Anyway, There are 37 Award categories this year. I'll highlight some of them (at least the ones I gave legitimate votes to) and give my two cents on a few as well. If you want to vote, go to ESPY.tv.
First up, the major awards (which will generally let you know who wins each of the sport-specific awards... And, also, I'm listing them in the order they appear on the ballot)
Best Male Athlete
Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez
- To me, Tiger is quickly becoming the greatest athlete of all time. Of the others listed, I think only A-Rod has a really good shot at becoming the "greatest ever" in his own sport. We all know Kobe will never be MJ, and most don't even think Brady is the best QB in the league now, let alone all time.
- My vote - Tiger
Best Female Athlete
Lorena Ochea (golf), Candace Parker, Danica Patrick, Lindsey Vonn (skiing)
- My vote - Candace Parker. She dominated a sport that's harder to dominate compared to golf, and she did it with one good shoulder. Ochea was good, but it was almost in that "does anybody even notice or care" kind of season. Danica shouldn't even be on this list. She's won one race. If she's on this list, then Jimmy Johnson should be on the best male athlete list. And I've never heard of the last chick.
Best Team
Boston Red Sox, New York Giants, Boston Celtics, Kansas Jayhawks (men's bball), Tennessee Lady Vols (bball), Detroit Red Wings
- This is an interesting list. You'll note there's no college football team listed, nor are the New England Patriots. I'm not saying I'd pick them over the Giants anyway (you saw the Super Bowl), but, the Pats did beat the Giants earlier in the season and compiled an 18-1 overall record, playoffs included. I'm just saying they deserve consideration... (and by the way, I hate Boston sports sans one team, which brings me to my pick for this category)
- My vote - Boston Celtics - They acquired big names, yet they played as a team and had the biggest turnaround in league history.
Best Championship Performance
Venus Williams ('07 Wimbledon), Josh Beckett ('07 Post-season), Rafael Nadal ('08 French Open), Tiger Woods ('08 US Open)
- This might be the best category in terms of legit choices. You could make a sensible, legitimate argument for each person and I wouldn't disagree with you. Venus was dropped to the 23rd seed, fought off match points in two of the first three rounds before crushing #2 Maria Sharapova in the fourth round and then sweeping the 6 sets in her final three matches. Nadal didn't drop a set in the French Open then lost only 4 games to #1 Roger Federer in the final. Beckett started just 4 games in postseason, going 4-0 and allowing just 4 ER in 30 IP for a 1.20 ERA with 35 K and 2 BB. He was the ALCS MVP. And does Tiger really need an explanation?
- My Vote - Tiger winning the US Open in 91 holes on one leg.
Best Breakthrough Athlete
Stephen Curry (Davison hoops), Adrian Peterson (NFL), Kyle Busch (NASCAR), Ana Ivanovic (tennis)
- I'm not really sure why AD is even on this list, because he wasn't technically a "breakthrough" since he was already a big time name. He should've been considered for the award when he finished runner-up in the Heisman balloting in '04-'05 sports year. Granted Peterson had one of the greatest 'professional' rookie seasons ever, but he was kind of expected to that wasn't he? Eh, I digress... To me, I define "breakthrough" as "at this moment a year ago, I didn't consider you to a) be a well known name in the sports world outside your respect sport or team itself, or b) have made the greatest stride or taken advantage of circumstances to rise to the top of your sport since this time last year. That said, last July I knew only of Kyle Busch and Adrian Peterson.
- My Vote - Ana Ivanovic - It's close, but she won a major championship and gave me a very lovely reason to watch women's tennis.
Best Record Breaking Performance
Barry Bonds 756, Tom Brady and Randy Moss TD's, Brett Favre all-time TD record, some guy in track & field I've never heard of.
- My Vote - Brett Favre - For four reasons. 1) Favre is my all-time favorite pro athlete and everything that he did was nothing short of amazing. 2) The Hall of Fame just said they wouldn't display the Bonds 756 ball, which shows you where they stand on the issue. 3) Brady & Moss of the whole spying issue clouding theirs, and 4) the 100 meter dash record was just broken again last week and they didn't allow it because of "wind-aided."
