What was the category on the Dec. 20 edition of the American television game show Jeopardy that included a reference to Latvia?

“Stick out your mother tongue.”

Contestant Michael Kalk, a retired computer programmer from Austin, Texas, knew that Latvian is another word for Lettish, a member of the Baltic language group. The answer earned him USD 2,000, helping to boost him to USD 16,200 in prize money.

Too bad he blew all his winnings on a wrong answer in the “Final Jeopardy” segment.

Getting your luggage sent to Latvia is a penalty, according to a satirical look at holiday air travel by Amanda Kingsbury of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Texas. Kingsbury, the newspaper’s travel editor, proposes a game similar to “Chutes and Ladders” as a means to while away the hours when you are stuck in the airport. Called “Takeoffs and Landings,” the game has rewards and penalties for good and bad behavior.

One penalty, according to Kingsbury’s article in the Dec. 19 edition: “Skycap recognizes you as that girl who blew him off at the bar last night. Your bags’ new final destination: Latvia.”

Latvian athletes have done well in college sports in the United States, especially in men’s and women’s basketball and in track and field. Case in point: Zane Teilāne, the 6-foot, 7-inch (2-meter) starting center for the women’s basketball squad at Western Illinois University in Macomb.

Teilāne, who hails from Āgenskalns in Rīga, in October was voted the preseason player of the year in the Mid-Continent Conference. A junior majoring in business, Teilāne is in her second season at Western Illinois. She also has played on the Latvian national team.

Her abilities have drawn the attention of media throughout central Illinois and in communities where Western Illinois has played.

However, we have to wonder about the pronunciation guide offered by the Lawrence Journal-World. A Dec. 8 story, highlighting what Teilāne might do to the hometown Kansas University team, suggests that her name is pronounced zah-NAY tee-LAH-nay.

Aargh! Let’s try ZAH-ne TAY-lah-ne instead, putting the emphasis on the correct syllables.

Western Illinois University is the source of the mangled pronunciation.

Teilāne, by the way, is not the only Latvian on the Western Illinois team. Also on the roster is forward Līga Bergvalde of Rīga.