Friday, January 29, 2016 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[SBurrus]

Benedict Arnold seemed so obvious after the answer was revealed...but I said Nathan Hale. And after AT said Benedict Arnold, I felt stupid; we don't often throw Nathan Hale's name around in conversation but most of us have referred to people that betrayed us as "Benedict Arnolds" at one time or another.

Great game by Chris! That was an impressive performance.

[goatman]

Why leave $2999 on the table if you're going to lose anyway?

Hey, remember how yesterday I went straight for the math category?

There was nothing to gain from going all in. If I got it right and cbec got it wrong, my wager guaranteed that I was going to win. In any other right/wrong scenario, no wager would increase my chances of winning. This isn't hindsight talking, I knew this at time.

But how could I possibly be so sure? Well, because I knew Chris was a boardie and that he watched The Final Wager. And he knew the same about me. We even briefly discussed Thursday's wagering right before our game. Chris was wagering to cover, no doubt about it.

Since the extra $2999 couldn't possibly increase my chances of winning, why would I risk coming in third by going all in?

Look, we all enjoy analyzing contestants' decisions. But game theory operates a little differently when you have information. It's certainly true that not all J! contestants have information about each other. But sometimes they do. And in those cases, the mindgames aren't as speculative as they may seem to viewers at home.

My enthusiastic congratulations to Chris, whose breadth of knowledge and skill with the buzzer impressed me tremendously (as soon as I got over the immense frustration of not even getting in before him on the Canada question).

Thanks for your thoughts regarding the wager, and congrats on these cool accomplishments.

Mara! We loved you and I had NO idea ur a Boardie!!! We ROFL @ Frost allusion, too funny! Congrats on making champ you played very well and we're proud of ya!! Tough break being pitted against another Boardie, as I'm sure we all would prefer to play less prepared opponents, but you both played really well and we're happy for both of you! Be sure to PM to me if either of you come thru DC metro area and I'll get you into my pub quiz regionals, we have now won 1st place two years in a row and placed 5th in Nationals, there's real money on the table in these bar games!!

[koozbane]

I picked up on the emphasis on "securing fortune" in FJ and went with Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution. Is that a crazy guess, or does the wording of the clue merit that line of reasoning?

[naurae29]

2. take your time on Daily Doubles, as Alex Jacob suggested. My instinct was to yell out "Ford" and get it out of the way, because I'd never heard that motto. I'm curious what Mara's process was – did you know it right away, did you have a hunch, or did you take the full time to tease it out?

It felt like that DD lasted an eon. I took so long that Alex gave up on me and wasn't even listening when I said the right answer! I needed the entire time to figure it out, and here's what happened in my head: "Tough vehicle... four letters and double letters... can't think of anything with double letters at the end... maybe they're in the middle... maybe they're vowels!... not OO... EE?... JEEP?"

About the previous clue: I have a profound appreciation for clever slogans, and have always respected the genius behind "Think outside the bun." My brain: "You know this slogan! Ring in! It's a taco place! Oh, God, which one? Ugh, just say Taco Bell, even though it probably doesn't have double letters. Wait, what? It does?! OK, cool, I knew that."

I also had a Slumdog Millionnaire moment on each night - a response that I could trace directly back to the moment I learned it. Tonight, it was "Where'd You Go, Bernadette," a delightful and heartbreaking novel that Ken Jennings mentioned on his blog (http://ken-jennings.com/blog/archives/3905) over three years ago, and which I read at his recommendation.

Last night it was

Spoiler

the question about Eddie Murphy and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which has come up at our local trivia night three separate times. The first and second time, they asked who won the award last year. The third time they asked what award Eddie Murphy had won. Skullturf and I found it so strange that they were repeating a certain piece of trivia over and over. (That honor is usually reserved for Pearl Jam's Jeremy during the music round.) When it came up on yesterday's show, you can kind of hear me laughing as I answer it. Thanks for drilling that into me, quizmasters!

During my shows I think I only had two negs, one blown DD, and one FJ that was impossible for me, given my knowledge of the American Revolution. (NB: Benedict Arnold is never mentioned in Hamilton: The Musical, so he's dead to me.) I lost a few buzzer races on 1/28 and a ton of them on 1/29. I blanked on Leopold (my criminal defense clinic professor noticed and jokingly scolded me for missing a Clarence Darrow question) and on Troy McClure (bought skullturf a McClure action figure as a peace offering and he assures me he's forgiven me).

But, the bottom line is: I had several awesome brain experiences. Moments when my mind did things I didn't know it could do. When I could feel myself puzzling something out. More than anything, my time on Jeopardy! taught me a lot about how my own mind works, how fast it can process, and how successful it can be... if I don't give up.

[mahatma]

I picked up on the emphasis on "securing fortune" in FJ and went with Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution. Is that a crazy guess, or does the wording of the clue merit that line of reasoning?

Many people found the wording of the clue difficult to parse. To me, it pretty clearly was spoken/written by someone who was considering supporting the Brits, but wanted to make sure they would be taken care of financially. Since they were considering it, they weren't already committed to it, so it would either be somebody neutral or thinking about switching sides. Nobody in the colonies would be neutral, and nobody outside the colonies would be risking their fortune.

[DefCon4]

Many people found the wording of the clue difficult to parse. To me, it pretty clearly was spoken/written by someone who was considering supporting the Brits, but wanted to make sure they would be taken care of financially. Since they were considering it, they weren't already committed to it, so it would either be somebody neutral or thinking about switching sides. Nobody in the colonies would be neutral, and nobody outside the colonies would be risking their fortune.

