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Alongside software developer Andrew He, hepushed Amy Schneiderinto an epic six-game standoff beforeshe clinched the tournamenton Monday night.
Has Steve Martin been in contact yet?He hasnt, and its disappointing.
I had that whole Steve Martin bit worked up and I was anticipating at least … something.
Hes a busy man.
Whats the ideal endgame here?
That might be a conversation with Steve Martin or getting the opportunity to see him perform.
I hope Steve Martin is amused rather than annoyed.
Im not going to feel bad about whatJeopardy!has given me.
The professors were a great group of people.
I loved being in an environment where new people werent coming in and old people werent going out.
We were all a cohesive group.
Almost all of us went out to dinner after the tournament ended.
No, more than that.
My wife is also aJeopardy!fan and has tried to get on the show as well.
But shes not a professor by trade, so ha!
Dont tell her I said that.
I even mailed in stuff back in the day to make a run at become a contestant.
Ive been watching the show regularly for quite some time.
Even during the Art Fleming days.
When youre able to win that first game, youre playing to win.
Then I realized I had to play against one of those three super-champions next.
I had to come out swinging and see if things broke my way.
But I wouldve been pretty excited if I won the first game and got crushed by Matt Amodio.
I shouldve learned this earlier fromJames Holzhaueror even Matt, hunting for Daily Doubles from day one.
I didnt internalize that strategy until further along in the tournament.
But Amy Schneider doesnt do that, and shes very successful.
My big worry was the buzzer.
Its a huge part of the game and its very difficult to prepare for.
The studio has two columns of bright white lights that turn on when youre able to ring in.
Its not enough to know the answer to the clue you have to buzz in first.
If you press the button too early, youre locked out for a quarter of a second.
So training for the buzzer is hard, since you dont get to see those white lights.
Listen, Im an old guy.
I was told that Im the oldest person to ever compete in the Tournament of Champions.
I felt that my reaction time was going to be what brought me down.
I wasnt sure I was going to be able to compete with these young people.
I was delighted to learn I was competitive.
Its about the right size.
I took that to heart, so I ended up with this two-handed grip that nobody else uses.
The purpose of that is to get the index finger into play and to be able to repeatedly buzz.
Theres a lot of one-time luck that has to do with the board and the Daily Doubles.
Its almost as if all of us were playing against the board.
I did feel that any one of the three super-champions couldve been beaten.
Weve all seen them be beaten.
You played six games in total with Amy and Andrew for the finals, clinching one win.
To be good atJeopardy!,you dont have to know things, you just have to knowaboutthings.
I need to listen to more music and I need to read better books.
But I was happy to learn that I could compete in this form.
In the first few games, I took a bit of a beating from Andrew and Amy.
Winning one game against them persuaded me that Im pretty good atJeopardy!
Hes sort of like Andrew in his ability and strength.
It was a must-win game.
You piece together three answers and they all overlap.
Wordplay categories play to my strengths.
But I didnt get them all against Amy and Andrew.
So Ill say Old Baseball.
Or Dance Hits of the 1980s.
The Doja Cat community is rallying behind you after you correctly and enthusiastically answered a clue about her.
Tell me more about your taste in music.
Theyre fine people, hard workers, and smart, but theyre not hip in any way.
My apologies to your students reading this interview.[Laughs.]
That was a huge giveaway.
How I knew that name, Im not sure.
Maybe she appeared onSaturday Night Live,which I watch every week.
I tried to give a littleCmon, its got to be obviousin my answer.
One of the things it’s crucial that you know to be on the show is pop culture.
Im not very good at it, but I knew Doja Cat.
Just the other day, I was listening to one of her songs to see what I had missed.
Its not entirely to my taste, but its solid.
Id listen to more.
What do you enjoy playing most?Im a traditional jazz guy.
I havent played with a band much.
I dont want to say cocktail piano, but I love to play traditional jazz.
Or ska or reggae because those are fun to play.
I even enjoy listening to classical music.
I checked out yourSoundCloud pageand you havent uploaded a new song in a year.
Whats the deal?I have a song, which is hilarious to me, but its sufficiently X-rated.
I wont give you the key lines.
Ive tried to keep the SoundCloud page family-friendly.
