Friday, July 23, 2004
IS THAT YOUR FINAL QUESTION?
Jeopardy phonemenon Ken Jennings has boosted recent ratings for the TV show (past Wheel of Fortune, imagine that!). As a result, he's become a news phenomenon (ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, E!, USAToday , NPR, Washington Post, NY Times, David Letterman, Good Morning America, Live/Regis and Kelly)! Even ESPN got in the act, cleverly using sports analogies to make him relevant to their readers:
But it's the no coffee part of Mormonism that may be the secret to his success.
No, it's not nearly enough for me to give up my own caffeine habit but I fully intend to rely on this important research report the next time I call my children by the wrong name.
Yes, he's a smarmy know-it-all with the personality of a hall monitor, the kind of guy everyone hides from at a Christmas party. But he has "it" -- that indefinable quality you have when you know you're good, when you're in the zone and taking everyone for a ride. The '86 Celts had it. They toyed with teams before ripping their hearts out, Temple of Doom style. The JG does too. Not since the pre-nanny Tiger has somebody laid the smack down like this. He doesn't beat people, he dismantles them.Have I mentioned that he's a practicing Mormon? As in no booze, a fact that has prompted the creation of a new drinking game: Jeopardrink!: the KenJen Edition ("The worse Ken does, the drunker you get").
But it's the no coffee part of Mormonism that may be the secret to his success.
No, it's not nearly enough for me to give up my own caffeine habit but I fully intend to rely on this important research report the next time I call my children by the wrong name.