Biggest Upset
Appalachian State over Michigan, New York Giants win the Super Bowl, Fresno State wins College World Series, Da'tara wins the Belmont
- My Vote - Appalachian State over Michigan in the Big House, biggest upset in college football history. Stanford winning at USC (41.5 point favorite) was huge also, but just the impact of App State winning over one of the most legendary, huge, biggest names in college football was unreal. Fresno was big too, but App State over Michigan is like if Pittsburg State won the college world series.
Best Moment
College softball homerun ACL tear, Jon Lester no-hitter, Danica's first win
- My Vote - softball homerun. You know the story, the girl hits her first homer ever, tears her ACL rounding first, and two members of the other team help her around the bases. One of the greatest shows of sportsmanship ever. Lester's no-hitter after beating cancer was a surpringly close second in my book, but Danica was a distant third. Had it not been another big moment for women in sports, I wouldn't have even dignified with comment. I'm really tired of her.
Best Game
Super Bowl XLII, NCAA Men's Basketball title game, NBA Finals Game 4
- My Vote - NCAA title game - Kansas's comeback over favored Memphis and Mario's Miracle top Eli Manning's last second heroics. Game 4 wasn't so much a 'great game' as it was just an epic collapse by the Lakers.
Best Play
Trinity's laterals, Manning to Tyree, Minnesota buzzer beater, Rick Nash goal
- My Vote - the Minnesota buzzer beater to knock off Indiana in the Big Eleven tournament, simply because it was a better play (with less on the line, however) than the Christian Laettner shot that gets so much hype. Manning to Tyree was a close second just because of the absurdity of it.
Best Sports Movie
Resurrecting the Champ, The Game Plan, Semi-Pro, Leatherheads
- My Vote - Leatherheads - Partly because it's the only of the four I've seen. But, for the main reason, it's a funny George Clooney movie that features "Boomer Sooner" as the team runs out of the tunnel at the end. The only of the other three I'd even consider watching is Resurrecting the Champ. As a rule, I don't even bother watching Disney sports movies (The Game Plan, featuring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as a playboy Pro QB who finds out he has a young daughter he has to take care of - let the wackiness ensue!) and I'm just really tired of the same old Will Ferrell character over and over (I liked it better the first time, when it was called 'Talladega Nights')
Best Coach/Manager
Tom Coughlin, Terry Francona, Pat Summit, Doc Rivers
- My Vote - Tom Coughlin - for a couple reasons. 1) He actually had to coach his team to an upset, and he did. His team outplayed a heavy favorite through use of defense schemes and a good pass rush. 2) I'm pretty sure I could've managed the Red Sox to a title (although I would've intentionally blown it just to keep them from winning another title). 3) Summit is Summit. The college basketball world belongs to him/her, and the rest of the world cowers in his/her presence. 4) Doc Rivers nearly coached his team to playoff defeats in the first round, and the second round, and the conference finals. Kobe Bryant helped him win the title.
Best Finish
Jamie McMurray in the Pepsi 400, Western Kentucky NCAA round 1, Spurs over Suns, NHL Finals Game 5
- My Vote - McMurray beating Kyle Busch by the closest margin in NASCAR history at Daytona in the Pepsi 400. If you don't get at least a couple goosebumps watching two guys race side by side, bumping one another constantly going around a 2.5 mile oval all while going 200 mph, you need your pulse checked. (I hope you enjoyed that cliche!) The NHL Finals game was close second. Pittsburgh scored with 35 seconds left to tie the game, then won in OT to force a game 6.
Then there are two categories I don't understand: Best 'International' Athlete for both male and female. It's not so much the categories themselves, but the nominees...
Best International Male Athlete
Rafael Nadal, Christiano Ronaldo, Manu Ginobili, Kaka
Best International Female Athlete
Justine Henine, Lorena Ochea, Marta, Lauren Jackson
According to wikipedia, the awards are presented to the sportsperson in a North American professional or collegiate league, irrespective of gender, born outside the United States adjudged to be the best in a given year."
So, if Nadal and Henine are listed, then why not Roger Federer or Ana Ivanovic'? If Lauren Jackson (Australia) or Manu Ginobili (Argentina), why not Albert Pujols (Dominican) or Ichiro (Japan)? Of those listed, only Marta (Brazilian soccer) is on here strictly because of her performance in "international competition." None of these other athletes competes for his/her nation on a regular basis. Ronaldo did recently in the Euro Cup when he played for Portugal, and Kaka' plays regularly on the Brazialian men's national team. I'm just really not sure on the exact meaning of these categories.
