Tim Kurkjian– Biographical Brief
 Tim Kurkjian is a Major League Baseball analyst on ESPN`s Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter. He is also a contributor to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. He guests on Mike & Mike in the Morning on Thursdays at 7:44 AM, discussing the latest in happenings in Major League Baseball.
Mr. Kurkjian is well known for his Baseball Tonight segments and SportsCenter reports that include an in-depth analysis of statistics, trade situations, and unusual "Did-You-Know?" facts. In his article "Gaining an Appreciation for the Sacrifice Fly" (July 14, 2007, ESPN the Magazine), he confessed, "I`ve always been fascinated by sacrifice flies.”
He has an extensive background in covering baseball. His journalism career began with the Washington Star in 1978 following his graduation from the University of Maryland; he then worked briefly for the Baltimore News American in 1981.
Mr. Kurkjian began covering baseball as the Texas Rangers beat writer for the Dallas Morning News where he worked from 1981 to 1985. Kurkjian then covered the Baltimore Orioles for the Baltimore Sun beginning in 1986. He was a senior writer for Sports Illustrated from 1989-1997 as well as a reporter for CNN/SI from 1996-1997.
He authored his first book, "America`s Game", in 2000 and his second book, "Is This a Great Game, or What?: From A-Rod`s Heart to Zim`s Head – My 25 Years in Baseball", was released in May 2007.
Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe says, “Tim Kurkjian has written a wonderfully entertaining book, but that’s not surprising, because Tim’s a wonderfully entertaining guy. And, as funny as he is to read, he’s even funnier to listen to. His knowledge of the game is second to none.”
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Kurkjian was the 2007 Commencement speaker at Walter Johnson High School (he’s a graduate of that high school).
Mayor John Hickenlooper – Biographical Brief
 A small businessman who had never previously run for political office, John Hickenlooper was elected Mayor of Denver in 2003 and reelected in 2007. Since taking office, Mayor Hickenlooper passed a citywide charter reform initiative to modernize Denver’s personnel system, overcame a $70 million deficit to balance the City budget while averting major cuts in services and massive layoffs, reached deals with United, Frontier and Southwest Airlines enabling all carriers to grow at Denver International Airport, implemented the most sweeping set of police reforms in Denver’s history, built an unprecedented partnership with Denver Public Schools, launched efforts to create a more business-friendly environment in city government, initiated a citywide campaign to end homelessness, created Denver’s sustainable development initiative, and ushered in a new era of bipartisan regional cooperation culminating in passage of the largest regional transit initiative in the history of the United States.
In November 2005, Mayor Hickenlooper was the only mayor named by Governing Magazine as one of the top Public Officials of the Year, and in April 2005 – less than two years into his first term – TIME Magazine named Mayor Hickenlooper one of the top five “big-city” mayors in America.
Hickenlooper’s passion for Denver began in 1981 when his career as an exploration geologist brought him to Buckhorn Petroleum, where he worked for five years. After the collapse of the oil industry, he found himself with a healthy severance check, no immediate job prospects, and time on his hands. Inspired by a visit to a northern California brewpub, he spent two years developing the Wynkoop Brewing Company, the first brewpub in the Rocky Mountains. The Wynkoop group grew to eventually include seven Denver restaurants and a brewpub in Colorado Springs.
A respected entrepreneur, Hickenlooper was also involved with numerous downtown Denver renovation and development projects and is credited as one of the pioneers that helped revitalize Denver’s Lower Downtown historic district. In recognition of his efforts supporting preservation in Denver and downtowns across the country, Hickenlooper received a National Preservation Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1997.
Long before he had ever considered public office, Hickenlooper was active in community affairs, serving on numerous civic boards including Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Denver Civic Ventures, Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, the Denver Art Museum, the Association of Brewers, and the Institute for Brewing Studies. In 1987, he co-founded the Chinook Fund, a local foundation that provides seed grants to community organizations that emphasize social change. He also co-founded CultureHaus, the Denver Art Museum`s 600-member young adult organization.
Leading a grassroots campaign to preserve the “Mile High Stadium” name in 2000 planted the seeds for his 2003 mayoral bid. An unlikely candidate facing a half-dozen seasoned political veterans, Hickenlooper made Denver history with his nearly two-to-one margin of victory. Mayor Hickenlooper began his term by assembling the most diverse team of city leadership Denver has ever known. Maintaining a commitment to diversity and excellence, Hickenlooper recruited corporate executives, local nonprofit leaders and government innovators from around the country, resulting in a team that is more than half women and more than half Latino/African-American/Asian.
Since his election, Mayor Hickenlooper has worked to increase civic engagement and participation throughout the city and Denver metro area, helping to bring all 32 metro mayors together to work on initiatives that benefit the entire region. His collaborative approach has built strong bonds and partnerships that transcend partisan and geographic lines. His integrity, honesty and sense of humor have renewed public faith and trust in City Hall, and his boundless energy and enthusiasm have generated tremendous optimism and confidence in Denver’s future.
