Jeopardy! recap for Thur., Dec. 3

 Today's contestants are:

- Fred, a university professor, got fired a lot on his way to teaching;

- Morgan, a theater manager, worked on shows in Canada and Ireland; and

- Leslie, a grant writer, wants to make like 007 and go down a mountain in a cello case. Leslie is a one-day champ with winnings of $2,700.

The lead went back-and-forth late in DJ, with Fred managing to barely hang on to first place into FJ with $15,000 vs. $14,800 for Leslie and $5,000 for Morgan.

DD1 - $800 -  NEW YORK CITIES' NICKNAMES - Second only to New York City in population, this western port is the "Nickel City" (Fred lost $1,000 from his score of $2,800.)

DD2 - $1,200 - POETIC CHARACTERS - In an epic poem this king of the Geats drinks mead & fights a monster (Leslie won $2,000 from her total of $4,000 vs. $9,000 for Fred.)

DD3 - $1,600 - HEALTH & MEDICINE - The bone marrow doesn't produce enough blood cells in the aplastic type of this disease (Leslie lost $2,000 from her score of $14,800 vs. $13,800 for Fred.)

FJ - 19th CENTURY AMERICANS - In 1858 these 2 men faced each other in Alton, Freeport, Galesburg & 4 other nearby towns

Only Fred was correct on FJ, adding $5,001 to win with $20,001.

Wagering strategy: By betting nearly everything on FJ from second position instead of locking out third place, Leslie made a similar kind of wager to one by an opponent that led to her victory yesterday. 

Had she been correct on FJ, this would have worked out in Leslie's favor, as Fred didn't make the usual bet from the lead to cover second place. Oddly, Fred's wager of $5,001 was the exact smallest amount that would have given Morgan the win if she was correct, bet everything and Fred missed.

Triple Stumper of the day: A top-row clue's reference to "this old-style stack-wing aircraft" didn't lead the players to biplane.

Getting the writers: There was a reference to an old comedy routine in the clue that began "Slowly I turned...", which Fred clearly understood by the way he said "NIAGARA FALLS!"

Correct Qs: DD1 - What is Buffalo? DD2 - Who is Beowulf? DD3 - What is anemia? FJ - Who were Lincoln and Douglas?