One of the funniest moments in “Jeopardy!” history, as the late Alex Trebek wrote in his memoir, came during a 2018 game where all three contestants seemed to be avoiding a category titled “Talkin’ Football.”
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The reason was valid: They didn’t know much about football.
All three players failed to buzz in for a single clue in the category — with an increasingly amused Trebek offering commentary along the way.
“If you guys ring in and get this one, I will die,” Trebek said as he waited for the time to run out on the final clue in the category.
One of my favorite Alex Trebek moments. Why he was the GOAT
RIP to a legend pic.twitter.com/1ZyALrC3J1
— Jim Russell (@JimRussellSD) November 8, 2020
That famous moment likely won’t play out in a new “Jeopardy!” spinoff launching in July.
Catered to “sports fanatics,” “ESPN Jeopardy!” is bringing sports commentators and celebrity sports fans to the Alex Trebek Stage for a tournament-style play that will give the winner $500,000 for the charity of their choice, according to the official “Jeopardy!” website.
The new series, hosted by “Monday Night Football” broadcaster Joe Buck, features a star-studded lineup — including former Notre Dame and NFL linebacker Manti Te’o.
Manti Te’o will compete on ‘ESPN Jeopardy!’
After an eight-year NFL career that included playing for the San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears, Te’o shifted to working as a sports analyst and host for the NFL Network.
Now, Te’o will compete against his fellow NFL Network analysts Kyle Brandt and Jamie Erdahl in the fifth quarterfinal game of ESPN “Jeopardy!”
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A teaser for the new series shows Te’o getting into the spirit of the competition with a “Let’s go!” per People.
His appearance on “ESPN Jeopardy!” comes four years after taking part in the Netflix documentary “Untold,” which revisits the catfishing scandal that put him at the center of a media firestorm while playing for Notre Dame.
Te’o, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been open about how he has relied on his faith to forgive the person who catfished him and the people who mocked him after the scandal.
“If Christ could (forgive) in one of the most excruciating of deaths,” he said during a 2024 appearance on the “All In” podcast, per Deseret News. “Then why can’t I do that? What is my excuse?”
What to know about ‘ESPN Jeopardy!’
Hosted by Buck, “ESPN Jeopardy!” premieres July 31 on Disney+, Hulu and the ESPN app.
Buck isn’t a stranger to hosting “Jeopardy!” — the Emmy Award-winning ESPN sportscaster was one of several guest hosts who stepped in to helm the long-running quiz show following Trebek’s death, the Deseret News previously reported.
The “ESPN Jeopardy!” tournament will feature six quarterfinals, three semifinals and the final championship.
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Here is the full lineup of players, per the official “Jeopardy!” website:
Quarterfinal 1: Christine Williamson, Jeremy Schaap and Kimberley Martin
Quarterfinal 2: MJ Acosta-Ruiz, Peter Schrager and Omar Raja
Quarterfinal 3: Jon Hamm, Keegan-Michael Key and Adam Pally
Quarterfinal 4: Hannah Storm, Jay Harris and Amina Smith
Quarterfinal 5: Brandt, Erdahl and Te’o
Quarterfinal 6: Kevin Negandhi, Domonique Foxworth and Madelyn Burke