Wednesday, November 30, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #6258, 2011-11-30

CONTESTANTS
Tim Gray, a law student originally from Alexandria, Virginia
Jan Zasowski, a stock trader from Chicago, Illinois
Kiran Kedlaya, a math professor originally from Boston, Massachusetts (whose 1-day cash winnings total $30,801)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny. Hi, folks, happy to be with you once again for another half-hour of answers and questions. The past week has been one of great performances by our Jeopardy! champions. Kiran, a case in point, winning over $30,000. Jan and Tim here to challenge him today. Good luck to all three of you gentlemen. Here we go into the Jeopardy! Round, and here are the categories you're gonna have to deal with well...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
CORRUPTION JUNCTION (4/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
PARTS OF THE WHOLE (5/5)
NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND (5/5)
"PUBLIC" KNOWLEDGE (5/5)
THIS LANDFILL IS MY LANDFILL (5/5) (Alex: We want you to name the state where each is located...)
GREAT COMEBACKS WITH DAN PATRICK (4/5) (Dan Patrick: ...some of the most inspiring stories in sports history.)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Kiran: 13 R (including 1 rebound), 2 W (including 1 DD)
Tim: 11 R, 1 W
Jan: 4 R (including 1 rebound), 1 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 1
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $800



SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Tim: $4,800
Kiran: $3,200
Jan: $400

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Welcome back. Tim Gray is a law student. I was just telling the studio audience here that, uh, for my ruptured Achilles tendon, I've been working out in a swimming pool, but you worked out in the White House swimming pool. How did that happen, young man?

Tim: Well, I should begin by saying there was neither water nor president in it at the time.

Alex: Oh.

Tim: The White House swimming pool isn't used anymore, but they did build the new James Brady Briefing Room over the old one, and it turns out that--I was an intern at C-SPAN. I visited there, um, for a White House press conference, and one of the technicians called me over. He pulled up a hatchway, and there's a ladder descending down into darkness, and you know, I decided to clamber down and see what it was. It was the swimming pool. Uh, it's still there. All of the old decorations on the walls--

Alex: Do they use it for storage or anything like that?

Tim: No, actually, it looks like its principal use is for all of the members of the press corps to write their initials and whatever they like--

Alex: I see.

Tim: --on the stru--on the supports.

Alex: Okay.




Alex: Jan Zasowski from Chicago, Illinois. You are a Scrabble fan, I take it, and you also have a favorite charity. And you managed to combine the two. Tell us about that.

Jan: Well, there's a Scrabble tournament, uh, supporting 826 Chicago, which is a writing/tutoring center for kids K through 12, and, uh, getting them excited about reading and writing. And, uh, you could pledge money to support a Scrabble contestant like me. And I told my friends that if they pledged enough money, I would dress up however they wanted. And so one of my friends suggested, uh, that I dress up in, uh, yellow spandex underwear and a gold body paint and a gold swimming cap, so that's what I did. And I played the entire tournament in, uh, in that getup. It was quite cold.

Alex: Did you win?

Jan: Uh, I think I finished, uh, second or third.

Alex: That's not bad.




Alex: All right, Kiran, over to you now. You once passed yourself off as a gypsy in Eastern Europe. Why would you do that?

Kiran: Uh, it wasn't on purpose, actually. Uh, I was studying in Hungary for several months, and I took a train from Romania back to Hungary. And I had picked up a little bit of Hungarian during the, uh, the time I was there, so I struck up a conversation in Hungarian with the two gypsy--Roma women, uh, sitting next to me. And they thought I was another one like them until we crossed the border and I pulled out my American passport.

Alex: Okay.

JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Kiran found the Daily Double on the 16th clue. Kiran had $3,200, Jan had $400, and Tim was at $4,800. Kiran made it a True Daily Double, wagering $3,200.

CORRUPTION JUNCTION $1000: Scandals during this president's tenure included the Whiskey Ring, the Indian Ring & the Credit Mobilier Crisis
(Kiran: Who is Andrew Jackson?)

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
GREAT COMEBACKS WITH DAN PATRICK $800: (Dan Patrick reads the clue from his studio.) After a 2-year layoff, this 45-year-old ex-Red Wing hit the ice for the WHA's Houston Aeros & had a 100-point season
(Jan: Who is Hull?)
...
(Alex: Who is my hero, [*].)

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Tim: $5,800
Kiran: $3,800
Jan: $1,800

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
HELP ME, FONDA (3/5)
WEATHER (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
4-LETTER SCRABBLE WORDS (5/5)
CLASSICAL MUSIC (5/5)
THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE NUNS (3/4)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Kiran: 10 R (including 1 rebound), 0 W
Jan: 9 R (including 2 DDs), 1 W
Tim: 6 R, 0 W

Clues revealed: 29
Triple Stumpers: 4
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $7,600



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Jan snagged the next Daily Double on the 12th clue. Kiran had $5,400, Jan had $7,800, and Tim was at $8,200. Jan made it a True Daily Double, wagering $7,800.

