Jeopardy! recap for Fri., May 31 – Introducing today’s contestants:

– Wyatt, an attorney from Maryland, is on the defense team for a Guantánamo Bay detainee;
– William, an attorney from California, is into figure skating; and
– James, a professional sports gambler from Nevada, had three wedding receptions. James is a 31-day champ with winnings of $2,382,583.

James hit all three DDs and led into FJ with $52,633 vs. $12,600 for Wyatt and $800 for William, who spent nearly the entire game in the red and gamely got on the plus side at the very end.

DD1, $600 – AFRICAN-AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY – “The Road to Freedom” is the subtitle of Catherine Clinton’s bio of this 19th century woman (James wagered his entire $3,800 and was correct.)

DD2, $2,000 – RELIGION FOUNDERS – A guiding principle of Mahavira, considered a founder of Jainism, was Ahimsa, this principle also advocated by Ghandi (James won $10,021 from his score of $18,800.)

DD3, $2,000 – EPISTOLARY NOVELS – In a Lionel Shriver novel, a mom writes notes to a dad because of a “Need to Talk About” this dangerous son (James won $9,812 from his total of $32,821.)

FJ – OSCAR-NOMINATED FAMILIES – It’s the last name of Alfred, Lionel, David, Emil, Thomas & Randy, who with 90 nominations, are the most Oscar-nominated family

James and William were correct on FJ, with James picking up $27,000 to win with $79,633 for a 32-day total of $2,462,216.

Triple Stumper of the day: No one knew the geographic “notch” just east of Burlington is Smugglers Notch.

Clue selection strategy: In the first round, James skipped over the bottom-row clues in The Comics and Gluten, Free, correctly assuming that the DD would more likely be found under a middle-row clue in African-American Biography.

Overpriced clue: $2,000 for knowing that Ziggy Stardust is the alter ego of David Bowie.

Correct Qs:
DD1 – Who was Harriet Tubman?
DD2 – What is non-violence?
DD3 – Who is Kevin?
FJ – What is Newman?