That's exactly what led me to realizing it had to be a traitor, and hence Arnold. I might have been subconsciously primed for it, though --- I grew up near West Point, so Arnold's treason features heavily in a lot of the local color added to learning about the Revolutionary War. Some have said that they didn't know Arnold was paid to switch sides, which I did know, probably from that period of my life.

[doihavetoreally]

i was eagerly awaiting this game with two boardies and it didn't disappoint. Real slugfest in the J round and cbeck pulling ahead in DJ ala MattJ. Tough luck to Mara/Chris having to face each other.

Mara - thanks for your inputs.

Chris - all I can say is "Boom Boom" Becker (Tennis is fresh on my mind with Aus Open now). I will be surprised if Chris doesn't win another few games.

As per the game, I don't necessarily like word play categories and the DD in there is nasty. Wag'ed "Arnold" for FJ as I couldn't really parse the clue.

[whoisalexjacob]

Holy crap, didn't even realize Mara was naurae29! You played awesome as well. Sucks that you got a tough draw but such is Jeopardy! I guess.

[Linear Gnome]

But, the bottom line is: I had several awesome brain experiences. Moments when my mind did things I didn't know it could do. When I could feel myself puzzling something out. More than anything, my time on Jeopardy! taught me a lot about how my own mind works, how fast it can process, and how successful it can be... if I don't give up.

Probably my favorite thing about JBoard is reading these kinds of reflections from Boardie-contestants.

I thought Mara and Chris (and Sandy, for that matter) did a great job. I hadn't realized that Chris was a boardie until I read this thread. Retroactive good luck after the College Championship! Chris, if you don't mind my asking, when did your next game tape (apparently this game was the last game of a Dec. 14-15 taping session)?

I said Hamilton for FJ!, concentrating on the wrong things. I don't recall ever being aware that Arnold was paid to be a traitor.

[This Is Kirk!]

My wife has a history of getting questions right based on some kind of pop culture reference. I thought for sure she'd get this FJ because of the Brady Bunch episode where Peter plays Benedict Arnold in a school play. Unfortunately she didn't and her excuse was that they never mentioned Arnold got paid by the Brits on the Brady Bunch episode.

[dhkendall]

DJ: (3/3) I pulled Jeep out of the same random corner as Mara. It was 4 letters and what else could it be,

I wanted to say FORD. JEEP never occured to me until Mara said it.

Since it has to have double letters in it per the category I'm surprised you wanted to say Ford.

[dhkendall]

WLT "umpire" in Vowels for $400?

Leo Durocher, a very famous baseball manager with a notoriously short fuse.

And a common way to criticize umpires is to call their visual abilities into question.

This, more so. I'm not that familiar with Durocher (neither is TPH, I suspect) but I know how umpires are often accused of having forgotten their seeing eye dog.

[dhkendall]

Nobody not from Saskatchewan can pronounce Saskatchewan.

We like to look at is as "Nobody from Saskatchewan can correctly pronounce Saskatchewan."

(Buncha banjo-picking inbreds)

[Winchell Factor]

WLT "umpire" in Vowels for $400?

Leo Durocher, a very famous baseball manager with a notoriously short fuse.

And a common way to criticize umpires is to call their visual abilities into question.

This, more so. I'm not that familiar with Durocher (neither is TPH, I suspect)....

"Nice guys finish last." Although it's not clear whether Leo Durocher evert said that exactly.

[dhkendall]

WLT "umpire" in Vowels for $400?

Leo Durocher, a very famous baseball manager with a notoriously short fuse.

And a common way to criticize umpires is to call their visual abilities into question.

This, more so. I'm not that familiar with Durocher (neither is TPH, I suspect)....

"Nice guys finish last." Although it's not clear whether Leo Durocher evert said that exactly.

Not as it's usually quoted, no. The actual quote is similar, though.

As a veteran J! watcher, I can prove conclusively this quote is false. For example: Chris won the game.

[TenPoundHammer]

As a veteran J! watcher, I can prove conclusively this quote is false. For example: Chris won the game.

And you just LOST The Game.

[alietr]

WLT "umpire" in Vowels for $400?

Leo Durocher, a very famous baseball manager with a notoriously short fuse.

And a common way to criticize umpires is to call their visual abilities into question.

Old piece of baseball advice: Never park in the parking spaces marked "For Umpires Only".

[OrangeSAM]

DJ: (3/3) I pulled Jeep out of the same random corner as Mara. It was 4 letters and what else could it be,

I wanted to say FORD. JEEP never occured to me until Mara said it.

Since it has to have double letters in it per the category I'm surprised you wanted to say Ford.

Mt first thought on this one was Saab, but I quickly changed it to Jeep.

[cbec]

Leo Durocher, a very famous baseball manager with a notoriously short fuse.

And a common way to criticize umpires is to call their visual abilities into question.

This, more so. I'm not that familiar with Durocher (neither is TPH, I suspect)....

"Nice guys finish last." Although it's not clear whether Leo Durocher evert said that exactly.

Not as it's usually quoted, no. The actual quote is similar, though.

As a veteran J! watcher, I can prove conclusively this quote is false. For example: Chris won the game.

Thanks, Dave! And I am familiar with Leo Durocher, as he was manager of the Chicago Cubs from 1966-1972, my formative years of baseball watching.

[cbec]

I thought Mara and Chris (and Sandy, for that matter) did a great job. I hadn't realized that Chris was a boardie until I read this thread. Retroactive good luck after the College Championship! Chris, if you don't mind my asking, when did your next game tape (apparently this game was the last game of a Dec. 14-15 taping session)?

I returned to Culver City to tape my next episode on January 11. Thanks for the retro luck!