Sports Geniuses
Encyclopedia
Sports Geniuses was an American
sports-themed game show
that aired from May 2000 until June 2000 on cable channel Fox Sports Net
. It was the network's second game show (Ultimate Fan League was the first, airing in 1998 and 1999, and only other).
Sportscaster Matt Vasgersian
hosted, with Lisa Guerrero
as his co-host.
The first round was played similar to Jeopardy!
, with four categories each containing five questions that ranged in value from 10 to 50 points. Two clues in the round were designated Double Plays, and were questions that employed video clips and had follow-up questions attached which if answered correctly doubled the value of the question.
After the round was over, a speed round called the 30 Second Blitz was played. In this, the players would be shown a photo of an athlete and had to identify who it was. 30 points were paid for each correct answer.
The next round of play was almost identical to the first round, with the following exceptions:
In addition, a special guest athlete or other sports personality would appear to read questions in one of the four categories.
A new wrinkle was added for this round, called "The Shaft." The third place player was given The Shaft (which was a silver shaft of a baseball bat, hence the name) to start the round and could use it at any point in the round to force one of his opponents to answer one of the questions on the board. Each player could only be "Shafted" once, and once The Shaft returned to someone who had already used it is was taken out of play.
At the end of this round the two highest-scoring players advanced to a final showdown. A category would be given for each question (i.e., Super Bowl winners), and the value would start at 100 points and increase by 10 points for each correct answer given by the contestants, who alternated giving answers. If a player gave an incorrect answer or froze, their opponent would receive the points in the pot and play would continue, otherwise the value of the pot would roll over to the next question. Each subsequent question's starting value would increase by 25 points.
Play continued in this fashion until time ran out, at which point the contestant with the highest score was declared the winner and won a prize package.
, and he would ask a question to a person playing via telephone. A correct answer won a bonus prize.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sports-themed game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
that aired from May 2000 until June 2000 on cable channel Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
. It was the network's second game show (Ultimate Fan League was the first, airing in 1998 and 1999, and only other).
Sportscaster Matt Vasgersian
Matt Vasgersian
Matt Vasgersian is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a host for the MLB Network and has served as an announcer for NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympics, and on Fox Sports' MLB coverage...
hosted, with Lisa Guerrero
Lisa Guerrero
Lisa Coles Guerrero is an American sportscaster, actress, host and model. The Los Angeles Times has called Guerrero the 'hardest working sports reporter'. The Hispanic Business Journal named her one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in America. President George W...
as his co-host.
Format
The show was divided into four separate segments.The first round was played similar to Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, with four categories each containing five questions that ranged in value from 10 to 50 points. Two clues in the round were designated Double Plays, and were questions that employed video clips and had follow-up questions attached which if answered correctly doubled the value of the question.
After the round was over, a speed round called the 30 Second Blitz was played. In this, the players would be shown a photo of an athlete and had to identify who it was. 30 points were paid for each correct answer.
The next round of play was almost identical to the first round, with the following exceptions:
- Questions were now worth 20-100 points
- Wrong answers deducted points
- No Double Plays
In addition, a special guest athlete or other sports personality would appear to read questions in one of the four categories.
A new wrinkle was added for this round, called "The Shaft." The third place player was given The Shaft (which was a silver shaft of a baseball bat, hence the name) to start the round and could use it at any point in the round to force one of his opponents to answer one of the questions on the board. Each player could only be "Shafted" once, and once The Shaft returned to someone who had already used it is was taken out of play.
At the end of this round the two highest-scoring players advanced to a final showdown. A category would be given for each question (i.e., Super Bowl winners), and the value would start at 100 points and increase by 10 points for each correct answer given by the contestants, who alternated giving answers. If a player gave an incorrect answer or froze, their opponent would receive the points in the pot and play would continue, otherwise the value of the pot would roll over to the next question. Each subsequent question's starting value would increase by 25 points.
Play continued in this fashion until time ran out, at which point the contestant with the highest score was declared the winner and won a prize package.
Tournament
Toward the end of Sports Geniuses run, the show invited back its biggest winners to compete in a tournament for a chance at a car and trips to each of the four major American sports' championships (the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals). Daniel Katz won the tournament.Play-Along
Before the final commercial break, co-host Lisa Guerrero would introduce, via webcam, comic Sal IaconoSal Iacono
Sal Iacono is an American comedian, writer and game show host best known as "Cousin Sal" on The Man Show and the late night television show Jimmy Kimmel Live.-Biography:...
, and he would ask a question to a person playing via telephone. A correct answer won a bonus prize.