WEATHER $1200: Meteorologist Vilhelm Bjerknes popularized this 5-letter term for the place where warm & cold air masses meet

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Jan who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 13th clue. Kiran had $5,400, Jan had $15,600, and Tim was at $8,200. Jan wagered $4,200.

EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY $1200: This tome was a collection of spells, charms & magical formulas for the deceased to use in the afterlife

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
HELP ME, FONDA $1600: In this 1967 film based on a Neil Simon play, Jane Fonda helps Robert Redford loosen up

HELP ME, FONDA $2000: In the third film in this series, Bridget Fonda helps Andy Garcia to... relax; then he saves her from assassins
(Alex: Exciting scene--[*], Part III.)

THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE NUNS $2000: Rubens portrayed Archduchess Isabella in the habit of the sisters of this poor saint

WEATHER $2000: Invented by French scientist Lucien Vidie in 1843, this type of barometer uses a metal capsule instead of mercury

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Jan: $22,200
Kiran: $13,400
Tim: $11,400

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
ORGANIZATIONS

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Crush for first place.
Jan: Wager $4,601 to cover Kiran.
Kiran: You have the hope of surpassing Jan if you come up with the correct response. Bet at least $9,401 to force Jan to wager to win while also protecting your position from being usurped by Tim.
Tim: Your only hope of a win is that you're the only one to give a correct response, so bet $11,398 or so, leaving a few bucks behind in case someone wagers it all.

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
On Nov. 17, 1871 Union vets dismayed by soldiers' lack of proficiency in one skill formed this organization

FINAL SCORES
Tim: $11,400 - $11,400 = $0 (What wais ?) (3rd place: $1,000)
Kiran: $13,400 - $10,000 = $3,400 (What is the Boy Scouts?) (2nd place: $2,000)
Jan: $22,200 + $4,601 = $26,801 (What is the Nat'l Rifle Association?) (New champion: $26,801)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $8,400

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Kiran: $16,600, 23 R, 2 W (including 1 DD)
Jan: $12,600, 13 R (including 2 DDs), 2 W
Tim: $11,400, 17 R, 1 W
Combined Coryat: $40,600

BATTING AVERAGES
Kiran: 23/59 = .390
Tim: 17/58 = .293
Jan: 14/60 = .233
Team: 54/63 = .857

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
CORRUPTION JUNCTION $200: In 2009 Mayor Langford of this largest Alabama city was convicted of accepting bribes
(Tim: What is Atlanta? Oh!)

PARTS OF THE WHOLE $600: Grip,
sight,
arrow rest
(Kiran: What is a crossbow?)

GREAT COMEBACKS WITH DAN PATRICK $200: (Dan Patrick reads the clue from his studio.) He was given less than a 50% chance of survival after a 1996 cancer diagnosis; 3 years later, he won the 1st of 7 straight Tour de France titles

GREAT COMEBACKS WITH DAN PATRICK $400: (Dan Patrick reads the clue from his studio.) A year after hitting .406, this Red Sox legend left to be a fighter pilot in WWII, came back, won the Triple Crown, left to fight in the Korean War, came back & was an All-Star

GREAT COMEBACKS WITH DAN PATRICK $600: (Dan Patrick reads the clue from his studio.) In February of 1949, this golfer known as "Bantam Ben" fractured his ribs, pelvis, collarbone & ankle in a car accident; in 1950 he won the U.S. Open

GREAT COMEBACKS WITH DAN PATRICK $1000: (Dan Patrick reads the clue from his studio.) In 1974 this Dodger pitcher tore his ulnar collateral ligament & his career looked like it was over; he had the surgery now named for him & won 164 more games

THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE NUNS $1200: Saint Therese is seen here in her habit of this order whose name comes from a mountain range in Israel

CLASSICAL MUSIC $2000: This Spaniard who transcribed Bach for the guitar gave his first public recital in Granada in 1909
(Jan: Who is Lucía?)

CLASSICAL MUSIC $1200: It's the title of the Massenet piece you're hearing; it might help you in the calm Buddhist practice of the same name
(Alex: [*], from Thaïs, yes.)

CLASSICAL MUSIC $800: From 1892 to 1895 this Czech served as Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City
(Alex: Yes, with less than a minute to go.)

CLASSICAL MUSIC $400: When Mendelssohn died, Eduard Marxsen wrote, "A master of the art is gone; a greater arises in" this "Lullaby" composer
[The end-of-round signal sounds.]

CORRECT RESPONSES
Ulysses Grant
Gordie Howe
front
Book of the Dead
Barefoot in the Park
Godfather
Saint Clare
an aneroid barometer
the National Rifle Association
Birmingham
a bow (a longbow)
Lance Armstrong
Ted Williams
Ben Hogan
Tommy John
Carmelite
(Andrés) Segovia
"Méditation"
Dvorák
Brahms

[legendneverdies]

Also the seventh anniversary of Nancy Zerg game one. Saturday was the 10th anniversary of the double dollar values.

[KenJenningsFan74]

Also the seventh anniversary of Nancy Zerg game one.

