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Today's game was a thriller, to continue with the music theme. The contestants:
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| Nick Condon |
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| Lisa Longo (yet another stay-at-home mom) |
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| Stewart Tuttle |
I liked Stewart's story of getting his hearing back after a doctor somehow used bones from a cadaver bank. I also liked Mr. Trebek's line, something like, "You have to give up a lot to donate there."
I swept It's "Al" Delicious (weird category name) before the Jeopardy round ended. Nick ended the round with 5800, Stewart had 6400, and Lisa had 2800.
Even though Stewart seemed to be looking for it, Nick found the first Daily Double of the Jeopardy round, in & In Other News.... I gave incorrect responses to the two previous clues, but Nick got them. (Stewart missed the clue just before this Daily Double.) Nick had 14200, Stewart had 5200, and Lisa had 2400. Nick wagered 4000 on this clue, which I thought was pretty easy: "In 1914, James Joyce finally found a publisher for this collection of stories about the people of his native city." Nick got it right.
Stewart seemed like he was still looking for a Daily Double. He had a couple of good gets in the meantime (Niger River? Volstead Act?) He had 11600 when he did find the next Daily Double, in Legislative Legacies. Nick had 17800 and Lisa had 5200. Huge pat on the back for Stewart: He wagered 10000. This was the clue, another softball: "Galusha Grow was the father of this 1862 law giving western land to anyone who'd settle and improve it." Stewart got it right. Oh, the drama!
I swept Double the W before the round ended. Nick ended with 18200, Stewart had 22400, and Lisa had 5600. The Final Jeopardy category was 20th Century Novels. This was the clue: "Penned by a British author, it became a No. 1 bestseller in the U.S. in 1959, 31 years after it was initially banned." Lisa did not write anything, and she lost all but a dollar. I'd never heard of Nick's response "Tropic of Capricorn," even though Mr. Trebek said he thought someone might come up with that. Unfortunately it was wrong, and Nick lost 9799. He absolutely did the right thing in terms of the wager: It appears he was expecting Stewart to wager just enough to beat Nick if he doubled. It doesn't make sense for Nick to try to double, because he will lose even if he does, and if he misses? He still loses because he will have 0. Therefore he wagered enough to beat Stewart if Stewart gets the Final wrong. Stewart didn't get the Final wrong, though. He did wager 14100 (a little more than necessary to beat Nick if Nick doubled), and becomes the new champion with quite a payday. Stewart was good but also pretty lucky. He twice, I think, rang in only to just stare. My Coryat today was 21800. Stewart's was 13200, Nick's was 15800, and Lisa's was 5600.
I've had a couple more thoughts about my audition (okay, maybe more than a couple!) - I know Stephen said try not to think about what I'd have done differently, but I do wish I'd said something else when they pressed me on what I'd do with Jeopardy! winnings: My friend and I, a week or two before the audition, talked about opening a Dunkin' Donuts franchise, as weird as that sounds. We even went to the site together to see what we'd have to do. Turns out we need a ton of money. Huh, imagine that! Anyway it would've made for a more colorful answer than the lame one I gave, and it is true anyway.
Secondly, a piece of the interstate is closed now on the way to Kansas City from Lincoln. So I'm thanking God it was still open on the day of my audition, and hoping all works out there.
Third, I want to add that I actually hope they will pick me on the late side of the 18 months - I have my work cut out for me, and I just want to succeed. Former contestant Karl Coryat says it could take a year or two to prepare.
By the way, does any boardie remember how to find Ten Pound Hammer's blog? I thought I'd try to invite him to leave his oh-so-popular comments here. :-)
Finally, a co-worker found this article and thought it might be good fodder for the blog. I'll just throw it out there in case anyone wants to comment there or here. ("Men vs. women" is not really my thing.)
6 comments:
It was disappointing to see Nick win today (especially when he could have won on a TS!), but he played quite well, and Stewart's immensely gutsy wager (and his sole FJ get, too, I suppose) probably deserved to be rewarded. Plus that was one neat contestant story. The best of luck to him in the future. :) And of course, Nick, you had an outstanding run. It was an absolute blast watching you play.
I don't know if I was that surprised that "Need You Now" was a TS...you and I both know how (ahem) wonderfully J! contestants traditionally do in current music categories...but I do agree it is most certainly ubiquitous enough to be very gettable. Under the lights and the pressure, though, very easy to forget, I'm sure.
My mind wandered around various unlikely responses in FJ, and eventually with about 7 seconds to go I settled on the following: "Atlas Shrugged...Ayn Rand was American, wasn't she?" And that was all I had when the 30 seconds were up. :) (ETA: I've just turned to Wiki, and it turns out she was Russian-American, actually.)
I may regret this, but here's TPH's blog address: http://stuffthehammerfound.blogspot.com/ (I just searched for "jeopardy ten pound hammer" on Google, and pulled up a cached version of an older thread on the message board to get the link from his signature. Wow, that sounds WAY more complicated than it actually was... :D)
(And sorry this is like a novel. Old boardie posting habits die hard...)
Thanks for the support, guys! It was a fun run.
It was frustrating to lose, esepecially after holding such a large lead, but Stewart played brilliantly in the second half of DJ!, including the huge (and strategically correct) DD wager.
I will correct you, Jeanie, a bit on my FJ! wager: I screwed it up. What I wagered would have been right on the money if Lisa had $4200 or less; however, given that she had $5600, she would have won had she been the only person to get FJ! right. The correct wager for me was $6999, which would still have beaten Stewart if we both missed while locking Lisa out completely. I didn't realize what I had done until I was in LAX that evening and suddenly remembered Lisa's pre-FJ! total.
Jeanie,
"Open a donut shop" would be a terrific answer to the question in the interview. If I make it to Lexington this year, I may use that myself. The answer I've prepared is "build a greenhouse." They like short, specific, and essentially bourgeois [says me] answers to all the questions, but especially the what would you do with the money.
When my son interviewed for the Teen Tournament, in our elevator ride on the way out he said he thought he did okay. A J! staffer, the only other person in the car, snorted and said he did great. He got the call. When my other son interviewed for J!, half a dozen fellow applicants told him he had a great interview. He didn't get the call. What makes a great audition? Inquiring minds would like to know.
Brandon, I forgot to mention I went with "Brave New World," even though I was pretty sure it was wrong.
Thanks for TPH's blog address. I had searched for "Ten Pound Hammer blog" and it wasn't enough. And I don't think you'll regret this!
And don't worry about long comments. You have good things to say.
Nick, I see your point about the wager. I'll keep that in mind in the future.
"Anonymous" - Yes, they really do want you to tell them what you'd do with the money! There's really no way around it.
And when was your son in the Teen Tournament?
I am also a Foreign Service Officer and worked with Stewart in Israel. He's not only smart; he is a super nice guy.
Did Stewart Tuttle serve as a JOT or a Program Officer in Kolkata India. I seem to remember working with him as FSN.