Monday, December 9, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #6726, 2013-12-09

CONTESTANTS
Reem Fattouh, a web editor from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Murray Weiss, a literary manager from Woodmere, New York
Craig Cornish, Jr., a graduate student of history from Welcome, Maryland (whose 1-day cash winnings total $19,000)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Hey, Johnny. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. And welcome to our show. I'm so happy to be able to spend this half-hour with you today. We have an excellent champion and two very good challengers in Reem and Murray. So, let's not delay. Pick up those signaling devices. Here comes the Jeopardy! Round and here come the categories. Starting off with...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
THE ____ OF ____ (5/5)
WHICH DIRECTION? (5/5)
WE'RE HAVING A BARBECUE (3/5)
PLEASE, NOT CHAPTER 11 (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double) (Alex: You have to name the book.)
YOU'RE SO VAGUE (5/5)
YOU PROBABLY THINK THIS SONG IS ABOUT YOU (5/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Craig: 15 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 2 W
Reem: 11 R (including 3 rebounds), 0 W
Murray: 2 R, 2 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 2
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $1,800



JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Craig found the Daily Double on the 8th clue. Craig had $600, Murray was in the red with -$200, and Reem was at $1,200. Craig wagered $1,000.

PLEASE, NOT CHAPTER 11 $800: Chapter 4:
"Clarence Endive was from East Egg, as I remember. He came only once, in white knickerbockers"

SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Craig: $3,600
Reem: $3,400
Murray: $400

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: For the first time in 30 years of hosting Jeopardy! programs, this is my very first occasion when I get to welcome somebody from my hometown of Sudbury, Ontario, Reem Fattouh. How long have you lived there? Were you born there, first of all?

Reem: No, uh, I was born in Windsor, but I've been in Sudbury for the last, uh, almost seven years.

Alex: And what do you do there?

Reem: I'm a web editor at Science North, which is the science center for Northern Ontario. Um, and it's home to several ambassador animals ranging from a beaver to a porcupine to a skunk and, uh, and several flying squirrels.

Alex: Okay, so you've got a little bit of everything.

Reem: Yeah.

Alex: Good for you.

Reem: Thank you.




Alex: Murray Weiss is a literary manager from Woodmere, New York, who had a six-month-long honeymoon years ago in Israel.

Murray: That's right.

Alex: Six months?

Murray: Exactly. Exactly 30 years ago. Uh, we got married in August. I was in grad school, and it was just a wonderful time. Took some courses.

Alex: Were you working on a kibbutz or doing stuff like that or just traveling?

Murray: Oh, no, no, no. Grad school. Just grad school. But we saw and traveled everywhere.

Alex: Yeah, I'm sure. Okay, nice having you with us today.




Alex: Craig Cornish, Jr. is our champion. He is from Welcome, Maryland.

Craig: I am.

Alex: Welcome--even the name sounds as if it's a small town. Is it?

Craig: It is. Uh, I believe the population at the time of the last census was 969.

Alex: 969. Okay. Good to have you back with us, too.

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
WE'RE HAVING A BARBECUE $800: The name of these alliterative ribs refers to size, not age

WE'RE HAVING A BARBECUE $1000: Using a charcoal grill? This starter is efficient & reliable

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Craig: $9,000
Reem: $5,400
Murray: $200

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
PERIODIC TABLE FOR 5 (4/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
MYTHING PERSONS (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
NOW THAT'S COMEDY (4/5)
A TIP O' THE "HUN" (5/5)
MILITARY GOVERNORS (4/5)
NATIONALITEASE (1/5) (Alex: Each response will be two words. I'll give you an example. "What is Spanish moss?")

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Craig: 14 R (including 1 DD), 1 W
Reem: 7 R, 1 W (including 1 DD)
Murray: 2 R, 3 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 6
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $7,600



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Craig snagged the next Daily Double on the 6th clue. Craig had $12,200, Murray had $200, and Reem was at $6,600. Craig wagered $5,000.

MYTHING PERSONS $2000: When presiding over the new year, this Roman god holds the numbers 300 & 65 in his hands

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Reem who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 30th clue. Craig had $26,400, Murray was in the red with -$1,800, and Reem was at $13,400. Reem wagered $2,000.

PERIODIC TABLE FOR 5 $2000: This metal's name is derived from a word for a demon or little devil
(Reem: What is tungsten?)
(Alex: No. I thought that because you're from Sudbury... Sudbury, which was once the [*] capital of the world.)

