Genius Rewarded

If you're better-versed in the great plays of (former University of Miami football player) Stanley Shakespeare than in those of William Shakespeare, are less likely to know the names of the five Great Lakes than of five great Lakers, and you think the Maginot Line skated for the Canadiens, Fox Sports Net has the game show for you.

Sports Geniuses, a daily program that began taping this month in Los Angeles, will premiere on March 27. Hosted by Matt Vasgersian, who does play-by-play for the Brewers, and Lisa Guerrero, an erstwhile captain of the Rams' cheerleaders, Geniuses may be the first of its genre to dispense with the idea that a third-grade education is critical to a contestant's success. "Of course, sports geniuses is oxy-moronic" says the show's creator and executive producer, Gregg Sherman. "That's the whole point We fill the programming void for unemployed adults who live in their parents' basement. What were we going to call it, Win Kevin Garnett's Money?"

The format of Sports Geniuses is a hybrid of Jeopardy and Win Ben Stein's Money. Three contestants play two rounds, selecting from punnily named categories such as "As You Hike It" and "Ripken's Believe It or Not." Two contestants advance to a final-round "Face-Off." Winners receive vacations and sports gear; runners-up are consoled with a flat-screen TV. A telling fact about the target viewership: In the early tapings, says Sherman, "the consolation prize is more popular with our players."