# Who should be the next host of "Jeopardy!"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [November 12, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460 "2020-11-12T20:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/302 "2021-04-06T12:27:40Z")
I thought he sounded awful and almost put me to sleep. Why they chose him as a guest host is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/303 "2021-04-06T12:32:20Z")
To drum up interest in the show, and get people who watch football to also watch Jeopardy? This is an excellent opportunity for the producers to expand their viewership. Which is how they get paid after all. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/304 "2021-04-06T12:35:17Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > To drum up interest in the show, and get people who watch football to also watch Jeopardy? Yeah, let me know how that works out. 🥺 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/305 "2021-04-06T12:47:15Z")
I’ll bet Aaron Rodgers knows some sports facts that the rest of us don’t. Are we complaining that he doesn’t know 20% of the answers, or that it’s not the 20% that we think are easy? For what it’s worth, I didn’t get “sackbut” either. I’m not sure I’ve ever even heard of one. But it troubles me a bit that he announced it the way he did. I noticed something years ago while watching a local newscast. There was some heavily science-based story, and then the camera cut back to the two smiling newsreaders behind the desk and one of them said “and I didn’t understand any of that.” I know that he was trying to seem friendly and approachable, but it troubled me a bit. I don’t expect everybody to know everything, but shows that have the purpose of educating and informing us should set a high bar. How much better would it be to smile and say “we learned something new today”, that is the _Jeopardy!_ way. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/306 "2021-04-06T12:49:48Z")
I’m going to hazard a guess he wouldn’t have commented on it if it hadn’t been such a ridiculous word. Come on, “sackbut”? ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/307 "2021-04-06T12:52:47Z")
Yes, I’m sure he knows tons of sports trivia, while I admittedly know almost none. I pretty much go into hibernation mode whenever a sports column comes up. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/308 "2021-04-06T12:55:27Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I’m going to hazard a guess he wouldn’t have commented on it if it hadn’t been such a ridiculous word. Come on, “sackbut”? **Sackbut** (from Old French _saqueboute_, “pull-push”): An early trombone invented in the 15th century, probably in Burgundy. It has thicker walls than the modern trombone, imparting a softer tone, and its bell is narrower. 🙂 ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/309 "2021-04-06T13:23:54Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > Also, it’s in the Old Testament, fer corn’s sake. Not that everyone reads the Old Testament, but it’s not exactly an obscure source. (See Daniel 3:5, for example.) > > Except that sackbuts didn’t exist when the O.T. was written. This was apparently a mistranslation: > **[The Sackbut, The Psaltery and The Dulcimer – 1954 recording](https://thelasttrombone.com/2017/02/03/the-sackbut-the-psaltery-and-the-dulcimer-1954-recording/)** > > by Douglas Yeo (February 3, 2017) A few weeks ago, I posted an article on The Last Trombone about Fake News and The Trombone. One of the things that has caused a lot of confusion about the origin o… More info **here** [http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/sackbut-or-a-stringed-instrument-in-daniel-35-et-al](http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/sackbut-or-a-stringed-instrument-in-daniel-35-et-al) and **here:** > **[Psaltery | Stringed, Plucked, Ancient](https://www.britannica.com/art/psaltery)** > > Psaltery, (from Greek psaltērion: “harp”), musical instrument having plucked strings of gut, horsehair, or metal stretched across a flat soundboard, often trapezoidal but also rectangular, triangular, or wing-shaped. The strings are open, none being... ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/310 "2021-04-06T14:27:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > If he doesn’t know one as easy as “sackbut,” he’s got no business hosting. It’s not _that_ obscure. May I remind you that none of the contestants knew, either. You might need to recalibrate your obscurity-meter. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/311 "2021-04-06T14:44:38Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > If he doesn’t know one as easy as “sackbut,” he’s got no business hosting. It’s not _that_ obscure. And yet again, **you** knowing something does not mean it was objectively an easy question that everyone else should know. I have never heard of a sackbut either. Neither did the three contestants. I am also almost certain I’ve heard Alex comment on never having heard of an answer before as well. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/312 "2021-04-06T14:45:44Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > May I remind you that none of the contestants knew, either. You might need to recalibrate your obscurity-meter. Yeah, it’s one of those clues that you either know it or you don’t. You’re not going to “figure it out.” I am pretty confident I’ve never run across that word in conversation or in print in my 59 years on this rotating orb. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/313 "2021-04-06T15:02:45Z")
