Parker can lose after all

     Season 25 Coryats:
Originally 4-13-09: 27600 (31800 without negs)
Originally 4-14-09: 20600 (26600 without negs). This game also had several what you might call half-baked clams.
Originally 4-15-09: 27400 (29000 without negs)
Originally 4-16-09: 22200 (28200 without negs)
     As you may know, I don’t get “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” in my area. So I missed Jason Zollinger on the show today. He wasn’t a traditional contestant; he was plucked from the audience at the end to answer one question. See the thread in the link above to find out how he did.
     Next, I was going to wait until I’d posted more than once there but I just don’t want to do that anymore ;-): I’ve started a new blog. I’ll let you click the link to see what it’s all about.
     Thanks for indulging me. Here are today’s contestants:

Frances Way of Fort Collins CO (Didn’t need to look at the Howdy page for this one.) 🙂
Parker East of Tallahassee FL
Kristin Morgan of Huntsville AL (Checked the sleeves – Yep, these are stripes again!)

     Kristin and Parker were co-champions, and Mr. Trebek said they are the first of the season!
     I thought it was a good sign for me when this was the first clue of the game, in Real Power Players: “During the 2011 Davis Cup, Ivo Karlovic of Croatia delivered one of these at 156 miles per hour.” I was just thinking of “Dr. Ivo” today when I was making my Australian Open bracket.
     Kristin made a cool 3000 by sweeping Begins & Ends with O. She got the next one right too, and at the first break she had 3200. Frances and Parker had each gotten 4 right and had 3200 and 2000, respectively.
     I was pretty curious what Parker was gonna do today with his interview, since yesterday’s was so weird. Today he talked about being a “North Dakota homesteader.” He means he and some friends lived off the land, grew their own food, etc.
     I have to thank a soundtrack – Evita‘s – for this triple-stumper in International Geographic: “Though called a ‘rio,’ or river, this body that divides Uruguay and Argentina is considered an estuary.”

     Parker found the Daily Double of the round, in Bio Picks. There were 2 clues on the board after this one. Parker had gotten 5 right and 2 wrong since the break and had 2600. Kristin had gotten 3 right and 2 wrong and had 3600. Frances had gotten 2 right and one wrong and had 4400. Parker wisely wagered everything on this no-brainer: “‘The Man Who Gave His Name to America’ is the subtitle of a 2007 bio of this Italian.” He got it.
     Kristin got one of the last 2 clues, and Parker got the other. So the scores at the end of the round were: Kristin 4600, Parker 5400, Frances 4400.
     I made a long “a” sound where there should’ve been a long “o” sound in the response to this clue, in Private Eye Q: “Here’s our Kinsey report: This Sue Grafton private eye is ex-Santa Teresa P.D.” Parker came close too, but not close enough either!
     Kristin got the next correct response, then came the Daily Double, in the all-video Into the Shark Tank (the TV show). She’d gotten 5 right in the round and had 7800. Parker had gotten the one wrong and had 4600. Frances had gotten 2 right and one wrong and had 7600. Kristin wagered 1600 on the clue, read by “Lori Greiner.” (I recorded it, but the file was too large to e-mail and it isn’t necessary.): “Let me check the numbers for your box camera — film rolls for 100 exposures? Ok — but isn’t $25 a lot for consumers in 1888?” Kristin and I got it right.
     The next clue was a triple-stumper, that I knew thanks to Jeopardy! Still in Into the Shark Tank, and read by Mark Cuban: “You’re a go-getter from Utah who’s transmitted a 60-line image of a dollar sign. I like your style! I think this television thing might have a future…partner!”
     Mr. Trebek gave the one-minute warning with 8 clues left, surely because those Shark Tank clues took so long. Indeed there were 4 clues left covered, but Kristin found the second Daily Double in the meantime, in Latin Legalese. (Another “legal” category, after yesterday’s flop of a Final?) Kristin had gotten 4 right and 2 wrong since her first Daily Double, and had 11400. Parker had gotten 4 right and one wrong and had 7400. Frances had gotten one wrong and had 5600. Kristin wagered 1600 again on this clue: “Meaning ‘after the fact,’ this type of law retroactively makes an act criminal that was legal when committed.” She didn’t get it. She got the next one right, but the next one wrong, and Frances picked it up. The scores going into the Final: Kristin 9400, Parker 7400, Frances 7200.
     The Final Jeopardy category was Rivers. Yikes. This was the clue: “It’s the world’s longest river whose outflow is into an entirely inland body of water.” I guessed what Kristin did but it was a wild guess. This one was a triple-stumper. Frances lost 5200. Parker lost everything! Kristin lost 5401, leaving her with enough to try for her fourth win on Monday. She’ll have a chance to go shopping for a fourth outfit if need be. With savvier wagers, it could’ve been Parker or Frances defending next week.
     I’m sure there will be discussion on the boards – When is the last time we had a 3-time champ with this low of a total? I can’t believe I have to update the ToC list today, but here we are. Consider this, too: If Kristin wins Monday, she’ll skyrocket to the ToC.

1. Monica Thieu $100,000 (College Champion)
2. Patrick Quinn $100,000 (Feb. 2012 Teacher’s Champion)
3. Colby Burnett $100,000 (Nov. 2012 Teacher’s Champion)
4. Jason Keller $213,900 (9 wins)
5. Keith Whitener $147,597 (7 wins)
6. Stephanie Jass $147,570 (7 wins)
7. Joel Pool $116,800 (6 wins)
8. Dave Leach $98,054 (6 wins)
9. David Menchaca $115,503 (5 wins)
10. Paul Nelson $54,900 (5 wins)
11. Jason Shore $85,200 (4 wins)
12. David Gard $84,700 (4 wins)
13. Ashok Poozhikunnel $69,002 (4 wins)
14. Dan McShane $62,001 (4 wins)
15. Patrick Morrison $80,701 (3 wins)


16. Francis Lansangan $78,401 (3 wins)
17. Matt Samberg $61,402 (3 wins)
18. Andy Baggarly $60,402 (3 wins)
19. Kris Hamilton $60,301 (3 wins)
20. Alistair Bell $56,800 (3 wins)
21. Paula Menasche $55,100 (3 wins)
22. Stephanie Fontaine $54,500 (3 wins)
23. Joey Falco $53,999 (3 wins)
24. Susan Jann $53,800 (3 wins)
25. Erin Zweiner $53,399 (3 wins)
26. Beau Henson $51,203 (3 wins)
27. Margaret Swanson $48,000 (3 wins)
28. Claudia Gray $45,202 (3 wins)
29. Dan Adkison $37,400 (3 wins)
30. Jacob Silverman $35,998 (3 wins)
31. Jessamine Price $26,803 (3 wins)
32. Kristin Morgan $17,498 (3 wins)

     I did keep track of my score today, but it’s nothing to write home about: 18800; 22400 without negs. Mr. Trebek said after declaring Kristin the champion, “Next week will be better.” I hope so.