Jeopardy! Masters

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

I was just assuming it was his name in Japanese.

Same here, which is how I talked myself out of my annoyance (the only other alternate representation of his name I've liked is when he mimicked the Vegas sign).  Now I can be annoyed again, as I hate the whole "self-described" thing altogether.

Edited May 8 by Bastet

[SoMuchTV]

I’m only part way through tonight’s second game, and I was waiting to see if it was discussed in the intros (it wasn’t), but is Mattea wearing a rosary as a necklace? My Catholic upbringing tells me that’s not kosher (sorry) but maybe I misunderstood. 

[ams1001]

I. GOT. SPARTA! (They didn't. 😁)

That's all I remember worth bragging about.

[annzeepark914]

What is wrong with James? I'm used to him knowing the correct response to almost everything.

[possibilities]

I knew regulator and white dwarf.

 

[Bastet]

Victoria at the top of the leaderboard continues to make me happy, but I hate that Amy and Mattea are doing so poorly.

LOL at Yogesh's "Fight On" after he answered the UCLA clue (that's crosstown rival USC's fight song; according to a bio I read, Yogesh went to grad school there).

I ran the country music category, but otherwise I think I got very little on the bottom half of any board.

The only TS I got in the first game was handkerchief (I got the missed DD of regulator, too).  In the second, I got white dwarf and Rho.

No FJ for me in either game.

[EtheltoTillie]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

I knew regulator and white dwarf.

 

I knew regulator because I took a scuba diving lesson once. Hated it. 

I got handkerchief ‘cause I’m a fashion fan. 

I know about the knitting show Victoria referenced, but I have not watched it yet. 

[EtheltoTillie]

Carmen again!  

[EtheltoTillie]

FWIW at this late stage, I want to say that Ken Jennings was born to be the successor host of Jeopardy. How could there have been any question?  He is doing a great job. 

Yay, Victoria!  (I did not get FJ . . .)

[Trey]

10 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

What is wrong with James? I'm used to him knowing the correct response to almost everything.

Not to mention Amy and Mattea.  They had been so strong and now they are barely getting in there with answers.  I think Victoria and Yogesh are steamrollering over them.

I didn't do all that well through the games but I did get FJ in the first game, Pirates of Penzance.

[chitowngirl]

I think it’s all a matter of buzzer skills, and Matt, Mattea, and Amy just aren’t there these games. I think Brad Rutter knows he’s not as quick anymore and that’s why he doesn’t do these.

Edited May 9 by chitowngirl

[LennieBriscoe]

On 5/9/2024 at 6:40 AM, EtheltoTillie said:

FWIW at this late stage, I want to say that Ken Jennings was born to be the successor host of Jeopardy. How could there have been any question?  He is doing a great job. 

Yay, Victoria!  (I did not get FJ . . .)

Re: Ken Jennings.

The Man Met the Moment. A most worthy successor to an icon. 

[ams1001]

7 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Re: Ken Jennings.

The Man Met the Moment. A most worthy successor to an icon. 

I wonder if when he played his first game he'd ever dream he'd end up here.

[chitowngirl]

It is nice to see the game being played at a brisk pace again. I’ve missed that since regular play came back on the daytime show.

[annzeepark914]

If Yogesh is on between 8-8:30 tonight, I'll watch Washington Week in Review. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

I very much enjoyed Matt's story about how he had binged all of Jane Austen at once. I was however confused by what Ken was thinking by his comment about how Matt's partner felt about it. It felt like either something was missing from the anecdote or at least from Ken's thought process.

I thought the Greek eta clue was a bit strange because it read as if they were not aware that beta and zeta exist.  

[ams1001]

I got the missed clue of achondroplasia. No, I don't watch any shows about little people on TLC.

"Nobody walks down the aisle in a diaper [unless they're into it]." I almost missed the next clue after that one. 🤣🤣

Also got Bernie Sanders wants us to work 32 hours a week (which I actually did this week but that's because I worked six days last week).

 

[30 Helens]

I actually forgot about this tournament, and watched all three of this week's games last night. That was a very quiet three hours in my house, as clue after clue passed by with no responses. Yikes.

I really like the relaxed vibe/ high intensity competition of these games. These are pros who like each other, and it shows. 

I'm surprised by the relatively weak showing of Matt and Mattea. Amy too, but to a lesser degree. Anyone watching these three for the first time might even wonder why they are rated so highly. Obviously they've more than earned their places, but I wish they were having better games. Especially Matt. I just love his upbeat, affable personality and want him to kick a little butt for old times' sake. (LOL at the refusal to "bring it", too.)