As for the rest of the categories (that I actually knew who I was voting for), I'll just leave you with just the nominees and my pick underlined. In other words, I don't think I need to defend my picks here, but feel free to comment if you'd like.
Best NFL Player
Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Eli Manning, LaDanian Tomlinson, Bob Sanders, Brett Favre
Best Baseball Player
Alex Rodriguez, Josh Beckett, Jimmy Rollins, Jake Peavy, C.C. Sabathia
Best NBA Player
LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett
Best NHL Player
Alex Ovechkin, Jerome Iginla, Evgeni Malkin, Sydney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk
Best Male College Athlete
Tim Tebow, Tyler Hansbrough, Michael Beasley
Best Female College Athlete
Candace Parker, Angela Tincher (Softball), Rachel Dawson (Field Hockey)
Best Driver
Jimmy Johnson (NASCAR Sprint Cup), Kyle Busch (NASCAR Sprint Cup), Dario Franchitti (IndyCar), Lewis Hamilton (F1), Scott Dixon IndyCar), Tony Shumaker (NHRA)
Best Male Tennis Player
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Bob & Mike Bryan
Best Female Tennis Player
Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic
Best Golfer
Tiger Woods, Lorena Ochea, Phil Mickelson, Annika Sorrenstam
There are a few other categories along the lines of 'Best Bowler,' or 'Best Action Sports Athlete' and others like those that I never pay attention to, therefore didn't bother giving a pointless vote to or away from the should-be winner.
I hope you've enjoyed this. If you're still reading, you need a hobby.
- My Vote - Brett Favre - For four reasons. 1) Favre is my all-time favorite pro athlete and everything that he did was nothing short of amazing. 2) The Hall of Fame just said they wouldn't display the Bonds 756 ball, which shows you where they stand on the issue. 3) Brady & Moss of the whole spying issue clouding theirs, and 4) the 100 meter dash record was just broken again last week and they didn't allow it because of "wind-aided."
Biggest Upset
Appalachian State over Michigan, New York Giants win the Super Bowl, Fresno State wins College World Series, Da'tara wins the Belmont
- My Vote - Appalachian State over Michigan in the Big House, biggest upset in college football history. Stanford winning at USC (41.5 point favorite) was huge also, but just the impact of App State winning over one of the most legendary, huge, biggest names in college football was unreal. Fresno was big too, but App State over Michigan is like if Pittsburg State won the college world series.
Best Moment
College softball homerun ACL tear, Jon Lester no-hitter, Danica's first win
- My Vote - softball homerun. You know the story, the girl hits her first homer ever, tears her ACL rounding first, and two members of the other team help her around the bases. One of the greatest shows of sportsmanship ever. Lester's no-hitter after beating cancer was a surpringly close second in my book, but Danica was a distant third. Had it not been another big moment for women in sports, I wouldn't have even dignified with comment. I'm really tired of her.
Best Game
Super Bowl XLII, NCAA Men's Basketball title game, NBA Finals Game 4
- My Vote - NCAA title game - Kansas's comeback over favored Memphis and Mario's Miracle top Eli Manning's last second heroics. Game 4 wasn't so much a 'great game' as it was just an epic collapse by the Lakers.
Best Play
Trinity's laterals, Manning to Tyree, Minnesota buzzer beater, Rick Nash goal
- My Vote - the Minnesota buzzer beater to knock off Indiana in the Big Eleven tournament, simply because it was a better play (with less on the line, however) than the Christian Laettner shot that gets so much hype. Manning to Tyree was a close second just because of the absurdity of it.
