Polo grounded

      As Andy says, I'm going to the unofficial Jeopardy! reunion this week in Washington, D.C. I've hardly been able to think of anything else! I can't wait to bring you everything I see and hear. I'm still hoping to have videos too, either with my phone, camera-that-I've-never-used, or netbook-webcam-I've-never-used! I wish I was leaving tomorrow already, except I'll have the pleasure of getting my fingers/toes/hair done tomorrow, and I still want to do a little more shopping. You and I will find out, will my hair last all the way through the Thursday night pub quiz? I have my doubts, and it's too bad. Incidentally, my hair lady called today while I was sleeping and said she had me scheduled for today. (In fact it was scheduled for tomorrow.) It's too bad, because then I'd know I'd have to redo my hair by Thursday night. Also, I'd have more free time tomorrow.
     Hey, remember last year's infamous red polo shirt? Well this year I am keeping score (not reading, thank you God), so I thought I wouldn't have to wear it. As it turns out, it doesn't look like anyone has to wear it. Good move, History Bowl. Hopefully this'll be the last time I mention it. By the way, I'll be wearing the dress in the above link on Sunday this weekend.
     Speaking of Jeopardy! in D.C., the Power Players Tournament was taped there this past weekend. My sister e-mailed me this link from Anderson Cooper 360 that I thought you might like. Notice that Cheech Marin, like guest-blogger Cathy Guiles, uses his pointer-finger as opposed to his thumb when ringing in. I'd never heard of this before Cathy, or you can be sure that I'd at least have practiced it at home before my own appearance. And speaking of Cathy, she too is going to be at the reunion on Friday.
     Today's contestants:

Cindy Vanderbur

Andrea Korte

Matt Johnson (Like Brad Rutter, he's from Lancaster, PA!)

     Cindy was a one-time champ coming into today. I have to admit, I'm not a big fan. The constant sleeve-pushing reminiscent of Andy Roddick. The chattering to her fellow contestants. The hair-shaking. The wasted time. The overt indifference toward Daily Double wagering. The incongruent facial expressions and affected bewilderment. And there's nothing wrong with this, but you've gotta pay close attention if you're keeping track of your Coryat - she doesn't select the clues in the traditional top-to-bottom way. I wonder if this is strategy on her part, or if she is just nervous, as Mr. Trebek said she was.
     I had a solid Jeopardy round, for as wacky as the categories were. I should've swept Speaking Hawaiian, but didn't pull the trigger on this clue: "It can be a Hawaiian feast or a particular dish usually prepared with coconut cream at that feast." And somehow I'd have swept All About Artists, but I didn't ring in on this one: "This artist known for self-portraits had a child by a young housekeeper and once declared bankruptcy."

     I'd have suspect that Matt, introduced as a baker, had a little trouble ringing in in Just Desserts. He got 2/5.
     At the first break, Andrea and Cindy were tied at 3200 while Matt had 1800. At the end of the round, Cindy had 5700, Matt had 3400, and Andrea had 4200.
     Longfellow was as hard as I expected it to be. I got on this one for 400, and that on a WAG: "In a Longfellow rhyme, 'I shot' this 'into the air, it fell to earth, I knew not where.'"
     On the other hand, I only didn't get this one in We're an American Band: "We hit the top 10 with 'Don't Look Back' in 1978; we'd say where we're from, but that'd be too much of a hint." I was trying to decide between "Kansas" and the correct response.
     I got this triple-stumper on a WAG, in This or That (I got it because I love tennis): "A bad football punt, or the long, straight anchor part connecting the crown & the ring."
     At the end of the round, Cindy had 24000, Matt had 6200, and Andrea had 18400. Fun wagering practice today, yeah? As much as I was hoping for Andrea to defeat Cindy today, I lost some respect with her icky final wager. Playing for second. Sound familiar? It didn't matter in the end, because Andrea missed the final and Cindy got it. On the other hand, Cindy did widely-accepted "right" thing by wagering enough to cover Andrea in case she doubled. And that's a big wager! If I were Andrea, I'd have wagered 7200. She'd have won then if Cindy made the predictable wager and if both Cindy and Andrea got the final wrong. (That's taking Matt out of the equation, of course.) I'm not sure what I'd do if I were Matt. I'd doubt that Andrea would wager the way I just suggested. In that case I may wager nothing. Since Andrea wagered the way she did, he'd have wound up in third no matter what he did. He got the final right.
     This was the final clue, in Women's Firsts: "In 1977 Juanita Kreps, the first woman on the board of the NYSE, became the first woman to head this cabinet dept." Did they really not have enough room to spell out the whole word? Anyway, I got this seemingly straight-forward final wrong.
     My Coryat today was 27000! Here's the thread for today's episode.