Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions

[chessiegal]

9 minutes ago, M. Darcy said:

You’d think FJ would be more difficult during the TOC but that was very easy. 

I didn't have a clue.

[Driad]

The 150 miles in the FJ clue didn't sound right, so I checked several references. They all say the messenger ran about 26 miles before he delivered his message and dropped dead.

[Grundoon59]

My favorite TS was Werner von Braun.  I now have the Tom Lehrer song playing on a loop in my head. 

[chessiegal]

21 minutes ago, Driad said:

The 150 miles in the FJ clue didn't sound right, so I checked several references. They all say the messenger ran about 26 miles before he delivered his message and dropped dead.

That was after the battle. Before the battle a messenger was sent looking for help.

Quote

The famous messenger was Pheidippides, who was sent from Athens to Sparta to ask for assistance in the battle against the Persian army. Unfortunately for Athens, Sparta was in the middle of a religious festival and was unable to provide aid. However, the Spartan assistance ended up not being required, as the Athenians won a resounding victory, turning the tide in the Greco-Persian Wars.

According to legend, Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens following the battle, announced victory, and died of exhaustion. However, Herodotus does not mention this in his own story of the battle; the 1879 Robert Browning poem Pheidippides became part of Victorian-era popular culture and has very likely perpetuated this legend. Herodotus wrote that the full Athenian army marched quickly back to Athens following the battle, fearing a naval raid, whereas Plutarch (quoting from Heraclides Ponticus) mentions Thersiplus of Erchius as the post-battle Marathon-to-Athens messenger.

[lb60]

Tonight I got Nixon, Colin Jost, Giselle, and Pam Dawber. Yay for proper nouns!

As soon as I saw the FJ category, I knew I would have no idea. I was correct. I had no idea. 

0 for 1.

I like Gilbert.

[Driad]

46 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

That was after the battle. Before the battle a messenger was sent looking for help.

Thank you! 150 miles is a very long run. Ancient history is far from my field. Luckily I thought of Marathon and stuck with it because I couldn't think of another battle. 

[BuckeyeLou]

I thought it was nice the contestants wore purple ribbons on their shirts in support of pancreatic Cancer research...

[suebee12]

8 minutes ago, BuckeyeLou said:

I thought it was nice the contestants wore purple ribbons on their shirts in support of pancreatic Cancer research...

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

[Sharpie66]

I did ok, getting Von Braun, Nixon, and Pam Dawber, getting really close with another (it’s Colin JOST, not JUST, darnit!), and I thought FJ was a gimme, but then, I bombed out on entire categories that I am sure lots of people got right away. I really need to study up on classical music, opera, and ballet, as well as world geography.

[Bastet]

Bad timing for the ToC to start; I doubt I'll be able to see a game all week, and this is a time when I'd like to watch rather than just reading the clues on the archive.  I'll have to remember to record going forward, but for tonight it was the archive (and after I was pissed off about football).

I'm not necessarily surprised no one, even in a ToC, knew who first put Rehnquist on the Supreme Court, but I am definitely surprised no one took a guess, especially coming right after knowing his promotion to Chief Justice was during Reagan's administration -- there aren't that many choices, so try one, especially that early in the game! 

I'm also surprised pawn was a TS; the white knight TS makes sense, since if none of them happen to know chess there's nothing else to get them there, but I thought reference to a piece to be sacrificed would lead someone to a pawn.

Giselle also surprised me.  Tom Wolfe a bit, too, given the year and the fact he was known for dressing in white; I bet someone would have come up with him with just a bit more time.  Von Braun a bit, too - not in a regular game, because contestants don't seem to adequately study the space program anymore, but at this level, yes.

I had a hunch Thomas Gibson was going to be a TS; kind of gratifying, since he's an asshole.  Sasha Alexander also going unanswered made me a little sad, though.  And Pam Dawber - ouch.  Before their time?  (I don't remember the contestants other than Anneke by name to know their ages.)

I'm not sure why they went with Abbreviations & Acronyms as a category title, since Abbreviations would have sufficed (acronyms are a type of abbreviation).  But I think they semi-recently had an Acronyms category that included an initialism, not an acronym, and that's more annoying, so I'll go with it.

[biakbiak]

Colin Jost annoys me so it amused me that with a picture and saying he hosts WU no one got it!

