WHL: Winterhawks’ PA announcer appears on “Jeopardy!”

With no games Monday night, WHL fans constantly checking Twitter for trade deadline updates might have to distracted themselves by watching a WHL ambassador on the evening's episode of "Jeopardy!"

Portland Winterhawks public address announcer Sean Norris (nicknamed "Pipes") appeared on Monday's episode, which was taped in early November. He was able to sneak away from Portland for a few days for the taping in California without missing a home Winterhawks game.

UPDATE: Norris finished third after going into Final Jeopardy with $800. He was the only one of the contestants to get the question correct (it was about the movie Thor) and he wagered $44. He received $1,000 and other parting gifts for his appearance.

Norris says that his job was definitely a factor in landing a spot on the show.

"The producers were very interested in the fact that I work for a hockey team," he said after Portland's home game last Friday. "They don't get many sports-related people on the show."

Norris, whose enthusiastic personality should make for a great TV presence, took an online "Jeopardy!" test about a year ago. Out of several hundred thousand online tests, a couple thousand people are selected for regional auditions around the U.S. Norris went to Seattle in August and participated in a mock game and an interview.

Six weeks later, Norris got a call inviting him to be a contestant, which shocked him.

"They tell you it can take up to 18 months to get called, if they even call you at all," he said.

Norris couldn't reveal how he did on the show before it aired, but said it was a "very special" experience all-around.

He describes host Alex Trebek as a "grandfatherly" figure, and says he was able to talk hockey with the Canadian-born Trebek prior to the taping of the show - among other things:

"Without giving too much away, Alex actually came over to talk to me about my strategy and game play, which really surprised me," Norris said.

Norris, an Arizona native who became a hockey fan while attending college in Dallas, moved to Portland in 2005 and was hired for the Winterhawks PA job prior to the 2009-10 season.

As an announcer who grew up a big "Jeopardy!" fan, he idolizes the show's iconic announcer, Johnny Gilbert.

"I asked the producers if they'd let me meet him, which is something they don't usually do," Norris said. "They made it happen, and it was so cool to be able to chat with him. We joked that I could take over for him some day."

As for the show itself, Norris says the whole thing is a blur.

"I was so pumped up during the show, I barely remember any of it," he admits. "A lot is going to feel new when I watch it. I don't remember all the categories or even some of the answers I gave, except the ones I got wrong."

For Norris, the most unexpected part of the experience was the camaraderie he built with his fellow contestants. A week's worth of shows are taped in a day, so he was going through everything with more than a dozen fellow competitors.

"The show does a great job of making you feel accomplished just for overcoming monumental odds just to get to that point," he said. "I had psyched myself up to be very competitive, but it was such a positive atmosphere. You find yourself rooting for people, and I made friends I'll have for a long time."

Things must not have gone too badly for Norris, as he invited friends to watch with him at a Portland bar as he relives his surreal experience:

"It's like being plugged into a live wire, much like the first night I did a Winterhawks game."

Scott Sepich is a WHL contributor to Buzzing the Net. Follow him on Twitter @SSepichWHL