Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions

[GreekGeek]

14 hours ago, tvaddict44 said:

Ryan Fenster plays on Friday.  He's the one who told the story of a puppy who climbed up the hill with him and he left him there.

Can someone explain how Ryan got into this year's ToC? It seems as if it was more than a year ago that we first heard that damn puppy story. Was he the one who gave that weird Carl Sagan answer?

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

I got the coccyx DD, but it's a flawed clue: You couldn't play that word in Scrabble, as there are only two C tiles in the game.

you could use a blank and still probably get more points than tailbone.

[Good Queen Jane]

3 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Can someone explain how Ryan got into this year's ToC? It seems as if it was more than a year ago that we first heard that damn puppy story.

There was no TOC last year. They did the All Stars game instead. So this TOC covers winners in the last two years.

[Etta Place]

On 11/6/2019 at 5:00 PM, GreekGeek said:

Quelle surprise, James won by a mile. I wish Lindsay had bet more in FJ to have a better chance at a wild card spot. 

That Roman numerals/initials category was fun once I caught on to what they wanted. I said 1050 for Laura Ingalls' dad, though, because I thought they wanted ML (Michael Landon), who played him on TV. I think I'll tell my Latin classes about it.

I totally did the Michael Landon thing too ... my husband looked at me funny when my very confident response was totally wrong. I said, "Hey, it's not my fault that Michael Landon's initials are also Roman numerals!"

[peeayebee]

9 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

Hi Peeayebee, missed ya'. I played "chorus" 🙂

The chorus sang every song, just about all of the second act songs as harmony-backup from the wings. I called us the wing-singers. Actually, the director had me do a bunch of funny pantomime bits, as well.

Sounds like a blast!

[DXD526]

Quote

Was he the one who gave that weird Carl Sagan answer?

I'm pretty sure he was, and I still say that wasn't a confusing clue and he got it wrong, and he shouldn't have been brought back. But he was and now we have to look at that smug, arrogant twit in the ToC. Hope he flames out spectacularly tonight.

It was strange to watch James not amass huge amounts of cash, but all he needed to do was win last night, and did. Looking forward to a James/Emma rematch!

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, Good Queen Jane said:

There was no TOC last year. They did the All Stars game instead. So this TOC covers winners in the last two years.

Which is often the case because it usually takes more than a year to get enough people for a full tournament.

[bad things are bad]

Quote

 I don't understand what Jeopardy Key Words Not! meant.

I thought they were twitting us and other discussion board participants 🙂

[GreekGeek]

4 hours ago, Good Queen Jane said:

There was no TOC last year. They did the All Stars game instead. So this TOC covers winners in the last two years.

Thank you for the explanation!

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, Kimmmmmm said:

Shit

Agreed, although not about Emma winning, since she did dominate the game.  But I could do without the hoo-haa over an Emma-James rematch.

Okay, so this game WAS hard for me.  I was clueless for a lot.

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

breathed a sigh of relief on that one; Alex is so far up James's ass he's wearing him as a hat.  (But, hate him stanning for James though I do, I love him correcting Emma's mispronunciation of bruschetta; it's not up there with "marscapone" for mascarpone, but "brushetta" bugs me.)

Brushetta is worse than marscapone for me, but I understand.  I love that Alex corrected it.

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

Hilton Head was a bit surprising as a TS.

I thought so too.  It's rather famous.  Myrtle Beach, on the other hand, is more famous for its mini-golf courses - the world championship of mini-golf takes place there.

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

It does.  If just given "Paul McCartney band" most people's first thought would be The Beatles, but the rest of the clue tells you it's referring to Wings; "Dairy State" would make most think Wisconsin without the context instead indicates California; "March King" would bring up Sousa as a reflex response, but the verbiage tells you it's about Elgar; etc.

Yeah, usually a category like that would mess me up, but I actually did well in this one.

7 hours ago, Good Queen Jane said:

There was no TOC last year. They did the All Stars game instead. So this TOC covers winners in the last two years.

Still I hate that Ryan from last year got in this year's TOC, but Sam from this year has to wait until next year.  So instead the cute guy I like, I have to deal with the puppy abandoner again.  UGH.

