Jeopardy! recap for Wed., May 22 – Let’s meet today’s contestants:

– Liz, an attorney from California, taught English in Spain;
– Mary, a high school teacher from Ontario, specialized in French and Canadian history; and
– James, a professional sports gambler from Nevada, whose Aunt Cecilia exposed him to high and low culture. James is a 24-day champ with winnings of $1,867,142.

James was denied DD2, but scored on the other two and entered FJ with $43,314 vs. $7,200 for Mary, while Liz departed after DJ at -$2,400.

DD1, $1,000 – 20TH CENTURY – On Sept. 1, 1969, King Idris suddenly became ex-royalty in this African country & a colonel took power (James bet his entire “two dimes”, which Alex understood was $2,000.)

DD2, $2,000 – WORDS FROM MYTHOLOGY – This term for a cure-all bear the name of a daughter of Asclepius (Liz stood at -$400 and wagered $2,000, which Alex clarified is not a “True Daily Double”, an area of confusion in the recent Teachers Tournament.)

DD3, $1,200 – GEOGRAPHY – The Southern border of Argentina’s Pampas is this region that’s about the size of Texas (James won $11,914 from his score of $15,400.)

FJ – 19TH CENTURY AMERICAN HISTORY – In 1832, by a narrow margin, this state’s legislature rejected considered abolition; a split was completed in 1863

Both players were correct on FJ, with James adding $28,571 to win with $71,885 for a 25-day total of $1,939,027, as the $2 million mark will likely fall with the next James victory.

Musical miscues: No one knew the composers for the original Mary Poppins were the Sherman brothers, or could provide the second word in the musical style knows as Western swing.

This day in Trebekistan: When Alex came out pretending to roll the dice, I thought I was watching an old episode of High Rollers. The only things missing were a big pile of hair, a mustache and Ruta Lee.

Correct Qs:
DD1 – What is Libya?
DD2 – What is panacea?
DD3 – Who is Patagonia?
FJ – What is Virginia?