We’ve just learned that legendary San Francisco Giant and Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away this afternoon at the age of 93 due to heart failure.
He was the answer to a bonus puzzle on May 12, 1989 during the show’s Family Week in Season 6. He also made a cameo at the start of the show’s San Francisco road trip in Season 21.
Over $79K waiting to be won including…
The all-male panel…
Jim Polder: real estate seller and former traffic patrolman (until a drunk driver ended that) married to Tracy w/ two kids from Apple Valley, CA
Tom Marino: a man who was in California on a temporary work assignment for 5 months so far and currently working for Boys Clubs of America from Brooklyn, NY
Grant Cunningham: 2-day champ w/ $33,629
Round 1: PHRASE
Jim: $1,500 T pair, $250 N, SIX O’s, $800 D pair, $250 L, $500 R pair, $300 Y trio, solve…
Y O _ / D O N ’ T
L O O _ / _ / D _ Y
O _ _ R / _ O R T Y
Jim, YOU DON’T LOOK A DAY OVER FORTY at the time you appeared on TV, but you scored a PR and would spend $3,350 to spend in the Safari corner…
Round 2: PLACE
Tom: $400 T, $400 R pair, $400 S, $1,650 M trio, $1K N, solve…
M _ S _ _ M / _ _
M _ _ _ R N / _ R T
Tom solved MUSEUM OF MODERN ART for $3,850 — PR #2. To the dining room…
Jim: $3,350/Tom: $3,850/Grant: SPINNING NEXT
Round 3: BEFORE & AFTER
Grant: BANKRUPT near $300
Jim: $2,100 N trio, $1,800 S pair, three E’s and I (the ding didn’t sound for this vowel), $900 R trio, five A’s, solve…
_ A R _ A R A
_ E R S _ E _
_ E N N S _ _ _ A N I A
Jim solved BARBARA HERSHEY, PENNSYLVANIA for $4,050 to spend in the patio…
Jim: $7,400/Tom: $3,850/Grant: ZIPPO
Speed-Up: PHRASE
Consonants were worth $300 apiece and it was played for a Lyn Deutch GC.
Jim: T
Tom: S (DUD)
Grant: N
Jim: R (way off w/ CAN’T HAVE EVERYTHING)
Tom: 2 L’s
Grant: P (DUD)
Jim: D (DUD)
Tom: V (HUH?!)
Grant: 2 E’s
Jim: 2 W’s (WENT LIKE GANGBUSTERS has no chance of fitting when there’s a W at the bottom)
Tom: 3 K’s
W E N T / L _ K E
_ L _ _ K W _ R K
I can’t say this round WENT LIKE CLOCKWORK, but Tom solved for $1,500.
| PENALTY BOX | DUDS | LaTs | BANKRUPTS | DQs |
| Round 1 | PERFECT ROUND | |||
| Round 2 | PERFECT ROUND #2 | |||
| Round 3 | Grant for $0 | |||
| Round 4 | S, V (Tom) P (Grant) D (Jim) | 2 (Jim’s botched solves) |
FINAL SCORES
Jim: $7,400/Tom: $5,350/Grant: SHUTOUT (left w/ $33K+)
GT: $12,750
NO BANKRUPT TRASH
Bonus Round
Jim played for a trip to Radisson Read House Chattanooga worth $4,420.
Category: PHRASE
Here’s 1/3 of the answer…
_ _ L _
S _ _ _ E
BKWA only added…
_ _ L _
S _ _ K E
HOLY SMOKE, he went way off w/ MILK SHAKE and ROLL SHAKE, so no trip for him.
