teebax

I disagree. I thought she brought some life to the panel and really enjoyed her. I don't think I've ever seen this side of her. I'd love to have a drink or six with her.

I lived in Whitehall and then Allentown before moving to the southwest, so I was excited when he was announced. That fizzled fast. At least he's a Gettysburg alum and not one from my Alma mater, which is a rival school. When he said he was going for the kill, I was really done with him. Buzzy did great.

I liked his too-soon canceled version of Pyramid, so I was looking forward to this. I didn't know he was the executive producer until his appearance after Alex's passing. I didn't mind Ken as a host, but I really like Mike as the host. I just saw that Aaron Rodgers will be hosting, which is cool. Although I'm not a Packer fan, I remember him being really strong on Celebrity Jeopardy, and he's a hoot in his commercials.

They clearly like each other, but Jeannie was a bit much for me. She got on my nerves. I'm still really enjoying the show, though. I hadn't watched WOF since I was a kid, but this version has me watching again.

Agreed. He was gross. If he were my principal I'd go teach somewhere else.

Even though I didn't get it right, I thought that was a very good FJ question yesterday (just got around to watching the episode because I assumed it was pre-empted in my area). This week's episodes are super hard, and I'm not looking forward to Katie Couric hosting. Does anyone know how many episodes Ken taped?

I'm late to this thread, but figured I'd post my Alex memory here, by request. A lot of you already know the story, but I filmed my episode, as part of the Teachers Tournament, on April 1, 2019. This was the first set of episodes taped after Alex announced his condition, and it was in the middle of James's historic run. Alex had a lot of respect for veterans, and I had mentioned my service during my interview. At the end of the taping, i was disheartened. I struggled with the buzzer and was upset with myself. I wasn't emba, but I knew I was a better player than my final score reflected. Anyway, Alex was kind and gracious. We talked about where I'd been stationed, and he shared a story with me about a visit he'd made to one of the bases I'd loved at. He told me I wouldn't have been chosen if I weren't smart and that the buzzer is the difference maker. The following month after the taping, my mother died suddenly. Three months later, my father died suddenly, too. A month after my dad died, my mom's best friend died suddenly. Most people say 2020 was their worst year ever, but for me personally, 2019 was devastating. I lost my parents and someone who'd been a godmother to me in four months, all suddenly. However, I now realize how lucky I was. My parents were both able to attend my taping, and when I went to LA for my audition in January 2019, I took my mom with me on the road trip. My partner at the time was NOT happy that I chose to take my mom instead of her, but in hindsight I'm so glad I did. It ended up being our last road trip together, something we'd always done a few times a year. What no one tells you is that the Jeopardy community is strong for former contestants. My group from the Teachers Tournament has remained in touch and even done some online trivia games as a team. They were amazing during my grieving. Several of them sent gifts for my graduating seniors last May. This past summer, we lost Vicki Leibeck-Owsley to cancer, and we all mourned her together. It really is a community, and I'm better for having met such amazing people, including Alex.

Thank you, and to everyone else. It's still hard to watch, and even harder now that Alex is gone, but I'm glad to be back, too. Of course, I came back right as they were going into repeats, so.... I'm one of the (apparently) few people who really likes Ken. Like most long-time contestants, I can see how he could be divisive, but I always found him unoffensive, and I like that he started from the tops of the categories.

We saw the importance of a good betting strategy tonight. The middle contestant, I think, over-bet. Brayden's knowledge level is very impressive, but I had a feeling he might be one of those contestants people either really like or really dislike. I got FJ immediately and spent most of the think music outsmarting myself. The only thing I know about Hallmark wrapping paper is that it's really expensive, compared to paper from just about anywhere else I shop. By the way, hello everyone. Long time no message. I've started watching Jeopardy again and am looking forward to your posts.

Thank you! I was wondering about that as well.

Hi everyone. I'm sorry I haven't posted a while. James's loss caused me to log in and I wanted to give an update about what's happening with me. My mother got suddenly ill on May 20 and passed away on Memorial Day. It was shocking because we didn't even know she was sick. Apparently she knew but didn't want to burden us. When I was interviewed by my local station about my show appearance I mentioned that the best part of my experience was having my parents there with me. I didn't know the Jeopardy taping would be my last trip with my mom, who was my best travel buddy. While I'm super sad she's gone, I'm so glad she got to experience the show with me. It was a dream come true for both of us.

