MICHAEL BRAUN Silver Spring, MD Junior	VANAMALI COMPTON Clarkdale, AZ Junior	JIMMY LI Chesterfield, MO Senior

Jeopardy! categories: At the Art Museum, State the College Team, Birthstone, Partying Like It Was 1999, Teens at Work, "SAT"s.

Daily Double: $1000 At the Art Museum. Michael ($1800 to Vanamali's $400 and Jimmy's $200) bets the level on the early clue. The clue: the museum with the world's largest van Gogh collection is in this European city. Michael's response: "What is Amsterdam?" Correct for $2800.

End of Round:
Michael - $7200
Vanamali - $1000
Jimmy - $4800

Double Jeopardy! categories: 19th Century Literary Quotes, Radio Disney Top 30, I'm Getting Spaced Out!, You've Got Company, Religious Places, Word & Phrase Origins

Daily Double #1: $800 19th Century Literary Quotes. Michael ($11,200 to Vanamali's $2200 and Jimmy's $5200) wagers $1000. Clue: 1852 US novel with the line "Eliza made her desperate retreat across the river just in the dusk of twilight". Michael's guess: "What is Uncle Tom's Cabin'?" Correct for $12,200.

Daily Double #2: $2000 I'm Getting Spaced Out!. Michael ($19,000 to Vanamali's $4600 and Jimmy's $11,600) wagers $2000. Clue: If we were on Mars, the atmosphere would be incredibly thin, consisting mainly of this gas. Michael's guess: "What is carbon dioxide" Correct for $21,000

End of Round:
Michael - $22,600
Vanamali - $6200
Jimmy - $10,400

Final Jeopardy! Category: Landmarks. Answer: Located SE of Charlottesville, Virginia, it has 3 stories, an octagonal dome, & 33 rooms of varying shapes. Correct response: What is Monticello?
Vanamali's question: What is the Capitol building? (WRONG) Wager: $400. Final score: $5800.
Jimmy's question: What is the Capitol Building of the Confederacy? (WRONG) Wager: $2100. Final score: $8300.
Michael's question: What is the Houston Astrodome? (WRONG) Wager: $1000. Final score: $21,600 - SEMI-FINALIST

Coach Chico Says...: This was Michael's statement to the rest of the players, "I came to play, I came to win." He found all three Daily Doubles and, save for a spread in Double Jeopardy!, failed to relinquish control. The same thing happened in the last College Championship, and that person, Kermin Fleming, went on to win the whole thing. Will Michael do the same thing? He's in with a strong chance. Meanwhile, Jimmy, who remained competitive late in the last round, may do some damage if the $8300 holds in the quarterfinal, but he needn't be so pound-foolish.

THURSDAY January 27:

RUVANI FONSEKA Grosse Pointe, MI Junior	STEVE GOLDEN Brookville, MD Junior	KERRI REGAN Bethpage, NY Senior

Note: Because of Kerri's blindness, she will be given all the categories on a 3x5 card prior to each round.

Jeopardy! categories: US Geography, First Name's the Same, Novels, Bright Ideas, Teens in History, Rhyme Time.

Daily Double: $600 Teens in History. Ruvani ($4000 to Steve's $3800 and Kerri's $400) bets $1000. The clue: in the 1850s this future sculptor failed the Ecole des Beaux-arts entrance exam 3 times (think about it). Ruvani's response: "Who was Rodin?" Correct for $5000.

End of Round:
Ruvani - $6200
Steve - $5800
Kerri - -$1200

Double Jeopardy! categories: Constitutional Amendments, Sports of the Female Olympians, Low Cut Genes, In the Dictionary, Fine Dining, Take Out.

Daily Double #1: $2000 In the Dictionary. Kerri ($2400 to Ruvani's $15,000 and Steve's $8200) wagers $800. Clue: this cutting implement has the same name as a type of dive & a kind of trailer-truck accident. Kerri's guess: "What is a jackknife?"  Correct for $3200.

Daily Double #2: $800 Constitutional Amendments. Steve ($13,400 to Ruvani's $19,400 and Kerri's $5600) fronts $6000 for the tie. Clue: under the 5th Amendment, 1 of the 3 things that no person shall be deprived of "without due process of law". Steve's guess: "What is life?" The other two: liberty and property. Nevertheless, correct for $19,400 and the tie.