MY RATING: 6 (sloppy R4)
Over $87K waiting to be won including…
Grant Cunningham: 1-day champ w/ $12,950
Jeannie Sullivan: student and computer graphics specialist as well as a painter (she likes Southwest art) married 5 years w/ a 2-year-old daughter from Pasadena, CA (originally from Albuquerque, NM)
Nancy Nelson: nursing teacher at “the best intermediate care facility” married 28 years w/ four children (two boys, two girls) and two grandchildren San Diego, CA
Round 1: BEFORE & AFTER
Grant: $300 N pair, $200 T pair, one I and three E’s, $200 D, $900 T trio, $300 S, $800 P pair, $100 M, solve…
P R E S I D E N T
T R _ M _ N
_ _ P _ T E
He’s actually an American novelist known for “In Cold Blood”, but Grant solved PRESIDENT TRUMAN CAPOTE for a $2,300 PR to spend in the gourmet’s corner…
Round 2: PHRASE
Jeannie: BANKRUPT near $250 right away
Nancy: $2K R quartet, $450 T trio, S for strikeout
Grant: $1,600 N pair, $800 D, $400 G, three E’s, three U’s
COMMERCIAL BREAK
His Next Picks: $900 M, $400 B, solve…
M U T T E R _ N G
U N D E R / _ _ U R
B R E _ T _
Sometimes you could be MUTTERING UNDER YOUR BREATH when you’re on stage, and this guy won another $3,600 to spend in the playroom…
Grant: $5,900/Ladies: $0 each
Round 3: OCCUPATION
Nancy: $1,050 N trio, G for goof
Grant: BANKRUPT near $1,500
Jeannie: $700 R pair, other BANKRUPT near $300
Nancy: no S
Grant: no D
SPEED-UP
_ N _ _ R _ _ _ N _ _ N _
_ R _ _ _ _
Leftover consonants were worth $400 each.
Jeannie: L (DUD)
Nancy: A
Grant: 4 T’s (not ENTERTAINMENT WRITER since there’s just two R’s)
Jeannie: M
Nancy: H (DUD)
Grant: 3 E’s
Jeannie: 3 I’s
E N T E R T A I N M E N T
_ R I T I _
The ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC gave Jeannie’s solve a thumbs up for her $400 solve. The one item she bought from the living room was a $349 brass magazine rack, leaving $51 on a GC.
| PENALTY BOX | DUDS | LaTs | BANKRUPTS | DQs |
| Round 1 | PERFECT ROUND | |||
| Round 2 | S (Nancy) | Jeannie | ||
| Round 3 | G, S, H (Nancy) D (Grant) L (Jeannie) | 2 (Grant, Jeannie) | Grant’s missolve |
FINAL SCORES
Grant: $5,900 ($18,850 so far)/Jeannie: $400/Nancy: PARTING GIFTS
GT: $6,300
Jeannie’s BANKRUPT TRASH: $700
Bonus Round
Grant played for the Toyota Corolla LE sedan worth $14,779.
Category: THINGS
These are associated with archery…
_ _ _
_ N _
_ R R _ _
CDMA gave him…
_ _ _
A N D
A R R _ _
He hit the bullseye w/ a BOW AND ARROW for the car and a 2-day total of $33,629! He was greeted by his girlfriend Kristen and male friend Kevin.
MY RATING: 7
Over $90K waiting to be won including…
Mary Kay Weiss: student at Cal State Fullerton studying international business and involved with ISAC (it arranges internships for foreign students) originally from Bellevue, WA
Grant Cunningham: investment broker with an investment management company who enjoys indoor soccer and skiing and also a singer/somgwriter from Oklahoma City, OK
Katie Sinclair: 2-day champ w/ $32,398 from Scottsdale, AZ
Round 1: PHRASE
Mary Kay: $300 T pair, N for negative
Grant: $1,200 S pair, $1,050 R trio, three E’s, $200 P, $200 Y, $200 C (NMC), solve…
R E T R _ C E
Y _ _ R
S T E P S
Since you’re able to RETRACE YOUR STEPS, Grant, you won $2,600 to spend in the family room…
Round 2: PLACE
Grant: $800 N, LaT
Katie: T for turnover
Mary Kay: $400 S pair, BANKRUPT near $250 (the slide whistle didn’t sound)
Grant: $500 D pair, $800 L pair, SIX O’s, $300 P, $400 C pair, $1,800 R trio, solve…
C O L O R _ D O
S P R _ N _ S
C O L O R _ D O
Grant located COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO (he said it’s his new favorite city) for $4,350 to spend in the collector’s corner…
Grant: $6,950/Ladies: $0 each
Round 3: TITLE
Katie: $900 T, $250 H, one E, $750 N trio, $600 G trio, two I’s, $1,200 L trio, two A’s, solve…
T H E
_ A I _ _ _ N _
G _ / _ _ L L I N G
A L _ N G
She didn’t count her A’s carefully and incorrectly responded w/ “THE CAISSONS GO FALLING ALONG”, so that would probably cost her $2,950.
