With the death of a fake 'successful' game show contestant Charles Van Doren, who was fed answers in an orchestrated show on '21' in the 1950s, we now have the ascension of a true answer machine in Jim.
Guys at the racetrack on Saturday were talking about James and his streak. I asked Bobby G. if he was watching 'Jeopardy,' and he said, "no." I mentioned that I couldn't believe they pre-empted Friday's 'Jeopardy' for rounds of the NFL's draft.
Bobby G. said that's what he's been watching. Bobby G. is 82 and is a Jet fan, telling me about a prospect they should be drafting. I mentioned it's been 50 years! since the Jets won the Super Bowl; they should be relegated to a lower division, like soccer. Bobby G. was unfazed. Ever the optimist. A true horseplayer.
Holzhauer's streak is now morning news on all the networks as he continues to win. He's up to 19 straight victories and $1,426,000 won, the highest ratio of winnings per start in the show's 35-year history.
Will there be a pay-per-view smack-down with the all-time champion-to-date Ken Jennings? It's hard to believe Jennings goes back to 2004.
The Sports reporter for the Wall Street Journal (yes, they have a sports reporter) Jason Gay wrote a piece on Holzhauer and how he is "like Secretariat galloping away from the field in the 1973 Belmont Stakes." Yes, Jim "is moving like a tremendous machine."
Jim states his occupation is a sports gambler, lives in Las Vegas with his wife and two kids. His wife is scholar of Roman history. Considering what Jim knows and she knows (a winner on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?') you have to imagine their conversations shuttle back and forth from A.D. to B.C.
Jim brings the one aspect that other contestants have been lacking: he gambles. He knows when to hold 'em, and he knows when to fold 'em. In an earlier broadcast at the start of his run, he mentioned that Tampa Bay Lightning was going all the way for the Stanley Cup, Not happening with their first-round elimination. If Jim had a bet on them, he probably "dutched" it anyway.
Jim starts at the bottom of the categories (a tactic used by others), tries to build a nest egg for a hoped-for Daily Double, and then goes all in with a bet. If he hits it, his money grows faster than the other contestants. Yes, as he gallops way from his rivals in the 1973 Belmont Stakes.
Quite often Holzhauer has so much money going into the final round, it is mathematically impossible for his opponents to win. This of course assumes he doesn't bet everything and get the answer wrong and eliminate himself. Jim is a gambler, but not reckless. He has commented that he reads children's books. They're short, have pictures, and are filled with information.
As a recent NYT story on Holzhauer points out, strategy and right answers are not all you need. You need to be good at with the buzzer, and James is.
"In practicing his buzzer game before competition, Holzhauer told ESPN he relied on the e-book 'Secrets of the Buzzer' by Fritz Holznagel, a repeat 'Jeopardy' winner." (Jesus, their names are almost identical...Holz...)
("In case any aspiring contestants are reading, the book's introduction advises: 'The buzzer is your friend. It is not a venomous rattlesnake, a downed power line, or a horrifying object cursed by the ghosts of Howard Carter, King Tut and 1922."
Watching James you don't see the buzzer in his hand. He's as smooth as someone pressing the right button in an elevator. Unseen to the audience is a light that goes on above the board signifying to the contestants that Alex has finished reading the clue and it is safe to buzz in. A premature buzz-in locks your buzzer for a few seconds. It's a drag race. Time it right, and you are already at an advantage. You're the jockey who can get his horse out of the starting gate and work their way to a two-length lead before anyone is aware you've done it.
I have to say, I'm not a die-hard 'Jeopardy' fan. I've watched the show over the years, but nothing with the continuity that is going on now. Not even when Jennings was creating his 74 game streak in 2004.
I've read that Phil Donohue and Marlo sit down religiously every night to watch 'Jeopardy.' I'm sure there are many like-minded fans.
Given that the show has already been recorded, does anyone know if Jim lost? No Tweets, no social postings that he has. Contestants might he asked not to tell, but how about the audience? They are starting to film a new season, so it is probable that James is still the champ when that starts.
The other night a sports statistician working for Brandeis University gave Holzhauer as run for the dough. James had $32,000, and the other fellow $27,000, or thereabouts. No automatic slam dunk here. Showdown at the 'Jeopardy' corral.
The final round loomed ahead. The "question" was something about "a former 11 B.C. European capital halfway between Paris and Berlin."
James has to bet at least as much as Brandeis because he's going all in. Thus, James needs to create an amount greater than double what the other guy's got, and of course be right. The math is not the problem. Being right is.
The guy from Brandeis answers correctly. Ding, ding, ding. Is this the end of Jim? Here comes the flop. Jim answers correctly, beating the guy by $18. Poor Brandeis, he's the highest earner to lose a game. Full house vs. four of a kind. At least he's got a lifetime of stories to tell grandkids when he faced down Holzhauer.
Jason Gay sees Jim Holzhauer as a bit of savior figure.
"It should make us happy to see the 'Jeopardy' Guy become a topic of national conversation. I'm probably not the only one who's worried America has given up on celebrating intellect. (Do you watch cable news?) Brains feel increasingly nonessential. I have no idea when James Holzhauer's brilliant run is going to end, but I'm grateful to him for this: a hopeful peek at a beautiful mind."
On Saturday, I'm going to go to an independent bookstore in Pleasantville, NY before my granddaughter's First Communion. I've been there before and I know where the children's books are.
I hope it's not crowded.
http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment