Andy here with the recap tonight!
Leslie Page and Leo Velazquez are the challengers today for Matt Samberg’s third time to quiz in his pants here on Jeopardy!
I now wonder if Leo has the highest-scoring Scrabble last name of any Jeopardy! contestant in history. Two Zs and a Q?
J! round categories: WORDS WITH FRIENDS, FACE THE NATION, LETTER-HEADS, DOUBLE DOUBLE E, CLASSIC ALBUMS, and ON THE TURNTABLE
It felt like it would be a really good board for me, especially after the FACE THE NATION category was pictures of countries on the map. Didn’t quite play as well as I would have liked, but I was feeling tired as well. That being said, my biggest pet peeve, even above poor wagering, is those that take too long to select clues after giving a correct response. It felt that Leslie was rather slow in that department to start the game (the dead air on the audio makes it really obvious as well). I had a lot of trouble getting into this game for that reason.
The Daily Double was under WORDS WITH FRIENDS $800, just after the midway point of the round. Matt got it with $4400, Leslie had $2400 and Leo $200. He bet $1,900, and his clue: He said of his dad’s influence when he ran for Governor in 1994, “I’ve inherited 100% of his enemies & only 50% of his friends”. Matt got it correct, his score went to $6,300.
Switching away from and back from DOUBLE DOUBLE E might have thrown Leo a bit. Under $800: It’s the job of someone charged with the maintenance of a golf course. Sadly, Leo’s response made it seem like he forgot the category.
Even after the “minute to go” signal, Leo and Leslie were still lethargic in selecting clues, and once the end-of-round beeps happened, we had Matt leading at $7,300, with Leslie second at $2,600 and Leo at -$400.
DJ! round cateogires: POETIC VERBS, THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOZE ON, SEE “INSIDE” FOR DETAILS, ANGRY BIRDS, TRANSPORTATION, THIS IS SPORTS SENATOR
After getting the $400 clue under THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOZE ON to open the round, Leslie was given the Daily Double when she eventually selected the $800 clue. With the scores 3000 to 7300 to -400, she bet half of her score. Her clue was of usual difficulty for an $800 Daily Double: He died in Babylon in 323 B.C., a few days after a long drinking bout & a few months after declaring himself a god. Should have bet more! Her correct response only put her at $4,500.
Leo was able to pull himself back out of the red in the ANGRY BIRDS category, and he saw the game’s final Daily Double at the bottom of SEE “INSIDE” FOR DETAILS. Holding $2,400, Leslie had $8,900 and Matt $11,300. He bet $2,000, and his clue: Referring to Interstate 495, this 3-word term describes isolated politicians. He appeared to give a correct response, though it took a second listen to ascertain that he did phrase in the form of a question!
Speaking of phrasing: Two clues later, under POETIC VERBS $800: “I ___ the body electric”, Leslie forgot to phrase, and Matt picked up the rebound for a key swing.
The final clue of the round saw Leo overtake Leslie for second place going into Final Jeopardy! – even though another four (!) clues were left on the table.
Scores going into Final:
Matt $12,100
Leo $8,400
Leslie $8,100
FJ! category: 1950s MOVIES:
FJ! clue: “The Man on Lincoln’s Nose” was a working title for this 1959 film
Leslie 8100 + 8000 = 16100
Leo 8400 + 7401 = 15801
Matt 12100 + 4701 = 16801 (3-day champion!)
Holding everything else constant, though, Leslie’s phrasing error didn’t cost her the game, fortunately. Surprised, though, that “mbclev” hasn’t shown up over at J! Board with a post. On the old boards, his showing up in a thread was a spoiler that a phrasing error had taken place!
This win drops Beau and Margaret down to 13th and 14th on the Tournament of Champions standings; it’s not looking good for them at this point!
Tournament of Champions update:
1. Monica Thieu $100,000 (College Champion)
2. Patrick Quinn $100,000 (Teacher’s Champion)
3. Jason Keller $213,900 (9 wins)
4. Joel Pool $116,800 (6 wins)
5. Dave Leach $98,054 (6 wins)
6. David Menchaca $115,503 (5 wins)
7. David Gard $84,700 (4 wins)
8. Dan McShane $62,001 (4 wins)
9. Patrick Morrison $80,701 (3 wins)
10. Francis Lansangan $78,401 (3 wins)
11. Matt Samberg $61,402 (3 wins)
12. Joey Falco $53,999 (3 wins)
13. Beau Henson $51,203 (3 wins)
14. Margaret Swanson $48,000 (3 wins)
15. Claudia Gray $45,202 (3 wins)
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16. Dan Adkison $37,400 (3 wins)
17. Jacob Silverman $35,998 (3 wins)
18. Jessamine Price $26,803 (3 wins)
39 in Scrabble, 42 in Words With Friends