They don't send them until 120 days after airing. (I'm using mine for Europe next summer, so it's fine with me.) If anyone still gives a damn and wants the full story, I'll be happy to share it after the check clears. By then, I think everyone will have moved on!

He's from Wyoming. Let's just say I'm not expecting an invite from him anytime soon. 🙂

It's a very different game in person. I can't emphasize this enough. My get rate is ridiculously high at home. In person, the game moves a lot faster, and it's harder to recall things you know with the lights and added pressure. These teachers are not dumber than the average contestant; I certainly am not. However, if you haven't played live it's very easy to sit at home and think contestants just don't know things. It's more complicated than that. FTR, I knew Miles Standish, and I knew most of the TS's. None of that knowledge helped me when I played in person. Again, it's different in a way I can't really explain.

I had been really sick the week before taping, but that wasn't the problem. Let's just say if you have zero experience with cannabis, going to a dispensary in a place where it's legal and imbibing an entire brownie is NOT a smart idea. I haven't had contact with most of the other teachers, but Sara was really nice. We were supposed to do a trivia night and karaoke the night I got sick. I was super happy to see she made the finals. My sister spent some time with her while I was in the hotel room trying to get it to stop spinning. I was surprised Joe lost. He announced the first day he was winning the whole thing. No, he wasn't the one I disliked. I like confidence. When the check clears, I'll be happy to let you all know who was pretty nasty to me at the end of day one. It still ticks me off.

Thanks for the kind words. I haven't watched much of the tournament so far, other than my own episode. I have not seen any of this week's episodes because I was sick in bed the second day of taping, so I may watch to see how it played out. There was only one person in the tournament who I didn't care for; everyone else was super nice to me, and I'd be happy to see any of them win. I'm definitely not watching James. I'm very impressed with his ability, especially having played the game and seeing how damn hard that buzzer is to master, but I like games that are competitive.

It had not. Jeopardy decided no longer to name our schools, and it was important to me that I mention mine. We're a small alternative public high school in a very large district, and very few people I meet even know we exist. Those who do know of it see it as a school for rejects who couldn't pass traditional school. In reality, it's way more complicated than that. Many of my students come from circumstances that could make your head spin. Teaching there is very challenging but also incredibly rewarding. By the way, the ear tug was for you guys. I mentioned this group in an interview last night following my party, but I think they edited it out. I thought about finger guns, but I can't pull that off without looking ridiculous.

Sp those weren't my categories, and the buzzer killed me, but it was better than I remembered. I played the oboe in orchestra and know it wasn't four feet freaking long. How embarrassing! If I'd left that musical instruments category alone I'd have made it to round two. Ugh! Anyway, I had a blast and enjoyed watching it with my friends and family, and knowing you all were cheering me on. It was number one on my bucket list, so I'm feeling pretty great regardless. The local news was here at my house for the party. What a blast! Here's a link to my feature. https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/tucson-teacher-to-appear-on-jeopardy

It was so cool to see people I know playing the game! I didn't see today's game in the studio because I was sequestered. I have a big group of friends, colleagues, and family coming over tomorrow to watch, so I probably won't be here to post after it airs. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have once the dust settles.

I agree. James is really impressive, but I find myself not wanting to watch every day because it's almost never a competitive game. I'd be looking forward to the tournament next week even if I weren't in it. I was interviewed by the Tucson ABC affiliate last week, and I'll post a clip of it when it airs on Tuesday morning. They spent a lot of time at my school, and I had a chance to talk about how great my students and admin are. They recorded me teaching and interviewed a couple of my students, so they are really excited to see themselves on TV.

Yes, that part is absolutely true. I wasn't "trolling" my email. I don't even know what that means. Something told me to check my spam, which I rarely do, and I made it just by a few hours. My phone records every conversation I have, so I listened back to ours just to make sure I wasn't crazy. Yeah, she totally made stuff up. I was a reporter in the 90s and wouldn't have done that. Surely the recording technology is better now!

Oh, I think it'd be a great job, but I don't like that the reporter completely made up a quote I never said. I was a sports writer for half a decade and would never do something like that, just to make a story better. I'd like to think my story is solid enough without needing embellishment!

AZ Daily Star Article Here's a link to the story the local newspaper ran today. I never said I wanted to trade places with Alex, but otherwise it's fairly accurate.

I got mine in just in time then! I did a shout out to my students since the show wouldn't publicize our school names.

I'm 5'4" and was on a raised platform, so he's a few inches taller than I.