# Jeopardy! Contest of the Titans **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097 "2020-01-08T00:51:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/81 "2020-01-16T03:11:49Z")
Yay for the map guy! I was happy that Lil’ Map (nine years old) got the Kinks’ _Village Green_…\* question right, and also the Denmark-Greenland one. And, he knew about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, so that was cool. I, too, guessed Iago correctly. For so many questions, though, I had no idea, especially on the penultimate day. \*I was introduced to this album almost a decade ago, thanks to an SDMB thread. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/82 "2020-01-16T08:17:01Z")
”The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society” is a great album for sure. That’s crazy that James could have tied up the series with a correct response in Final Jeopardy. Seems like questionable strategy on Ken Jennings’s part. I know most of you are very unwilling to entertain any talk of changing the rules, but can anyone really deny that if we wanted to truly test who was the best, it would mean taking Daily Doubles out of the game? If you happen to hit one and get an extra 20,000 out of it, that introduces an awful lot of variance. Yes, you have to have the guts to bet it all; and if each player got one opportunity during the game to do so, that would be fair. But it’s a little bit random as things stand. What was the wording of the clue whose correct response was Lawrence Welk? Something about him being from North Dakota. I knew it and was surprised no one rang in; but I want to see if my wife would know, since her family is from North Dakota. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/83 "2020-01-16T10:30:06Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > What was the wording of the clue whose correct response was Lawrence Welk? Something about him being from North Dakota. I knew it and was surprised no one rang in; but I want to see if my wife would know, since her family is from North Dakota. “In 1961, the Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Blvd. became the longtime home of this N.D.-born man & his orchestra.” ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/84 "2020-01-16T12:34:03Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > That’s crazy that James could have tied up the series with a correct response in Final Jeopardy. Seems like questionable strategy on Ken Jennings’s part. Ken knew that James was most likely going to bet everything. If James did bet everything and got it right, Ken couldn’t win. The way for Ken to win was to bet nothing and hope that James got it wrong, which is what happened. > [@](#): > > I know most of you are very unwilling to entertain any talk of changing the rules, but can anyone really deny that if we wanted to truly test who was the best, it would mean taking Daily Doubles out of the game? If you happen to hit one and get an extra 20,000 out of it, that introduces an awful lot of variance. Yes, you have to have the guts to bet it all; and if each player got one opportunity during the game to do so, that would be fair. But it’s a little bit random as things stand. The point of Jeopardy is not to determine who is the smartest person. It is to determine who wins the game of Jeopardy. One of the defining features of the game is the Daily Double. Without the Daily Doubles and the way wagering can cause wild score swings it would just be a straightforward trivia contest, which is what you seem to want to watch. Without Daily Doubles this tournament wouldn’t have taken place at all. James’s strategy was built around the Daily Doubles. Without them he wouldn’t have amassed such huge totals, nobody would have taken note of his performance, and there would have been no interest in seeing whether he could beat Ken Jennings. I’d venture to say that without Daily Doubles Jeopardy would have been canceled for lack of viewership many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/85 "2020-01-16T16:10:48Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > IMO, James jab at Brad Rutter’s zero score was not 100% “friendly”, it seemed like Brad was sabotaging James chances. I agree. That was unsportsmanlike and unworthy. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/86 "2020-01-16T18:50:48Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > A rematch between Ken and James seems inevitable. Unless Ken decides he doesn’t want to appear with a new host. > [@DaveRaver](#): > > I don’t think a rematch is inevitable. Sure, Ken and James have an opportunity to make lots of money in rematches, but from Ken’s point of view, he’s got the G.O.A.T. trophy, so does he really want to risk playing again and losing it? I’d bet 2:1 that we’ll see Jennings and Holzhauer on the same Jeopardy stage again within the next decade. All of these guys are doing well financially, but they’re not so rich that they’re going to turn down an opportunity to make hundreds of thousands of dollars for a few days work (or, in the event of another tournament like this one, a _guaranteed_ hundreds thousands and an opportunity at a million) out of pride. These guys all _love_ Jeopardy and are happy to play Jeopardy more. I’m sure at some point, Jennings will think he’s too old to reasonably compete, but he’s obviously not there yet. I wouldn’t necessarily count Rutter out for good either. Sure, he was not up to the competition this time, but that doesn’t mean he won’t ever be again. > [@Shoeless](#): > > I kind of expected Rutter to quit betting it all after consistently tanking on the DDs he got in the early games when starting the second round. But I suppose at some point he decided he was far enough behind, he had nothing to lose by going all in. My impression is that both Ken and Brad felt like they had to play more aggressively against James or risk getting too far behind. Brad ended up hitting more DDs than the others and did very poorly on them, but I think that if Holzhauer is in the game, you pretty much have to risk everything on a DD. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/87 "2020-01-16T20:11:48Z")
