– The Jeopardy! Fan

Today’s contestants:

Marshall Flores

      I count six triple-stumpers that I got right today. See if you know these:
In State Facts: “They city of Tahlequah in this state is the capital of the Cherokee Nation.”
In Money Not from the Mint: “A stock certificate is an example of this, also a word before a kid’s ‘blanket.'”
In Proverbially Speaking: “‘Man proposes, God’ does this.”
In Since the Iron Curtain: “In this country’s 1996 elections, the statist Iliescu lost to the more market-
     oriented Constantinescu.”
In Art 101: “He once said, ‘When I was young I could draw like Raphael, but it has taken my whole life to learn how to draw like a child.'” (Jeopardy! now tweets clues in a category that is featured on that day’s episode. Today, they tweeted a clue from Art 101. I decided to study a little bit about art before today’s episode, in the hopes that I met get a clue or two right from it and increase my Coryat. I can’t say for sure that it helped me get this clue, but I did read about Picasso today. I might try that again in the future!)
Finally, in Art 101: “For centuries, artists have mixed egg yolk with pigment to make this kind of paint.”
      I thought this was a triple-stumper, but Erin’s response of “journey” or “long journey” was ruled acceptable on this clue in Proverbially Speaking: “Attributed to Lao-Tzu, it ‘begins with a single step.'”
     Kyle found the first Daily Double in State Facts after knowing the correct response to this clue that both his opponents missed, in the same category: “As of 2008, Asians made up nearly 40% of this state’s population.” (I, like Marshall, said “California,” and I think I did the first time this episode aired, too.)  Kyle had 600, Erin had 1000, and Marshall had -200. Kyle wagered 600 on this clue: “This state is named for the King of England who reigned from 1727-1760.” I got it right, but Kyle missed it. He led anyway at the first break, with 1200. Erin had 1000 and Marshall had -800.
     I swept International Celebrities. The last clue in the category referred to a favorite of mine, who celebrates his 30th birthday today: “In 2010, he won the Australian Open for his 16th grand slam title.”
     I would’ve swept Money Not from the Mint if not for this clue: “The U.S. Postal Service and Big Ed’s Check Cashing & Corn Dog Hut both offer these to send bucks through the mail.” I had the right response in my head but didn’t ring in and say it in time. I blame it on being easily distracted (trying to write stuff down for the blog at the same time).
     Like Marshall and Kyle, I screwed up the title in the correct response to this clue in Twain Tracts: “A blow on the head sends a man back to Camelot in this 1889 Mark Twain novel.”
     At the end of the Jeopardy round, Erin had 4200, Kyle had 5600, and Marshall had 200.
     I shouldn’t have missed this clue in Since the Iron Curtain, because a friend and I just covered this over the weekend: “Vitosha Boulevard in this Bulgarian capital is now a shopping hub.” Marshall found the Daily Double in the same category. He had 3400, Erin had 5800, and Kyle had 7600. Marshall wisely wagered everything on this clue: “Five hundred thousand people, many lighting candles, marched in this country in 2005 to honor the late Pope.” Marshall answered so quickly I didn’t get a response in. He was wrong, though, and Mr. Trebek said he “spoke too quickly.”
     Marshall found the next Daily Double, too, in G-Force. He still trailed by a significant amount. He had 1600, Erin had 6600, and Kyle had 5600. Marshall wagered 1000 on this clue: “Newton said the gravitational force between 2 objects is inversely related to the square of this measurement.” We both got this one right.
     At the end of the round, Erin had 14600, Kyle had 11200, and Marshall had 3000. The Final Jeopardy category was Sports in America, and this was the clue: “Seen with a piece of equipment, Bryn Mawr’s 1st phys ed director brought this sport to the U.S.; it shares part of its name with another sport.”
     Kyle and Marshall got it wrong, and both wagered all but a dollar! Erin got it right and added 7801 to her score. So we will see her in the Finals on Thursday and Friday. My Coryat today was 30000. Erin‘s was 14600, Kyle’s was 11800, and Marshall’s was 7400.
     Now for an update on the champs I’m following in the Summer Hiatus Challenge. A note on the scoring: As mentioned in a previous post, each day players are given 10 clues in 2 categories. (Think of it as a Jeopardy and Double Jeopardy round.)  In the first category, clues are worth 2-4-6-8-10, and clues in the second category are worth 3-6-9-12-15.  You don’t lose any points if you choose not to respond to a clue. You lose -1, -2, -3, -4, or -5 in both categories when you get a clue wrong.
     So the results for the first week, from first place to last:

Bill MacDonald (Rex Kramer) – 375

Megan Barnes (Rafferty Barnes) – 322

Stefan Goodreau (seaborgium) – 317

Ryan Chaffee (mrbungle) – 307

Alison Stone Roberg (Asphodel) – 278

Buddy Wright (aggiebud) – 274

Liz Murphy (emurphy) – 273

Hans von Walter (hanzz) – 275, and in 5th place among kids/teens/college players

Nick Condon (njcondon) – 250, and in a tie for 5th place among rookies

Me (thejeopardyfan) – 184

Paul Wampler (paul5562) – 135 (He didn’t play every day.)

Remember, there are many more people playing. Also, you can start playing any time.
     My recent Coryats:
originally 11-11-10: Tim Relihan 9600     Steph Gagelin 7600     Marshall Flores 13600     Me 26200
originally 11-12-10: Sam Spaulding 18600     Katie Singh 10200     Amanda J. Ray 8000     Me 28400
originally 10-21-05 (aired on GSN this weekend):
     Amanda Traphagan 9800     Paulette Beete 8800     Steve O’Connor 9600     Me 22800
originally 10-24-05: Claire O’Brien 10800     John Kelly 15800     Amanda Traphagan 8800     Me 13000