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The second night of the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time tournament wrapped up in dramatic fashion Wednesday night and continued to be the perfect type of distraction TV we need in what is a wild world these days.
I won’t spoil it for you, because that’s just not the type of person I am. I think the word you’re looking for here is “hero”. You can find the results right here with my pal Charles Curtis’ great breakdown of the second, one-hour episode.
But I will spoil it a little – Brad Rutter, much like on the first night, didn’t win. But he still won and will continue to win for as long as this tournament goes on.
Let me explain why.
Rutter made his first appearance on Jeopardy! way back in the year 2000 – when HDTV’s weren’t really a thing and Twitter definitely wasn’t a thing. Champions were only allowed five title defenses before they were sent home with a nice check and whatever prizes they won – Rutter got two cars for being an undefeated 5-day champion. That’s not bad.
But here we are in the year 2020 and this guy is still getting a chance to play Jeopardy! on the biggest stage this game has ever seen, as he has a front-row seat to what should be a classic battle between Ken Jennings (who won 74 straight games) and James Holzhauer (who had 32 straight wins). Chances are if you told Rutter 20 years that he’d be in this position he sign up in a hurry.
Rutter is here because he is the record-holder for money earned on the show with $4,876,036, which he has won through various special games and events over the years. That’s not bad, either.
Think he cares about all the jokes being made about him on Twitter that past two nights by people who will never get a chance to even play this wonderful game?
Yeah, I don’t think so either.
None on this should be embarrassing for Rutter. He’s living the dream of many Jeopardy! fans, getting to play more of the legendary game while competing head-to-head with two incredible legends. Plus, he’s won more money than both players, which is something I’d take over the win streaks.
Chances are things will continue to not go his way in the remaining episodes of this tournament.
And chances are he couldn’t care less.
Because his lengthy and profitable run on this show if proof that he’s a winner, no matter how many Holzhauer beats him to the buzzer.
Wednesday’s biggest winner: Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy waited until he was officially introduced as the new coach of the Dallas Cowboys before admitting that he lied a little bit in his job interview with Jerry Jones. I mean, who hasn’t done that before? (I haven’t and if any of you @ my boss about this I will deny all. Also, if my boss subscribes to this newsletter I’d like to wish you a happy Thursday, Nate.)
Quick hits: Ed Orgeron shotgunning Red Bulls… Rudolph’s gloves go for a ride… Garrett’s awkward meeting with Jones… And more!
– LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry III told a great story about a shirtless Ed Orgeron shotgunning Red Bulls to fire up his team.
– Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph thought a reporter was going to use his game-worn gloves to raise money for charity. Instead, they ended up on Ebay. But then a fan did something awesome.
– Jerry Jones revealed details on what must have been an awkward meeting with Jason Garrett last week.
– The Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell opens up about his obsession with sneakers.
– Here are three reasons why Clemson will win the national title game.
– Here are three reasons why LSU will win the national title game.
(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)