I had the same thought heading into today. Yesterday, of course, marked the anniversary of the seventy-fourth win for Ken Jennings during his original Jeopardy! run.

Some daring wagers on today's Daily Double clues gave Jan Zasowski an edge that the other two players just weren't able to overcome. I saw it as a sign of Kiran Kedlaya's skill that he was able to prevent this game from becoming a Runaway, but the Sole Get by the new champion in the Final Jeopardy! round was going to make it hard for either of his opponents to win.

[econgator]

FJ makes sense now that I've seen the answer, but there's no way I'm coming up with it on my own.

[heelsrule1988]

Sports category in the Jeopardy round? Oh no... better follow that up with freaking Egyptian Mythology, Classical Music, and a category about nuns!

Why? Seriously... why?

Also the seventh anniversary of Nancy Zerg game one.

I had the same thought heading into today. Yesterday, of course, marked the anniversary of the seventy-fourth win for Ken Jennings during his original Jeopardy! run.

I usually always post a thread about this... but I figure everyone remembers it by now.

[SkoolRN]

Sports category in the Jeopardy round? Oh no... better follow that up with freaking Egyptian Mythology, Classical Music, and a category about nuns!

Why? Seriously... why?

Also the seventh anniversary of Nancy Zerg game one.

I had the same thought heading into today. Yesterday, of course, marked the anniversary of the seventy-fourth win for Ken Jennings during his original Jeopardy! run.

I usually always post a thread about this... but I figure everyone remembers it by now.

Hey, I ran those nuns.

[SkoolRN]

FJ makes sense now that I've seen the answer, but there's no way I'm coming up with it on my own.

My husband blurted out FJ a nanosecond before me, so props to him.

[billy pilgrim]

Three really good players tonight. I guessed FJ but wasn't very confident about it. The "lacking in one skill" is what got me there. Congrats to Jan on a nice win after a slow start.

[econgator]

Also, I know that they don't normally neg for leaving out an article, but Zaire is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They should have made an exception this time.

[alietr]

When Jan came upon that second DD, I started chanting "Roger, Roger, Roger".

Got FJ. Soldiers ... hmmm ... what do soldiers do that they might need to be better at ... well, they shoot ... organization associated with shooting ... NRA. But I certainly wasn't very confident.

[DBear]

Was I the only one who saw the Chiaobama ad? I'm still trying to figure out if that is an epic troll or what...

Yes, Dan Patrick was back! Ran that category and Not So Fast, which was appropriate for the DJ round, as I went 0/the bottom row. But how can you have a Corruption category without Rod Blagojevich?

Instaget FJ. Disappointed that it wasn't a triget.

[HugoZ]

Speaking of crossword puzzles, the NYT Sunday puzzle that I did just this morning had nearly the same clue for "kith".

The strange part was the puzzle was from back in March, and had sat undone in a notebook for 8 months until I decided to dust it off today.

[Paucle]

FJ makes sense now that I've seen the answer, but there's no way I'm coming up with it on my own.

my answer really stinks.... because that's where I pulled it out of. No idea how I pieced it together, but I did. "Well, their most important skill is shooting, what organization worries about that?"

Finally, for once (and probably this only time), the NRA is useful.

ETA: just read alietr's post. Yeah, that. Pretty much dead on.

[MarkBarrett]

[Hey, I ran those nuns.

Was the $400 clue revealed? The players skipped around and had me working extra hard to keep up with them on my scoresheet. Congrats on the 4/4 (or 5/5 if I lost track). No way I was getting the Clair(e) one, since I am not even sure on the spelling.

Gordy How and the rest in sports were more for me. (You sure I shouldn't use a smiley here, Reddpen?)

Please ignore my piggyback prediction in yesterday's thread where I agreed with Joon and also predicted an easier game for Kiran tonight. So far it seems like a loaded field this week. Nice job Maggie & Co.

The DD looking for Grant perhaps cost Jan about $13,000? Kiran didn't get the right President. Perhaps it takes TOCers to do it? http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=2556

My FJ response was pried from Alex's cold dead hands (they're actually warm and on the soft side compared to those of a hard laborer) before he was even close to finishing reading it. I zeroed in on shooting as the skill. A shooting organization? It doesn't take long to write NRA.

Nice work by Jan to make the DDs pay off big time and overcome the position of being the first to select in the DJ round.

[jpahk]

well, i'm disappointed that kiran lost, but jan looks like very good value for his win. he started slowly but looks like a very impressive player all around. he was good enough that kiran missing what i thought was a very gettable history TDD didn't really matter. tim, too, had a strong showing. all five players in the past two games look very strong.

[MFalk]

I'm wondering if Jan is the same Jan who played quiz bowl for Northwestern ten years or so ago.

[pamiam]

He is.

[heelsrule1988]

Hey, I ran those nuns.

Mind blown.

[Vanya]

Finally, for once (and probably this only time), the NRA is useful.

ETA: just read alietr's post. Yeah, that. Pretty much dead on.

I'm a member of the NRA, and I didn't know that about it. First thought of Grand Army of the Republic, then noticed the one skill part; NRA only possible answer.