Mayor Hickenlooper graduated from Wesleyan University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in English in 1974 and a master’s degree in geology in 1980. His wife, Helen Thorpe, is a writer whose work has been published in the New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, George, and Texas Monthly. They live in northeast Denver with their five-year-old son, Teddy.
The Honorable Michael Dukakis – Biographical Brief
 Michael Stanley Dukakis (born November 3, 1933) is an American Democratic politician, former Governor of Massachusetts, and the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek and Vlach immigrant parents in Brookline, Massachusetts and was the longest serving governor in Massachusetts` history. He was the first Greek-American governor in U.S. history.
Dukakis`s father Panos (1896–1979) was a Greek from Turkey who settled in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1912 and graduated from Harvard Medical School twelve years later, subsequently working as an obstetrician. His mother Euterpe (née Boukis) (1903–2003) was a Vlach (Aromanian) from Larissa; she and her family immigrated to Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1913. She was a graduate of Bates College. He had one brother, Stelian Panos Dukakis (1930–1973), who was sent into a coma when struck by a motorist while he was riding his bicycle in Brookline, Massachusetts and taken off life support after four months. Dukakis graduated from Swarthmore College in 1955, served in the U.S. Army 1955–1957, stationed in Korea, and then received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1960. Dukakis is also an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.
After winning four terms to the Massachusetts House of Representatives between 1962 to 1970, Dukakis was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1974, defeating the incumbent Republican Francis W. Sargent during a period of fiscal crisis. Dukakis won in part by promising to be a `reformer` and pledging not to increase the state`s sales tax to balance the state budget.
However, this performance did not prove enough to offset a backlash against the state`s high sales and property tax rates, which turned out to be the predominant issue in the 1978 gubernatorial campaign. Dukakis, despite being the incumbent Democratic governor, was refused re-nomination by his own party. The state Democratic Party machine supported Edward J. King in the Democratic primary partly because King rode the wave against high property taxes (along with the passing of a binding petition on the state ballot that limited property tax rates to 2 1/2% of the property valuation -- known as Proposition 2 1/2), but more significantly because State Democratic Party leaders lost confidence in Dukakis`s ability to govern effectively. King also enjoyed the support of the powerbrokers at the MDC, who were unhappy with Dukakis`s attempts to disempower and dismantle the powerful bureaucracy. King also had support from state police and public employee unions. Dukakis suffered a scathing defeat in the Democratic Primary. It was "a public death," according to his wife Kitty. Yet, four years later (`after wandering in the wilderness` some said), having made peace with the state Democratic Party machine powerbrokers, MDC, and the state police and public employee unions, Dukakis defeated King in a `re-match` in the 1982 Democratic primary. He went on to defeat his Republican opponent in the November election. Future Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry was elected Lieutenant Governor on the same ballot with Dukakis, and served in the Dukakis administration from 1983 to 1985.
Dukakis served as Governor again from 1983 until 1991 (winning re-election in 1986 with more than 60 percent of the vote) during which time he presided over a high-tech boom and a period of prosperity in Massachusetts and simultaneously getting the reputation for being a `technocrat`. The National Governors Association voted Dukakis the most effective governor in 1986. Residents of the city of Boston and its surrounding areas remember him for the improvements he made to Boston`s mass transit system, especially major renovations to the city`s trains and buses. He was known as the only governor who rode the subway to the state capitol every day.
He made a cameo appearance in the medical drama St. Elsewhere (Season 3, Episode 15, "Bye, George," January 9, 1985). He limps to the hospital desk and says that he has suffered a jogging injury, but Dr. Fiscus (played by Howie Mandel) refuses to believe that he is the governor of Massachusetts.
After the end of his term, he served on the board of directors for Amtrak, and became a professor of political science at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, visiting professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University, and visiting professor in the Department of Public Policy at the School of Public Affairs at UCLA. He continued to talk in media interviews about the "negative" 1988 Bush campaign, beginning with his press conference on the day after the election, continuing throughout Bush`s term, and even subsequent to Bush`s defeat in the 1992 election.
Dukakis has recently developed a strong passion for grassroots campaigning and the appointment of precinct captains to coordinate local campaigning activities, two strategies he feels are essential for the Democratic Party to compete effectively in both local and national elections. In 2006 he and Kitty worked to help Democratic candidate Deval Patrick in his efforts to become governor of Massachusetts. He also has taken a strong role in advocating for effective public transportation and high speed rail as a solution to automobile congestion and the lack of space at airports.
Dukakis is married to Katherine D. (Kitty) Dukakis. The couple`s children are John, Andrea and Kara. The Dukakises continue to reside in his boyhood home in Brookline, Massachusetts, but live in Los Angeles, California during the winter while Dukakis teaches at UCLA.
He is the cousin of actress Olympia Dukakis. |