I got FJ because of lack of knowledge of other battles so said Marathon.

[ABay]

10 hours ago, Grundoon59 said:

My favorite TS was Werner von Braun.  I now have the Tom Lehrer song playing on a loop in my head. 

I just posted a link to YT for that in the other thread!

You, too, can be a big hero/Once you learn to count backwards to zero

Edited November 5, 2019 by ABay

[peeayebee]

11 hours ago, lb60 said:

Tonight I got Nixon, Colin Jost, Giselle, and Pam Dawber. Yay for proper nouns!

All my TSs were proper nouns, too. (I mentioned this in my post that I put in the wrong thread.)

10 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

I did ok, getting Von Braun, Nixon, and Pam Dawber, getting really close with another (it’s Colin JOST, not JUST, darnit!)

Auto-correct in your brain?

[Ailianna]

11 hours ago, lb60 said:

Tonight I got Nixon, Colin Jost, Giselle, and Pam Dawber. Yay for proper nouns!

As soon as I saw the FJ category, I knew I would have no idea. I was correct. I had no idea. 

0 for 1.

I like Gilbert.

I really love GIlbert.  I loved him in his initial appearance, and hen he appeared in my reruns this fall.  He is absolutely my favorite player in this tournament, so it was a roller coaster for me.  I rarely have any idea what the scores are even going into final, but I watched him lead, then get caught, then get behind--then win!  So happy he will be advancing.  I liked the other two as well, no objections, and happy Kyle is likely to get a wildcard spot, but ecstatic for Gilbert.

I even got a few triple stumpers, so I'm feeling balanced out for the answers I had no idea about or had never heard of!

[Trey]

I enjoyed the game even though I didn't really do that well - another game when so many answers were on the tip of my tongue

Greece + running a long distance = Marathon in my mind.  I thought it was so obvious that it couldn't be right but it was all I had.

[proserpina65]

Accidentally posted this in the regular season thread:

"18 hours ago, Browncoat said:

There were a lot of TS -- ones I wrote down include rood (rude), pawn, Tom Wolfe, and Pam Dawber."

Yeah, I got all of those.  I know nothing about chess, but apparently I did have some idea that the Queen's gambit started with sacrificing a pawn.  Or it was a lucky guess.

That game was very uninspiring for a TOC game.  Or even a regular game.

I thought FJ was Kiddie Jeopardy level.  Of course, I'm good at Ancient History, so . . . it's easy if you know it, lol.

 " 6 hours ago, ABay said:

Gather 'round while I sing you of Werner von Braun/A man whose allegiance is ruled by expedience/Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown/"Nazi schmatzi" says Werner von Braun"

I loved that the PBS multi-part documentary about the moon missions included that song.

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

Giselle also surprised me.

It didn't surprise me at all, although I did get it.  I ran that MF-ing category, but then again, the Dreaded Opera category has always been one of my best, and I love Mikhail Baryshnikov, so ballet is good for me too.

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

had a hunch Thomas Gibson was going to be a TS; kind of gratifying, since he's an asshole.  Sasha Alexander also going unanswered made me a little sad, though.

I knew both, but couldn't pull them out of my brain in time.  I actually didn't do well in that category because I couldn't remember either of those, and didn't know which one was Grace and which one was Frankie.

[Toothbrush]

I remembered Anneke & Gilbert and liked them both during their initial runs. Kyle was not familiar to me at all. 

FJ was an instaget, but I didn't have that great of a game overall. 

[Katy M]

I got FJ, but I kept thinking I must be wrong because it was too ridiculously easy.  What else could it have been?

I also got Celie and Miss Havisham.  Other than that, I didn't do too well.  I was very proud of myself for getting Laos, though.  If geography in general isn't my thing, Asian geography is especially bad.  Actually I think the only landlocked country I got wrong was Paraguary, but I may have missed  a second one, I can only remember 4 of the answers.

[annzeepark914]

So Seattle was a TS?  That was one of the few I got. I may just bow out for the rest of the week. But then, there's The Return Of James. Hmmmmm...

[Fex]

That was hard to watch. Glad he made it to FJ.

[BuckeyeLou]

23 hours ago, suebee12 said:

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

That made me cry, I did not know he had passed away.  Gosh, that must have been hard news for Alex to hear.