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
NOW THAT'S COMEDY $1600: Marlo Thomas played aspiring New York actress Ann Marie on this '60s sitcom
(Murray: What's The Mary Tyler Moore Show?)

NATIONALITEASE $400: A batter's swing with no contact in Lucerne?
(Murray: What is Swiss cheese?)

NATIONALITEASE $800: A lot of wall writing right here in the United States?

MILITARY GOVERNORS $1200: As military governor of this "Crescent City", Benjamin Franklin Butler allegedly looted its local banks

NATIONALITEASE $1600: An Ottawa shillelagh?

NATIONALITEASE $2000: Volleyball player lofting the ball so his Dublin teammates can spike it?
(Murray: What is an Irish coffee?)
(Craig: What is an Irish spring?)

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Craig: $26,400 (lock game)
Reem: $11,400
Murray: -$1,800

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
U.S. PRESIDENTS

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Lock for first place.
Craig: Wager between $0 (venusian) and $3,599 (martian), and enjoy your victory.
Reem: You've no hope of catching up... unless Craig does something stupid. So risk as much as $11,399; you needn't worry about falling into third place.

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Although born in the United States, he was the only president who spoke English as a second language

FINAL SCORES
Reem: $11,400 - $3,600 = $7,800 (Who is Truman) (2nd place)
Craig: $26,400 + $1,400 = $27,800 (Who was Van Buren?) (19001-day champion: $27,800)
(Alex: [*], who grew up in a Dutch community in Kinderhook, New York.)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $9,400

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Craig: $23,200, 29 R (including 2 DDs), 3 W
Reem: $13,400, 18 R, 1 W (including 1 DD)
Murray: -$1,800, 4 R, 5 W
Combined Coryat: $34,800

BATTING AVERAGES
Craig: 30/60 = .500
Reem: 18/59 = .305
Murray: 4/58 = .069
Team: 52/63 = .825

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
THE ____ OF ____ $200: He was the less than legal lawman trying to keep the peace around Sherwood Forest
(Murray: Who is Robin Hood?)

WHICH DIRECTION? $400: Region in the U.K. where Norwich is:
____ Anglia
(Craig: What is North?)

THE ____ OF ____ $1000: (Sarah of the Clue Crew shows a map on the monitor.) Most Americans had never even heard of this body of water in August 1964, but that was all about to change

WE'RE HAVING A BARBECUE $600: It's the 1-word equivalent of a spit roast, which rotates food while it cooks over a fire
(Craig: What is a skewer?)

WHICH DIRECTION? $600: "The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition":
"____"
(Murray: What is North?)

A TIP O' THE "HUN" $1600: Seen here,
they've become a favorite of fans at sporting events

CORRECT RESPONSES
The Great Gatsby
baby back ribs
a chimney starter
Janus
nickel
That Girl
a Swiss miss
American graffiti
New Orleans
a Canadian club
an Irish setter
Martin Van Buren
the Sheriff of Nottingham
East
the Gulf of Tonkin
a rotisserie
South
thundersticks

[jeff6286]

U.S. Presidents
Although born in the United States, he was the only President who spoke English as a second language.

Spoiler

Who is Martin Van Buren? Reem said Truman.

Craig Cornish, Jr.: $26,400+$1,400=$27,800...now a 2-day champion with $46,800
Reem Fattouh: $11,400-$3,600=$7,800
Murray Weiss: (-$1,800)

[Bamaman]

I had high hopes as the game wound down. The final DD was in the last category on the board. Who would get it and how would they bet? Reem made a nice run and was able to break the lock on the $1,600 clue and got control of the DD. The scores were $26,400/$13,400 with Murray in the red. Just in case she sucks at math, Alex let her know she was above the threshold for a lock.

So what should she bet? If she really knows her periodic table, she should bet at least $13,000 to be tied or in the lead going into FJ. Anything less and even if right, she has to count on Craig missing FJ to win the game. Since a bet of that size knocks her out of contention completely, going for even a dollar less that $13,000 is pointless.

Or if she is unsure about her knowledge of this subject, she only has one logical bet. That would be $200. Then she needs to get the clue wrong. Even if it is "This element is represented by the letter O", you should say you have no clue. This puts you into a lock-tie and you can come back tomorrow if you get it right and Craig isn't an idiot but still gets FJ right.

