Seems like there is a good chance that Matt can parlay the Akron gig into a first pitch at a Cleveland Indians game (Cleveland Guarandians game if its next season). I enjoyed his exchange with Joe Buck in terms of the 2016 World Series (Cubs beating the Indians in 7).
Matt seemed confident tat no video exists of him tossing out that first pitch. Presumably someone recorded on his phone. Did find a still pic of his toss:
Also found a pic of him on an area trivia show for high schools (back in 2009):
He seems very good at buzzing in when he knows the answer but its not on the tip of his tongue and using the time to have the answer come to him. I think for other contestants there is a tendency to wait until you know the answer and can say it.
I have enjoyed Matt’s run (to date – always interesting to know that we don’t know when it ends but it may well be over at this point but the shows have not aired–I believe that James’ run was over in terms of shows being taped before his first episode aired). Its fun watching contestants string together a number of wins. Having driven past his high school and being an alum of his undergrad helps too.
Ken Jennings was my favorite the whole time. One issue is that he has credibility: We know that he is not making it up, he really knows this stuff (for almost any definition of “this”). His run on the show was incredible. Once it was clear that Richards was out of the running, Mayim Bialik was my close second choice. She also knows a lot of this stuff and really deserves to be there. I am very happy with the selections.
I also like Buzzy.
Most of the time I try to get at least something on every show that none of the contestants get. One problem with Matt, which was also true when Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer were winning, is that it becomes almost impossible to get anything that they do not get.
I don’t think a host needs to know a lot. I actually saw Alex on some kind of celebrity quiz show at some point and it was obvious his knowledge wasn’t very deep. It didn’t affect his ability to host Jeopardy.
I got the Blackberry answer and none of them even rang in. In the last few games, I’ve gotten several of the easier value questions when they didn’t. I do think sometimes it is the way the clue is worded, but sometimes I’m just the smartest person in the universe.
H and I were watching and finding this stretch kind of boring. It’s amazing how Matt knows so much about all topics and it almost feels like sometimes, he buzzes in and then thinks about the answer. But he hasn’t really had much competition (the lady yesterday gave him a run during the first round) - and most of the games have been runaway games for him. Takes away some of the charm of watching Jeopardy.
Both of us couldn’t recall it being this way when James played. H was theorizing that perhaps James encountered better competition? It will be fun to watch James and Matt go against each other though.
Runaway Games:
Ken: 65 of 74 wins (87.83%)
James: 29 of 32 wins (90.63%)
Matt: 17 of 21 wins (80.95%)
James had 4 games where it was not a runaway. 3 runaway wins and the last game which he lost. He got Final Jeopardy right that game but Emma was ahead of him and got FJ correct as well with the closeout wager so she couldn’t be caught. Ken was in the lead going into Final Jeopardy in his last regular season game but got the response wrong. Other contestant got it right and won.
Mayim and Ken are not the permanent hosts from what I have seen. Just will handle through 2021 (doesn’t seem clear if its shows that will air in 2021 or shows that will be taped in 2021). Not clear what they will do in terms of a host after that.
I’ve definitely turned the corner with Matt- going from initially not thinking I could watch him even one more day to now thinking I’m going to miss him when he’s gone!
Interesting game tonight. Matt was in third with a negative score after the first round. Then within about 10 or so clues in Double Jeopardy, he had the lead and then found a daily double, risked everything to double his score and the runaway was on. Found all 3 Daily Doubles again tonight (like last night). Missed one tonight though.
He does very well with the bottom of the board (where he starts picking clues). If you get the questions right, you can build a big lead and with only lower value clues still left, there is little chance for other contestants to catch up. Miss them though and you can be the one unable to catch up.
After the Muhammad Ali category, with Matt in the red, I started chanting Howard Cosell’s famous “Down goes Frasier, Down goes Frasier!” line (Down goes Matt, Down goes Matt!!). Wife needed an explanation to prove I had not gone mad, but I digress…
But then man, did he come roaring back in no time at all. Amazing player.
I have heard alternately that the Mayim/Ken duo will last through the end of the year and the end of the season. The season doesn’t end until Summer, 2022.
