This is the first time since the Tournament of Champions began that I am able to blog!  I feel hopelessly behind on it, but I do what I can, and I assure I’ve been watching closely.  Happily, I plan to blog tomorrow night, as well as both days of the final.
     I’ll start with recent Coryats:
11-2: Charles Temple 400     Jay Rhee 10800     Tom Nissley 14400     Me 8600 (It would have been 19400 without 8 negs.)
11-3: Kara Spak 6000     Brian Meacham 8600     Roger Craig 32000     Me 25000 (2 negs)
11-4: Joon Pahk 18400     Tom Kunzen 6200     John Krizel 2000     Me 13800 (It would’ve been 19400 again without 9 negs again)
11-5 (originally 11-28-05): Vik Vaz 14200     Beth Doner 11600     Bill MacDonald 10800     Me 18400
11-6 (originally 11-29-05): Deena Banks 9600     Kelly Croissant 7800     Vik Vaz 12200     Me 20600
11-7: Buddy Wright 16000     Erin McLean 10800     Paul Kursky 1200     Me 16800 (5 negs)
     Today was the last day of the quarterfinals.  These were the contestants:

Christopher Short (Has he lost weight?)

Mark Runsvold (I like this guy.)

Justin Sausville

     What did you think of Mr. Trebek’s trippy suit?:

I have to say I don’t like it.
     This day was a good one for me.  I answered many clues because I’ve been studying for a potential appearance on the show.  (I’m in the contestant pool.)  The day started right because I liked two of the three contestants (I’m indifferent to the other one), and I liked the categories: Classic Country Music?  I have a Pandora radio station built around Conway Twitty, tailored to the likes of my friend Carol.  All Saints Days?  I’m Catholic.  I swept that one.  I doubt I’d have gotten this one without recent studies (but I’m not sure): “December 29: This man for whom it was a bad day in the Cathedral.”  I also came across this one while studying (but may have gotten it right anyway): “June 22: This all-seasonable sir.”
     Then there’s this one in Abbrev.: “C.J. is short for this title held by Roger Taney and William Howard Taft.”  And this one in Yes-vember: “Philipp Scheidemann said ‘Yes!’ to this new republic on Nov. 9, 1918 from the balcony of the Reichstag.”
     At the first break, we had not heard from Christopher yet.  Justin had 2600 and Mark had 3600.  I had gotten 11 right and had 4 clams.
     The last clue of the round was the Daily Double, in Yes-vember.  Christopher found it.  He had 2600, Mark had 6200, and Justin had 5600.  Christopher wagered 1500 on this toughie: “In 1848, ladies said ‘Yes!’ when the USA’s first medical school for women opened in this state capital.”  Christopher and I missed it.
     I got four more clues in Double Jeopardy thanks to recent studying.  This one in King of Queen: “Marie Antoinette.”  In Ooo, sorry: “You’re 20 years late — Lagos was replaced in 1991 as the capital of this country.”  And also in Ooo, sorry: “I’m afraid the Canary Islands weren’t named for birds but for these.”  Finally, in Inside the Country: “We can have a ‘ton’ of fun in this northernmost Baltic state.”
     I got lucky on these two wild guesses: A triple-stumper in King by Queen: “Ka’ahumanu.”  Current TV Shows by Episode: “‘In Sickness’ and ‘Closing Arguments.'”
     Justin found the first Daily Double in the round, in King by Queen.  This one was bound to be tough, considering the category.  Justin had 6800, Mark had 5000, and Christopher had 1100.  Justin wagered 2200 on this clue: “Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, formerly Duchess of York.”  Justin got it wrong, but I don’t blame him.
     He found the next Daily Double, too, in Turtles and Tortoises.  He had 6600, while Christopher and Mark still had 1100 and 5000, respectively.  Justin wagered 1400 on this clue: “The genus Kinixys includes the only turtles with a hinge on this, the upper shell.”  He and I got it right.
     At the end of the round, Justin led with 15200, Mark had 12200, and Christopher had 5900.  The Final category was 18th Century Authors.  This was the clue: “In a poem, he named himself Cadenus, an anagram of Decanus, or ‘dean.'”  I didn’t get this right, and I don’t know how it was right.  But I’ll look it up.  Christopher missed it and lost everything.  If only he could know he was well-positioned for a wild-card spot, because the other non-winning scores have been low.  Mark got it right and added 11800 to his score.  Justin got it right, too, and added only 3399.  But it’s enough for a wild-card spot.  He joins Kara, Jay, and Erin as wild-cards.  Tom N., Roger, Joon, Buddy, and Mark won their games.  Tomorrow, Justin’s back, playing Erin and Tom.
     My Coryat today was 23800.  Mark’s was 12200, Justin’s was 17600, and Christopher’s was 7400.