5 hours ago, DXD526 said:

I'm pretty sure he was, and I still say that wasn't a confusing clue and he got it wrong, and he shouldn't have been brought back. But he was and now we have to look at that smug, arrogant twit in the ToC. Hope he flames out spectacularly tonight

I don't think he was.  That was an older guy, if I remember correctly.  This is Ryan's clue and answer:

"The question was, "St. Thomas died traveling to Lyon, France while attempting to heal this rift between the Latin & Greek churches." 

Fenster answered, "What is the Great Schism?" which was ruled as wrong, ultimately ending his four-game streak."

I didn't agree with bringing him back because the Great Schism, although occasionally used for this rift, is far more often used to refer to the schism between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox which occurred 3 centuries earlier.  Plus, it brought him back, so it must be wrong.

[Trey]

I am so embarrassed that I've been mispronouncing bruschetta all these years.  I will never mispronounce it again.

[catlover79]

Carrie Ann Inaba was totally excited about being a Jeopardy question. They showed it on The Talk, where she gave Alan a shout out for correctly pronouncing her name. ☺

[illdoc]

Was it just me, or did the "Tough Crossword Clues" not seem particularly tough, especially for a TOC. I mean, "erse", "amie", "erato"-those appear quite often in crosswords! The only one I had trouble with was "Mortise's projecting partner".

[Roaster]

Francois! Showing those young guys how it's done.

I root for the older contestants in these tournaments, so Francois is my guy for next week.

I'm glad Lindsey made the semi-finals despite her bad FJ wager the other day.

[rubaco]

8 hours ago, DXD526 said:

I'm pretty sure he was, and I still say that wasn't a confusing clue and he got it wrong, and he shouldn't have been brought back. But he was and now we have to look at that smug, arrogant twit in the ToC. Hope he flames out spectacularly tonight.

Well done, and thank you! Please continue to use your power for good. 

[ABay]

For absolutely no reason, I was singing "That's Amore" while making dinner. Spooky!

[Browncoat]

Heh -- I laughed when the judges gave Ryan credit for whatever he said instead of leonine.  If it would have made a difference, they wouldn't have done.  But I admit to hoping he wouldn't make it to FJ.  I also laughed when he missed his DD of Davey Crockett.  Who did he say?

And hooray for Kipling!  FJ was an instaget for me tonight.

[Kimmmmmm]

Yes, yes, yes!!!!!!

[annzeepark914]

Yay for Francois, a Hudson Valley guy. I didn't do terribly (heh, for me) tonight. But was March of Dimes the correct answer? I thought they were looking for the *first* name of that organization. And goodby to Fenster.

[opus]

9 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I also laughed when he missed his DD of Davey Crockett.  Who did he say?

I’m sure this wasn’t it, but I thought he said Jeff Bridges.

[Fex]

1 hour ago, illdoc said:

Was it just me, or did the "Tough Crossword Clues" not seem particularly tough, especially for a TOC. I mean, "erse", "amie", "erato"-those appear quite often in crosswords! The only one I had trouble with was "Mortise's projecting partner".

Not just you! An easy crossword wouldn't give that much info for 'amie' - it would be 'friend, in Paris' or something like that. A more obscure French location for a hard crossword, maybe. 

33 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Heh -- I laughed when the judges gave Ryan credit for whatever he said instead of leonine.  If it would have made a difference, they wouldn't have done.  But I admit to hoping he wouldn't make it to FJ.  I also laughed when he missed his DD of Davey Crockett.  Who did he say?

And hooray for Kipling!  FJ was an instaget for me tonight.

Jim Bridger (I have no idea who that is). I knew it was Davy Crockett. Movies / tv shows about him were in constant rotation at my house growing up

[peeayebee]

I didn't get FJ. 😞

Those English fence/stretchers are really cool. I had no idea.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Roaster said:

I'm glad Lindsey made the semi-finals despite her bad FJ wager the other day.

Me too, since she played a good game, not having a single incorrect guess (the only other one in the quarterfinals is Francois).

There was nothing particularly noteworthy for me tonight;  Junior Achievement was a little surprising as a TS since the clue spotted them "Junior" and I wouldn't classify confirmation bias as a "newer" phrase (but I guess that "-er" gives a good bit of leeway), but that's it - just a good game by Francois.

Edited November 9, 2019 by Bastet

[BuckeyeLou]

I could not decide between Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone 🙂

[annzeepark914]

Is Lindsey the one who looked totally stunned and was staring out at the audience when she lost due to her bad FJ wager?  I hope so.  I was very impressed with her throughout that game and hope she's in this ToC.

