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AND THE ESPY WINNERS ARE…: Tiger Woods, NY Giants among night's big winners.
*ESPN's 16th Annual ESPY Awards took place Wednesday night at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles with golfer Tiger Woods and the New York Football Giants among the evening's big winners.
Woods had a record night, winning his fifth Best Male Athlete ESPY, his fourth straight ESPY for Best Golfer, and the Best Championship Performance award for his victory at the 2008 U.S. Open with a severely injured left leg. Woods’ three wins builds his record to 21, more than anyone in ESPYs history.
The Super Bowl Champion New York Giants won ESPYs in three categories: Best Game, Best Upset and Best Play, the latter for David Tyree’s epic "helmet catch" of an Eli Manning pass that kept the Giants’ game-winning drive alive.
This year’s number one overall WNBA draft pick, Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker, took home two ESPYs, for Best Female Athlete and Best Female College Athlete.
The Arthur Ashe Courage Award, which each year recognizes individuals whose contributions transcend sports, was presented by Samuel L. Jackson and Steve Nash to 1968 Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos who raised the black power fist on the victory stand as the national anthem played – an action the two men said represented not only the American struggle for racial equality but the universal struggle for basic human rights.
Former Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett was presented the Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance, in honor of the late Jim Valvano and The V Foundation for Cancer Research. Everett, after suffering what was deemed a paralyzing spinal cord injury during an NFL game, has gone through rehab and is walking again, and was on hand at The ESPYs to accept his award.
Other ESPY winners included Floyd Mayweather (Best Fighter), the Boston Celtics (its first Best Team ESPY), Tyson Gay (Best Track & Field Athlete) Alex Rodriguez (Best Baseball Player) and Kobe Bryant (Best NBA Player).
Ashanti, Fergie, Tony Gonzalez, Terrell Owens, Forest Whitaker and Venus Williams were among the presenters, while Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco entertained the crowd as part of this year’s house band.
For the fifth-straight year, winners for all ESPYs were determined by online fan voting (except for the Arthur Ashe, Jimmy V and Best Comeback awards). Below is a complete list of 2008 winners. The program will air Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT on ESPN.
ARTHUR ASHE COURAGE AWARD: John Carlos and Tommie Smith, 1968 Olympic medalists
JIMMY V AWARD FOR PERSEVERANCE: Kevin Everett, former Buffalo Bills TE
BEST COMEBACK: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
BEST IN SPORT
BEST FEMALE ATHLETE: Candace Parker, Tennessee Basketball/Los Angeles Sparks
BEST MALE ATHLETE: Tiger Woods, Golf
BEST MOMENT: “Great Sportsmanship” (Central Washington University’s Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace, Western Oregon University’s Sara Tucholsky)
BEST TEAM: Boston Celtics
BEST COACH/MANAGER: Pat Summitt, Tennessee Women’s Basketball
BEST GAME: New York Giants over New England Patriots at the Super Bowl
BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE: Tiger Woods, 2008 U.S. Open
BEST PLAY: New York Giants Eli Manning’s pass to David Tyree at the Super Bowl
BEST FINISH: Western Kentucky over Drake in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, winning on a buzzer beater by Ty Rogers
BEST UPSET: New York Giants over New England Patriots at the Super Bowl
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
BEST RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
BEST SPORTS MOVIE: Semi-Pro
BEST MALE COLLEGE ATHLETE: Tim Tebow, Florida Football
BEST FEMALE COLLEGE ATHLETE: Candace Parker, Tennessee Basketball
BEST MALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY: Ryan Kocer, Wrestling (Wagner, SD)
BEST FEMALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY: Shay Oberg, Softball (Montana State-Billings)
BEST INTERNATIONAL MALE ATHLETE: Rafael Nadal, Tennis
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEMALE ATHLETE: Lorena Ochoa, Golf
INDIVIDUAL SPORTS
BEST BASEBALL PLAYER: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
BEST NBA PLAYER: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
BEST WNBA PLAYER: Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm
BEST NFL PLAYER: Tom Brady, New England Patriots
BEST NHL PLAYER: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
BEST MLS PLAYER: David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy
BEST MALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE: Shaun White, Skateboarding/Snowboarding
BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE: Gretchen Bleiler, Snowboarding
BEST BOWLER: Norm Duke
BEST DRIVER: Jimmie Johnson
BEST FIGHTER: Floyd Mayweather, Boxing
BEST GOLFER: Tiger Woods
BEST JOCKEY: Kent Desormeaux
BEST OUTDOOR ATHLETE: Captain Scott Smiley, Mountain Climber
BEST MALE TENNIS PLAYER: Roger Federer
BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER: Maria Sharapova
BEST TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE: Tyson Gay
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