Monday, March 4, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[ebEliminator]

In regards to the final Jeopardy, I totally blanked. I would have never guessed GT though, because GT = bee in my mind. I'm an alumni of Middle Tennessee State, and the earlier poster's remark about GT getting a bowl waiver reminds me of how much that stuck in my craw, since MTSU had a better record (and beat Georgia Tech!) and couldn't get a bowl since we were leaving the Sun Belt and they didn't want to support us. But that's another story.

[BigDaddyJ]

Bet no one else rang in with erg for rad. It's three letters and a unit of energy...

Yes, but I'm not sure it fits the rest of the clue, the wording of which I can't recall.

Put me down for erg as well. Never thought of rad. Does anyone say "rad" anymore? That sounds like something right out of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

[This Is Kirk!]

Can I assume most of us guessing Michigan schools for FJ were trying to find a connection with Henry Ford?

I'd say more like a connection with the car industry in general. I put down Michigan even though I was 99% sure I was wrong. My mind was scrambling to find a university with a nickname that would connect it with a car and came up blank. I never thought of Mustang since the eponymous car didn't come out until the '60s. When Alex said the "ramblin' wreck" line I knew immediately it was Georgia Tech, but it would have been a long time before I thought of it. Very tough Final, I thought.

I blurted out "erg" too, by the way, even though I quickly realized it didn't fit the second part of the clue. Came up with Pinatubo immediately, but couldn't get Stromboli out in the five seconds.

[thomasfoolery]

Cut it any way you like, anyone staying out of the country to avoid prosecution is probably in self exile. Regardless of the reason, Polanski is trivia. If they used Josef Mengele as one of the questions, is that wrong as well?

Still, it makes as if Polanski is already being punished by his "exile", like the others in the category. Instead, it's entirely meant to AVOID any punishment, for a crime he all but confessed to. I know it's not a huge deal, it just would be frustrating for any victim to hear how her assailant is being "punished" by being forced to live in luxury and enjoy continued fame in Europe (and on Jeopardy!).

[Vanya]

Cut it any way you like, anyone staying out of the country to avoid prosecution is probably in self exile. Regardless of the reason, Polanski is trivia. If they used Josef Mengele as one of the questions, is that wrong as well?

Still, it makes as if Polanski is already being punished by his "exile", like the others in the category. Instead, it's entirely meant to AVOID any punishment, for a crime he all but confessed to. I know it's not a huge deal, it just would be frustrating for any victim to hear how her assailant is being "punished" by being forced to live in luxury and enjoy continued fame in Europe (and on Jeopardy!).

Given LA County's record for convicting celebrities, I don't think it makes much difference.

[Volante]

For the Olympic question involving Jubilee, I said "show jumping" rather than "equestrian". Judges?

Too specific. Individual Dressage. Jumping and eventing, the other two events covered under equestrian, would be wrong.
(Grumble, grumble, I went over this already!!)

Cut it any way you like, anyone staying out of the country to avoid prosecution is probably in self exile. Regardless of the reason, Polanski is trivia. If they used Josef Mengele as one of the questions, is that wrong as well?

Still, it makes as if Polanski is already being punished by his "exile", like the others in the category. Instead, it's entirely meant to AVOID any punishment, for a crime he all but confessed to. I know it's not a huge deal, it just would be frustrating for any victim to hear how her assailant is being "punished" by being forced to live in luxury and enjoy continued fame in Europe (and on Jeopardy!).

So, what, exactly, is the difference between Polanski's exile and the other four? (Dalai Lama, Victor Hugo, Dante, ...forget the fourth...)

[MarkBarrett]

Dylan found all the DDs and bet 1400 total with boxes worth a total of 4200.

Unless I misheard him, Dylan bet 1800 total: 400 twice, and a grand on the last one. Boxes were 800 in J, two 1600s in DJ for 4000. He's a one-timer if I ever saw one.

Whoever said they've never seen P&R (me either, but my daughter raves about it) or Downton Abbey, you're in for a treat with the latter.

Your math is correct for Dylan and mine was wrong on both accounts even though I had the correct wagers and box numbers on my sheet. How I could botch simple addition twice makes me think I should grab the calculator next time.

