Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

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jpahk
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by jpahk »

thanks everyone!

on FJ, i think alex was referring to the alamo... which had already come up in the first round. so that seems weird. but now i can't remember if i decided that he was referring to the alamo, or if he mentioned during the post-game chat that he was referring to the alamo. either way, i was definitely relieved to see a gimme FJ since i had frittered away a lock win on the mary lamb DD. i could have regained it, i guess, by going bigger on the other DD, but hats? not really a great category for me.

i had to sort of condense an answer on the crossword thing. the newsday saturday stumper is often the toughest puzzle of the week, tougher than the NYT saturday. but the rest of the week, the NYT is much tougher than the newsday (and also more interesting and fun). the washington post puzzler, the subscription-only fireball crossword, and matt gaffney's weekly crossword contest are also once-a-week puzzles that are both tough as nails and top-quality.

chris is a terrific guy and an awesome jeopardy player. mostly i was grateful that i got my share (i guess more than my share) of the buzzer races. and i didn't realize this at the time, but the categories were also friendly to me. if i had played him on friday's boards i don't think i could have kept pace.
MarkBarrett wrote:Hilton as the writer for Mr. Chips doesn't get a response? Some Hilton works are still on school reading lists, yes? Or am I feeling old again?
well, my excuse was that i got my wires crossed—roth wrote goodbye, columbus, which i've read. but i don't think i would have pulled out hilton anyway. i haven't read it and i think of the movie before the book. usually whenever i see a reference to mr. chips it's to clue DONAT in a crossword puzzle.
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Volante
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by Volante »

I need a ruling, judges...

"This airway connects the pharynx with the bronchi"

I've been looking over drawings and it looks like it goes "pharynx -> larynx -> trachea -> bronchi" ... so, would larynx be accepted?
(No pressure, but if I could toggle this, I'd break 20k on my Coryat :mrgreen: )
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jeff6286
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by jeff6286 »

Did anyone else think that the baseball category was uncommonly hard by Jeopardy's usual standards? Phil Rizzuto and Dwight Gooden both seem really hard for someone who isn't a major baseball fan, or at least a casual fan of the Yankees and/or Mets. A-Rod was pretty easy, and Dennis Eckersley would be pretty reasonable for any moderate baseball fan over the past 20-25 years. But Leo Durocher? In the second box? That one really threw me, as I would expect that to be either a 4th or 5th box clue. Any non-sports fans out there ever even heard of Leo Durocher?
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Volante
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by Volante »

jeff6286 wrote:Did anyone else think that the baseball category was uncommonly hard by Jeopardy's usual standards? Phil Rizzuto and Dwight Gooden both seem really hard for someone who isn't a major baseball fan, or at least a casual fan of the Yankees and/or Mets. A-Rod was pretty easy, and Dennis Eckersley would be pretty reasonable for any moderate baseball fan over the past 20-25 years. But Leo Durocher? In the second box? That one really threw me, as I would expect that to be either a 4th or 5th box clue. Any non-sports fans out there ever even heard of Leo Durocher?
I'd say it seemed harder cept it got swept. I only managed ARod, Eck and Dr. K myself. But those other two barely rang a bell for me.
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trainman
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by trainman »

jpahk wrote: i had to sort of condense an answer on the crossword thing. the newsday saturday stumper is often the toughest puzzle of the week, tougher than the NYT saturday. but the rest of the week, the NYT is much tougher than the newsday (and also more interesting and fun)...
And I'm sure they wanted you to speak highly of the NYT anyway, given the promotional relationship.

During FJ!, I sat for 10 seconds racking my brain, trying to think what had happened in U.S. history in 1851 involving a stronghold. Then I mentally checked my math.
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by seaborgium »

MarkBarrett wrote:I'll admit to checking a couple of Facebook friends list over the weekend belong to TOCers to see if Chris was on there.
Precisely why I resolved before attending the ToC taping to defer friend requests from unaired contestants (should there be any and should I get any)! Of course, we two aren't Facebook friends (though there's no reason we shouldn't be), but I'm going to be cautious all the same.


