Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

This is where all of the games are discussed.

Moderators: alietr, trainman, econgator, dhkendall

Charis
Contributor
Posts: 47
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2019 10:43 pm

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Charis »

Category 13 wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 9:16 pm 'Retired Sports Team Numbers' was a category I could sink my teeth into. Naturally, the players avoided it until almost no other clues were left.
Easy run of the category.
I ran that category, and sports generally is a nightmare category for me. Those were either easy clues or I'm improving a lot.
User avatar
LucarioSnooperVixey
Carrying Letters and Lemons
Posts: 3513
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:41 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by LucarioSnooperVixey »

54 R (Missed DD1, Black's Law Dictionary $600 & $1000, The Bottom Two in Rest of the Title, and Dinah Shore.)
DD: 2/3
FJ: :mrgreen:
LT: William the Conqueror, Die Harder, Jupiter, Oman

Oduguy22's Jeopardy! episode aired on the third anniversary of Cindy Stowell's passing.
Last edited by LucarioSnooperVixey on Sun Dec 08, 2019 2:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Douglas Squasoni
User avatar
xxaaaxx
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 2131
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:29 pm
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by xxaaaxx »

Charis wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 11:30 pm
Category 13 wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 9:16 pm 'Retired Sports Team Numbers' was a category I could sink my teeth into. Naturally, the players avoided it until almost no other clues were left.
Easy run of the category.
I ran that category, and sports generally is a nightmare category for me. Those were either easy clues or I'm improving a lot.
As a huge sports nut, it's hard to judge clue difficulty, and if sports is just a complete black hole category for you then they're all hard obviousy. I'd say that "identify the team Derek Jeter played for" and "identify the hockey legend known as "the great one"" were probably easy, and "identify Jackie Robinson's number and "here's a picture of Mike Ditka" were probably medium. Knowing that football fans -- and especially Seahawks fans -- are called "the 12th man" was one I would be surprised if a non-football fan got right.

Actually, poll request for the 12th man clue? I'm curious how it played for everyone else. As I said, sports junkie, no way to accurately judge since it was $3k in free money here.
User avatar
MarkBarrett
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 16471
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 10:37 am
Location: San Francisco

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by MarkBarrett »

xxaaaxx wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 12:57 am
Charis wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 11:30 pm
Category 13 wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 9:16 pm 'Retired Sports Team Numbers' was a category I could sink my teeth into. Naturally, the players avoided it until almost no other clues were left.
Easy run of the category.
I ran that category, and sports generally is a nightmare category for me. Those were either easy clues or I'm improving a lot.
As a huge sports nut, it's hard to judge clue difficulty, and if sports is just a complete black hole category for you then they're all hard obviousy. I'd say that "identify the team Derek Jeter played for" and "identify the hockey legend known as "the great one"" were probably easy, and "identify Jackie Robinson's number and "here's a picture of Mike Ditka" were probably medium. Knowing that football fans -- and especially Seahawks fans -- are called "the 12th man" was one I would be surprised if a non-football fan got right.

Actually, poll request for the 12th man clue? I'm curious how it played for everyone else. As I said, sports junkie, no way to accurately judge since it was $3k in free money here.
Sure I can poll the 12th man, AKA a DD that Lucario actually missed. He can blame both of us for messing up an 8-smiley week. I'm more than aware of it as the Vikings have not won in Seattle since the aughts.
seaborgium
Undefeated in Reruns
Posts: 8941
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:31 am

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by seaborgium »

xxaaaxx wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 12:57 am
Charis wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 11:30 pm
Category 13 wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 9:16 pm 'Retired Sports Team Numbers' was a category I could sink my teeth into. Naturally, the players avoided it until almost no other clues were left.
Easy run of the category.
I ran that category, and sports generally is a nightmare category for me. Those were either easy clues or I'm improving a lot.
As a huge sports nut, it's hard to judge clue difficulty, and if sports is just a complete black hole category for you then they're all hard obviousy. I'd say that "identify the team Derek Jeter played for" and "identify the hockey legend known as "the great one"" were probably easy, and "identify Jackie Robinson's number and "here's a picture of Mike Ditka" were probably medium. Knowing that football fans -- and especially Seahawks fans -- are called "the 12th man" was one I would be surprised if a non-football fan got right.

