Ken Jennings has a lot on his mind these days. Not only did he experience a tough test from opponents Brad Rutter and Jerome Vered in "Jeopardy's Ultimate Tournament of Champions" but he recently accepted ESPN's challenge to answer some sports and movie questions as posed by Page 3 readers.

As it turns out, Jennings not only proved his trivia prowess but he demonstrated how he is truly a great sport. Despite having a lot on his plate with the current loss in the tournament, not to mention a new board game, book, as well as a Comedy Central TV show, he graciously took on topics ranging from Paula Abdul to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Jar Jar Binks (on his 31st birthday no less!).

1. In preparation for this ultimate tournament did you watch any of the early rounds involving the 145 other past champions? Did you happen to catch any matches involving Brad Rutter or Jerome Vered, your opponents into the finals?

Ken Jennings: I watched nearly the whole tournament ... which after while I began to think was bad idea because I thought, "Wow, they're all really, really good." It certainly made me a little nervous watching all of these past champions compete against each other and frankly, Brad and Jerome are two of the best.

b. Are there any past contestants you admire? Maybe NYC cop and former Jeopardy record holder Frank Spangenberg?

KJ: Frank was actually the alternate for the finals as he got knocked out in the last match of the semis. He was there when we filmed the finals, so it was great as I got to meet him finally. It's funny, every time I am in New York and people recognize me the first thing they ask is, "How do you think you'd fare against Frank?"

2. It has been a while since you have last been on the show. What did you do to shake off the rust ... did you bone up on certain subjects or do any buzzer exercises?

KJ: Well I watched the show and tried to get a feel for the timing for the questions. Timing is such a important part of it. I studied a little bit and tried to bone up on some of their more popular topics like Shakespeare and World Capitals.

b. What would you say is your weakest category or subject?

KJ: There always seems to be some tough lifestyle questions like those on high fashion and such that give me a little trouble.

3. A lot of baseball players have pre-game routines and superstitions. When you were on your record run, did you have any routines you went through or superstitions you heeded?

KJ: Well a lot of people might have noticed that I signed my name in different way for each show. As far as behind the scenes goes, there used to be this little piece of electrician's tape that happened to be stuck to my podium and I made sure the crew kept it there during my time on the show.

4. Speaking of sports, are you a big BYU fan? Do you follow the Jazz?

KJ: I am a pretty big sports fan and I am BYU grad so I do root for the Cougars but it was pretty tough year for us. I am actually from the Seattle area so I cheer for Seattle teams ... so I was pulling for the Sonics in the playoffs.

5. You used to run a movie site listing the year's best movies. What did you think of last year's best picture "Million Dollar Baby"?

KJ: I had a friend who was so excited for me to see it. He kept calling it the best sports movie of all time and after I saw it, I thought, "Hey this might not have been the best sports movie in the last six months!" I mean I thought "Friday Night Lights" was great.

b. What were your other top movies of last year?

KJ: I really liked "The Aviator." "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" was probably my favorite film of 2004. "The Incredibles" was really fun too.

c. What are your top three sports movies of all time?

KJ: Definitely "Field of Dreams." "Eight Men Out" is a great movie by a master director John Sayles. And for my third maybe "Chariots of Fire" even though it is a wussy sport it was a really moving story. (Note: As far as recent sports movies that have made Ken's yearly top ten list on his website (http://jenningsbaby.8m.com) include: "Ali" (#8 in 2001), "Jerry Maguire" (#7 in 96), "Field of Dreams" (#4 in 89), "Eight Men Out" (#2 in 88), "Hoosiers" (#8 in 86) "Chariots of Fire" (#1 in 81), "Raging Bull" (#5 in 80) )

d. What do you make of all of these sports movie remakes... like the Longest Yard and The Bad News Bears?

KJ: I am sort of OK with those [films] as they aren't like beloved sports films. So, it is okay by me to see Adam Sandler in place of Burt Reynolds just as long as they don't start tinkering with my favorites.

6. You are big comic book fan. What do you think of the new "Batman," "Spiderman," "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" movie treatments?

KJ: I am a huge "Spiderman" fan. I think that movie franchise is almost pitch perfect. I am sort of hopeful about seeing the backstory on "Batman" as it shouldn't be that they can only make one good "Batman" movie every decade or so. I am also pretty excited for the new "Superman" installment.

b. What do you think of "Star Wars"? What other movies are on your radar?

KJ: I did see "Star Wars" on Thursday morning, not the midnight show but I saw it the first day. I really enjoyed it but to be honest, my expectations were low going into it. I am very much looking forward to "Cinderella Man" and I did see the trailer for "War of the Worlds" and that looks pretty cool.

7. You are currently in a commercial with one of the stars from "24"? Are you a "24" fan? What TV shows do you like?

KJ: One of the reasons I went ahead and did that commercial is because I am a big fan of Dennis Haysbert. I am glad to see he's back on the show and I am really excited for 24's season finale. As far as other shows, besides "Jeopardy" of course [laughing], I also enjoy "Six Feet Under," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and I am also a big "Simpsons" fan.

8. You listed "Quiz Show" as one of your top (#3 pick) movies in 1994. What do you think of all the American Idol and Paula Abdul hub-bub? Is there anything we should be worried about?

KJ: [Laughing] I watch "American Idol" sometimes. I could sort of see how people could have been worried that Alex had taken me under his wing in such a way. But there's nothing to be worried about.

Do you think Alex thinks he is smarter than you or the other contestants?

KJ: Well, Alex is a pretty smart guy and he has always treated me and the other contestants with respect. You have to remember I was on the show for over a span of two seasons so in a way I was almost becoming his sidekick. Yet, he was kind enough to share his Jeopardy spotlight with me.

9. Do you think your streak of 74 wins will ever be broken? How does it rank with Joe DiMaggio's 56 straight, Tiger Wood's recent consecutive cuts made, or other great streaks?

KJ: I don't think you can compare it to DiMaggio or Ripken or any other great sports streaks. Keep in mind it has really only been a year since they have changed the Jeopardy rules allowing people to return indefinitely so I guess time will tell. But my sense is having experienced some of the weird coincidences that had to have happened for me to keep going last year I wouldn't doubt if it holds up for a while.

10. Does H&R Block, Nancy Zerg and that infamous final Jeopardy question haunt you?

KJ: I genuinely did not know that question .. but it is funny as I now see the H&R block square everywhere! In fact there is a huge H&R Block sign just two blocks from my house and I keep asking myself how was I not aware of it!

Shane Igoe is a New York City writer who happened to blow his college team's 1995 Quiz Bowl hopes on the final question. He can be reached through his latest project : The Wade Blogs (http://thewade.blogs.com)