[Browncoat]

That was painful for Bob(?)!  And why did he keep ringing in?  It seemed like he didn't really understand the anagram category.  At least he got to play FJ.

FJ seemed way too easy for the Tournament of Champions.  They were given "New England", which narrows it down considerably, and of those, what else could it be but MA?  OTOH, there was poor Bob, initially thinking Virginia was a New England state. 

I got FJ for once, and also got Adam's rib tickler, mull, Celie, Miss Havisham, and the University of Arizona.

[Bastet]

That's nice that the teacher's tournament winner's widow will get to choose a charity to have his minimum donated to.

Adam's rib tickler was a surprising TS (well, before they gave credit for Adam's ribbing) since they were 2/3 of the way there; I guess the phrase "rib tickler" is too old-school for Dhruv.  Slip dress surprised me, too, at first, but I think they got hung up on trying to figure out "___ gown" worn for bedtime, rather than the dress; since "slip gown" is not at all a common term, the stumping makes sense.

I think those were the only TS in the first round, which felt more like a ToC game than yesterday's seemed from reading the archive.  But they petered out a bit in DJ.

O-lan was surprising as a TS, even though it was the highest-valued clue in the category, just because they ask about The Good Earth a lot on the show, so I'd think at least one of three who prepped for the ToC would know the basics.  Celie was a little surprising, too, and the missed DD of Miss Havisham was quite surprising; they were terrible in that category.

Pretty bad in the Pac-12 category, too, but that's largely regional knowledge.

Today's FJ went like yesterday's for me - I thought I was missing a quirky detail, because my instaget seemed too obvious for a ToC FJ.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Bastet

[peeayebee]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

Slip dress surprised me, too, at first, but I think they got hung up on trying to figure out "___ gown" worn for bedtime, rather than the dress; since "slip gown" is not at all a common term, the stumping makes sense.

I don't think I've heard of slip gown. I immediately thought NIGHT dress/gown, but knew that wasn't four letters.

Quote

O-Lan was surprising as a TS, even though it was the highest-valued clue in the category, just because they ask about The Good Earth a lot on the show, so I'd think at least one of three who prepped for the ToC would know the basics.  Celie was a little surprising, too

After both O-Lan and Celie I say, "Oh yeah." I was drawing a blank, as the contestants were, apparently.

I did get Miss Haversham, iconoclast, and Seattle. Also FJ.

[BuckeyeLou]

I was surprised the clue of "Miss Havisham" was missed...I remember reading "Great Expectations" in High School(ages ago, lol). And I thought FJ was easy, since they narrowed it down to New England...

[GreekGeek]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I got FJ, but I kept thinking I must be wrong because it was too ridiculously easy.  What else could it have been?

I also got Celie and Miss Havisham.  Other than that, I didn't do too well.  

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.

[catrice2]

1 hour ago, BuckeyeLou said:

I was surprised the clue of "Miss Havisham" was missed...I remember reading "Great Expectations" in High School(ages ago, lol). And I thought FJ was easy, since they narrowed it down to New England...

yeah, well it is one of my favorite books and I love Dickens in general so I was screaming at the television...

[Prevailing Wind]

Just now, catrice2 said:

yeah, well it is one of my favorite books and I love Dickens in general so I was screaming at the television...

Me, too.  But I can't decide who's the King of Coincidence - Dickens or Hardy.

[Bastet]

I forgot to mention:  In the "Before & Laughter" clue about the candy and SNL character, didn't Rob say "Cracker Jack Handys"  rather than "Cracker Jack Handy"?

[mertensia]

I got Kosovo immediately because of this video

[Scott]

4 hours ago, Fex said:

That was hard to watch. Glad he made it to FJ.

Frankly, toward the end, I was pulling for him not to, because he had just played so poorly that he really didn’t deserve it. At least he didn’t miss the ridiculously easy FJ. 

[biakbiak]

Glad MA was accepted because I knew the answer but would have spent so much time spelling it correctly!
Fun fact my sister works at a University based in Cambridge with the state in the title once made a typo and accidentally added it to her glossary so that spellcheck didn’t catch it and neither did a ton of other people who reviewed it and a very important document was sent to thousands of people with Massachusetts spelled wrong (the s and e were flipped) in multiple places so I constantly assume I am spelling it wrong. 

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

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 The Good Earth, but it would have taken me a lot longer to remember her name.  