Actually, poll request for the 12th man clue? I'm curious how it played for everyone else. As I said, sports junkie, no way to accurately judge since it was $3k in free money here.
I remembered hearing about a basketball team retiring the number 6 in honor of its fans (the Kings and Magic have done this, as it turns out, though I wouldn't have been able to say who at the time), and knowing the Seahawks weren't a basketball team I was still in the process of extrapolating to get the number a football team would retire for its fans when my dad responded aloud. I'm counting it as a get. I knew Jackie Robinson was 42 because I'm an Angeleno who's not completely blind to sports, and I got Mike Ditka because of the Superfans sketches on Saturday Night Live. Jeter = Yankees was easy enough, and even if I didn't know that, I should have been able to guess them from the "all numbers from 1-9 retired" angle, and the Gretzky clue was almost impossible to miss. So I ran the category (with one asterisk), and I'm not huge on sports.
yclept
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 509
Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2014 3:43 am

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by yclept »

Jennifer is a strong player and I hope she wins at least five games. She is TOC quality and I hate it when TOC quality contestants don’t earn the TOC lock by winning five games (Jennifer is destined to have a strong 4-day total if she wins on Monday though).

That said, it just drives me a little crazy when a contestant looks exasperated over having to go to a sports category as if it is beneath them. Jeopardy has always included pop culture and sports. If you don’t know anything about those types of categories, that is on you. I will always contend that an easy way to $3,000 is by studying some sports stuff before going on the show. The average contestant knows little to nothing about the subject.
User avatar
threearruda
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 687
Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 4:02 pm
Location: MA/VT

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by threearruda »

Austria :oops:. *facepalm*.

Nice work from Jennifer once again, and congrats on a good game, oduguy. No shame in running into a ToC-caliber player, and I hope you enjoyed the experience. :)
yclept wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 3:24 am Jennifer is a strong player and I hope she wins at least five games. She is TOC quality and I hate it when TOC quality contestants don’t earn the TOC lock by winning five games (Jennifer is destined to have a strong 4-day total if she wins on Monday though).

That said, it just drives me a little crazy when a contestant looks exasperated over having to go to a sports category as if it is beneath them. Jeopardy has always included pop culture and sports. If you don’t know anything about those types of categories, that is on you. I will always contend that an easy way to $3,000 is by studying some sports stuff before going on the show. The average contestant knows little to nothing about the subject.
When Ryan Bilger announced he was the alternate for this most recent ToC and being held over for the next one, he made it seem as if he was guaranteed a spot in the next field with his 4x and $107k (which he should be). I'd imagine that even a mediocre $20k win for Jennifer on Monday (~$110k total for her at that point) would be enough to qualify regardless of what happens in a possible Game 5. Or she could lose Monday and the discussion dies there! *shrug*. I agree, though, she would be a great addition to the next field.

As for sports, teams/locations, noteworthy stadiums/hall of fame players, recent champions and events is probably a sufficient foundation for J!'s sports material.. not too much to ask, in my opinion. For those who are sports illiterate, copy the Holzhauer strategy; there are some year in review-type sports almanacs targeted at kids that might be helpful.
J! S39 - 1/27-2/1. '24 ToC ???

5x TD champ - 7x TD host
User avatar
alietr
Site Admin
Posts: 8980
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Bethesda, MD

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by alietr »

So sorry it didn't work out for you, Randy. I hope you had fun nonetheless.

I got FJ right, but I don't think it was a good one. On the reveal, Germany would have seemed to have been a better response. Or Austria, for that matter.

Does anyone know what barbarians have to do with Monaco anyway?
User avatar
Picked Off
Jeopardy! Contestant
Posts: 348
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:01 pm
Contact:

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Picked Off »

alietr wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 8:35 am So sorry it didn't work out for you, Randy. I hope you had fun nonetheless.

I got FJ right, but I don't think it was a good one. On the reveal, Germany would have seemed to have been a better response. Or Austria, for that matter.

Does anyone know what barbarians have to do with Monaco anyway?
Since the country is effectively one big port, I assumed it was a reference to the nearby Barbary Coast, but maybe not.
Season 27 player and lifelong fan
Foretopman
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 485
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2017 4:22 pm
Location: Mid-Missouri

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Foretopman »

I know the difference between the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers. I really do. And yet for some unfathomable reason when the clue said "Seattle Seahawks" I read "Portland Trailblazers", and said "What is six?" I fully understood the response should be one more than the regular number of players, but completely whiffed on the sport. :oops: :lol:
User avatar
AndyTheQuizzer
Lots and Lots of Interviews
Posts: 2594
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:01 am
Location: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Contact:

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by AndyTheQuizzer »

alietr wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 8:35 am Does anyone know what barbarians have to do with Monaco anyway?
I believe it was a reference to the Guelphs and the Ghibellines.
Andy Saunders
J! Archive Founding Archivist
Publisher - The Jeopardy! Fan
User avatar
econgator
Let's Go Mets!
Posts: 10673
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 10:32 am

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by econgator »

