The Beat

Another good omen for the Wizards: Michael Jordan is looking to put down roots near Washington, D.C. Jordan and his wife, Juanita, have reportedly started shopping for houses in Potomac, Md., an exclusive area featuring large properties close to good private schools. The couple toured a $4 million, 10-acre residence that boasted seven bedrooms, a pool and a tennis court. Last October, Jordan came close to buying a $3.9 million house in D.C.'s ritzy Palisades neighborhood but decided instead to lease a condo in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences....

With Dennis Miller's second year on Monday Night Football ending on Monday, now may be a good time to ask: Is he a hit with his comic peers? The answer is a clear and unfunny no. "Could I do that job? Could I make obscure references designed to prove how smart I am rather than make people laugh?" asks Fox NFL Sunday's Jimmy Kimmel. "No, but I also think he's not good at the job. He got it into his head that he has to prove how much he knows about football, and that's not important. What's important is making people laugh." Jay Mohr, whose talk show, Mohr Sports, debuts on ESPN in February, has also been disappointed. "A guy that just got off a double shift at Napa Auto Parts doesn't want to go through a dictionary to look up a word," says Mohr. "I think I'm of above-average intelligence, and he loses me a third of the time."

...The Super Bowl is the most-watched show of the year, so rival networks usually offer little competition. Not this year: NBC is fighting back against Fox's telecast of the big game with...frightened Bunnies. During halftime NBC will air a special edition of its popular reality show, Fear Factor, featuring six Playboy Playmates as contestants. "Instead of rolling over and playing dead on Super Bowl night, we thought we'd have a little fun," says NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker. In past episodes contestants have had to eat sheep eyeballs and lie in a vat of snakes. No word yet on what stunts the Playmates will do, except that one will be underwater—guaranteeing the sight of Bunnies in swimsuits.