8 hours ago, Browncoat said:

OTOH, there was poor Bob, initially thinking Virginia was a New England state. 

It was settled as an English Colony, therefore, it's New England. Yeah, that's it.

8 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I immediately thought NIGHT dress/gown, but knew that wasn't four letters.

I said "nite" in order to make it fit the category.

7 hours ago, Bastet said:

I forgot to mention:  In the "Before & Laughter" clue about the candy and SNL character, didn't Rob say "Cracker Jack Handys"  rather than "Cracker Jack Handy"?

I caught that, but I thought maybe they let it slide because he was puralizing what he was making into a snack?

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Massachusetts spelled wrong (the s and e were flipped) in multiple places so I constantly assume I am spelling it wrong. 

I'm always trying to add an extra "s" before the e.  It just looks like it needs more letters, so short of a state name:)

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

I said "nite" in order to make it fit the category.

Good for you! 🥂

[Browncoat]

Those clinking champagne glasses look a little like turkey legs on my screen.

[Toothbrush]

Is it just me, or is this ToC kinda blah so far? Maybe it's the virus that my eldest picked up at school & was kind enough to share with me talking. Who knows, but maybe James being on tonight will perk things up. (sorry @lb60 )

I got FJ but it wasn't an instaget. 

[suebee12]

54 minutes ago, Toothbrush said:

Is it just me, or is this ToC kinda blah so far?

So far I  haven't been overwhelmed! I am still trying to get over that I grew up in New England....oops, I mean Virginia!! I cannot believe a TOC contestant would answer that.

Can't wait to see James!!!

[PaulaO]

I spent Sunday in the ED with bronchitis.  The inability to breathe has left me kinda brain dead so this ToC is definitely harder than usual games.  Few missed questions today, but as soon as I said that, James and Alan missed the question and Lindsey didn’t ring in....

[SeanC]

King James returns, tremble in fear.

[GreekGeek]

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.

Edited November 7, 2019 by GreekGeek

[annzeepark914]

This ToC is too much for me tonight. I only got 10 correct + FJ (which was easy! How odd). Can anyone beat James if he doesn't want them to? 

[Katy M]

Well, that was quite horrific.  I knew hardly anything. 

I had no idea on FJ.  I said Nat king Cole for lack of a better answer.

I got no TSs.  I got the first DD right.  I'm not sure about the double jeopardy ones, but based o the way the rest of that round went for me, probably not.  

[zoey1996]

For FJ, I knew who they were looking for, but couldn’t think of the name.  First name begins with M?  I guessed Mahalia Jackson, but I knew that wasn’t quite right.

[Ailianna]

53 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Can anyone beat James if he doesn't want them to? 

Her name is Emma Boettcher.

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, GreekGeek said:

I wish Lindsay had bet more in FJ to have a better chance at a wild card spot. 

I was gobsmacked that she didn't bet it all. If she lost, she wouldn't have a shot at a wild card anyway. Might as well bet it all. That was a terrible, terrible bet.

[annzeepark914]

13 minutes ago, Ailianna said:

Her name is Emma Boettcher.

But some folks thought James was tired from all the games, one on top of another, and was sort of burnt out by the time she beat him.. He's just too fast with the answers and knows so many & varied things.

[SpiritSong]

1 hour ago, 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.

My first response was Pa Ingalls and I knew that wasn't right. Duh, no Roman numerals starting with a P. Could not remember Pa's first name. It was a fun category though.

I loved seeing James back where he belongs, and I really like the way he keeps the game moving at a brisk clip. There are no leftover clues when James is in the house. Was a little surprised at his conservative wagering until I remembered he's not playing for the amount of cash he wins, just being first.

[Browncoat]

Well, I could have saved some time and not watched at all tonight instead of going to all the trouble of skipping ahead to FJ, since I didn't have a clue -- I get a zero for today either way. 

I'm going to see Cirque du Soleil next Thursday, so I'll skip watching that game, too.

[SpiritSong]

2 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I'm going to see Cirque du Soleil next Thursday, so I'll skip watching that game, too.

Ooh, which one? I've only seen Mystere and would love to see all of them.

[chessiegal]

18 minutes ago, SpiritSong said:

There are no leftover clues when James is in the house.

They always clear the board in tournaments - it's the only way to keep the games equal.