In brain game, money's on this 'Jeopardy!' champion

Think of the most fearsome, dominant individual-sport athletes of the last couple of generations; at their best, you had little chance of beating them:

Mike Tyson. Michael Phelps. Tiger Woods. Serena Williams. Jason Belmonte. Usain Bolt. James Holzhauer.

Yes, James Holzhauer.

Holzhauer, the record-breaking "Jeopardy!" doyen, is undeniably the most dynamic, unstoppable force in the show's modern 35-year history.

(Footnote I: The original daytime version of "Jeopardy!", hosted by Art Fleming from 1964 to 1975, is known as the show's "dead-ball era.")

Holzhauer, 34, a sports bettor from Las Vegas, might not approach Ken Jennings' legendary 74-match winning streak, but he already has established the show's seven highest single-day scores, eclipsing the million-dollar earnings mark in 14 outings.

He doesn't just vanquish his foes, he annihilates them. Like Tyson, Holzhauer often delivers a knockout blow in the first minute. The ex-heavyweight champion once said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." Holzhauer bolts out of his corner by choosing the highest-priced clues, and before his opponents have even settled in, he is ahead by $4,000 or $5,000.

Would you want to be one of the two challengers being led to your game-show slaughter?

It's like being a deer caught in headlights. It's like Christians being fed to the lions. It's like, uh, uh ... oh, I can't even think of a third animal to reference because I'm not smart enough to be on "Jeopardy!"

(Of the 60 questions on each show, I can usually answer maybe 10 of them. My only chance for success would be if the categories were "Chad Family Dysfunction," "Chad Marriages," "Chad Divorces," "Losing Poker Sessions," "The Pro Bowlers Tour" and "Irritable Bowel Syndrome.")

What amazes about Holzhauer —...