End of Round:
Ruvani - $17,400
Steve - $23,000
Kerri - $4800

Final Jeopardy! Category: Mountains. Answer: to trek through its Khumbu Icefall, Lhotse Face & South Col, your team needs a $70,000 permit from Nepal's government. Correct response: What is Mt. Everest?
Kerri's question: What is Mont Everest XX Mount Everest? (RIGHT, as spelling didn't matter) Wager: $2400. Final score: $7200.
Ruvani's question: What is Everest? (RIGHT) Wager: $2298. Final score: $22,998.
Steve's question: What is Mt. Everest? (RIGHT) Wager: $3000. Final score: $26,000 - SEMI-FINALIST

Coach Chico Says...: The first tournament nail-biter as Ruvani and Steve fought it out to the finish, but the Final Jeopardy! did more to underscore the importance of ALL of the game in the prelim, as Ruvani could have bet enough to win the game, but didn't, and Steve could have bet enough to seal the victory, but didn't. But perhaps they were thinking long run. If you're not going to win, at least have a good showing. My guess, we'll see Ruvani again, and she'll go into her next match believing in her own victory.

FRIDAY January 28:

CAITLIN COOK Arden, NC Sophomore	ALLAN LONG Tallahassee, FL Freshman	WHITNEY PRINCE Maryville, TN Sophomore

Jeopardy! categories: The Revolutionary War, Game Shows, The Environment, The 50 States, Phrases That Sell, The "Under" World.

Daily Double: $800 The 50 States. Caitlin ($1800 to Allan's $600 and Whitney's $400 early) bets $1000. The clue: the name of this state comes from 2 Choctaw words that mean "red" & "people". Caitlin's response: "What is... Colorado?" Correct response: What is Oklahoma?; Caitlin drops to $800.

End of Round:
Caitlin - $5000
Allan - $5200
Whitney - $1600

Double Jeopardy! categories: The Evolutionary War, When They Were Teens, Famous Americans, Greek Mythology, You Had to Expect Opera, Long Words

Daily Double #1: $1600 The Evolutionary War. Whitney ($2800 to Caitlin's $6600 and Allan's $7600) wagers $1000. Clue: orderly people are bothered by the idea of these random changes in genetic material helping evolution along. Whitney's guess: "What are mutations?"  Correct for $3800.

Video Daily Double #2: $2000 You Had to Expect Opera. Allan ($7200 to Caitlin's $10,200 and Whitney's $7400) bets only $800. Clue, delivered by Jimmy: appropriately, an alphorn call is imitated in the overture to this 1829 Rossini opera. Allan's guess: "What is... 'Sleeping Beauty'?" Correct response: What is "William Tell"?; Allan drops to $6400.

End of Round:
Caitlin - $13,000
Allan - $6400
Whitney - $8600

Final Jeopardy! Category: The World of Art. Answer: it's the room where you'll find the masterpiece that includes "The Flood" & "The Creation of Eve". Correct response: What is the Sistine Chapel?
Allan's question: What is the Pope's bedroom? (funny, but wrong) Wager: $3600. Final score: $2800.
Whitney's question: What is room 52? (also funny, also wrong) Wager: $1500. Final score: $7100.
Caitlin's question: What is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? (Count it!) Wager: $100. Final score: $13,100 - SEMI-FINALIST

Coach Chico Says...: Hmm... Very weird this round was. You had two strong players, Caitlin and Allan, then one got nervous, allowing the other to carry the Double Jeopardy! round. Even so, Caitlin, who is poised to be the only player from this group to enter the semis, will go for a fight, but given the competition waiting in the wings, don't expect her to go any further.

MONDAY January 31:

PETER SEVERSON Sioux Falls, SD Senior	CHLOE WHITE Mission Hills, KS Senior	ORLANDO ZAMBRANO Tampa, FL Junior

Jeopardy! categories: Languages, Classic Songs, World War I, Handy Technology, Fast Food Nation, 3-Letter Anatomy.

Daily Double: $1000 Languages. Peter ($1200 to Chloe's $200 and Orlando's $600 WAY early) bets $800. The clue: Portuguese is spoken by more than 190 million people; 80% of them live in this country. Peter's response: "What is Brazil?" Correct for $2000.

