JIMMY ROBERTS: That was a little surprising and overwhelming. First of all, Kenny, thank you, Genevieve, Molly, Saylor, it's good to see you all, and I'm happy to be here.
I'm flattered, but I think the best thing about today is that it gives us an opportunity to remember a person who represents, and still represents, the best of what we can all be.
Tim was an extraordinary person, and he was a great friend. This is really something special for me.
I've had some time to think about this, and I think awards, oftentimes they can be silly, because really, in the end, they just really represent one person or a few people's opinions.
But this is different, at least it is for me, for two principal reasons. Number one, because Tim was a really, really good friend, and as I mentioned before, because of what he represented and the way he went about doing his job.
When I first started to cover the golf beat, I didn't know an awful lot of people on the beat. I was working for ESPN back in the '90s. It felt like a pretty closed shop. I covered some baseball, and the baseball writers seemed to do their best to exclude newcomers, and the golf beat couldn't have been any different, but it was intimidating. People like Larry Dorman, Tommy Bonk, Jeff Rude, Steve Hershey. These are people who spent every week going place to place to place and really, really knew what was going on.
It was intimidating to try and exist in that circle. The golf writers as a whole were welcoming, but no one more so than Tim. I remember leaning on him when I was just confused or about ready to step into a pothole, and no one was more willing to be generous in spirit and helpful.
The problem was often getting in touch with him. I was thinking about it this morning. I opened up my phone, and I still have in my contacts Tim's phone numbers. The problem, as many people in this room know, is you never knew which phone to call with Tim because there were a bunch of them, so you had to stay updated.
But he was always there and always willing and helpful. I'm grateful that he was there to lend a hand.
I think the other thing that I think of when I think of Tim is that he represents, still, the way we should all go about our business.
There were two things about Tim that I've been thinking about a lot since I learned about this award. Number one, he was just one of the hardest workers that you could ever imagine. I mean, he just was indefatigable. He just worked and worked and worked.
The other thing was, and these things go hand in hand, he was kind. I can't think of any qualities that are more important to emulate as we walk through life than hard work and kindness.
Sandy is here with me, and we tell our kids all the time, work hard and be kind. Be kind to people.
Tim was the kindest, and it puts a smile on my face every time I think about him because of how helpful he was to me, the kind of person he was, and as I said, I think the best thing about today is that it gives us an opportunity once again to remember an extraordinary person.
So today is not about me, today is about Tim, and I hope we all can remember him fondly for all the wonderful qualities that he shared with us.
Thank you very much.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports