “perfecto” (perfect score) of the Summer Hiatus Challenge on the Jeopardy! message boards! I was not the only one, and there may be many. I know at least that “Asphodel” (Alison Stone Roberg) also got a perfect score. However, one of this year’s Tournament of Champions finalists didn’t answer on four of the same questions. So I feel good. This may be the perfect day for you to start playing if the categories Unscripted/Reality/Game Television and 21st Century Bestsellers appeal to you. And if you do sign up and let me know here, you will be eligible to win from me a copy of Chuck Forrest’s Secrets of the Jeopardy! Champions.
My winning ways continued when I watched today’s Jeopardy! right after answering the Summer Hiatus Challenge questions. I swept the first category, Oscars Since 2000. By the first commercial break, I had only missed one clue that I answered, this one for 800 in Name That Continent: “Kamchatka Peninsula.”* (I was thinking of Alaska, but I’m not sure exactly why.) I had, then, 5000, while Lindsay Eanet had 2400, Ryan Stoffers had 4400, and Dan D’Addario had 1400.
Lindsay found the Daily Double of the round, in Alphabetic Letter Pairs. The responses are two letters that are next to each other in the alphabet. By this time I led with 6800. I was tempted to wager it all because I was doing so well and because I’d gotten the three previous clues right in the category. Lindsay had 3600 and trailed Ryan by 1000. She wagered 1100 and I wagered 2000 on this clue: “If you have this blood type, you’re lucky; it’s the ‘universal recipient.'”* She and I both got it right. I wound up sweeping the category. At the end of Double Jeopardy, Lindsay had 6700, Ryan had 5400, Dan had 2200, and I had 11000.
One of the Double Jeopardy categories was Band Names. Lindsay went to that category at her first opportunity. She had been saying during today’s interview that she was inspired to go into journalism by the movie Almost Famous, where a guy follows a rock band. (I have not seen it; pardon my vague description!) Naturally, Lindsay was sweeping the category when she found a Daily Double there! She led by a whopping 4500, and she wagered 2000 on this clue: “This band’s name refers to what bassist Mike Kroeger said when giving a coin in change at Starbucks.”* She got it right and wound up sweeping the whole category.
Three clues later, Ryan found the other Daily Double, in Nonfiction. He had 5800, less than half of what Lindsay had. He wagered 2500 on this clue: “A 2009 biography of this builder of Grand Central Terminal calls him ‘The First Tycoon.'”* Ryan got it right!
Did you guys know this triple-stumper in Completes the Famous Phr–?: “Apres moi, le de–“*
At the end of Double Jeopardy, Lindsay led with 18700, Ryan had 15500, and Dan had 3400. I had 24200. The Final Jeopardy category was American Heroes, and this was the clue: “He said, “I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm’s way.”* Only Ryan got it right. Lindsay lost 16543 while Ryan gained 9000, making him a finalist in the Tournament, along with Surya Sabhapathy and Nick Yozamp.
Here are my other scores for the week:
Samira Missaghi Nick Yozamp James Hill III Me
0 16001 10399 23800
Surya Sabhapathy Ashley Walker Leah Anthony Libresco Me
9500 -200 9200 14600
Tomorrow and Friday, I will play as though it’s a two-day final for me, like the players on the show. I may be affected by remembering who won on the show. (He/she was just on the Tournament of Champions in May.)
FYI, I’m still planning on having a Blogger birthday party on August 31st, if anyone signs up. I’ve been leaving comments on blogs based in Lincoln, and one guy sounded like he was interested, BUT has not signed up. If no one signs up, I will assume no one is coming and will not be there either. Just so you know. For everyone else, look at the map below to find a Blogger birthday party near you.
*Asia, AB, Nickelback, Cornelius Vanderbilt, deluge, John Paul Jones