Tim Kurkjian attended Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, where he played on the school’s basketball and baseball teams. At the suggestion of his basketball coach, Kurkjian began writing for the student newspaper, The Pitch, and the school’s yearbook, “The Wind-up.
He eventually became the sports editor of The Pitch and realized that journalism would be the surest means of fulfilling his childhood dream of making a living in professional sports. He graduated from the school in 1974 and after some time away, still lives in MoCo today.
Earlier this Month, the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced that Kurkjian would be the 2022 recipient of the BBWAA Career Excellence Award and will be presented the award as part of the Hall of Fame Induction in Cooperstown this upcoming July.
Per The Baseball Hall of Fame:
Kurkjian transitioned from award-winning beat writer to beloved ESPN television personality during his career covering the National Pastime.
Along the way, Kurkjian’s skills as a wordsmith and love of the game made him a fan-favorite at each of his stops.
A graduate of Walter Johnson High school in his native Bethesda, Md., and the University of Maryland, Kurkjian began his career in 1979 for the Washington Star and two years later was the Rangers beat writer for the Dallas Morning News. After four years in Texas, Kurkjian returned to Maryland, joining the Baltimore Sun to cover the Orioles for four years.
Kurkjian then spent seven years as Sports Illustrated’s senior baseball writer. In 1998, he joined ESPN where he has worked as a columnist for ESPN.com and a reporter/analyst/host for “Baseball Tonight,” the latter assignment earning him an Emmy Award in 2002. He won a second Emmy for contributions to “SportsCenter” in 2003-04.
Kurkjian also penned “America’s Game” (2000), an interactive look at baseball; “Is This a Great Game or What?” (2007), a collection of his personal reflections covering the sport; and “I’m Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies” (2017), detailing the idiosyncrasies that define his love for the game.
Back in March, NYCFC re-signed midfielder Gedion Zelalem. Today, the club won the MLS Cup– defeating Portland 4-2 in penalty kicks.
Zelalem played in 7 games this season, starting one, helping New York City to the Cup.
He was born in Berlin, Germany to Ethiopian parents, but moved to United States in 2006, a year after the death of his mother.
He played with several teams while growing up in Bethesda, including Bethesda Soccer Club, Olney Rangers, and varsity soccer at Walter Johnson.
Zelalem, 24, spent 2020 with NYCFC though only made one MLS appearance during the campaign, which came as a 14-minute cameo off the bench at the MLS is Back Tournament.
The former wunderkind, who has dealt with knee injuries the last few years, signed with Sporting KC in 2019 and made nine appearances that season.
“We’re happy to welcome back Gedion for another season,” sporting director David Lee said in a club statement when Zelalem was re-signed prior to the season. “He was showing glimpses of the potential he has last year before his injury and we’re excited to see him back on the field in 2021.”
The former US youth international is still hoping to kick his professional career into second gear, after injuries derailed his trajectory. Joining Arsenal’s academy at age 16, Zelalem earned his first team debut before long. To help aid his development, he was sent on loan to Scottish powerhouse Rangers and Dutch outfit VVV-Venlo.
A serious knee injury suffered in US duty during the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea sidetracked his progress, however, and never quite recaptured his momentum. He was still at Arsenal before joining SKC in 2019.
Arushi Singh, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School and Rockville, Md., resident, was awarded first prize in the 2021 Gaithersburg Book Festival poetry contest for high school students for her poem “Leaking Memories.”
