Eddie Timanus, Blind Sports Writer

Although blind since infancy, Eddie Timanus, a 1990 graduate of the university, is still one of the most highly regarded College Sports Writers at USA Today. Unwilling to let his condition alter his daily life, Timanus plays competitive bridge, which he started in the lounge of Huffman House, as well as the piano. Timanus has a 3-year-old son, Evan, with his wife of five years, Kelli.

Timanus on Jeopardy! Timanus was diagnosed at infancy with retinoblastoma, a rare form of retinal cancer that if left untreated will lead to death. Both Timanus' son, Evan and his father fought this rare eye cancer.

"Fortunately the treatments (of retinoblastoma) are a bit more advanced now, but we still have to give (Evan) regular check ups to make sure nothing has recurred," Timanus said. "We caught his cancer very early on, at about 7 months old, because we were looking for (the tumors). My father had the same condition, but only unilaterally, and therefore only lost one eye."

In the 1970s, the treatment of Timanus' retinoblastoma left him blind because his treatment required removing his eyes completely after long exposure to chemotherapy and radiation failed. In the treating of Timanus' son, Evan, chemotherapy regimes attacked the cancer locally, managing to preserve both his eyes and sight.

"I was fortunate to have been born into a good family who made sure that nothing got in my way, and that I wasn't discouraged about anything," Timanus said about his childhood. "My parents did a terrific job giving my life normalcy and my schools were always helpful. I was on the Quiz bowl and Academic team. At Wake, I was still on the Quiz Bowl Team, which helped fuel my interest further for game shows. I was able to pursue my interests as I wished."

At the university, Timanus majored in economics and minored in music, studying piano performance, all while helping the Sports Information Office during his senior year.

"I absolutely enjoyed my years at Wake," he said. "College years are a lot of fun, and that is part of why I still enjoy covering college sports."

Timanus learned to play piano from professor Lucille Harris, now retired, who had experience teaching blind pianists at the North Carolina School for the Blind.

"Music was a lot of memorization," Timanus said. "Obviously you cannot sight read sheet music, but there is a Braille notation you could memorize."

In 1999, Timanus was the first blind contestant on Jeopardy! He won five games in a row before retiring undefeated. From his first round at Jeopardy play, Timanus won just shy of $70,000 cash and two cars.

He returned to Jeopardy! to compete in the 1999 Tournament of Champions, 2002 Million Dollar Masters and the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions.

Timanus met his wife online while discussing game shows on Yahoo! Groups in 2000, shortly after his appearance on the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. "I met her on a forum. I receive daily e-mails with a 'Word of the Day' in them. That day's particular word was 'Whammy,' which I posted on the forum.

"There used to be this game show called Press Your Luck, and the object was to collect as much money as you could without getting a 'whammy.' I figured Press Your Luck fans would like that. So I posted it," Timanus said. "She was a geography teacher at the time and used the word in her class to show how words disperse culturally and geographically. She sent me an e-mail thanking me for posting it, and I replied. We met when she was visiting a friend in D.C. later that year. We were married in 2002, two years after we met."

In 2004, Timanus appeared on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, winning $50,000. Timanus loved game shows even as a child, growing up watching them with fascination. "My mom was a big Jeopardy! fan, and I liked all the whistles and bells. When Jeopardy! was brought back, I wanted to be on it."

Currently, Timanus is best known for his work with USA Today. He comes from a background of sports media, as his father covered radio news and sports, which is how he learned to "see" the games without sight.

"Going to games with him, I figured out with to listen for on the fields and in descriptions," he said. "I learned the basics of how the games worked, and through that, decided that I wanted to do something with sports."

Timanus said his first experience with professional writing came when he wrote in in-house letter for the Supreme Court. Later, Timanus applied for the News Aide position at USA Today and after serving in that position, was promoted as a staff writer.

Timanus now writes the Preview section for college football and basketball, avidly following his alma mater's Demon Deacons and handles the Weekly Coaches Poll. He also covered the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament for the last two years.

Created on ... November 18, 2007