Big, happy blog news to kick off our week: From now on, there will be an entry here on every new episode. Yep, that means every day! Andy Saunders, who has guest-blogged here about wagering strategy, is teaming up with me to make that happen for you, starting tomorrow. I’m so pleased, as I’ve been wanting this for a long time, and Andy is the man for the job. Show him some love!
A note on this week: When I went to the O’Brien’s pub quiz after I taped Jeopardy!, I met a woman who was going to tape the following week. I see her on the Jeopardy! website today, and I found out she plays on Friday. Her name is Cat Still. She asked me at the pub, without asking my outcome of course, if there was anything I wish I’d known before I played that day. I was reeling since it was just hours before. Heck, I was reeling for weeks. I know I mostly complained about the signaling device. I could speak more eloquently now, of course. I’m afraid I was a little too negative and made it pretty obvious that I’d lost, but I hope not. For all she knew we could’ve been opponents the next week, although it seemed unlikely because I’d have had to win 5 more since she was scheduled to be there Wednesday, not Tuesday. And they knew I taped third that day, so I’d have had to win 8 times before even having the possibility of playing her. Since her episode airs Friday, she played last that day. She and the other people at the pub may have known I lost if they ever saw my Trebek picture, since I was wearing that same outfit to the pub. It saddens me now even more than it did before my episode aired! Thank God I didn’t take pictures of myself at the pub and post them on the blog, or I’d have been in deep trouble once my Trebek picture came out.
On to today’s fun episode:
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| Bing Huo |
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| Anne Raybon |
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| Doug Lloyd |
Mr. Trebek said today that one-day champ Bing got off to a good start Friday, even though he didn’t! But the win is all that matters, and don’t I know it. Today Bing started a little slow too, just getting out of the hole (but moving into second place) on the last clue before the first break. By the end of the Double Jeopardy round, though, he was well-positioned with 6000 while Doug had 5000 and Anne had 4800.
This game was so fun because I did so well. Funny how that works! I was 3/5 in two categories, 4/5 in 3 others, and swept another (Anagrammed Europe).
I’ve never read or seen “Lord of the Rings,” but one doesn’t need it to do okay in Hobbits’ Other Roles. I got this triple-stumper at the last second in that category: “Billy Boyd (Pippin) served as Russell Crowe’s coxswain in this period piece.” The next clue was a triple-stumper that I negged on; then Anne hopped to Anagrammed Europe. Two of those clues were triple-stumpers themselves: “I’ve visited this capital city more than once” and “I saw a heron wading in this river.” And these were before the first break! I’m surprised neither Doug nor Anne got the former, because Bing rang in and took the whole time, giving them an extra-long look at it.
Doug moved to The “British” Are Coming. How many expressions with “British” could there possibly be? I should’ve swept the category, but didn’t “ring in” on this one at the bottom of the category: “Tortola is one of the 4 main islands of this U.K. territory in the Eastern Caribbean.” (This is the last clue before the first break, that I refer to above.)
Bing found the Daily Double of the round, in Paul Revere. He had 3000, Doug had 4200, and Anne had 3200. Bing wagered it all. He was right that “it seems like a good time.” This was the clue: “Revere also made glasses & surgical instruments, but his artistry in this material was the focus of his professional life.” I said “metal” and am counting it as a clam (since wrong Daily Double responses aren’t counted as negs in the Coryat method). I don’t know that I’ve had said the correct response when prompted.
I swept Begins and Ends with a Vowel and Math Formulas in the Double Jeopardy round, and I should’ve swept San Francisco Attractions. I clammed on this one, thinking my response (the right one) was actually a baseball park: “This home of the 49ers was built for $24.6 million in ’59.” I got the rest of the clues in that category right.
Speaking of baseball, this clue seriously tripped me up, in I’m Gonna Hurl: “In 2010 Roy Halladay of this team threw 2 no-hitters — one in the regular season & one in the postseason.” Halladay was the stud on my fantasy team before he joined the National League. I figure his name is Pavlovian for “Toronto Blue Jays.” I had marked that I got this triple-stumper til Mr. Trebek surprised me with the correct response! “Postseason” should’ve led me in the right direction. I wound up going 0/5 in the category with 3 negs! Even so, my Coryat today was 32000.