Fort Sumter was the only Civil War fort I could name with certainty. McHenry was 1812; Alamo was Mexican-American and already mentioned. Ignorance makes things easy sometimes.

edit: and congrats, Joon! I kept wondering which of the clues could play to an avid puzzler's advantage.
legendneverdies
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by legendneverdies »

jpahk wrote: well, my excuse was that i got my wires crossed—roth wrote goodbye, columbus, which i've read. but i don't think i would have pulled out hilton anyway. i haven't read it and i think of the movie before the book. usually whenever i see a reference to mr. chips it's to clue DONAT in a crossword puzzle.
And Charles Lamb is a clue for Elia :)
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by NJCondon »

Congratulations, Joon! That was a very well-played game against a couple of very tough opponents. And while I know that looks can be deceiving, you certainly seemed calm and collected up there.
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Rex Kramer
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by Rex Kramer »

Joon no doubt enjoyed the honor of having crossword movie star Merl Reagle alert the rest of the cruciverbal world, in real time, to his appearance on Jeopardy!. I have not yet watched his debut, but I'm glad to hear how well it went. Who needs a Teachers' Tournament, eh? :) Congratulations!

Rex
chuck5982
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by chuck5982 »

jeff6286 wrote:Did anyone else think that the baseball category was uncommonly hard by Jeopardy's usual standards?
Fully agree. Sports categories are usually runs for me, but not this one. Only managed A-Rod and Eck.
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by StevenH »

chuck5982 wrote:
jeff6286 wrote:Did anyone else think that the baseball category was uncommonly hard by Jeopardy's usual standards?
Fully agree. Sports categories are usually runs for me, but not this one. Only managed A-Rod and Eck.
I also found it to be hard. I only got A Rod and Durocher, and I know baseball history pretty well. The contestants had no trouble running it, so those may have just been gaps in my knowledge base.
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by John Boy »

Volante wrote:
jeff6286 wrote:Did anyone else think that the baseball category was uncommonly hard by Jeopardy's usual standards? Phil Rizzuto and Dwight Gooden both seem really hard for someone who isn't a major baseball fan, or at least a casual fan of the Yankees and/or Mets. A-Rod was pretty easy, and Dennis Eckersley would be pretty reasonable for any moderate baseball fan over the past 20-25 years. But Leo Durocher? In the second box? That one really threw me, as I would expect that to be either a 4th or 5th box clue. Any non-sports fans out there ever even heard of Leo Durocher?
I'd say it seemed harder cept it got swept. I only managed ARod, Eck and Dr. K myself. But those other two barely rang a bell for me.
Maybe it WAS an "older-guy" thing. I'm not a huge fan by any means but easily swept the category. Leo "the lip" Durocher should be known to, well, everyone as the author of the one quote that best sums up all of sports: "Nice guys finish last." I can see where Eckersley and Gooden would cause some head scratching. Rizutto's modest personal accomplishments enabled him to hang around great teams that won a lot of championships, and IIRC he spent many years as a game announcer on TV, which can keep people's name before the crowds for decades after retirement from the sport.
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by alamble »

John Boy wrote:
Volante wrote:
jeff6286 wrote:Did anyone else think that the baseball category was uncommonly hard by Jeopardy's usual standards? Phil Rizzuto and Dwight Gooden both seem really hard for someone who isn't a major baseball fan, or at least a casual fan of the Yankees and/or Mets. A-Rod was pretty easy, and Dennis Eckersley would be pretty reasonable for any moderate baseball fan over the past 20-25 years. But Leo Durocher? In the second box? That one really threw me, as I would expect that to be either a 4th or 5th box clue. Any non-sports fans out there ever even heard of Leo Durocher?
I'd say it seemed harder cept it got swept. I only managed ARod, Eck and Dr. K myself. But those other two barely rang a bell for me.
Maybe it WAS an "older-guy" thing. I'm not a huge fan by any means but easily swept the category. Leo "the lip" Durocher should be known to, well, everyone as the author of the one quote that best sums up all of sports: "Nice guys finish last." I can see where Eckersley and Gooden would cause some head scratching. Rizutto's modest personal accomplishments enabled him to hang around great teams that won a lot of championships, and IIRC he spent many years as a game announcer on TV, which can keep people's name before the crowds for decades after retirement from the sport.
Eckersley and Gooden should have been gimmes for modern baseball fans - Eck being a first ballot Hall of Famer and a pitcher who essentially redefined the role of a closer. Gooden is probably as equally well-known for his pitching exploits as for his severe drug habit. Durocher and Rizzuto should have been the bottom two clues; Rizzuto is probably as familiar these days for his broadcasting career as for his actual playing days. (see: Paradise by the Dashboard Light)
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by alietr »

... as well as the Seinfeld episode, "The Pothole" for Rizzuto.
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by TomKBaltimoreBoy »

Rizzuto is, as far as I know, the only member of the Hall of Fame (whether he should be is beside the point) to also be credited on a platinum-selling album. He's always insisted that he had no idea how his call of the "play" was going to be used.