[Here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/01/16/we-talked-brad-rutter-about-that-jeopardy-tournament-ask-what-happened-brad/) is a Washington Post article (paywall warning) about why Brad Rutter did so poorly. He blames his poor buzzer timing. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/88 "2020-01-17T03:06:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [Here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/01/16/we-talked-brad-rutter-about-that-jeopardy-tournament-ask-what-happened-brad/) is a Washington Post article (paywall warning) about why Brad Rutter did so poorly. He blames his poor buzzer timing. Didn’t want to go through the paywall, but Brad hit plenty of DD’s to do well. He just missed a lot of them. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/89 "2020-01-17T03:14:13Z")
I think the article said that Brad missed six of the ten daily doubles he landed on. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/90 "2020-01-17T04:03:19Z")
IMO, James’ comment that Brad’s score was “still showing” was one of the high points of the tournament. I’m still laughing over it. I wouldn’t call it malicious at all. But it still had to hurt. I really thought they’d all get Iago. Even I did, thanks to Verdi. And I wish the trophy had a goat on it. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/91 "2020-01-17T04:58:49Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > If James did bet everything and got it right, Ken couldn’t win. Okay, ISWYM. (Not used to having to factor in previous totals that cannot be wagered.) But then why did James start acting toward the end of DJ like he had already lost? His voice got a quaver like he was frustrated that he had no way to catch up. If he knew he had this match won as long as he knew FJ, he should have felt pretty confident. > [@terentii](#): > > “In 1961, the Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Blvd. became the longtime home of this N.D.-born man & his orchestra.” Thanks! Was that the only one they all three blanked on during the 8-game stretch? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/92 "2020-01-17T09:49:30Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Thanks! Was that the only one they all three blanked on during the 8-game stretch? [http://www.j-archive.com/showseason.php?season=goattournament](http://www.j-archive.com/showseason.php?season=goattournament) It sounded to me like James was just tired; Ken was awfully hard to beat. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/93 "2020-01-17T09:51:48Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Brad hit plenty of DD’s to do well. He just missed a lot of them. Makes me wonder how hard he prepared for the match. Apparently not as much as Ken. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/94 "2020-01-17T12:57:45Z")
The difference was that Ken took a lot of chances, giving responses that he wasn’t too sure of, yet got right. Top of his game. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/95 "2020-01-17T16:30:02Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Okay, ISWYM. (Not used to having to factor in previous totals that cannot be wagered.) But then why did James start acting toward the end of DJ like he had already lost? His voice got a quaver like he was frustrated that he had no way to catch up. If he knew he had this match won as long as he knew FJ, he should have felt pretty confident. He was getting frustrated before he hadn’t found the last DD. He was avoiding the Trebek wildcard category because the question could be _anything._ ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/96 "2020-01-27T17:39:38Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > [J! Archive - Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time](http://www.j-archive.com/showseason.php?season=goattournament) Interesting site, but I don’t see the answer there. Unless it has something to do with the statistical categories I don’t understand, like “Rebounds” and “Lach Trash”? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/97 "2020-01-27T18:56:38Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Interesting site, but I don’t see the answer there. Unless it has something to do with the statistical categories I don’t understand, like “Rebounds” and “Lach Trash”? I suspect **terentii** is suggesting you could look through those games for a “Triple Stumper.” The answers are shown when you mouseover the category value. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/98 "2020-01-27T20:23:15Z")
The thing about Wolf Blitzer’s dismal performance is that he’s a respected broadcast journalist who should have had the edge over everyone else. Makes me think his news show relies a lot more heavily on its writers’ input than on his. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/99 "2020-01-27T20:24:52Z")
What’s weird is that he banks off his gravitas as an informed guy, and he’d have to know that bombing jeopardy would hurt his reputation, and he’d have to know he wasn’t very good at jeopardy. So I guess it was just massive ego, unable to realistically evaluate how it would go for him? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/100 "2020-01-28T13:32:01Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > What’s weird is that he banks off his gravitas as an informed guy, and he’d have to know that bombing jeopardy would hurt his reputation, and he’d have to know he wasn’t very good at jeopardy. > > So I guess it was just massive ego, unable to realistically evaluate how it would go for him? I’m not sure he’d “have to know” that he wouldn’t be good at Jeopardy! There’s really no way to know that until you’re there. Nobody gets on Jeopardy! by accident. Every contestant made a deliberate decision to try out for the show, so they all presumably thought they might be pretty good at it. And yet we’ve all seen contestants who end up having a lot of trouble, struggling to ring in quickly enough or forgetting trivia facts that should be straightforward, or just freezing in the headlights. Many people can sit at home and effortlessly rattle off most of the answers, but actually being in the studio, on stage in front of an audience, with Alex Trebek ten feet away from you and two other people ringing in at the same time you’re trying to, is a very different experience. It’s easy to assume that because you know all the answers when you’re watching, you’d do really well at actually playing. But there’s more to the game than that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097.md?page=6)