The pauses, as if she's pondering her decision. She says she'll just bet two (Hooray!!!!) thousand (Boo!!!!). So even if she's right, she's still getting crushed and has to get FJ right and hope he gets it wrong. I like seeing bad bets punished, so the J! gods gave her a clue she didn't know, even though there is a bunch of it in her hometown.

With a penultimate bet that bad, I wasn't expecting much for FJ and she didn't let me down. She's locked out, but its a two player game, so she's assured of finishing second and winning $2,000. But maybe Craig will make a "tie if wrong". Highly unlikely, but you never know. With no downside to going all in, she only bets $3,600. I understand the category may have made a non-American nervous, but as I said, there was zero risk to betting it all with a very small chance of a big reward. The J! gods were once again on the ball and gave Craig a solo get on FJ,

Good job by Craig. After he won Friday partly on the strength of a wheelhouse category, I wasn't sure how he'd do today, but he proved himself a worthy player.

Looking forward to today's episode of the penultimate wager.

In a category where I'd consider risking my lock, it was an instaget for me.

[jpr281]

I've been lurking this site for a while now, but I felt the need to sign up today to voice my displeasure with Reen's DD wager as the last clue in DJ. Simply horrible!

[econgator]

So what should she bet?

$200 and tank it. Simplest bet ever.

I wonder if they might have also considered Robin of Locksley in the ___ of ___ category.

Instaget FJ. Congrats to Gus Fring!

[TenPoundHammer]

Reem: "You think this song is abote you." I giggled. I went 3/5 there. Blanked on Layla, had no chance on Peter Gabriel, whom I know nothing about.

Which Direction? was tough. I got only $200, but thought that even it was a bit obscure. At least it wasn't "Direction you'd travel if you went from X to Y", because I share dhkendall's difficulties with distance and length.

Considering I don't like barbecued food very much, I was surprised at my 4/5 there. "Chimney" was my only miss.

3/5 in Vague, missing Fuzzy whomever and Blur (WAGged "? and the Mysterians").

====

Closed captioning said "Spanish moths", but I'm pretty sure Alex said "Moss". Oops.

The third category in DJ! reminded me of her. (Amusingly, I made an unrelated reference to her on Facebook earlier.)

Mythology is usually a terrible category for me, but I went 3/5, and at least recognized the two I missed (Medusa and Osiris).

That Nationality category was dumb. I thought Lucerne was too obscure of a Swiss town at $400 (why not Geneva?), and the fact that $400 rhymed jammed my brain at $800. "Well, that's graffiti, but no term meaning 'American' rhymes with 'graffiti'. What do they want?!"

The other three in Nationality were just a case of NHOI (never heard of a young fish being a "fry", "setter" in volleyball, or a "Canadian club").

====

No guess on FJ! I know literally nothing about Van Buren.

[Bamaman]

Canadian Club is a brand of booze and was also a category name just the other day.

So what should she bet?

$200 and tank it. Simplest bet ever.

That's what I'd have done without even thinking. But an all in bet would have crossed my mind if I liked the category a lot, but that category wasn't it.

[Golf]

So what should she bet? If she really knows her periodic table, she should bet at least $13,000 to be tied or in the lead going into FJ. Anything less and even if right, she has to count on Craig missing FJ to win the game. Since a bet of that size knocks her out of contention completely, going for even a dollar less that $13,000 is pointless.

Or if she is unsure about her knowledge of this subject, she only has one logical bet. That would be $200. Then she needs to get the clue wrong. Even if it is "This element is represented by the letter O", you should say you have no clue. This puts you into a lock-tie and you can come back tomorrow if you get it right and Craig isn't an idiot but still gets FJ right.

No, just no. There is only one proper wager and that's 200 followed by an answer of "suck it Trebek".

Whether you wager big or small, you still have to answer FJ correct in order to win, assuming 2nd has half a clue how to wager from a close 2nd place. But if you wager big you still have to answer the DD correct, so why not just take that clue totally out of the equation?

Now, if it was me and the category was golf, or if Carlos had an anime category, I can agree with a TDD simply because it's as close to a lock answer as one can get. The minute chance of being wrong combined with the chance 2nd place now foolishly wagering everything in FJ makes the strategy worthwhile.

But, if you're going to bet big, you bet everything in this situation. (assuming she's already guaranteed the 2k for being ahead of the negative contestant) Wagering 13k for the tie going into FJ is terrible. As usual in these situations, it's go as big or as small as possible.