As far as Dylan being a one-timer? Lowball wagers or not, his Coryat was 13800 against a very capable 3-time champ. He should be able to do better tonight with a game of experience and no returning champ.

Dylan was 2/3 on DDs and a extra point for finding all of them. He must be doing something right.

I'm the P&R and Downton Abbey guy as well. Thanks for the thumbs up for both and perhaps I'll give them a try sometime.

[Sherm]

And the only good connection between SMU and sports cars is that's what they used to give their top recruits (ah, the good ol' days of the SWC -- I think I heard a story that A&M gave Craig James a sports car when he came on a recruiting visit, and when he left, he drove that car straight to SMU and gave them his commit -- sounds like something he'd do)

Actually, based the sports internet boards of a year ago. Something he would do is more like "Craig James killed five hookers". If you don't know what I'm talking about just type in Craig James on google and the results are surprising. The guy must be hated in Texas, or at least he is in Lubbock. I'm sure Texas Tech fans think highly of him

I had heard of the rambling wreck of Georgia Tech years ago (joy of being a sports fan), and I wasn't sure, but it was the only thing I could think of as an answer.

[marpocky]

I'm the P&R and Downton Abbey guy as well. Thanks for the thumbs up for both and perhaps I'll give them a try sometime.

Quick note about P&R: The 6 episode first season sets up the story of the series, but isn't that good. The show really gets cooking in season 2, and has a perfect season 3. Not a single bad episode.

[WJMorris3]

For FJ wagers I wrote down 2401 for Erin. This covers a 0 bet by Dylan (usually unlikely, but with this guy...) and leaves her with more than he has left if he bets 6401 to cover her in third and misses, and more than Sara if she makes the shutout bet of 9201 and misses (which she did). Why Dylan bet 4001 I cannot fathom, unless he thought Erin might wager 2401 and he wanted to win on a TS. I don't think that was his reasoning, but who knows? Bottom line: I found neither challenger worthy of knocking off the now former champ. Sorry to see you go, Sara.

If Erin was at a lower value, Dylan betting 4001 actually makes sense. He's within four-fifths of Sara and the theoretical low proper bet at 4/5 is $1 more than twice the difference in scores (to cover the leader should the leader try to bet less than margin to win on a triple-stumper). 4001, however, leaves Dylan wide open in case Erin bets nothing (which would be a defensible bet, given she's within two-thirds of both opponents - exactly two-thirds of Sara and actually within three-quarters of Dylan).

Dylan has better options here. For one, if he's going to play the try and win on a triple stumper, he shouldn't bet any more than 2399 (to make Erin get it right to have any hope of winning. If however he thinks the right move is to play to get it right, he should wager 6401 to cover if Erin farms it.

EDIT: Also noting that I got the Final Jeopardy question right and in Dylan's shoes would have probably bet 6401.

[StevenH]

I had absolutely no idea on this FJ. Man would that have been embarrassing if I had been on the show and lost the game as a result of not knowing the correct response to this FJ clue.

[TryphonTournesol]

I had absolutely no idea on this FJ. Man would that have been embarrassing if I had been on the show and lost the game as a result of not knowing the correct response to this FJ clue.

I think my biggest fear if I ever get on the show is that I will have a lead going into FJ and the category will be something I typically know well, but the clue will leave me completely stumped. Which was pretty much the case here.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I blurted out "erg" too, by the way, even though I quickly realized it didn't fit the second part of the clue. Came up with Pinatubo immediately, but couldn't get Stromboli out in the five seconds.

Ditto on all three here. Sadly, I couldn't come up with Stromboli, and Mrs. Spiff had just had one less than an hour before the show aired!

[Rex Kramer]

I don't know if people champion this already, but if you get the first Daily Double early in Double Jeopardy, and you don't have a significant lead already, you should go all-in. If you miss, you have a lot of Coryat left to make it up, and if you make it, you get a huge leg up on the competition.

Indeed, you should do this especially if you have a significant lead already.

