‘Jeopardy!’ king finishes second

Ken Jennings, the “Jeopardy!” brainiac who won a record 74 games in a row last year, met his match this week, losing a three-day tournament of champions from the game show and a $2-million prize to Brad Rutter of Lancaster, Pa.

Rutter, a former record store clerk who won more than $1 million on “Jeopardy!” in 2002, beat Jennings in all three individual games, and his final total of $62,000 easily eclipsed Jennings’ $34,599.

The defeat could bruise Jennings’ mystique, especially since he is trying to turn his trivia prowess into a career -- with his own board game, book and Comedy Central game show in the works. Nevertheless, second place earned him $500,000, part of the largest single-day payoff in TV game show history. Third-place finisher Jerome Vered earned $250,000.