OntarioQuizzer wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 10:12 am
alietr wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 8:35 am Does anyone know what barbarians have to do with Monaco anyway?
I believe it was a reference to the Guelphs
OK, so the next question is what does Monaco have to do with Canada? :)
mas3cf
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 1406
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2019 7:15 am

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by mas3cf »

econgator wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 10:45 am
OntarioQuizzer wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 10:12 am
alietr wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 8:35 am Does anyone know what barbarians have to do with Monaco anyway?
I believe it was a reference to the Guelphs
OK, so the next question is what does Monaco have to do with Canada? :)
The Monaco flag is what you get if you cut the corner out of the Canadian flag.
User avatar
squarekara
J! Reactionary
Posts: 1553
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2017 12:49 am
Location: USDA Zone 5

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by squarekara »

I assumed FJ directly referred to Ahhhnold and went with Austria with utter confidence.
talkingaway
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Sep 24, 2019 11:59 am

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by talkingaway »

Here's another SNL connection: I got the "finger lakes" simply because of Fred Armisen's "Lawrence Welk" sketches which featured sisters from the finger lakes region.

Got an oopsie on the "Thunder Bay, great lake" clue because I reflexively said "Thunder Bay - Ontario". Duh. Ontario's the lake that's east, and Thunder Bay is pretty far west.

Hated the rocket science category so much that I gave myself credit for saying "rickets" instead of "ricket science" on the first clue. And, honestly, Alex - was that $400 clue really going to help if you didn't know the category format? "Racket science" isn't a thing. The only thing it does is save $800.

I was about as close as you could get without actually being right on FJ!. Stupid me, my Boston Bruins have a player named Brandon Carlo, and he used to have a guinea pig named "Monte" when he was little. So, of course, I write down "Monte Carlo", the capital, instead of "Monaco". I was specifically thinking about "that 50s actress who got married", but didn't bother to think about Princess Grace (Peyton Place, trouble in the Suez) aka Grace Kelly (Harlow, Jean; picture of a beauty queen). I probably could have pulled out her name if I'd concentrated and actually needed the info.
User avatar
twelvefootboy
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 2702
Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2016 11:18 pm
Location: Tornado Alley / Southwest Missouri

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by twelvefootboy »

squarekara wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 11:22 am I assumed FJ directly referred to Ahhhnold and went with Austria with utter confidence.
I wandered through Monaco for the Royalty TOM and left because of the Barbarian angle, and Grace Kelly died long before the internet could mention her on a website. I think many of us got suckered into thinking this was a contemporary description. I would hope I don't encounter Grace Kelly on holiday :o .

Congrats, Randy, at least you weren't ambushed after watching Jennifer's first two games! You outpolled a lot of smart boardies with your FJ get!
Disclaimer - repeated exposure to author's musings may cause befuddlement.
MSTieScott
Contributor
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri May 18, 2012 4:31 pm

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by MSTieScott »

To assess the difficulty of the sports category: I know next to nothing about sports and I got the four non–Daily Double clues right. I knew what the Daily Double was going for, and the only reason I got it wrong was because I couldn't remember exactly how many people were on a football team and said "13." (Of course, I also blurted out "KBG" like a dummy later on, so maybe I just have a problem with precision.)

I liked the rocket science category -- it was silly fun. Better suited for the first round than the second, I concede, but I still enjoyed it. I like a little bit of levity in my Jeopardy!.
talkingaway wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 12:13 pm And, honestly, Alex - was that $400 clue really going to help if you didn't know the category format? "Racket science" isn't a thing. The only thing it does is save $800.
Exactly. Everybody stands and stares at the first clue, Alex clarifies the conceit of the category, and nobody's sad because it was the lowest amount on the board. I have absolutely no problem with the occasional category that punishes the contestants for not starting at the top.
User avatar
oduguy22
Swimming with the Jeopardy! Fishes
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:34 pm
Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by oduguy22 »

MarkBarrett wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 11:06 am The players went through the material enough to allow for a full credits run. Nice to see things back on track for full 61-clue games after the DJ! round disaster on Monday.

Katie put an end to Jennifer's streak of finding all the DDs. Unfortunately for her she missed it and also made enemies in the state of Washington.

Randy converted DD2 on a gift clue and too bad for him he only had $600 at the time.

Jennifer was easily the best on material and buzzer to utilize the champ's advantage and by the end was in position to lose $6500 like it was nothing.

Credit to Randy for the sole solve on the FJ! clue and get the small victory of the second place prize.

The FJ! clue had me far from certain although I was done and correct within five seconds. Barbarians was not going to help me while "royalty" & "movie star" had go to the right place with no detours. It was nice to have a little bit of the entertainment industry in play off a less-inviting general category name of EUROPE.