Victoria has the best stories. I guess that's because she still has a deep well to pull from. (Sorry, Amy.) I was in awe of her commitment to learn a new language, just so she could watch a TV show. She lives in a universe that I could only hope to visit.

Victoria is my pick to win, so I'm glad she's crushing it. I just need her to crush Yogesh a little harder.  I get the sense that James's head is not completely in this tournament. Whether from burnout or personal reasons, I don't know, but he seems unusually subdued. I am amused by the covert podium messages, and for those who hate his antics, at least he's being somewhat subtle!

During the watch, my husband turned to me and asked, "Why did they even go through all that bother of trying different hosts? Ken's so good at this." Indeed.

[possibilities]

I think they had to show that even with a lot of other hosts tried, nobody was anywhere near as good as he is at this, to appease people like me who didn't want him hired.

I now think he's clearly the right host, but I really didn't think that before they tried everyone else.

[LennieBriscoe]

I'm weary of Matt's his ploy to use only surnames to identify "correctly" a person (even though accepted), and pleased he got hoisted upon that particular petard by saying only "Joyner."

One other aspect of Ken's hosting I like: Knowing/betting HE KNOWS; that HE could answer; and that he probably has depth to the answers besides! 

[illdoc]

38 minutes ago, LennieBriscoe said:

pleased he got hoisted upon that particular petard by saying only "Joyner."

Except...they later accepted it! Personally, you say "Joyner" and I think you mean FloJo (Florence Griffith Joyner) and not Jackie Joyner Kersey.

[ams1001]

5 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Except...they later accepted it! Personally, you say "Joyner" and I think you mean FloJo (Florence Griffith Joyner) and not Jackie Joyner Kersey.

"Joyner" by itself should at least get a BMS.

[possibilities]

30 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Except...they later accepted it! Personally, you say "Joyner" and I think you mean FloJo (Florence Griffith Joyner) and not Jackie Joyner Kersey.

I was trying to remember which was FloJo and which was the other fast Joyner. I had to look it up after. So I think matt probably was hedging because he also wasn't sure which was called for.

They probably gave it to him because Ken ruled too fast, and Matt did say Kersey after he was ruled incorrect instead of BMS.

 

Are the two women related?

[30 Helens]

44 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Are the two women related?

Through marriage. Florence married Jackie’s brother.

[Bastet]

I watched this with friends, so didn't write down - and have long since forgotten, it being the next day and all - if I got any TS, but I doubt it, because I didn't get much of anything.  At least my friends were equally silent (except for when one of us would sputter "Who knows this shit?" about a clue).  I didn't get either FJ.

Ah, I see from another post that 32 was a TS, and I did get that one.  As was achondroplasia, but that stumped the three of us as well -- I said "It starts with an A" as I could sort of see the word in my head (I don't think I've ever heard it spoken), but that's as far as I got and that didn't help anyone else.

[annzeepark914]

4 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I get the sense that James's head is not completely in this tournament. Whether from burnout or personal reasons, I don't know, but he seems unusually subdued. I am amused by the covert podium messages, and for those who hate his antics, at least he's being somewhat subtle.

Something's going on with him. I noticed it a couple nights ago. His whole demeanor has changed. This isn't the James we'd become accustomed to. Too bad cause I was counting on him to vanquish the dragon 👀.

[illdoc]

38 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Something's going on with him

He seems a lot thinner---maybe he's sick?

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

Victoria has the best stories.…Victoria is my pick to win, so I'm glad she's crushing it. I just need her to crush Yogesh a little harder. 

Victoria won my heart with the animal call story, declaring how enthusiastically she embraced the job. But I am now okay with Yogesh winning if he does. He's such an underdog in so many ways, and seems to possibly be developing real friendships for the first time in his life. 

 

12 minutes ago, illdoc said:

He seems a lot thinner---maybe he's sick?

I didn't notice James was thinner, but perhaps having some pain issues? 

For all of the Masters not excelling in this or any tournament, I tend to chalk it up to this just not being the most important thing on their minds at the moment.
Although Mattea crushed the competition after the death of her father, didn't she? But I think she was focused on doing that for him.
There's also the flow factor. IIRC, Matt Amodio lost his momentum in his winning-season after a holiday break.

I was surprised nobody said 32 after Victoria said 30 hours for what the work week should be. But maybe none of these three have ever held 40-hour-per week jobs? In the gig economy, that's almost become "nice work if you can get it."