I’ve heard the word “sackbut,” but I wouldn’t call it especially commonplace. And yes, as @Eyebrows_0f_Doom says, Alex occasionally mentioned not having previously heard of an answer. It’s not the horrible faux pas people seem to be thinking. That said, I really didn’t care for Aaron Rodgers as host. I found his voice very dull and droning, and he way over-used the rhetorical pause (“That…is correct.”). Maybe he’ll get better over the next two weeks, but right now he may be my least favorite guest host so far. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/314 "2021-04-06T15:04:31Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Yeah, let me know how that works out. Well, my wife and I both watch football, (Go Pack!) and watch Jeopardy! I also know people that don’t watch football, and don’t watch Jeopardy! It means…nothing. > [@terentii](#): > > Trebek once said he probably knew 80% of the material before going into a briefing. I actually doubt that. He was kind of full of himself, and it showed as a host. But he sure could pronounciate French wurds purty. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/315 "2021-04-06T15:33:25Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I’ve heard the word “sackbut,” but I wouldn’t call it especially commonplace. And yes, as @Eyebrows_0f_Doom says, Alex occasionally mentioned not having previously heard of an answer. It’s not the horrible faux pas people seem to be thinking. > > That said, I really didn’t care for Aaron Rodgers as host. I found his voice very dull and droning, and he way over-used the rhetorical pause (“That…is correct.”). Maybe he’ll get better over the next two weeks, but right now he may be my least favorite guest host so far. The only reason I’ve ever heard of a sackbut is that I was a music major in college. On that basis, I hereby declare that sackbuts are obscure and there’s nothing wrong with commenting that you’ve never heard of them. And yeah, Aaron Rodgers sounded to me like he was half asleep. They should have coached him to do a better “TV” voice. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/316 "2021-04-06T15:42:30Z")
“The Old Man and the Sea”. Look in the dictionary under “easiest video daily doubles”, and you’ll see a picture of this clue. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/317 "2021-04-06T15:57:30Z")
I think I encountered "sackbut’ in an annotated Shakespeare, in high school. (Obscure words tend to stick in my brain.) And mentally, it’s always paired with “hautboy” (archaic spelling of “oboe”). I think 90% of the challenge of being the host is rotating between the variations of “right” “correct” “yes” and “got it”. Full disclosure - I’m a Cal football fan, and therefore an Aaron Rodgers fan. I thought he did well – better than Dr Oz, not as good as the Exec Producer Guy. My only note to him would be to speak a tad slower. And I think his revelation about sackbut probably endeared him to the Everyman in the audience. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/318 "2021-04-06T16:08:01Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > My only note to him would be to speak a tad slower. In all fairness, every guest host started rough. (Did everyone see Trebek’s first game, when they were rerunning the classics? He got better.) But, only Dr Oz actually got _worse_ as the two weeks progressed! ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/319 "2021-04-06T16:37:58Z")
I was actually looking forward to Aaron Rodgers hosting, because eye candy. But I had never heard him speak. Put me to sleep, and not in a good way. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/320 "2021-04-06T16:56:54Z")
[quote=“Arcite, post:315, topic:925460, full:true”] > [@MrAtoz](#): > > I’ve heard the word “sackbut,” but I wouldn’t call it especially commonplace. And yes, as @Eyebrows_0f_Doom says, Alex occasionally mentioned not having previously heard of an answer. It’s not the horrible faux pas people seem to be thinking. I can excuse his not knowing about it, and do I realize that not everyone is into classical music. Still, it was more the way he said it that put me off. Like “Yeah, I never heard of it either … and I really don’t give a shit. Duh, next question…” He really didn’t need to comment on it at all. Or, a simple “Tough question!” would have sufficed. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/321 "2021-04-06T17:11:51Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Well, my wife and I both watch football, (Go Pack!) and watch Jeopardy! I also know people that don’t watch football, and don’t watch Jeopardy! It means…nothing. No offense, but … in my experience, the area of intersection between the two on a Venn diagram would be exceedingly small. Not that there’s anything wrong with that… > [@](#): > > I actually doubt that. He was kind of full of himself, and it showed as a host. > > But he sure could pronounciate French wurds purty. Perfectly natural, since he grew up in a bilingual home. He also graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in Philosophy and originally planned to go into broadcast news. I think he was one helluva lot smarter than you give him credit for. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460.md?page=17)