Friday, April 10, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Bamaman]

If anyone was wondering, no one said anything to me about taking too much time after this game.

Were you intentionally stalling when deciding on your wager or were you just nervous and trying to decide what to do?

[whoisalexjacob]

If anyone was wondering, no one said anything to me about taking too much time after this game.

Were you intentionally stalling when deciding on your wager or were you just nervous and trying to decide what to do?

Trying to decide what to do. I thought it was a tricky situation

[jkbrat]

From the 11/11/11 game thread:

There is no time limit on Daily Doubles. You will get pestered by Alex, but there is no time limit. The most I've ever taken is 15 seconds probably. 90% of the time, the dead air is cropped out and not in the final cut. This time it wasn't. Probably because of the "ummmmm , no " exchange in the beginning.

I will have to admit that when he took a long time deciding on the last DD wager, I was briefly reminded of a past competitor admitting on the message board that he was looking to run out a little time late in the game when he was ahead. However, Roger's $10K wager totally erased that suspicion. (And the group used up all the clues anyway.)

Yes, I have never stalled ever. Instead, I am making a lot of calculations in my head. No one has really mentioned it, but my DD bet was more or less the best I could have made (probably could've been a little larger though). Came down to the last question to see if there was a lock-tie or not.

If Alex had simply stood still and stayed quiet, perhaps his "extra" (but possibly extremely common) thinking time would have been edited out (if, as Roger asserts, this is done "90% of the time"). The fact that he was doing a little of his thinking out loud (e.g., repeating the category name as part of his decision process) probably made it much more difficult to achieve a smooth edit, so in this case it had to be left in. It's unfortunate that the lack of the standard edit makes it appear as if he either received special treatment (was given extra time) or was intentionally stalling the game (not against the rules, but perceived by some as poor sportsmanship) when the most likely explanation is that neither is true.

[JayK33]

I added the current revision on Alex's Wikipedia page (someone else added the J Archive link): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Jacob

Have I phrased it correctly? Is the exact date necessary or would the year alone been enough

[LeFlaneur]

If anyone was wondering, no one said anything to me about taking too much time after this game.

OMG Alex. Brilliant game! I saw a month ago that you were going to be on J and you didn't disappoint. I've watched J since 1965 and you were one of the singularly most unique contestants ever to grace the show. I didn't watch it until Saturday night and your prescence/personna was so intriguing that about
halfway through I said "That guy's a boardie!" It made it even more interesting because I've been reading your missives for the last 2 and one half years.

"Potting " it all when you did was beyond belief but it worked out.

The only other contestant that I can remember who talked like you did to AT, at least when it came to wagering, was this comiedian who was on in '99 or early 2000 and when AT asked if he was sure he wanted to bet it all he replied "Why not Alex, it's not my money." Who was that guy? Anybody know?

Anyway, best of retro luck on Monday and congratulations on finishing off one of the most exciting weeks in a long time.

[This Is Kirk!]

I'm loving the new champ for proving you can be an entertaining contestant even if you're not all upbeat and rah rah. I look forward to the film version where he will be played by Nicolas Cage.

I was thinking Bradley Cooper.

Wow, I'll take it... you guys are way more generous than Twitter... there I got Jonah Hill and Artie Lange

Too funny. I guess you're a cross between Bradley Cooper and Artie Lange.

[dhkendall]

The only other contestant that I can remember who talked like you did to AT, at least when it came to wagering, was this comiedian who was on in '99 or early 2000 and when AT asked if he was sure he wanted to bet it all he replied "Why not Alex, it's not my money." Who was that guy? Anybody know?

Sounds like Bob Harris, who was a comedian, was in the 1998 ToC, and is one of my top favourite players. This definitely sounds like something he'd say.

[yclept]

From section 6 of the player contract in 2005:

...If I do appear on the program, Producer may terminate my participation at any time, at Producer's discretion.

Hmm, interesting. With as particular they are with the Standards & Practices stuff, it's hard to believe they would ever exercise this discretion barring something really extreme, such as a player going Latrell Sprewell on Alex Trebek or something. Saying "This player won the game but we've decided not to let him play another game because we don't like him" doesn't seem like it's in the spirit of fairness.

I would assume this kind of language is in the contracts of all competition style shows. Simply meant to protect the interests of the show and not to throw a player off just because viewers may not like him or her.

[Silverfox]

Regarding roman numerals. Here is a trick that I created to remember them.
There are only 7 of them.
I
V
X
L
C
D
M
Everyone knows the first three and does not confuse them too often. The last four are easier to mix up. In order to keep the following straight I made a mnemonic for myself. In order of increasing value 50, 100, 500, and 1,000. I use liquid crystal display monitor. LCDM. It works for me.

BTW I went 5/5 in Tax time. (My former occupation.) Why couldn't they wait and use that when I get on the show???

[TenPoundHammer]

^ My problems are twofold. First, I go "Wait, does 50 have its own letter?" Then I go "okay, I doubt 50 is XXXXX, but what the heck is 50 again?!" But by the time I've gotten to "I doubt 50 is XXXXX", they're already two clues ahead of me.

[cosmos]

^ My problems are twofold. First, I go "Wait, does 50 have its own letter?" Then I go "okay, I doubt 50 is XXXXX, but what the heck is 50 again?!" But by the time I've gotten to "I doubt 50 is XXXXX", they're already two clues ahead of me.

Now you're in a pickle with 501, 50 & 50. (DI-L-L).

http://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=3811

Maybe you can remember it that way.

[MitchO]

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick, how did I not put 2 and 2 together with Alex's identity? That's why I know your icon; I've watched you play at the WSOP also! Man, I totally did not recognize you with the haircut (and for some reason, you seem taller on Jeopardy! (standing up) than you do at a poker table (sitting down) :p

[DHicton]

I'm loving the new champ for proving you can be an entertaining contestant even if you're not all upbeat and rah rah. I look forward to the film version where he will be played by Nicolas Cage.

I was thinking Bradley Cooper.

Wow, I'll take it... you guys are way more generous than Twitter... there I got Jonah Hill and Artie Lange

I was thinking Chris D'Elia, but with better hair.