[justmehere]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Something's going on with him. I noticed it a couple nights ago. His whole demeanor has changed. This isn't the James we'd become accustomed to.

Emphasis mine.

Previously, he would select across all the highest-value clues first, and he hasn't done that this time. Times I expected him to buzz in, he appeared to be merely watching. He's also getting things wrong.

It just seems strange that all the previous participants are doing less/worse than before. Surely they have the buzzer skills. I know Victoria is fast, but James was only beaten once in the last tournament, IIRC - almost never getting an answer wrong - and yet he's only won once so far and was 3rd in this last game. Maybe he simply didn't have time to prepare? But the other returnees have fallen behind, too. It's not what I expected. 

[annzeepark914]

45 minutes ago, justmehere said:

Emphasis mine.

Previously, he would select across all the highest-value clues first, and he hasn't done that this time. Times I expected him to buzz in, he appeared to be merely watching. He's also getting things wrong.

It just seems strange that all the previous participants are doing less/worse than before. Surely they have the buzzer skills. I know Victoria is fast, but James was only beaten once in the last tournament, IIRC - almost never getting an answer wrong - and yet he's only won once so far and was 3rd in this last game. Maybe he simply didn't have time to prepare? But the other returnees have fallen behind, too. It's not what I expected. 

Yup. This Masters is strange--IMO, not fun like the first Masters with the professor (& his "bring it!") + the comradery amongst that special group. They even humanized James (altho' he resisted at first☺️).  So, either James is somehow under the weather...or it's the Effect of Yogesh 👁️

[justmehere]

19 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

This Masters is strange--IMO, not fun like the first Masters with the professor (& his "bring it!") + the comradery amongst that special group.

Totally this.

[EtheltoTillie]

There were two times tonight where they went back and rescored.  How does that work?  In both cases, someone else had given the correct response, but they don't lose their points.  I've never understood this.

That last FJ was an easy theater question.  I was surprised James did not know it.   Too bad Victoria didn't bet more. 

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Too bad Victoria didn't bet more. 

No kidding.
I wonder if I'm not readily seeing a comment by Victoria about The Wager That Could Have Been because in the end it wouldn't have mattered??

Edited May 13 by shapeshifter

[SoMuchTV]

4 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

There were two times tonight where they went back and rescored.  How does that work?  In both cases, someone else had given the correct response, but they don't lose their points.  I've never understood this.

That last FJ was an easy theater question.  I was surprised James did not know it.   Too bad Victoria didn't bet more. 

They've addressed that on the podcast.  Basically, they won't take away points that someone got due to a bad ruling (other than the contestant that initially got the points incorrectly).  Also, I believe if someone is (incorrectly) ruled wrong, and another contestant buzzes in and also loses points, they'll restore the 2nd contestant's points, on the basis that they never should have been able to buzz in at all.  I'm probably not explaining it well, but there's definitely an overarching philosophy behind it.

[MrAtoz]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

No kidding.
I wonder if I'm not readily seeing a comment by Victoria about The Wager That Could Have Been because in the end it wouldn't have mattered??

That's what I suspect. Ultimately what matters is not so much the final score in each game, but placement in the points ranking. Victoria may have bet conservatively because, if everybody got it wrong, she might still win. And if everybody got it right, and she ended up in second place, it wouldn't have mattered that much, because she would still be first in the points ranking.

[DXD526]

After watching Victoria computing her DD wager half-audibly, I trust her wagering skills! I'm not going to second-guess her, and would still be happy if she wins it all.

It is funny to watch Victoria next to YOGesh, with him jumping up and down on his buzzer, and her not moving a muscle, yet she often beats him to the punch!

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, MrAtoz said:

That's what I suspect. Ultimately what matters is not so much the final score in each game, but placement in the points ranking. Victoria may have bet conservatively because, if everybody got it wrong, she might still win. And if everybody got it right, and she ended up in second place, it wouldn't have mattered that much, because she would still be first in the points ranking.

Andy at The Jeopardy! Fan has a post speculating about Victoria's strategy:

https://thejeopardyfan.com/2024/05/2024-masters-breakdown-4-why-3200.html

Besides what MrAtoz pointed out, she had already clinched a spot in the semifinals (where the points get reset to zero anyway), she hadn't gotten an FJ! correct yet in this tournament, and not making a "standard cover bet" will keep opponents on their toes in future games.