That and becoming a Seinfeld totem, has to be some sort of bizarre pop-culture confluence that signals the Apocalypse.

But Gooden should have been in the last slot -- by far the toughest of the nicknames, IMHO. Durocher wasn't nearly as difficult, given his fame as the source of the quote, which apparently is a little apocryphal. The actual quote has him talking about the opposition as "the nicest bunch of guys you're ever gonna see, but they're gonna finish last. Nice guys. Finish last." That extra bit of punctuation adds a lot to it.
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alamble
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by alamble »

TomKBaltimoreBoy wrote:Rizzuto is, as far as I know, the only member of the Hall of Fame (whether he should be is beside the point) to also be credited on a platinum-selling album. He's always insisted that he had no idea how his call of the "play" was going to be used.

That and becoming a Seinfeld totem, has to be some sort of bizarre pop-culture confluence that signals the Apocalypse.

But Gooden should have been in the last slot -- by far the toughest of the nicknames, IMHO.
Going to have to respectfully disagree there. Gooden is more commonly referred to as "Doc," rather than by his given name, and from that, it is not a huge leap to come up with the original version of the nickname at all.
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Volante
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by Volante »

alamble wrote: Eckersley and Gooden should have been gimmes for modern baseball fans - Eck being a first ballot Hall of Famer and a pitcher who essentially redefined the role of a closer. Gooden is probably as equally well-known for his pitching exploits as for his severe drug habit. Durocher and Rizzuto should have been the bottom two clues; Rizzuto is probably as familiar these days for his broadcasting career as for his actual playing days. (see: Paradise by the Dashboard Light)
Eckersley moreso. They're giving you the name! No way that should've been 800.

Still, for a J! board, I was expecting more along the lines of "Iron Horse", "Charlie Hustle", or "Mr. Cub." This isn't their first surprisingly tricky baseball category either. Exhibits A and B:

http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=3325
http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=3626

This nickname cat isn't that bad, though:
http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=3416
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by TomKBaltimoreBoy »

alamble wrote:
TomKBaltimoreBoy wrote:Rizzuto is, as far as I know, the only member of the Hall of Fame (whether he should be is beside the point) to also be credited on a platinum-selling album. He's always insisted that he had no idea how his call of the "play" was going to be used.

That and becoming a Seinfeld totem, has to be some sort of bizarre pop-culture confluence that signals the Apocalypse.

But Gooden should have been in the last slot -- by far the toughest of the nicknames, IMHO.
Going to have to respectfully disagree there. Gooden is more commonly referred to as "Doc," rather than by his given name, and from that, it is not a huge leap to come up with the original version of the nickname at all.
True, but we're talking about a pitcher that was a big thing 25 years ago -- and outside of New York, if he is thought of at all outside of there, it's mostly as a cautionary tale, with a side reference to his cousin Darryl Strawberry. It's a gettable clue, but much tougher than Eckersley, Rodriguez, Rizzuto or Durocher, IMO.
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legendneverdies
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by legendneverdies »

alamble wrote:
Rizzuto should have been the bottom two clues; Rizzuto is probably as familiar these days for his broadcasting career as for his actual playing days. (see: Paradise by the Dashboard Light)
He was also known as the spokesman for the MOney Store loan company in the 70s-80s, with Jim Palmer taking over in the company's later years. He was also the first Mystery Guest on What's My Line? on the show's Feb 2, 1950 debut.
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Re: Monday, October 3, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILER

Post by econgator »

alamble wrote:Eckersley and Gooden should have been gimmes for modern baseball fans - Eck being a first ballot Hall of Famer and a pitcher who essentially redefined the role of a closer. Gooden is probably as equally well-known for his pitching exploits as for his severe drug habit. Durocher and Rizzuto should have been the bottom two clues; Rizzuto is probably as familiar these days for his broadcasting career as for his actual playing days. (see: Paradise by the Dashboard Light)
I'm with Tom on Gooden. I'm a diehard Mets fan, so it was cake for me, but you're talking about someone who is barely in the top-50 in strikeouts, so his name wouldn't likely be the first one you'd come up with for that.

Looking at that all-time list, though, I have to admit that I didn't realize that Javier Vasquez is the current active leader (#29).
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