$5,000 there. The story became a minor media sensation, with Jeopardy! Nielsen ratings rising 15 percent for Timanus's fourth and fifth games. Host Alex Trebek received one of six Access Awards from the American Foundation for the Blind in 2001 for his role in accommodating Timanus. Timanus was a contestant on the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Masters Tournament in New York City which aired in May 2002, but did not advance beyond the first round and took home $10,000. Timanus also appeared in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions on March 16, 2005, in a first-round game. He finished in second place, taking home $5,000. In addition to the Braille cards and computer keyboard provided on his earlier appearances, an audible tone that was in sync with the game board's lights was added in order to give him an indication of when he could begin buzzing in to respond. Timanus participated in the March 3, 2014 episode of the Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades tournament. While he had the most money going into Final Jeopardy! round in which every contestant answered incorrectly, he lost by a margin of $200 finishing in second place behind Rachael Schwartz. As with his Ultimate Tournament of Champions appearance, he was given Braille cards, a computer keyboard, and an audible buzz-in indicator. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire In 2000 he acted as a lifeline on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. On November 26, 2004, Timanus appeared again on Millionaire, this time as a contestant, and won $50,000 in prize money. When he used the phone-a-friend lifeline, host Meredith Vieira would read the question and the four choices to the friend that he chose to call and would also remind him how much time was remaining on the 30 seconds used for that lifeline. Sportswriting Timanus is a staff sportswriter for USA Today. His articles appear frequently in the publication. In addition to general reporting, he is responsible for compiling the weekly USA Today Coaches' Poll. He also writes the preview section for college football games. Personal life He met his wife through a Yahoo! Groups discussion group on game shows; the couple now has a son. References External links USA Today college polls USA Today football digest Article on Timanus from Wake Forest University paper Old Gold & Black Timanus's player profile on the J! Archive 1968 births Living people People from St. Joseph,