Rex

[TomKBaltimoreBoy]

OK, OK, I'm done. Tough FJ. I didn't get it, and I'm a huge college sports fan (if you couldn't tell by my avatar). Seems like those who knew it mostly went to ACC schools. If it were about a Big 12 or SEC school instead, I'd have been all over it.

Speaking of which, Jason and I are alumni of another school with multiple mascots. While we are technically the Aggies, we are represented onfield by the prettiest mascot in college sports.

This is what I miss about the SWC:

When A&M hosted Rice one year, the Marching Owl Band did a halftime salute to Aggie traditions. For Reveille, they formed the shape of a fire hydrant. They have not been invited back since. The MOB has a reputation for that stuff -- they also imitated the USC band in The Naked Gun. As Rice was usually the only SWC school TCU could beat, I could understand their glee at striking back whatever way they could.

Got Georgia Tech pretty quickly, but I grew up in ACC/SEC country, so that puts me with most of those who did get it. I will miss Sara playing -- as another three-time winner who sweated out a tournament berth, it's not fun.

Other fun mascot facts:

LSU's tiger is called Mike -- because they have one in his cage to broadcast the roars around the stadium. His actual habitat is world-class; they use the cage now only for football games.
TCU was the only SWC school without a live mascot -- horned frogs being about 6 inches long, at most. So they invented a character called Super Frog. His original outfit was designed by Jim Henson - -who else would you get to dress a frog?
Baylor was often getting protested for having its Bear drink Dr. Pepper on the sidelines -- which was first made in Waco, from the native Caddo word for "low place", or "depression". Which, if you've ever been in Waco...

*EDIT -- I did respond, "Who is that disgusting scum Roman Polanski?" Judges?

[omgwheelhouse]

If you want a data point, I didn't go to an ACC school and I'm not a college football fan, but I knew this one. It does feel like I learned it recently, either from the archive or some other source. Definitely a toughie that had me feeling sorry for milhouse right away. Good run. And wow, speaking of balls on the podium, nice swinging away at that literary fill-in-the-blank category, even if it was a bit of invincibility syndrome sneaking in. (By the way, I thought that was a really tough category.)

[Budphrey]

While we are technically the Aggies, we are represented onfield by the prettiest mascot in college sports.

If Boise State still had its palomino circling the field after touchdowns (with a champion barrel racer in the saddle), I might have challenged you. But these days the best we can come up with is the Pudelpointer that fetches the kickoff tee:

the earlier poster's remark about GT getting a bowl waiver reminds me of how much that stuck in my craw, since MTSU had a better record (and beat Georgia Tech!) and couldn't get a bowl ...

I see you have an idea how Boise State feels about the Sugar Bowl selection committee.

I was a little puzzled by "rad," and looked it up to confirm my impression: it's a measure of radiation, or more specifically of radiation absorption. Those science-qualified among you: Does that by definition mean energy? (I had always thought radiation was not energy in itself, but rather a sort of "carrier" of energy.)

[TomKBaltimoreBoy]

Only in the widest, non-scientific definition of "energy" -- but I will leave it to jpahk and others to go into the usual accurate rants as to how J! plays fast and loose with scientific terms.

Yeah, I said "erg", too...

[Jasoni22]

I was a little puzzled by "rad," and looked it up to confirm my impression: it's a measure of radiation, or more specifically of radiation absorption. Those science-qualified among you: Does that by definition mean energy? (I had always thought radiation was not energy in itself, but rather a sort of "carrier" of energy.)

Technically, no. Radiation is a release of energy, but as you said, the rad measures radiation absorption, which is energy per unit mass. But such are the vagaries of Jeopardy questions.

[someday]

I, too, said "erg" but was tickled to hear Alex say the word "rad." Would have been beyond awesome if right afterward he'd said "San Dimas High School Football RULES!!"

Love hearing about these many multiple-mascoted schools. UCSB -- my alma mater -- is the Gauchos. Notable alumni: Jim Rome, Brian Shaw. I believe the "Gaucho" is unnamed, however, and at any rate is highly unlikely to ever be "Jeopardy!" clue material.

When my husband got home, I told him the FJ clue and was shocked when he didn't know it.