Mary Kay: D for dud
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Grant: $6K S trio…
T H E
_ A I S S _ N S
G _ / _ _ L L I N G
A L _ N G
He solved “THE CAISSONS GO ROLLING ALONG” for the six grand to spend in the bedroom…
No more game, so he scored the maingame sweep!
| PENALTY BOX | DUDS | LaTs | BANKRUPTS | DQs |
| Round 1 | N (Mary Kay) | |||
| Round 2 | T (Katie) | Grant | Mary Kay for $400 | |
| Round 3 | D (Katie) | Katie’s missolve |
FINAL SCORES
Mary Kay: PARTING GIFTS/Grant: $12,950/Katie: SHUTOUT (left w/ $32K+)
Mary Kay’s BANKRUPT TRASH: $400
Bonus Round
Grant’s playing form the 3-karat diamond double leaf earclips from Van Cleef & Arpels worth $8,200.
Category: THING
You hear this to stay alert…
_ _ _ E / _ _
_ _ L L
CDFA gave him a complete word…
_ A _ E / _ _
C A L L
…but he didn’t hear the sound of the WAKE UP CALL (he had MADE TO CALL).
MY RATING: 7
Charlie mentioned there’s over $73K waiting to be won including…
The all-female panel this game…
Lois Knight: 1-day champ w/ $22,500
Cami Trafficanda: freelance copywriter who went to Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana; she also likes to ski, listen to music and travel from Tarzana, CA
Rochelle Levine: worker for a major grocery chain in California married with two children from Downey, CA (originally from Chicago)
Round 1: THINGS
Lois: $2K S quartet, buy of E, A for awful
Cami: H for halt
Rochelle: $300 T, G for goof
Lois: $800 R pair, three I’s, $100 F, $100 M, Free Spin x 3, $300 P, $500 N, solve…
F I R S T
I M P R E S S I _ N S
This lady made some good FIRST IMPRESSIONS for $3,050 to spend in the family room…
Round 2: PEOPLE
Cami: instant dud of S (that surprised me)
Rochelle: $700 N, $800 R, three E’s, $1K T pair, $200 C, $1,800 M pair
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Next Moves: two I’s and two O’s, CRITICAL DUD of D ($3,750 at risk)
Lois: $100 L, $900 B trio (NMC), solve…
B L _ E – R I B B O N
C O M M I T T E E
The BLUE-RIBBON COMMITTEE awarded her $1K to spend in the bedroom (Rolf mistakenly said she had over $4K to spend)…
Lois: $4,050/Other ladies: $0 each
Round 3: PHRASE
Rochelle: BANKRUPT near $300 right away
Lois: $600 T pair, $300 N, three I’s, $800 G, $2K S, buys of E and O, $1,500 R trio
SPEED-UP
R E _ R I T I N G
_ I S T O R _
After Rolf’s LaT, consonants were worth $200 each. Lois then said W…
R E W R I T I N G
_ I S T O R _
…and was REWRITING HISTORY for $4,650 and the maingame sweep! To the utility center…
| PENALTY BOX | DUDS | LaTs | BANKRUPTS | DQs |
| Round 1 | A (Lois), H (Cami), G (Rochelle) | |||
| Round 2 | S (Cami), D (Rochelle) | |||
| Round 3 | Rochelle for $0 |
FINAL SCORES
Lois: $8,700 (2-day total of $31,200)/Other ladies: PARTING GIFTS EACH
ZERO BANKRUPT TRASH
Bonus Round
Lois played for the red Toyota Tercel deluxe coupe worth $11,958.
Category: THING
This is the use of magic used for evil purposes…
_ _ T _ _ _ R _ _ T
MCHA’s a pretty good combo…
_ _ T C H C R A _ T
She wasn’t spellbound by WITCHCRAFT, so the car was hers and she had a 2-day total of $43,158! Don’t know the male person supporting her.
MY RATING: 8
WHEEL of FORTUNE with Andy Nguyen 