I take a bit of a risk getting my hopes up for Saturday episodes. They’re often pre-empted by sports, and that is what happened today. Golf, in this case. Golf’s not my thing, but it looked pretty dramatic, and I’m sure quite a few people were enjoying it. And I didn’t mind much because I got to see everything from the contestant interviews on. I couldn’t, however, keep score because of that. I also couldn’t get contestant pictures at the beginning of the show like I always do. That’s why they look a little weird:
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| Dave Castanien |
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| Kevin Wilson |
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| Deb Grehn |
Even though I know I started late, the show seemed to whip by, and I can’t really explain it.
At the first break, when I started watching the show, Kevin had 3000, Deb had 1600, and 2400. It seemed like a pretty evenly-matched game.
The Daily Double had not been found yet, so I was lucky there. Dave found it in Nobel Prize Winners. He had 7000, Kevin had 4000, and Deb had 1200. Dave wagered 2000 on this clue: “When the 1973 peace prize was awarded to 2 men, Le Duc Tho declined but this man accepted.” I thought this one was a toughie. My dad and I both gave an incorrect response. Dave missed it, too. At the end of the round (which must’ve been less than a minute later, because Mr. Trebek gave the warning), Dave had 5400, Kevin had 6600, and Deb still had 1200.
Kevin started turning things around in Double Jeopardy. By the time he found the first Daily Double in World Cities, he had 9400, Deb still had 1200, and Dave had 6200. Kevin wagered 2000 on this clue: “Though expanded as a Roman city, it became a capital under the Merovingian ruler Clovis I in 508.” I didn’t know this one, but Kevin did.
He found the next Daily Double, too, and he was really rolling by then. “Kicking their butts,” as I said at the time. He and I were both sweeping 5 Other Senses when he found the Daily Double there. He had 13800, Deb had 3200, and Dave had 4200. Kevin wagered 5000 (probably more than I would’ve risked) on this clue: “You seem to feel you’re owed a lot; you have a real sense of this, the right to guaranteed government benefits.” I missed it but Kevin got it right. When the round ended, he had 23200, Deb had 6800, and Dave had 10200.
The Final Jeopardy category was Musical Instruments. The clue had an audio clip. Here it is: “In the early 18th c. Sylvius Leopold Weiss wrote works for these two instruments whose names rhyme.” I got it right as soon as I heard the instruments, but you probably don’t need to hear them to come up with a correct response. All three contestants got it right, too. Dave wagered everything but one dollar, which I would not have done: Since he could not catch Kevin, I’d have risked enough to beat only Deb had she doubled. Deb wagered 6700. Kevin wagered 2799 and remained the champion.
This is important: I’m interviewing David Madden soon, so let me know in a comment if you there’s anything you want to know from him!