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"Jeopardy!" ace Ken Jennings says recent comments he posted on his Web site about the long-running game show and host Alex Trebek weren't "bashing." NEW YORK (AP) -- "Jeopardy!" ace Ken Jennings says recent comments he posted on his Web site about the long-running game show and host Alex Trebek weren't "bashing." "I know, I know, the old folks love him," Jennings said of Trebek in a July 19 letter titled, "Dear Jeopardy!" Trebek, 66, has hosted the show since 1984. Jennings, a software engineer from Salt Lake City, won $2.5 million during his 74-game winning streak on "Jeopardy!" in...

NEW YORK (AP) - "Jeopardy!" ace Ken Jennings, who won $2.5 million during his 74-game winning streak, has a few unkind words to say about the show - and dapper host Alex Trebek. "I know, I know, the old folks love him," Jennings writes in a recent posting, titled "Dear Jeopardy!" on his Web site. "Nobody knows he died in that fiery truck crash a few years back and was immediately replaced with the Trebektron 4000 (I see your engineers still can't get the mustache right, by the way)." Jennings also takes aim at the show's "effete, left-coast" categories and...

Dear Jeopardy!, Hey, I hope you remember me. It’s been a while since we talked. We were a bit of an item a couple years back, in all the papers, but I think we both know that was just a summer thing. The last time we saw each other…well, the magic just wasn’t there. That’s why I don’t mind when I see you with a new special someone. Or two. Nearly every night! … I’m sorry, is this sounding passive-aggressive? I don’t mean to badger you. I remember that, when we were together, it seems like all I ever did...

Ken Jennings, the most successful "Jeopardy!" player in the show's long history suddenly earned as asterisk next to his name Wednesday night: He was badly beaten in the final round of the "Ultimate Tournament of Champions," losing to Brad Rutter, who now stands as "Jeopardy's" leading money winner. By winning Wednesday night, Rutter earned $2 million, which - added to his previous winnings on the show - means he's got a grand total of $3.1 million. Jennings, who came in second, earned $500,000, and that added to his record total of $2.5 million won last fall means he's at $3...

WHEN Kenneth W. Jennings III, '00, first learned he had been selected to compete in the long-running television game show Jeopardy!, the Murray, Utah, software engineer had three weeks to prepare. He began by watching the program while standing behind his recliner to get the feel of a podium and working on his timing by holding a child's toy about the same size as a buzzer. That simple strategy offers a small glimpse into the seemingly mild- mannered but highly competitive player who, in an unmatched six-month winning streak, became a game-show legend, smashing a bevy of records and sending...

Questions asked over the defeat of trivia titan Robert Lusetich December 03, 2004 WHEN Ken Jennings, trivia titan and nerd role model, was breaking every record in the long history of US television game show Jeopardy!, conspiracy theories abounded that he was being allowed to win to boost flagging ratings. As millions tuned in every night to see if the 30-year-old Mormon computer programmer could keep winning, some believed he was being given answers in advance, just like in the Robert Redford film Quiz Show. Others insisted he had cranial implants. Now that he has been dethroned, with his 74-episode...

Following his remarkable run as the "Jeopardy!" whiz, Ken Jennings is famous enough to be trailed by a fan in the subway, is penning a book and, of course, has $2,520,700 in winnings to decide how to spend. What he doesn't have anymore, after his 74-game winning streak came to an end in an episode televised Tuesday, is a chance to play his favorite game. "I miss it quite a bit," Jennings told The Associated Press. "It didn't really hit me that that was going to be the hard part. I thought the hard part would be the loss." He...

Leo Durocher got a bad rap. He didn’t quite say, “Nice guys finish last.” Besides, sometimes nice guys do finish first. No, I’m not talking about any politician, or pro athlete, or entertainer. Nope, I’m talking about someone you all know, and I’m certain you’re all rooting for. Ken Jennings is a nice guy, and he’s already finished in first place. His incredible run is rumored on the Internet to have gone about 71 consecutive shows and about $2.6 million in winnings. The trade press says the show where he loses has already been taped, and will air in about...

Quiz-show king Ken Jennings has broken another record on "Jeopardy!" Jennings won $45,099 on the episode that aired Wednesday, bringing his total earnings to $2,197,000 to make him the top TV game show winner ever. He beat the previous record of $2,180,000, set by Michigan engineer Kevin Olmstead on ABC's "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" in 2001. Jennings, a 30-year-old software engineer from Salt Lake City, began his 66-appearances-and-counting streak on the episode that aired June 2. Since then, he has richly profited from a rule change made only last year, at the start of the syndicated game show's...

I heard three men speak this week with apparent passion about subjects of great interest. Each of them was trying to be accepted as honest and clear in his speech. Two of them are obvious: George Bush and John Kerry, who took part in the first Presidential Debate of 2004 in Miami on Thursday. Almost all of you either saw the debate, read the transcripts afterward, or saw coverage of it. But to my view, the most honest, the most effective speaker, was the third man, Lemony Snicket, who appeared at a book signing at a Barnes and Noble north...

Warning: spoilers. Well, since it's all over the news today (there's an AP story that was picked up by just about everyone -- USA Today, SF Gate, Miami Herald, Washington Post -- but no love to kottke.org for breaking the story...TV Week is getting all the credit), there's no further harm in revealing that Ken Jennings does in fact lose on Jeopardy at some point in the near future. But there's more. Super-tipster Phillip has graciously provided us with the Final Jeopardy answer and question from Ken's final show. If you'd like to know what it is, highlight the redacted...

An Answering Machine on Hold 'Jeopardy!' Juggernaut Ken Jennings Goes Home For the Summer With His Record Streak Intact By Tamara Jones Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, July 24, 2004; Page A01 The Man Who Ate "Jeopardy!" took a breather yesterday but is still licking his chops. Which left viewers with this $1,321,660-and-still-counting question: After eight weeks, 38 episodes, 76 opponents and more than 1,300 questions in more than 450 categories, just how long is Ken Jennings's record winning streak going to last? The one-man geekathon by the boyish software engineer from Salt Lake City has sent ratings for the...

Tuesday 20th July, 2004 'Jeopardy' champ at $1,135,460 Big News Network.com Tuesday 20th July, 2004 Salt Lake City software engineer Ken Jennings brought his Jeopardy total to $1,135,460 Monday, adding $35,000 for his 34th straight win. Host Alex Trebek, noting Jennings initially prepared for his appearances by studying flashcards, asked Jennings, How do you prepare for games now? Don't be offended but I try to never watch 'Jeopardy' ... I read the paper and see if that helps, Jennings said. It hasn't so far, but you never know. The 30-year-old Brigham Young University graduate bested Beverly Herter of Portsmouth, R.I.,...