Please welcome today’s contestants:

• Mandela, a writer, has a middle name of Peace and a sister named Justice;
• Nancy, a retired college admissions counselor, lived near a legendary golf course but never played; and
• Jonathan, an actor, whose Latin teacher was into the NYT crossword. Jonathan is a 11-day champ with winnings of $246,100.

Jonathan gave a couple of incorrect responses late in DJ, costing him the lead which he wasn’t able to recover going into FJ. Nancy showed the way with $10,400 vs. $9,200 for Jonathan and $6,000 for Mandela.

DD1 – $800 – FILL OUT YOUR “W”2 – A lawyer in court using this 2-syllable word is basically saying, “Forget what I just said” (Jonathan lost $2,000 from his leading score of $4,600.)

DD2 – $2,000 – BOREDOM – A state of boredom, or an equatorial region where the trade winds cancel each other out, laving sailors becalmed & bored (Mandela lost $3,000 from his score of $5,400 vs. $11,200 for Jonathan.)

DD3 – $2,000 – BIBLE NUMBERS – As depicted in Genesis, there were this many people on Noah’s Ark during the flood (On the last clue of the round, Nancy lost $2,000 from her total of $12,400 vs. $9,200 for Jonathan. Nancy had the opportunity to try and put the game out of reach right there, but with a bottom-row clue in a category everyone was avoiding, that wasn’t going to happen.)

FJ – AUTHORS – These 2 men who both died in Boston in the mid-20th century each won 4 Pulitzers, one man for Poetry & the other for Drama

Everyone was correct on FJ. Nancy added $9,000 to win with $19,400, while Jonathan will return for the next Tournament of Champions.

Triple Stumper of the day: For a top-row clue, no one could identify the EPA symbol on efficient appliances as Energy Star.

This day in shilling: There was an entire category about popular songs turned into commercial jingles.

One more thing: So far this week, all six Daily Doubles have been missed.

Correct Qs: DD1 – What is withdrawn? DD2 – What is doldrums? DD3 – What is eight? FJ – Who were Frost and O’Neill?