Anne found the second Daily Double, the last clue of the round, in I’m Gonna Hurl. She had 11200, Bing had 18000, and Doug had 16200. I didn’t like how Anne wagered and then changed her mind. It was awkward. I also didn’t like how she stuck her tongue out a couple times, and to cap it off, I didn’t like how she reacted while Mr. Trebek was reading the clue, because she apparently knew the correct response. This was the clue, on which she wound up wagering 6000 (I wish I had her explanation for that): “Wearing a kilt is mandatory in the highland games event called ‘tossing’ this, often a 17-foot-long fir pole.” I’d never heard this word. So she ended the round with 17200, while Bing had 18000 and Doug had 16200.
This final was the ultimate instaget, and I don’t know how it was a triple-stumper. Talk about Pavlovian! The category was The Hollywood Walk of Fame. This was the clue: “His widow Maria Elena & actor Gary Busey were on hand when his star was dedicated outside Capitol Records in 2011.” Doug guessed “Valens” and lost 3800. Anne wrote “Ice T” and lost 16201. Bing guessed “Sinatra” and lost 16401. Doug is the new champion then, and we’ll see him tomorrow when Andy blogs a recap for the first time!
I’ve never read or seen “Lord of the Rings,” but one doesn’t need it to do okay in Hobbits’ Other Roles. I got this triple-stumper at the last second in that category: “Billy Boyd (Pippin) served as Russell Crowe’s coxswain in this period piece.” The next clue was a triple-stumper that I negged on; then Anne hopped to Anagrammed Europe. Two of those clues were triple-stumpers themselves: “I’ve visited this capital city more than once” and “I saw a heron wading in this river.” And these were before the first break! I’m surprised neither Doug nor Anne got the former, because Bing rang in and took the whole time, giving them an extra-long look at it.
Doug moved to The “British” Are Coming. How many expressions with “British” could there possibly be? I should’ve swept the category, but didn’t “ring in” on this one at the bottom of the category: “Tortola is one of the 4 main islands of this U.K. territory in the Eastern Caribbean.” (This is the last clue before the first break, that I refer to above.)
Bing found the Daily Double of the round, in Paul Revere. He had 3000, Doug had 4200, and Anne had 3200. Bing wagered it all. He was right that “it seems like a good time.” This was the clue: “Revere also made glasses & surgical instruments, but his artistry in this material was the focus of his professional life.” I said “metal” and am counting it as a clam (since wrong Daily Double responses aren’t counted as negs in the Coryat method). I don’t know that I’ve had said the correct response when prompted.
I swept Begins and Ends with a Vowel and Math Formulas in the Double Jeopardy round, and I should’ve swept San Francisco Attractions. I clammed on this one, thinking my response (the right one) was actually a baseball park: “This home of the 49ers was built for $24.6 million in ’59.” I got the rest of the clues in that category right.
Speaking of baseball, this clue seriously tripped me up, in I’m Gonna Hurl: “In 2010 Roy Halladay of this team threw 2 no-hitters — one in the regular season & one in the postseason.” Halladay was the stud on my fantasy team before he joined the National League. I figure his name is Pavlovian for “Toronto Blue Jays.” I had marked that I got this triple-stumper til Mr. Trebek surprised me with the correct response! “Postseason” should’ve led me in the right direction. I wound up going 0/5 in the category with 3 negs! Even so, my Coryat today was 32000.
Anne found the second Daily Double, the last clue of the round, in I’m Gonna Hurl. She had 11200, Bing had 18000, and Doug had 16200. I didn’t like how Anne wagered and then changed her mind. It was awkward. I also didn’t like how she stuck her tongue out a couple times, and to cap it off, I didn’t like how she reacted while Mr. Trebek was reading the clue, because she apparently knew the correct response. This was the clue, on which she wound up wagering 6000 (I wish I had her explanation for that): “Wearing a kilt is mandatory in the highland games event called ‘tossing’ this, often a 17-foot-long fir pole.” I’d never heard this word. So she ended the round with 17200, while Bing had 18000 and Doug had 16200.
This final was the ultimate instaget, and I don’t know how it was a triple-stumper. Talk about Pavlovian! The category was The Hollywood Walk of Fame. This was the clue: “His widow Maria Elena & actor Gary Busey were on hand when his star was dedicated outside Capitol Records in 2011.” Doug guessed “Valens” and lost 3800. Anne wrote “Ice T” and lost 16201. Bing guessed “Sinatra” and lost 16401. Doug is the new champion then, and we’ll see him tomorrow when Andy blogs a recap for the first time!
Here’s the message board thread on today’s episode. Doug said there that Jerome Vered and Cliff Galiher were in the audience that day. How cool.