Happy, merry
The holiday season went pretty well, although I'm now in the midst of a long stretch of days in a row at work, but I guess it's fine since it's also coinciding with bowl season.

The time back home in Jersey was fine. Had XM on both ends of the AirTran flight, which is always nice. Hung out with the family (and future family members, as the case may be). Had a sort of "Jeopardy victory tour" visiting friends and relatives over the holiday season, but also dealt with a very wonky wireless connection from somewhere in my old neighborhood -- renovations in my parents' house limited some of the cable access.

Also got hooked, slightly, on Deal or No Deal, which seemed to be an overdone version of a Price Is Right game or even the old Treasure Hunt game show, replacing that creepy butler guy with 26 hot women -- nice upgrade.

Oh yeah, there was also that Sun Bowl game today, which was fun to watch with the local alumni club (and even running into a guy who used to live in my dorm) but then seeing what I thought might happen (defensive collapse) and even some weirdness (NU returning two picks for scores and UCLA returning two onside kick attempts for TDs to make sure the game covered the over).

That game, and the subsequent Independence Bowl, rode my bowl picks losing streak to six, although LSU is helping matters in the Peach.

I'm back home in New Jersey for "Holiday," and interestingly enough stumbled across public-access TV coverage of the town's tree lighting, featuring the most famous celebrity to grow up there. BTW, never saw her around town growing up. (For what it's worth, I'd imagine, this guy is the most famous to die there.)

Oh yeah, despite some major inefficiences in the check-in process (checking in baggage after using the kiosks needs to be much faster), AirTran does do a good job of making flights go fast when there's XM Radio on the plane. At least you don't have to shut that down during takeoff and landing (like I'd have to do with my iPod).

Speaking of transportation, the current New York City transit strike may end up affecting trips to see friends in the city, although I always wonder what people in other cities think about this strike -- especially in places reluctant to install mass transit.

The rest of the story ...
Since I've got the platform at work, here's Part 1 and Part 2 of the Jeopardy! experience.

And speaking of offbeat stories landing on the site at work, here's how longtime SI hoops writer Alex Wolff bought an ABA franchise. At least he seems to be more with it than a bunch of other teams that came and went without playing a game.

I think I did a good job in picking this game for my first foray into live NHL action since the lockout. Just a ridiculously fun game. Oh yeah, there were chants of "Fire Millen" late in the third period.

One last quick Jeopardy note before I end up concocting the grand write-up: The last show of the week/taping session, which I watched in the audience with my parents after being deposed as champ, features the categories "Bizarre MLB Injuries" and "Chicago." Serves me right for taking a guess on carnauba, eh?

Couple of other notes:
-- As I pointed out to Craig, the World Cup draw actually features the Continental Soccer Association battle between Mexico and Portugal.
-- And on another Simpsons note, this is a brilliant comparison between college football teams and the denizens of Springfield.

TPS ... in song!
Too bad it sounds like the Office Space musical will be done by mid-January, when I may be coming through town.

One hit wonder
Hope I'm not spoiling it for my West Coast friends, but I'm one and done despite playing a much better game than my actual victory. But them's the breaks, I suppose. Eventually I'll have some major long wrapup thing. But thanks to all those people that have contacted me since my shows have aired (and who I didn't prod into watching in the first place).

Trebekie Monster
To those of you searching for me after appearing on Jeopardy!, welcome, yup, this is the guy you're looking for. I'll have more thoughts on the war of attrition later, although I will say it's amusing that the J! site started putting pictures of contestants appearing this week on the front (instead of just on a special page) and, well, I'm not one of them. Then again, that shouldn't be a surprise -- who wants to see my mug front and center?

The countdown continues
Just hours before the Jeopardy airing (unless you're in L.A., San Francisco and Seattle). As I've mentioned before, check your local listings. Be there. Aloha.

On a completely unrelated note, you can tell how different some of today's churches are when they're going to be closed on Christmas. On the other hand, it'll be tough to find a seat at the Catholic church on Christmas with the twice-a-years showing up.

The waiting
Just a couple of more days until my brush with TV fame, but for now, you can see everyone who taped the same week with me over here.

I guess I head into this interesting week on a roll by winning my third Trashmasters title, teaming with JD, Julie and Rebecca, and going undefeated in the process. Not sure how we did it, but I guess we were sharp all weekend long, and I think I'm even more surprised to lead the team in scoring. But it was cool to get Julie her first TM title after so many years of playing the event. And as usual, it was fun seeing all the usual suspects.

Oh yeah, I also took my second K-Tel Hell title. When Charlie makes things "more accessible," it means I've got a fighting chance with the speed. Of course, having to battle Craig down the wire for it was both fun and nerve-wracking. Now waiting to get the belt back, although I wonder if it looks like Cena's belt.

Couple of a movie reviews here as well:
-- Walk The Line: Solid film, and I guess I'm really buying both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon singing (I believed Reese first). I think Reese has better Oscar odds than Joaquin, but both are solid.
-- Jesus Is Magic: After going to matinees for long films for stuff like Walk the Line, Harry Potter, etc., I suppose what goes around comes around as I pay full price to see a 70-minute film that probably could've worked as an HBO special. But it was you expect from Sarah Silverman, along with some silly musical montages in between (although she did look pretty good in the '60s get up).