Alex questioned Katie if the movie star she was thinking of was Marlene Dietrich and Katie shook her head yes. I call B.S. though Katie is welcome to confirm it as true on some forum.

Jennifer missed her first big clue though took her Coryat back over 20K. No one has gone from three wins to four wins since July so we'll see if Jennifer can upend that trend.

For those in the know is it okay to share when the change of taping pattern begins for 3 one day and 2 the next instead of the usual 5-a-day twice a week? Either way this game would be the end of the day for Jennifer and getting a break before returning again.
Thanks for the commentary Mark, and yes I was quite surprised it wasn't an instaget across the board, but i know it come to me immediately, and nothing else really came to mind so I stuck with it. Seeing her especially that Wednesday debut, I knew if i was going that day it would be difficult, especially with the champs advantage. Throughout practice and all of the preparation I have had over time, I felt real prepared to out buzz anyone, and it especially would've been true for the early games. I definitely felt I couldve won. Since Jennifer was dominating the buzzer I felt I had to take some chances, albiet educated guesses like Brunei/Oman which was 50/50. There were a couple of brain farts like the Airplane sequel, I never seen either, and for some reason I was thinking of book subtitles so thats why I had the pause. That Rickets category I should've started from the top and mistake from me for not really paying attention to the category. One thing I didnt think was the sports category having the daily double. I didnt think it would be there and felt I had a good advantage there, I knew them all but as you could see only got in once which sucked. I hate the low Coryat score but I did have quite a few dumb guesses in there mixed in. It was a great experience though! Everyone there is so nice and good people that will forever be my friends and keep in touch with!
User avatar
Picked Off
Jeopardy! Contestant
Posts: 348
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:01 pm
Contact:

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Picked Off »

oduguy22 wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 1:30 pm
MarkBarrett wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 11:06 am The players went through the material enough to allow for a full credits run. Nice to see things back on track for full 61-clue games after the DJ! round disaster on Monday.

Katie put an end to Jennifer's streak of finding all the DDs. Unfortunately for her she missed it and also made enemies in the state of Washington.

Randy converted DD2 on a gift clue and too bad for him he only had $600 at the time.

Jennifer was easily the best on material and buzzer to utilize the champ's advantage and by the end was in position to lose $6500 like it was nothing.

Credit to Randy for the sole solve on the FJ! clue and get the small victory of the second place prize.

The FJ! clue had me far from certain although I was done and correct within five seconds. Barbarians was not going to help me while "royalty" & "movie star" had go to the right place with no detours. It was nice to have a little bit of the entertainment industry in play off a less-inviting general category name of EUROPE.

Alex questioned Katie if the movie star she was thinking of was Marlene Dietrich and Katie shook her head yes. I call B.S. though Katie is welcome to confirm it as true on some forum.

Jennifer missed her first big clue though took her Coryat back over 20K. No one has gone from three wins to four wins since July so we'll see if Jennifer can upend that trend.

For those in the know is it okay to share when the change of taping pattern begins for 3 one day and 2 the next instead of the usual 5-a-day twice a week? Either way this game would be the end of the day for Jennifer and getting a break before returning again.
Thanks for the commentary Mark, and yes I was quite surprised it wasn't an instaget across the board, but i know it come to me immediately, and nothing else really came to mind so I stuck with it. Seeing her especially that Wednesday debut, I knew if i was going that day it would be difficult, especially with the champs advantage. Throughout practice and all of the preparation I have had over time, I felt real prepared to out buzz anyone, and it especially would've been true for the early games. I definitely felt I couldve won. Since Jennifer was dominating the buzzer I felt I had to take some chances, albiet educated guesses like Brunei/Oman which was 50/50. There were a couple of brain farts like the Airplane sequel, I never seen either, and for some reason I was thinking of book subtitles so thats why I had the pause. That Rickets category I should've started from the top and mistake from me for not really paying attention to the category. One thing I didnt think was the sports category having the daily double. I didnt think it would be there and felt I had a good advantage there, I knew them all but as you could see only got in once which sucked. I hate the low Coryat score but I did have quite a few dumb guesses in there mixed in. It was a great experience though! Everyone there is so nice and good people that will forever be my friends and keep in touch with!
Congrats on your achievement, Randy!
Season 27 player and lifelong fan
User avatar
This Is Kirk!
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 6562
Joined: Mon Dec 17, 2012 1:35 am
Location: Seattle

Re: Friday, December 6, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by This Is Kirk! »

Despite the word "history" in the FJ clue I was think the inference was that the country is associated with a current movie star, so I went with Arnold thinking that was the barbarian tie-in.
Post Reply