Jeopardy Champion Caleb Groen

When a Jeopardy contestant gets rolling toward a double digit streak, I like to take note. The current 9-day champion, Caleb Groen, is a 27-year-old policy and law student formerly from Thousand Oaks, California. Where he's from now is not disclosed. He is up there with enough real money for a decent down payment on a house, or buying a really nice vehicle with $240,500 in winnings so far. He'll qualify for the Tournament of champions, having won 5 games.

The 5 game cutoff for getting into the Tournament of Champions can be seen as getting promoted from the minor leagues, AAA ball, to the majors. It's the farm system for future shows and where really significant money can be had for advancing.

Caleb is a pleasant looking young man with a Pepsodent grin that lights up a room, or a camera. He doesn't always get his Daily Doubles right, or even know the answer to the Final clue. But, he is usually so far ahead that mathematically he'll win, unless he has brain freeze and bets too much in the Final and doesn't know the answer. I've yet to see a contestant go out on a limb in Final and shoot the works. Hasn't happened.

He was deeply disappointed with himself when he didn't know the answer to yesterday's Final clue. But, his can't-be-caught-lead saved him for another round.

Historic Books

Ann Eliza Webb, an ex-spouse of this man, penned an exposé about the experience titled "Wife No. 19."

The third contestant, Khalid Kiirji, from Toronto, Canada,  with the lowest amount of money, answered "Hugh Hefner." He was in the right vein, but the clue would have had to worded differently for Hef to be right.

Patience Bruce, in the middle from Medford, Wisconsin, answered correctly, "Brigham Young," who of course was polygamous and didn't have 19 wives consecutively, but rather somewhat concurrently. Birthdays and anniversaries must have been tough to remember without a spreadsheet.

Caleb looked sheepish when it was revealed that be wrote "Nabokov", likely thinking of his novel Lolita.

Still the champ and headed for double digits in trying for No. 10. Caleb is headed into Death Valley.

No statistics kept on champs going for No. 10 who don't make it, but it is guessed it's one-third to one half who don't make it.

Tonight's Final clue:

20th Century History

The U.N, conference of April 25, 1945 opened with a speech that said this man "gave his life while trying to perpetuate these high ideals."

Caleb...piece of cake.

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