Andy back to close out the week of Jeopardy! recaps with Aaron Cappocchi and Rosanne Lightstone the challengers for Sarah Fowlkes’ first title defense.
J! round categories: A BARE BONES CATEGORY, DENMARK, DA TRAIN! DA TRAIN!, THE TV CHARACTER WHO WASN’T THERE, PROVERBIAL NUMBERS, THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO
There was a bit of a slow start for all involved when Sarah and Rosanne starred in BONES and DENMARK, but the game got rolling once we went to DA TRAIN! DA TRAIN!; Aaron found the first Daily Double (on Clue 10) under the $800 clue. Tied for the lead at $1200 with Sarah (Rosanne had $800), Aaron made it a true Daily Double. His clue: On April 30, 1900 this engineer died with one hand on the brake lever, saving all but himself in an unavoidable crash. Aaron’s correct response doubled his score.
At the first break, Aaron led at $3,600 to Rosanne’s $1,800 and Sarah’s $800.
It felt to me as if Aaron was a bit faster at selecting clues than Sarah or Rosanne; somehow, we got through all 30 clues in the Jeopardy! round, with Aaron leading at $7,000; Rosanne is in 2nd at $3,400 and Sarah had $2,800.
DJ! round categories: THE LOVELY BEANS; LATIN NAMES FOR CITIES; POETRY, THY NAME IS HIM; “OCK” IT TO ME!; PRESIDENTIAL ALUMS; and THE TONY AWARDS
Aaron got some good news over the break as well: His response on the following clue (PROVERBIAL NUMBERS $400 – The last possible moment for doing something is called this hour) was accepted, giving him $7,800.
Aaron went Daily Double hunting as soon as he took control of the board in this round, but gave up quickly on that strategy. He did find the first Daily Double of the round, though, under LATIN NAMES FOR CITIES $1600. Holding $14,200 to Sarah’s $5,200 and Rosanne’s $5,400, he bet $3,000 and saw the following: A city on the Danube: Vindobona. Alex said Aaron’s guess was “an educated guess that paid off handsomely”, as Aaron went to $17,200.
I can’t say I was much of a fan of the players going to categories/clue levels likely not to contain Daily Doubles immediately thereafter. Most egregiously, Aaron left the TONY AWARDS category for PRESIDENTIAL ALUMS, and when Rosanne went back to the TONY AWARDS category, she found the Daily Double under the $1200 clue. Holding $10,200 to Sarah’s $5,200 and Aaron’s $18,400, I was expecting to see a very big wager out of Rosanne, considering that she appeared to like the category and she needed a big wager to catch up. However, she only bet $3,000, and saw the following: The 1956 Best Musical Award went to this show that was mad about baseball. Her correct response made me think that Aaron caught a huge break here.
Amazingly, we got through 30 again in the DJ! round.
Scores going into FJ:
Aaron $21,600
Rosanne $14,400
Sarah $8,400
FJ category: CLICHES
FJ clue: In an 1873 Thomas Hardy serial, a chapter ends with a character dangling from an “enormous sea-bord” this
Sarah 8400 – 8300 = 100
Rosanne 14400 – 2400 = 11999
Aaron 21600 + 7200 = 28800
I liked that wager out of Aaron – really glad he noticed that Rosanne had exactly two-thirds of his score and wagered for the tie accordingly. Well done!
My own Coryat was $23,000 today (34 right, plus the Final)
Keep an eye out this weekend for the new weekly poll, and for the Q&A with Ernest Niño-Murcia! I’ll see you next week!
The Importance Of Wagering Strategy – Redux
