J! in the Media

[alietr]

Washington Post article Ken Jennings: Why I’m rooting for James Holzhauer on ‘Jeopardy!’

[alietr]

And yet another from The Washington Post:

James Holzhauer is the face of ‘Jeopardy!’ He’s also the new face of sports betting.

[earendel]

Not sure if this counts as "media" but The Straight Dope message board has a discussion about James's run that morphs into a discussion about changing the way the game is played.
https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/sh ... p?t=874217

[Robert K S]

Another one from 538:

James Holzhauer Could Be Two Weeks Away From ‘Jeopardy!’ Immortality

[Golf]

[This Is Kirk!]

According to the producer of 500 Questions it was "a shame" that James Holzhauer wasn't able to unseat Steve Bahnaman in that show.
https://nypost.com/2019/05/21/jeopardy- ... -a-winner/

[This Is Kirk!]

I agree with Alix's point that James' strategy won't be easy to replicate. I think the casual viewer thinks James has hit on some secret formula no one else had previously thought of, but the reason that strategy works for James is he has the knowledge and buzzer skills to control the board.

[alietr]

From The New Yorker:

New Yorker Holzhauer.jpg (59.16 KiB) Viewed 5767 times

[squarekara]

Robin's not just commenting on the game here. Sure, some players will enter the green room in full cutthroat mode. But the contestant coordinators customarily get everyone laughing and having fun together right off the bat to prevent backstage rancor. What the heck happened?

My husband is in the contestant pool, but he's not equipped to compete in the post-Holzhauer era, if there is indeed such an era forthcoming! Better step up the training:

Spoiler

[AndyTheQuizzer]

Please ensure your comments aren't attacking contestants.

[sarisson]

Regarding the CNN interview, I can't figure out why James would tell the other contestants he took a year off his job to train, because admittedly the only job he's had since college is being a professional sports gambler. Some people are intensely competitive, and that tends to really get under the skin of people who aren't. I remember a recent interview with The Beast where he said if he'd gone up against James, he would've started trash-talking James as a form of mental warfare!
Here's a thread from one of our boardies (a voice of reason in this crazy time) who said she trained 20-30 hours a week for two years:

I think if social media had been an integral part of people's lives in 2004-2005, there would've been a ton of subtweeting (or its equivalent), sniping, and overall bitterness towards Ken and Dave Madden. Look at what Arthur experienced five years ago; it would've been worse now. Take someone with an insanely long winning streak and what may turn out to be the highest cash total of all time and of course many people are going to hate him, even within the community.

[alietr]

One of the recent shows made me wonder what they'd do if someone just put their buzzer down in DJ, said "Screw it!" and walked off.

[gnash]

James Holzhauer Could Be Two Weeks Away From ‘Jeopardy!’ Immortality

He's making a horcrux? Are all his victims accounted for?

[Golf]

Robin's not just commenting on the game here. Sure, some players will enter the green room in full cutthroat mode. But the contestant coordinators customarily get everyone laughing and having fun together right off the bat to prevent backstage rancor. What the heck happened?

With her attitude, I think it's a possibility her story isn't accurate.

Please ensure your comments aren't attacking contestants.

I didn't see her comments before the edit. But seeing as how Robin went on national TV and attacked another contestant, I'd say she's fair game.

[seaborgium]

Please ensure your comments aren't attacking contestants.

I didn't see her comments before the edit. But seeing as how Robin went on national TV and attacked another contestant, I'd say she's fair game.

I guess you didn't notice your previous post was edited.

[Golf]

Please ensure your comments aren't attacking contestants.

I didn't see her comments before the edit. But seeing as how Robin went on national TV and attacked another contestant, I'd say she's fair game.

I guess you didn't notice your previous post was edited.

I did not, thanks for pointing that out.

Apologies for interrupting everybody singing....... hell, I'll probably get in trouble if I say that too......

[squarekara]

Robin's not just commenting on the game here. Sure, some players will enter the green room in full cutthroat mode. But the contestant coordinators customarily get everyone laughing and having fun together right off the bat to prevent backstage rancor. What the heck happened?

With her attitude, I think it's a possibility her story isn't accurate.

Please ensure your comments aren't attacking contestants.

I didn't see her comments before the edit. But seeing as how Robin went on national TV and attacked another contestant, I'd say she's fair game.

I edited my previous post for clarity because I had quoted something that had been removed, that's all.

Robin was delightful on the show, and it's sad to hear about hostile conditions behind the scenes. For the record, I don't think anyone giving a firsthand account of personal experience deserves to be attacked.

Now, all together. . .

Spoiler

[Golf]

Starting at the 2:55 mark Robin talks about how James took all of the fun out of the game. How he did nothing but study for Jeopardy for a year. Then while playing the game he treated it as work. Well sure, James is looking at this as a job, no different than how any other person looks at their job. Only James is earning a significantly higher wage than most. That could be why Robin is reacting the way she is, hard not to be jealous.

Or could it be that she feels as though James thoroughly embarrassed her on national TV? This would not be true, players in competitions get crushed by significantly better players every day. A good competitor takes their lumps and moves on.

Could it be that she's mad at herself for her late DD wager? There was a chance to win had she wagered everything. But for reasons known only to her, she wagered $1k, which gave her no opportunity to win.

I understand why she didn't have fun. Winning is fun, it's even more fun when you win by a lot. It's really fun when you get lots of money for it. None of that happened for Robin.

Working really hard to achieve something is not a crime. Winning is not a crime. I've seen many people that just meander through life making fun of those who actually try and do something with their lives. These are the ones who wonder where their participation trophies are.

[squarekara]

I understand why she didn't have fun. Winning is fun, it's even more fun when you win by a lot. It's really fun when you get lots of money for it. None of that happened for Robin.

For all his prep and focus, James absolutely deserves every dollar he's earning. But gameplay aside, Robin's overall experience was clearly marred by behavior backstage that affected not only her, but other contestants, and even staff. That's a shame.

[This Is Kirk!]

I understand why she didn't have fun. Winning is fun, it's even more fun when you win by a lot. It's really fun when you get lots of money for it. None of that happened for Robin.

For all his prep and focus, James absolutely deserves every dollar he's earning. But gameplay aside, Robin's overall experience was clearly marred by behavior backstage that affected not only her, but other contestants, and even staff. That's a shame.

It is, but have any other contestants made similar allegations? Some people may rub certain people the wrong way while others may have found their behavior perfectly acceptable.