Final Jeopardy: U.S. Presidents (4-14-15)
The Final Jeopardy question (4/14/2015), in the category “U.S. Presidents” was:
Only 2 Presidents had their last name changed. These 2.
2x champ Alex Jacob has won $49,600 so far. Let’s see how he makes out today against these two players: Mary Suarez, from New York, NY; and Corbin Dill, from Houston, TX.
Round 1: Alex found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Speech! Speech!” under the $1,000 clue. He was in the lead with $2,000, $1,200 ahead of Mary in second place. He made it a true Daily Double and he was RIGHT.
At the 1935 dedication of this out West, FDR called it an “engineering victory of the first order.” show
Alex finished in the lead with $8,200. Mary was second with $2,400 and Corbin was last with $2,400.
Round 2: Alex found the first Daily Double in “Novels’ Sequels” under the $1,200 clue, the 3rd pick of the round. He was in the lead with $10,200, $7,800 more than Mary in second place. As usual at this point, he bet it all and as usual (so far), he was RIGHT.
“Beggarman, Thief”. show
Alex found the last Daily Double in “Mount Everest” under the $1,600 clue. In the lead with $28,000, he now had $25,600 more than Mary in second place. Ignoring Trebek’s goading to bet it all, he only bet $100 and guessed Nepalese. Alex asked him to be more specific and he said Tibetan. That was WRONG.
At age 16 in 2001, Temba Tsheri, a boy of this ethnicity, became the youngest person to climb Mount Everest. show
Alex finished in the lead with $36,300. Corbin was next with $6,200 and Mary was in third place with $4,800.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
“President Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas, three months after his father died in a traffic accident. When he was four years old, his mother wed Roger Clinton, of Hot Springs, Arkansas. In high school, he took the family name.” (Clinton’s White House Bio)
Gerald R. Ford Jr. was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska, but kept neither his name nor his hometown for long. In just weeks, he was whisked away by his mother, Dorothy Ayer Gardner, to her parents’ home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A plucky woman who would not tolerate abuse, she divorced his father, Leslie Lynch King Sr., within the year, and less than three years later, was married to Gerald Rudolff Ford, a local paint company salesman, from whence “Jerry” Jr. got his name– although it was not made legal until he was 22 years old. (Gerald Ford on Biography)
Mary got it right. She added $1,800 to finish with $6,600.
Corbin thought it was Grant and Eisenhower. That cost him his $3,800 bet and he ended up with $2,400.
Alex wrote down B. Harrison and W.H. Harrison. This time around, he bet (and lost) $13,700 so he won this match with $22,600. His 3-day total is $72,200.
During the chat, Alex showed off a special talent– he sang the alphabet backwards.
2 years ago:: TWO of the players got this FJ in “1960s Television”
Jackie Gleason considered, but then decided against, suing this show that premiered September 30, 1960. show
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Does it bother anyone how Alex jumps around the board like Chu
No.
Yes.
no.he – or any other player – can go wherever s/he wants. if it works,fine. if not it bites the player anyway.
I agree, it ruins the show for me when they jump around. I have sent in a complaint to the show about this but I guess they can’t stop them.
Most times I find those that do never win which pleases me.
thjere is nothing in the rules that you have to start with the first row, go top to bottom, then second row again, 3,4,5,6.
you don’t tell a chess player either which piece s/he moves. if somebody wants to play unconventional, that is the player’s prerogative. maybe s/he is very comfy with one or 2 categories and hopes there is a dd in that row. or as today when alex got the last dd, bet 100 and laid the foundation for his runaway. one of the exiting features of the game is that you can play it anyway you want. if somebody thinks it is an advantage, why would anyone try to force that player to go up-down from left to right??
I think we all know and understand that, John. The question Annie posed was “Does it bother anyone how Alex jumps around the board like Chu?”
Some of us are bothered by it, some aren’t.
I think it serves as a test for how much a player is liked. It seemed smart when Ken Jennings did it, not so bad when Brad did it, clever but questionable when Roger Craig employed it, but horrible when AChu broke the hallowed protocol.
I believe, especially in light of the comments of the Venerable Judge, that in my above comment, the word “guide” should have been used in place of “test”.
I don’t really care one way or the other. For me, it’s just not part of whether or not I admire a player. On the one hand, it’s cool that they don’t leave any top $$ clues or DDs on the board. On the other, the end of the round is less exciting because you know the scores won’t fluctuate much.
I respectfully disagree with your last statement, as it basically assumes a failure of the strategy. I, however, will agree that it may make the game less exciting because of the increased chance of a runaway. Short of a runaway, though, it may also make the game significantly more exciting as a near runaway can lead to the larger payoff.
No. Nor does it appear to bother Alex Trebek. He keeps pace with him. It’s when a contestant jumps around the board at a rapid pace that bothers me.
