IN 'JEOPARDY' Champion Jennings faces two challenges

Ken Jennings has his own projects, but he's also back for another round of 'Jeopardy!'
NEW YORK (AP) -- More than pride, a cottage industry may be at stake when "Jeopardy!" ace Ken Jennings takes on two challengers in the game show's $2 million challenge that airs this week.
Comedy Central said Monday it has signed Jennings to be the central figure in a new game show the channel is developing with Michael Davies, the producer behind "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
That goes along with the upcoming board game "Can You Beat Ken?" and the "Quizzology" CD trivia game that he's behind. Oh, and the book Jennings is writing that's due out next year.
So it would probably help if he keeps the mystique going this week.
"We're hoping that he does as well as he's done in the past," said Lauren Corrao, chief of development at Comedy Central.
What a run
Jennings won more than $2.5 million last year during his 74-game winning streak, dispatching opponents with a machine-like efficiency before minting his own "Jeopardy" trivia question:
A. The California real estate agent who beat Jennings and quickly slipped back into obscurity.
Q. Who is Nancy Zerg.
"Jeopardy!" invited dozens of its past champions back for a tournament that has aired the past several weeks. Two contestants, Brad Rutter and Jerome Vered, won the right to take on Jennings in a three-day match that airs starting Monday.
The winner gets $2 million. Second place earns $500,000 and third place $250,000, in what "Jeopardy!" says will be the largest single-day payout in game show history.
The chance to take a crack at Ken proved irresistible to the old champions, said "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek.
"They were attracted by the challenge of becoming the greatest quiz show champion ever, which is kind of a fallacy because there's so much luck involved," Trebek said.
Jennings' run proved a ratings boon to "Jeopardy!" and left Trebek feeling a little lost when Jennings was defeated.
"We were like Martin and Lewis," he said. "It was a routine. All of a sudden Ken is gone. What do I do now?"