End of Round:
Peter - $8200
Chloe - $5600
Orlando - $2400

Double Jeopardy! categories: The Teens, Jocks, The Prom Queen, Party Animals, The Foreign Exchange Student, The Science Geek

Daily Double #1: $800 The Foreign Exchange Student. Orlando ($1600 to Chloe's $6000 and Peter's $8200) wagers the maximum of $2000. Clue: as of 2002 the Finnish markka & Austrian schilling were replaced by this. Orlando's guess: "What is the euro?"  Correct for $3600.

Daily Double #2: $2000 The Science Geek. Orlando ($8000 to Chloe's $4400 and Peter's $13,800) bets $4000. Clue: a unit of measure is named for this Italian count who by age 18 had devoted himself to the study of electricity. Orlando's guess: "What is Joule?" Correct response: Who is Alessandro Volta?; Orlando drops to $4000.

End of Round:
Peter - $13,800
Chloe - $4400
Orlando - $4000

Final Jeopardy! Category: Astronauts. Answer: born Edwin in 1930, this Apollo astronaut legally changed his name in 1982 to his popular nickname. Correct response: Who is Buzz Aldrin?
Orlando's question: Who is Buzz Aldrin? (RIGHT) Wager: $4000. Final score: $8000.
Chloe's question: Who is Buzz Aldrin? (RIGHT) Wager: $2600. Final score: $7000.
Peter's question: Who is Buzz Aldrin? (RIGHT) Wager: $4200. Final score: $18,000 - SEMI-FINALIST

Coach Chico Says...: All in all, a very scary game. Orlando's pretty scary looking. Yo, dude, it wouldn't hurt to smile once in a while. Chloe, meanwhile, scared me in the fact that she actually lost money in the Double Jeopardy! round. The one reason Peter won this game was the detriment of poor opponents. Like Caitlin before him, he'll enter the next round, but don't expect him to stay in the hunt.

TUESDAY February 1:

AMY FLETCHER Cleveland, OH Junior	WES KOVARIK Antioch, CA Senior	ANNE SHIVERS Peotone, IL Senior

Jeopardy! categories: Zoology, Recent Cinema, The Largest in Area, At the Mall, Biblical Police Blotter, Time for a "PI"

Daily Double: $800 Time for a "PI". Wes (on a roll with $4000 to Amy's -$600 and Anne's $0 early) bets $1500. The clue: this animal's name comes from the Middle French for "thorny pig". Wes' response: "What is a porcupine?" Correct for $5500.

End of Round:
Amy - -$800
Wes - $8700
Anne - $4900

Double Jeopardy! categories: Canadian Flags, Pop Singers on Broadway, Old News, Brain Tease, Lincoln Blogs, Fix the Proverb

Daily Double #1: $1600 Canadian Flags. Orlando ($11,500 - and still on fire - to Amy's $0 and Anne's $4400) fronts $3000. Clue: its flag has the Royal Arms of Scotland & is the reverse colors of the Scottish flag. Wes' guess: "What is New Brunswick?"  Correct question: What is Nova Scotia; Wes drops to $8500.

Daily Double #2: $1200 Lincoln Blogs. Anne ($7200 to Wes' $8900 and Amy's -$1200) bets $1800. Clue: enjoyed my April 4 visit to this city about 90 miles from Washington; General van Alen nags about how dangerous it was. Anne's guess: "What is Richmond?" Correct for $9000.

End of Round:
Amy - -$1200 - OUT
Wes - $16,900
Anne - $16,200

Final Jeopardy! Category: 19th Century Literature. Answer: "The Pastor and his Parishioner" is Chapter 17 of this classic novel. Correct response: What is "The Scarlet Letter?
Anne's question: What is "Pride and Prejudice"? (WRONG) Wager: $3801. Final score: $12,399.
Wes' question: What is "Huck Finn"? (WRONG) Wager: $2000. Final score: $14,900 - SEMI-FINALIST

Coach Chico Says...: Now THAT was a match. It had everything, from one person (unfortunate Amy, who just couldn't get out of the red to stand a chance) making an early exit, to one person making an early run for the title, to the third person saying, "You know what? I think I'm going to make my own little run." Expect big things from both Wes AND Anne, whose score is just enough to clinch a berth in next week's semis. And here are the final nine:

To end this phase... that was a weird edit.

AUTOMATIC SEMIFINALIST	AUTOMATIC SEMIFINALIST	WILD CARD
AUTOMATIC SEMIFINALIST	AUTOMATIC SEMIFINALIST	WILD CARD
AUTOMATIC SEMIFINALIST	WILD CARD	WILD CARD