Andy here!
Joe Emison and Kevin Moser are the challengers for 1-day champ Susan Jann (cash winnings $22,800).
I must say: yesterday, I enjoyed watching Susan play — for 60 clues. I really wish, though, that she had picked up even a brief primer on betting strategy! Will she bet any better today?
J! round categories:
SOCK IT TO ME
SPORTS TERMS
TENNESSEE’S WILLIAMS
“BLOCK” PARTY
EAT PREY
LOVE
Joe got off to the fastest start in this game, Susan getting 2 clues early and Kevin 1. That said, Joe found the Daily Double reasonably early, under SPORTS TERMS $600 (Wow, the 2nd day in a row!) Scores:
Joe $1,600
Susan $1,400
Kevin $400
Joe went for the True Daily Double. His clue: This term for a golf course is actually a Scottish word for sandy coastal land. His correct response doubled his score.
A few high-valued responses from Susan, though, and an $800 neg from Joe, brought Susan into the lead at the first break! Scores there were:
Susan $4,400
Joe $3,000
Kevin $600
Coming out of the break, we had no fewer than five straight Triple Stumpers! I’m amazed that we managed to get 30 clues down in spite of that. The five clues:
SPORTS TERMS $1000: This 6-letter German term means to make a straight downhill run on skis
LOVE $400: In an 1850 poem he wrote, “‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”
LOVE $600: A song by this composer says, “Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it, let’s do it, let’s fall in love”
LOVE $800: In “The Prophet” he wrote, “Love one another, but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea”
LOVE $1000: Around 413 A.D. this church father declared, “Love and do what you will”
Following that, Susan just kept building her score up. At the end of 30, scores were:
Susan $6,600
Joe $2,800
Kevin $400
DJ! round categories:
THE 12th CENTURY
GRAMMAR
THE P-51 MUSTANG
ARCHITECTURE
WOODY GUTHRIE
THIS ISLAND IS YOUR ISLAND
Susan kept up her buzzer mojo and her knowledge, she ran THIS ISLAND IS YOUR ISLAND en route to the first six correct answers in the round! Meanwhile, Joe and Kevin steadily increased their scores, and eventually, the men decided to take categories bottom-to-top, I assume to hunt for Daily Doubles. However, the first one was found by Susan, under GRAMMAR $800, on the 24th clue of the round. Scores at this point:
Susan $18,600
Joe $8,000
Kevin $7,200
Susan chose to bet just $2,000. It’s an awkward situation here because you’re in a good spot here. On the other, it’s at the $800 level and those are usually easier. Her clue: In English exactly 3 words, with a total of 6 letters, represent this part of speech. Her response, while close, wasn’t quite correct, and her score fell to $16,600.
At this point, the board has GRAMMAR $400 and the entirety of THE 12th CENTURY left. Susan, in her infinite wisdom, decides to give her opposition plenty of chance to find the Daily Doubles themselves, by taking the one clue on the board guaranteed not to have a Daily Double in it — GRAMMAR $400. After getting that $400, her next selection, once again, was the clue least likely to contain the Daily Double — the $400 clue in THE 12TH CENTURY. I’m sure your opposition quite enjoys your sporting nature!
Clue 26 was hit by Joe, who went to $800. Clue 27 was Kevin’s, and he seemed to be making the best effort to win this thing — he skipped $1200 and went to $1600. Unfortunately, his one in three shot missed, Susan got the clue, and her 50/50 hit when she went to $2000.
Scores at this point:
Susan $18,600
Joe $8,400
Kevin $8,000
Susan’s bet here was $1,500 — a bet I like, as it locks the game on a correct response, but requires one of the two guys to get the final question right in order to break the lock if incorrect. Her clue: This queen of France was divorced from Louis VII in March 1152 & married Henry Plantagenet 2 months later. Eugene Finerman would enjoy this question, though I don’t think Susan Jann did. Susan’s incorrect response put her at $17,100.
The 30th clue was picked up by Kevin, breaking the lock and putting the scores going into Final at:
Susan $17,100
Kevin $9,200
Joe $8,400
FJ! category: PEOPLE IN BRITISH HISTORY
FJ! clue: In 1805 the second in command to this hero said, “I wish (he) would stop signaling. We all know what we have to do”
Joe 8400 + 8400 = 16800
Kevin 9200 + 9000 = 18200
Susan 17100 + 2500 = 19600
Once again, I have a feeling that Susan picked a number out of thin air here that happened to work. I have a bigger feeling that she’s quickly running out of chances here.
We’ll be back in 24 hours with another recap; see you then!