[chessiegal]

8 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Is Lindsey the one who looked totally stunned and was staring out at the audience when she lost due to her bad FJ wager?  I hope so.  I was very impressed with her throughout that game and hope she's in this ToC.

Yes, Lindsey got a wildcard and will be in the semi-finals. She's a good player but needs to be gutsier with her bets.

Neither of us got FJ. We knew it was Kipling but had never heard of the character.

[Prevailing Wind]

Jim Bridger's some old frontier mountain man. I downloaded a free e-book about him, but it was so badly written, I couldn't get past the first 6 pages.

Mortise & Tenon was, for me, the easiest of the crossword clues. I'm not sure why.

That idiot loser stood there at the end, looking smug, like he was some kind of great champion. Oh, Fenster - if anyone needed defenestration (clue from the previous day) it would be you.  (Fenster = German for window)

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

That idiot loser stood there at the end, looking smug, like he was some kind of great champion. Oh, Fenster - if anyone needed defenestration (clue from the previous day) it would be you.  (Fenster = German for window)

He really did act smug throughout the entire game. Hmmm...that same word, defenestration, popped into my head tonight as well. Adios, Fenster. Be gone with you!

[ABay]

In the animated Jungle Book, Shere Khan was voiced by George Sanders. I saw it when I was 6. Fifteen years later, I was in a post-exam daquarie stupor on the couch and heard this voice from the TV..."Shere Khan? WTF?" . The Picture of Dorian Gray was on. Apparently, that voice made quite an impression.

Edited November 9, 2019 by ABay

[Trey]

I said Jaycees instead of Junior Achievement.  Is that an acceptable answer?

Otherwise, Davy Crockett was my only ts.  I haven't listened to Ballad of the Alamo 4,000 times, more or less,  without learning the year Davy Crockett died.

Ryan always reminds me of Andy Dick playing a dickish role.

Didn't get FJ.  My mind just didn't go anywhere near Kipling although the year should have helped.

eta: I did laugh at Ryan singing That's a Moray; that was pretty funny.

Edited November 9, 2019 by Trey

[annzeepark914]

48 minutes ago, Trey said:

I said Jaycees instead of Junior Achievement.  Is that an acceptable answer?

Otherwise, Davy Crockett was my only ts.  I haven't listened to Ballad of the Alamo 4,000 times, more or less,  without learning the year Davy Crockett died.

Ryan always reminds me of Andy Dick playing a dickish role.

Jaycees got their modern name from the initials of their original name, Junior Chamber of Commerce.  Andy Dick--a jerk with an appropriate name. Yes, indeed. He & Fenster must've been separated at birth (probably by their mom, on purpose). 

[saber5055]

12 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Jim Bridger's some old frontier mountain man.

I would have gotten this TS since I have an interest in that time period and early mountain men (Kit Carson!). Plus the Bridger Mountains are in my favorite state, Montana, and are named for him. They are near Bozeman in SW Montana, and also called the Bridger Range. Jim Bridger pioneered the Bridger Trail through mountains in southern Wyoming into the Bighorn Basin in 1864.

Here's an event that was Before Our Time but worth noting: "On January 10, 1938, Northwest Airlines Flight 2 crashed in the Bridger Mountains, killing all 10 aboard. This was the first fatal crash of a Northwest Airlines aircraft."

12 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

(Fenster = German for window)

LOL!

[Clanstarling]

On 11/4/2019 at 8:05 PM, suebee12 said:

This was in honor of Larry Martin who died of pancreatic cancer in January and was the Teacher's tournament last year.

I remember when he passed. I was sad because I really liked him. I think it was before Alex's diagnosis was announced, but I'm not sure.

On 11/5/2019 at 7:47 PM, GreekGeek said:

I second guessed myself for the same reason and thought of Connecticut. I also knew those two characters plus O-lan. I read The Good Earth in eighth grade and I'll never forget O-lan working in the field until she goes into labor, whereupon she goes into the house, gives birth, and then resumes working in the field! Only then does Wang Lung (who was always kind of a jerk to her until she was dying) tell her to go back inside and lie down.

I read it in college, and also remember that scene very well....just, unfortunately, not her name.

I was wondering why I wasn't seeing Jeopardy posts and then D'OH! I remembered a post that this existed. I was the last one out of the forum, I guess. I turned out the lights. 😉

[saber5055]

11 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I remember when he passed. I was sad because I really liked him. I think it was before Alex's diagnosis was announced, but I'm not sure.

