Greg Shahade lasted two more games after knocking Jamie Ding off on Monday. Three-day champions are rare too. Not as rare as 31-day champs, but still admirable.
I think the woman who bumped off James Holzhauer lasted one game, losing her first defense of the title. This happens a good deal in horse racing. A horse breaks its maiden, racing with other non-winners, only to never win again. Very few race horses get to string together Cigar's and Citation's 16 straight victories. Every competition has its streaks.
Kate Brody, pictured, a novelist from Los Angeles, beat Greg Shahade and provided perhaps the most non-sensical answer to the final Jeopardy clue, a relatively difficult one at that, that turned into a "triple stumper." (I think the writer of such clues should get bonuses.)
Remember, the bets are made before the details of the clue are revealed. Thursday's category was Sports and the Movies.
Greg had $13,200, Derek, no factor with $1,400, and Kate with a leading $22,000. No mathematical winners here.
Kate made the correct defensive bet that anticipated Derek going for double his winnings which would put him at $26,000 if correct. Kate wagered $4,401 which would leave her with a dollar more than Greg if both are right. Greg bet $10,000.
The clue: "In 2026 a New Year's Day college football game featured these 2 team names that are both Gene Hackman movie titles."
Derek answers "What is Hoosiers and Rams." No
Greg answers "What is Crimson Tide and Fighting Irish." No
Kate answers "What is Patriots and Jets." Oh boy. No.
As non-sensical as Kate's answer is, she can be forgiven. She has the look of a librarian with horn rimmed glasses, or the novelist that she is, and certainly may not be up on football team names. But to include two professional teams when college names are called for, puts her in a really ignorant sports light.
Hoosiers and Crimson Tide are the teams. No problem. She wins, and will be back for Friday's match as the champion.
Kate will easily ace the inevitable Charlotte and Emily Brontë, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen clues. She is after all a writer. The Jeopardy clue writers love to show off how well read they are. But Sports will be her Achilles heel.
Everyone like to make predictions. And you can even bet on them these days. But my prediction that Kate won't get to 5 games will not be taken on the prediction platforms. I could have inside information from the taping that was likely a month ago, (I don't have such information.)
But stay tuned. It's been quite a week, and it's not over yet.
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