Happy blog news: My friend Robert informed me that this blog oh-so-briefly appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, in a story mostly about Alex Trebek. Watch for it at about 5:21 seconds in, here:
Okay, so it’s Day 2 of Power Players Week. The contestants:
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| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (I looked it up – he’s 7’2″.) |
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Dana Perino (I’d never heard of her; sorry!)
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Kareem’s never inspired me before, but he does today, showing his face on Jeopardy! again after this infamous blunder. He had a minor one today that drew a roar from the audience (category The Five):
This was a triple-stumper I picked up. I’m guessing the other two contestants were just thrown by Kareem’s response!
Kareem had taken the bait and started with Lakers today. (Who can blame him?) I swept the category, including this triple-stumper: “People walk like Egyptians around this lake formed by the creation of the Aswan High Dam.” In fact I got every clue right before the first break, also sweeping The Five and getting this other triple-stumper in the category: “‘The Five Ways,’ a work of 13th C. philosophy, lays out 5 proofs for the existence of this being.” Okay, for real. How was this a triple-stumper? It makes me think maybe something happened there that we at home didn’t see.
Kareem’s interview got me wondering: What are the records he still holds that Mr. Trebek thinks will never be broken?
This is the first one I got wrong in the round, in Their Main Musical Instrument: “Woody Allen.” I guessed “guitar” in the hopes I’d sweep the board, but that was the answer to the next clue, which I clammed on!: “Steven Van Zandt.” This was the second of three in a row I didn’t get. The next one was in Squawk on the Street:
Kareem was robbed on the next clue, in The New York Times 21st Century Headlines: “In 2003 the headline read, ‘Davis is out, Schwarzenegger is in by big margins in California’ in this type of vote.” He obviously knew the answer and in fact didn’t say anything wrong when he said “California gubernatorial race,” then “California gubernatorial election” when prompted. I got this one. I lived in California when this was going on.
In the next round, David got away with one in Great American Women: “This late activist in her own right was inducted posthumously into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011.”
David said “Coretta Cott King,” and it was accepted. Afterward he said it correctly. This of course never would’ve happened in a regular episode.
There were a whopping 10 clues left when the round ended. Kareem had 1200, Dana had 2400, and David had 2800.
I was even hotter in the Double Jeopardy round, getting 23/28 and as many triple-stumpers as clams/negs.
- In Other Power Players: “Once this woman, now the Duchess of Cambridge, wears something (such as nude stockings), sales soar.”
- In Bestsellers: “This author’s all-star team, including Jack Ryan & John Clark, was back in his 2011 bestseller ‘Locked On.'”
- In Bestsellers: “This Michael Crichton bestseller begins with a prologue, ‘The Bite of the Raptor.'”
- In Great American Women: “In 1983 she made history as the first American woman in space.”
- In Great American Women: “In 1920 this ‘Round Table’ wit was fired as drama critic for Vanity Fair; they said her reviews were too harsh.”
I swept Great American Women and Other Power Players.
I just looked for this book at the library this weekend: (In Bestsellers again) “This Laura Hillenbrand bestseller is subtitled ‘A World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption.'”
At the end of the round, Kareem had 2400, Dana had 3200, and David had a lock on the game with 14400. The Final Jeopardy category was Museums. I got yesterday’s right for a streak of seven. Sadly, it ended today. Here was the clue: “Completed in 1959, it’s been variously described as a snail, a concrete tornado, even a giant wedding cake.” I didn’t feel as bad once the correct response was revealed, because I’d not have gotten it. Kareem doubled his score. Dana didn’t have a response and lost everything. David got it right and added 7000. Yesterday’s winner, Robert Gibbs, had 5600 at the end, but the Final was a triple-stumper. Lizzie O’Leary would’ve ended with 23800 if she’d gotten a correct response.
Which makes me wonder: Are the celebrity contestants sequestered before they play? That is, do they know the other contestants’ final scores before they play?
Tomorrow’s contestants are Dr. Oz, Katty Kay (I don’t know her), and Chris Wallace. For the rest of the week, I’ll be blogging from my Mom and Dad’s. I’m trying something a little different tomorrow, so please come back and see it.