Larry won the 2018 Teachers Tournament so had a spot in this ToC, but he died in January. I believe that was before Alex's diagnosis.

[saber5055]

17 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

  On 11/5/2019 at 9:47 PM, GreekGeek said:

I read The Good Earth in eighth grade and I'll never forget O-lan working in the field until she goes into labor, whereupon she goes into the house, gives birth, and then resumes working in the field!

There was a scene mocking this in either a Monty Python film or an early Woody Allen movie. A woman is standing around a table working or doing dishes or cooking or something, and plops out a baby. She swoops it up and drops it into a crib without breaking stride in her work. I didn't realize when I saw that movie it was a lampoon of The Good Earth. I tried to find a video clip but was unsuccessful.

22 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I was the last one out of the forum, I guess. I turned out the lights.

Thank you for being green.

[Clanstarling]

34 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

There was a scene mocking this in either a Monty Python film or an early Woody Allen movie. A woman is standing around a table working or doing dishes or cooking or something, and plops out a baby. She swoops it up and drops it into a crib without breaking stride in her work. I didn't realize when I saw that movie it was a lampoon of The Good Earth. I tried to find a video clip but was unsuccessful.

Thank you for being green.

Edited November 9, 2019 by Clanstarling

[saber5055]

@Clanstarling, I know you're not easy.

I mean, IT'S not easy. (Not entirely positive about you.)

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

@Clanstarling, I know you're not easy.

I mean, IT'S not easy. (Not entirely positive about you.)

Too old to be easy...you'd have to ask the Mister what I was way back when. 😉

Edited November 9, 2019 by Clanstarling

[PaulaO]

I parsed the author was Kipling,  it had no idea about the character.

IMHO, it’s a given that James will be a finalist.  Is there a possibility another contestant could beat him for the title?  No dissing James.  This is all about odds and capability of the others.  

[peeayebee]

I've heard of Shere Khan, but I didn't think of Kipling or The Jungle Book. If I had, knowing me, I'd probably have said Chaka Khan.

[Toothbrush]

James will no doubt win it all, and unless they end up in the same semi, François will most likely be a finalist also. I also like Emma, Gilbert, & Charles. At least puppy abandoner Ryan has been metaphorically 'defenestrated' from the ToC, and hopefully from J! for good. 

[Roaster]

My theory is that Jeopardy is a sport and as in other sports, there is an age when players tend to peak.

Ages of last three TOC champs at time of tournament:

Ben Ingram 30
Alex Jacob 30
Buzzy Cohen 32

Ken Jennings was 30 during his legendary run

I looked up on the web the ages of some of the remaining contestants.

James Holzhauer 35
Francois Barcomb 51
Gilbert Collins 44
Lindsey Shultz 37
Rachel Lindgren 26
Dhruv Gaur 20
Emma Boettcher 27
Steven Grade 33

Like most everyone, I expect James to win easily.  It will be interesting to see how the others do.

Francois and Gilbert seem to have the fast reflexes of younger people.  (I always root for the old folks.)

[Roaster]

This is probably Alex's last Tournament of Champions, and I think people are getting sentimental.

The writers gave him a gift by letting him say "genre" many times today, and Dhruv wrote "We [Heart Sign] Alex" in his Final Jeopardy answer.  Sort of sweet actually.

I'm glad Emma is in the finals.  She won only three games in regular play but has done great in both of her TOC games.

[Bliss]

Alex choking up gave me a big lump in my throat.

[Quickbeam]

Please don’t make Alex cry, I can’t take it.

[whinewithwine]

9 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

Please don’t make Alex cry, I can’t take it.

Thinking the same thing.

[ABay]

But it was the perfect time for it. It felt like the whole game was a love letter to Trebek, with all those French names and the genres.

[Katy M]

I did not get FJ.

I got quite a few TSs though:  Basketball, soccer, ostentatious, John Nash, Pascale and Caddy Shack.

[Browncoat]

I loved all the French things (especially "genre" and Alex's shoutout to the video), and choked up along with him at Dhruv's "We heart Alex" in FJ.

But I don't recall ever having heard of FJ, so I'm off to a great start this week.  Not.

I did at least get a few TS, including Arkansas, basketball, Nash, and Caddyshack.