Adrian Wojnarowski Receives Prestigious Curt Gowdy Media Award
Adrian Wojnarowski, a former ESPN sportswriter, received the Curt Gowdy Media Award, honoring his significant contributions to sports journalism. Other winners include Michelle Smith, Clark Kellogg, and George Blaha.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Adrian Wojnarowski, the award-winning former ESPN sportswriter who redefined the journalism industry with his breaking news prowess, was honored Friday with the Curt Gowdy Media Award.
"I only had ever hoped to have a career as a sportswriter, and so to me this honor is reflective of all the people who believed in me, gave me opportunities, helped me along this road, and that's what comes to mind first," Wojnarowski told ESPN shortly after Friday's announcement. "So many of my idols, from Jackie McMullan to Michael Wilbon to Doris Burke to Harvey Araton, have been honored previously, and it's beyond my wildest dreams to be in that company."
Wojnarowski's journalism career began in his native Connecticut in Waterbury, where he covered the University of Connecticut before moving on to the Fresno Bee in California and then the Bergen Record in New Jersey.
He then went to Yahoo! Sports in 2007, where his relentless drive created a seemingly never-ending series of breaking news, which came to be known as "Woj Bombs." A decade later, he joined ESPN in his hometown of Bristol, Connecticut, and spent the next several years solidifying his place as one of the most influential sportswriters ever.
"I came along at a unique time in media," Wojnarowski said, "and I came along at a time media and the league were changing, and I was the beneficiary of good timing and incredible support from people I worked with at the NBA, ESPN and Yahoo."
This past September, Wojnarowski's last "Woj Bomb" might have been his most shocking one of all, when he retired from journalism to step into a new role as the general manager of the men's basketball team at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure University.
Wojnarowski was one of four Gowdy award winners announced Friday, receiving the honor in the insight category.
Michelle Smith, a longtime chronicler of women's sports and specifically women's basketball, won the print media award, having written for ESPN, ESPNw, the San Francisco Chronicle and AOL Fan house, among others publications.
There were two recipients of the electronic media award: Clark Kellogg, the longtime CBS college basketball analyst, and George Blaha, the legendary Detroit Pistons play-by-play man. Kellogg has been an essential part of CBS' college basketball coverage since 1993, especially its annual chronicling of March Madness. Blaha is in his 49th season calling Pistons games. According to the team, he has called more than 3,700 regular-season games and more than 260 playoff contests.
The Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award winner is longtime Celtics public relations official Jeff Twiss, who began working for the franchise back in 1981 and has been part of four championships in Boston.
"To be honest, I'm still punching myself til my arm hurts," Twiss told ESPN. "Red Auerbach was my boss for a few years, and I got to spend some time rubbing shoulders with people at the Hall of Fame and could only dream about being in there with them one day, and now that dream is a reality."
The Gowdy winners will be honored on Sept. 5-6 alongside this year's Naismith Hall of Fame class, for which the finalists were also announced Friday.