Best Sports Movie
Resurrecting the Champ, The Game Plan, Semi-Pro, Leatherheads
- My Vote - Leatherheads - Partly because it's the only of the four I've seen. But, for the main reason, it's a funny George Clooney movie that features "Boomer Sooner" as the team runs out of the tunnel at the end. The only of the other three I'd even consider watching is Resurrecting the Champ. As a rule, I don't even bother watching Disney sports movies (The Game Plan, featuring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as a playboy Pro QB who finds out he has a young daughter he has to take care of - let the wackiness ensue!) and I'm just really tired of the same old Will Ferrell character over and over (I liked it better the first time, when it was called 'Talladega Nights')
Best Coach/Manager
Tom Coughlin, Terry Francona, Pat Summit, Doc Rivers
- My Vote - Tom Coughlin - for a couple reasons. 1) He actually had to coach his team to an upset, and he did. His team outplayed a heavy favorite through use of defense schemes and a good pass rush. 2) I'm pretty sure I could've managed the Red Sox to a title (although I would've intentionally blown it just to keep them from winning another title). 3) Summit is Summit. The college basketball world belongs to him/her, and the rest of the world cowers in his/her presence. 4) Doc Rivers nearly coached his team to playoff defeats in the first round, and the second round, and the conference finals. Kobe Bryant helped him win the title.
Best Finish
Jamie McMurray in the Pepsi 400, Western Kentucky NCAA round 1, Spurs over Suns, NHL Finals Game 5
- My Vote - McMurray beating Kyle Busch by the closest margin in NASCAR history at Daytona in the Pepsi 400. If you don't get at least a couple goosebumps watching two guys race side by side, bumping one another constantly going around a 2.5 mile oval all while going 200 mph, you need your pulse checked. (I hope you enjoyed that cliche!) The NHL Finals game was close second. Pittsburgh scored with 35 seconds left to tie the game, then won in OT to force a game 6.
Then there are two categories I don't understand: Best 'International' Athlete for both male and female. It's not so much the categories themselves, but the nominees...
Best International Male Athlete
Rafael Nadal, Christiano Ronaldo, Manu Ginobili, Kaka
Best International Female Athlete
Justine Henine, Lorena Ochea, Marta, Lauren Jackson
According to wikipedia, the awards are presented to the sportsperson in a North American professional or collegiate league, irrespective of gender, born outside the United States adjudged to be the best in a given year."
So, if Nadal and Henine are listed, then why not Roger Federer or Ana Ivanovic'? If Lauren Jackson (Australia) or Manu Ginobili (Argentina), why not Albert Pujols (Dominican) or Ichiro (Japan)? Of those listed, only Marta (Brazilian soccer) is on here strictly because of her performance in "international competition." None of these other athletes competes for his/her nation on a regular basis. Ronaldo did recently in the Euro Cup when he played for Portugal, and Kaka' plays regularly on the Brazialian men's national team. I'm just really not sure on the exact meaning of these categories.
As for the rest of the categories (that I actually knew who I was voting for), I'll just leave you with just the nominees and my pick underlined. In other words, I don't think I need to defend my picks here, but feel free to comment if you'd like.
Best NFL Player
Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Eli Manning, LaDanian Tomlinson, Bob Sanders, Brett Favre
Best Baseball Player
Alex Rodriguez, Josh Beckett, Jimmy Rollins, Jake Peavy, C.C. Sabathia
Best NBA Player
LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett
Best NHL Player
Alex Ovechkin, Jerome Iginla, Evgeni Malkin, Sydney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk
Best Male College Athlete
Tim Tebow, Tyler Hansbrough, Michael Beasley
Best Female College Athlete
Candace Parker, Angela Tincher (Softball), Rachel Dawson (Field Hockey)
Best Driver
Jimmy Johnson (NASCAR Sprint Cup), Kyle Busch (NASCAR Sprint Cup), Dario Franchitti (IndyCar), Lewis Hamilton (F1), Scott Dixon IndyCar), Tony Shumaker (NHRA)
Best Male Tennis Player
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Bob & Mike Bryan
Best Female Tennis Player
Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic
Best Golfer
Tiger Woods, Lorena Ochea, Phil Mickelson, Annika Sorrenstam
There are a few other categories along the lines of 'Best Bowler,' or 'Best Action Sports Athlete' and others like those that I never pay attention to, therefore didn't bother giving a pointless vote to or away from the should-be winner.
I hope you've enjoyed this. If you're still reading, you need a hobby.
Posts
1 comment:
Well, it turns out that Tim Tebow and Tyler Hansbrough are the same person.
Post a Comment