That's what I'd have done without even thinking. But an all in bet would have crossed my mind if I liked the category a lot, but that category wasn't it.

Now I'm confused after reading your first post.

[Golf]

had no chance on Peter Gabriel, whom I know nothing about.

You would have answered correctly had you known about say... anything.

(just in case, the above is not an insult, somebody will explain it)

[econgator]

had no chance on Peter Gabriel, whom I know nothing about.

You would have answered correctly had you known about say... anything.

(just in case, the above is not an insult, somebody will explain it)

So .........

[Bamaman]

Now I'm confused after reading your first post.

Sorry, I would definitely bet $200, my initial post was just mostly rambling about her options. I only said "at least $13,000" to mean she needed to catch him at worst. But no way would I not try to pass him if I were betting big. Why face someone that good again?

But only in a category I really loved would I bet that big and would go all in or maybe hold back a buck just for some more face time in FJ if I'm wrong.

[billiej]

So what should she bet?

$200 and tank it. Simplest bet ever.

I almost never get into betting strategy/analysis, but even I was immediately yelling "$200!" at the screen. WTF was up with that useless wager??? If you're going to go >200, at least go big enough to make it worth something.

[Golf]

Sorry, I would definitely bet $200, my initial post was just mostly rambling about her options. I only said "at least $13,000" to mean she needed to catch him at worst. But no way would I not try to pass him if I were betting big. Why face someone that good again?

But only in a category I really loved would I bet that big and would go all in or maybe hold back a buck just for some more face time in FJ if I'm wrong.

Cool, we seem to be in agreement on this one.

[StevenH]

Wow, Craig is awesome. He has the buzzer speed and the knowledge. The boards lately have been very good and have had a lot of categories that I would expect to see in the ToC. I can't help but wonder if Craig will be in trouble if the board quality dips or just skews back toward the regular show bread and butter.

The only category that I didn't like in this game was that last one in the DJ round, the nationality wordplay one. That category needs to be retired.

I really enjoyed watching Reem. She won me over with her get on Blur.

If I had been in Reem's position on that last DD then I would have wagered almost everything and gone for the lead. It was a $2000 clue, but I still would have rather taken my chances on chemical elements than on whatever FJ turned out to be. Unfortunately, I never would have gotten nickel. I don't think that I would have guessed nickel even if you gave me a periodic table and told me that I had all the time I wanted to think about it.

FJ was an instant get, though I never knew that about Van Buren.

I hadn't noticed the resemblance between Craig and Gus Fring, but yeah, I see it. I also thought that the guy in the middle looked like Matt Ottinger (Matt played Ken Jennings in one of Ken's regular games).

[Golf]

If I had been in Reem's position on that last DD then I would have wagered almost everything and gone for the lead. It was a $2000 clue, but I still would have rather taken my chances on chemical elements than on whatever FJ turned out to be.

So if you answer the DD correctly you don't have to worry about the FJ category?

[NoName84]

I really thought that "What is Cobalt?" was the correct response to that last DD.

[econgator]

Unfortunately, I never would have gotten nickel. I don't think that I would have guessed nickel even if you gave me a periodic table and told me that I had all the time I wanted to think about it.

I would have with a while to think about it. As soon as Alex gave the correct response, I said, "Of course. Old Nick. Duh."

I really thought that "What is Cobalt?" was the correct response to that last DD.

Which isn't a bad guess, being named for kobolds.

[StevenH]

If I had been in Reem's position on that last DD then I would have wagered almost everything and gone for the lead. It was a $2000 clue, but I still would have rather taken my chances on chemical elements than on whatever FJ turned out to be.

So if you answer the DD correctly you don't have to worry about the FJ category?

What I meant was that I would rather go for first place on the DD and risk falling out of contention on a miss than making a small wager and hoping for a single get FJ clue.

[Golf]

If I had been in Reem's position on that last DD then I would have wagered almost everything and gone for the lead. It was a $2000 clue, but I still would have rather taken my chances on chemical elements than on whatever FJ turned out to be.

So if you answer the DD correctly you don't have to worry about the FJ category?

What I meant was that I would rather go for first place on the DD and risk falling out of contention on a miss than making a small wager and hoping for a single get FJ clue.

Either way you still have to answer FJ correctly to win. You're not a fan of the lock-tie scenario?