[chitowngirl]

I live in between 2 TV markets, so I get Jeopardy on ABC and CBS stations. On ABC, Ken does an insert for Masters on ABC. On the CBS affiliate, it’s the regular “Thank you for joining us for Jeopardy on the Alex Trebek Stage”.

Edited May 14 by chitowngirl

[DXD526]

Meant to mention, I liked Mattea's story about going to see 'Stop Making Sense', and how thrilling it was to have a conversation with Jerry Harrison afterward. I'd be excited, too! All the smartest people are Talking Heads fans 😄

[ams1001]

I got the Quanah Parker clue because of regular game champ Weckiai from last week!

 

[annzeepark914]

I watched the first segment tonight. Poor Matt. James seems to have perked up a bit, but not enough to beat Victoria. 

[EtheltoTillie]

At least I ran the category of legal abbreviations.  It would have been embarrassing if I hadn't.  The rest, not so much!

[3 is enough]

On a shallow note I loved Amy’s dress tonight. She looked great in it. 
Bravo Mattea! 
Add me to the list of those who feel James is strangely subdued and off his game. I hope he is ok. I know he is off- putting to a lot of people, but he does a lot of charitable work in Las Vegas. I think his screen persona is an act.

[Bastet]

I let out an enthusiastic "Yes!" when Victoria made that huge DD wager in game one.  I'm glad she got another win, along with a couple of highest score records.  I'm also glad Mattea picked up three points in game two (and I let out an equally-enthusiastic "Whew!" when they nailed that big-risk DD in DJ); I don't really care that Matt has been lagging, but I do care that Mattea and Amy have, so I'm glad to see some points.

I was entertained by everyone's WTF reaction to game two's FJ and by Mattea's reaction to beating Amy to the Oakland A's response.

Most excitingly, I was on fire tonight, if compared to all my previous performances in this tournament (and, perhaps, the original Masters as well), which means I'd have still been pathetic compared to my norm in regular games, but with the bar set so low it's a real treat:

In the first game, I ran legal abbreviations (like @EtheltoTillie, it would have been embarrassing had I not, but such things are possible [via over-thinking] in a regular game, never mind this type of tournament, so I was relieved) and the vocabulary category about big words.  Two categories in one game seems unheard of; in fact, I might very well have run only two categories in the entire tournament before tonight.

I thought candy would be a decent category for me, making this an even better game one, but I didn't know any of them. 

I got the Fred Williamson and collectivization TS (and would have had a third, as far flung was an instaget and Matt almost ran out of time before answering it) and knew FJ. 

In the second game, I ran in-of-body, songs, and three words.  Maybe, anyway; I got at least all but one in each, but since I don't keep my usual notes, until the archive is updated I'm going to tell myself I nailed those categories until I can see if I missed any.  I got the TS of groin pull, all systems go, Fred Biletnikoff, and Tyrone.  So however the specifics play out, I again did well in a tournament game at which I usually suck.

But this time I did not know FJ.

Edited May 14 by Bastet

[Driad]

1 hour ago, 3 is enough said:

Bravo Mattea! 

Just curious -- if someone's pronoun is "they" should we say bravo or brava or something else?  I looked up the plural in Italian and it's bravi (regardless of gender) so maybe that's the right word. 

[EtheltoTillie]

Fan of the good old newspaper Jumble puzzle here:  that anagram question was half assed. Only four of the letters were anagrams. Not that I got the answer myself. 

I am not a big fan of the Spelling Bee puzzle and I certainly don’t get Queen Bee status. 

[The Wild Sow]

Heh heh....I also thought of "Binary."  And then, wait..."Brainy"?!  Nah, couldn't be that!  Although technically, it might fit the clue ;-)

[EtheltoTillie]

8 hours ago, Driad said:

Just curious -- if someone's pronoun is "they" should we say bravo or brava or something else?  I looked up the plural in Italian and it's bravi (regardless of gender) so maybe that's the right word. 

FWIW, the NB people who are using "they/them" pronouns use them as singulars.  Not that this gives us an answer to your excellent question.  BravX? 

Edited May 14 by EtheltoTillie

[ams1001]

18 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Add me to the list of those who feel James is strangely subdued and off his game. I hope he is ok. I know he is off- putting to a lot of people, but he does a lot of charitable work in Las Vegas. I think his screen persona is an act.

I absolutely believe it's an act, but I really noticed last night that he seemed off.

[chitowngirl]

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

I was entertained by everyone's WTF reaction to game two's FJ and by Mattea's reaction to beating Amy to the Oakland A's response.

This is what’s missing from this season of Masters-the friendly trash talk.