In one of Joshua Brakhage’s post-game chats Alex said he wished people were more traditional,
I remember Alex Trebek saying something to the effect that he didn’t understand why contestants didn’t start at the top of a category with the easier clues to build their confidence instead of going to the harder clues first.
Never heard him complain nor does he appear to have a problem keeping pace with the contestants when they bounce around the board for the clues.
Further AT renewed his contract. So it must not be giving him heartburn to the point where he wants to retire as had been rumored prior to his contract renewal. This week he seems pretty happy and upbeat during his after game chats with people who bounce around the board.
Not at all. He’s the most entertaining contestant I have ever seen on the show.
Corbin answered Grant and Eisenhower both of those are also correct?
no, Linda, because their last names were always Grant and Eisenhower.
What about Ronald Reagan
His birth name was Ronald Wilson Reagan. His nickname was Dutch.
I’ve read some of the less than flattering comments about Alex J and putting his hand behind his back, etc. Has it ever occurred to anyone that the young man may have back problems? I watched him carefully today after reading some of the comments beginning with his first appearance. I was appalled.
As a tall person myself who periodically has back muscle spasms it’s no fun. I watched how he leaned on the podium with his hand when making a DD decision. At the end of the show I noticed his height. He appears, to me, to be a very bright young man who might have a problem with his back.
Since others have expressed their opinions on FF I thought I should express mine. Sorry to disagree with many of you but everyone is entitled to her/his point of view.
I find nothing comical about Alex J. What I’m observing from my point of view is a very bright and highly educated young man. Even though he missed today’s fj he had a comfortable lead and could afford the risk.
Congrats Alex J.
Further, even if it’s a nervous habit, so what? It’s simply a sad indictment of a lack of tolerance. Thank you for your stance, Jacob.
concur 100%. after the first game i was just wondering why he went to his back so often. back pains would explain it, never had any myself but i can imagine the discomfort. especially since they do not tape just 1 show.
and as i said before, you don’t get a degree from yale in economics and math if you are stupid and the poker experience has taught him probably quite a few things about psychology. currency trading is not that easy either, you have to go in with a lot of money since the daily swings (IF he is a day trader as well) rarely exceed 0.5%.
i wonder how he got off the ground financially. you need a high bankroll for poker tournaments, leave alone currency trading. since he attended yale maybe some family money>trading and the rest is history.you don’t trade currencies with just 50 or 100 grand to begin with.
but obviously he enjoys himself, loves what he is doing instead of working in an office (with his credits he could have gotten any job more or less) he put his knowledge to good use doing what he likes to do.good for him!
nervous hives would also be a very remote possibility, but i don’t think so. i remember what you mentioned,jacob, when alex was leaning heavily on the lectern with his left hand when he made a dd decision. i guess he really does not want to take any strong painkillers when playing j OR poker, he would be in a haze.
Well, I really don’t know what comments you are talking about on here because I only know of two that were made about it — I made a little joke that it was his way of saying he could answer the question with one hand tied behind his back. And John B just wondered why he was doing it. Nothing unflattering about either comment, imo, and neither was made in a mocking spirit.
I really thought maybe he had a wire from the mike back there and when he moved, it was bothering him.
Somehow the two guys missed the “last name” part of the clue.
how so? corbin wrote grant and eisenhower and alex had the 2 harrisons. all last names?
Grant dropped Hiram (his first name). Eisenhower’s mom changed the order of Dwight and David after initially naming him David Dwight. That makes them both first name changes.
I have no idea what Alex had in mind with the Harrisons so maybe I’m wrong there.
alex is getting greedy,playing for an even 50K. but he could afford it, he still averages over 24 K per game.
too bad for mary being last yet the only one to get ford. for that alone:BRAVO!(although she killed my prediction of zero for a runaway)
i also didn’t think alex would wager anything if he had a runaway and thought that HE would be the one who would be right).
well,an even 50K is tempting…
idk how many clues were left when alex found the last dd. i guess with his 100 dollar bet he locked up the runaway, so it must have been in the last third of dj. can’t wait to see the game.
i didn’t think alex would bet anything if he had a runaway.
never mind the last line. just repeated myself.
as usual, alex put away the game early.
24.400 and the nearest player mary with 2.400 (even though at the beginning of dj)kind of deflates the other 2.corbin must have had even less than mary at that point. it’s like leading 10:1 in the sixth inning and your starting pitcher is still cruising…..
The last DD was the 9th clue chosen in the DJ round and the first one in the Mount Everest category.
well, alex still seemed to have hit mary and corbin with a 2×4 with his 10.200 bet earlier on. deflated like the footballs at the patriot’s game….LOL
Not really — they kept trying but just could not beat him on the buzzer