MAIN Sports Sports Idols 2008 ESPY Awards

It's time to shake off the summer doldrums - when the annual ESPY Awards take place in LA to honor the coolest & best star athletes and memorable moments from the past year.

With nominees announced on July 1, tune in for the announcement of winners at the 16th annual ESPY Awards ceremony to be held at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles - airing live on ESPN on July 20 - and hosted by pop star and actor Justin Timberlake.

Major nods this year include those for Best Male Athlete including Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady and Alex Rodriguez. Nominees for Best Female Athlete include Danica Patrick, Lorena Ochoa, Candace Parker and Lindsey Vonn

This year's presenters include Indy driver Danica Patrick, soccer great David Beckham and Tour de France hero Lance Armstrong among a bevy of other stars from the world of sports, movies & television (including teen hearthrob Zac Efron) honoring the best athletes of 2008.

Begun by cable sports channel ESPN in 1993, the annual ESPY Awards allows sports fans worldwide to join in an online vote for their favorites in such categories as Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete, Best Coach/Manager, Team of the Year, Breakthrough Athlete, Best Moment, and Best Comeback of the Year.

Unlike most awards shows, the ESPYs are probably most noted for its contribution to charity, as a portion of the proceeds is donated to The V Foundation, named for its founder, Jim Valvano.

The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is another ESPY highlight, honoring an invidual for their personal courage or charitable works outside the sports arena, with past winners including such trailblazers as Muhammad Ali and tennis star Billie Jean King.

2007 ESPY Awards Recap

LaDainian Tomlinson was the big winner this year with four trophies, including Best Male Athlete for his phenomenal season with the San Diego Chargers.

Roger Federer earned his third straight male tennis player award, and Tiger Woods was chosen as best golfer - for his record 18th ESPY.

Around the Web, find out more about the awards ceremony with top sites featuring video highlights, photos and fun facts, along with the complete list of major 2007 nomineess & winners, below:

ESPYS 2008 - The official site featuring the complete list of this year's nominees, online voting, an archive of video highlights and past winners.

ESPY Awards - Wikipedia entry with details on the awards' history, memorable moments, and lists of show hosts & major winners dating back to 1993.

2005 ESPY Awards - Check out that year's nominees and winners, athlete profiles, a history of the awards, photo galleries and overviews of the Ashe Award and V Foundation.

2008 ESPY Award Nominees

Best Male Athlete
Tiger Woods, Golf
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

Best Female Athlete
Lorena Ochoa, Golf
Candace Parker, Tennessee Basketball/Los Angeles Sparks, Wnba
Danica Patrick, Auto Racing
Lindsey Vonn, Skiing

Best Moment
Great Sportsman Ship, Central Washington Vs. Western Oregon Softball
Jon Lester's No-Hitter
Danica Patrick Wins

Best Team
Boston Red Sox
New York Giants
Boston Celtics
Kansas Men's Basketball
Tennessee Women's Basketball
Detroit Red Wings

Best Coach-Manager
Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox
Tom Coughlin, New York Giants
Pat Summitt, Tennessee Women's Basketball
Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics

Best Game
Super Bowl: Giants Over Patriots
Ncaa Men's Basketball Championship: Kansas Over Memphis
Nba Finals, Game 4: Celtics Over Lakers

Best Championship Performance
Venus Williams, 2007 Wimbledon
Josh Beckett, 2007 Baseball Playoffs
Rafael Nadal, 2008 French Open
Tiger Woods, 2008 U.S. Open

Best Play
Mississippi Miracle
Super Bowl: Eli Manning To David Tyree
Big 10 Stunner
Nash Shoots And Scores

Best Finish
Mcmurray Edges Busch
Hilltoppers Advance
Spurs Prevail
Pens Stay Alive

Best Upset
Appalachian State: Stuns Michigan In College Football, 34-32
Da' Tara: Wins The Belmont Stakes As A 38-1 Longshot
New York Giants: Beat Patriots In The Super Bowl
Fresno State: Beats Georgia To Win The College World Series

Best Breakthrough Athlete
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Stephen Curry, Davidson Basketball
Kyle Busch, Nascar
Ana Ivanovic, Tennis

Best Record Breaking Performance
Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants
Brett Farve, Green Bay Packers
Usain Bolt, Track And Field
Tom Brady & Randy Moss, New England Patriots

Best Sports Movie
Resurrecting The Champ
The Game Plan
Semi-Pro
Leatherheads

Best Male College Athlete
Tim Tebow, Florida Football
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina Basketball
Michael Beasley, Kansas State Basketball

Best Female College Athlete
Candace Parker, Tennessee Basketball
Angela Tincher, Virginia Tech Softball
Rachel Dawson, North Carolina Field Hockey

Best Male Athlete With A Disability
Matt Scott, Basketball
Phil Scholz, Swimming
Marthell Vazquez, Soccer
Ryan Kocer, Wrestling

Best Female Athlete With A Disability
Patty Cisneros, Basketball
Jessica Galli, Track And Field
Susan Beth Scott, Swimming
Shay Oberg, Softball

Best Male International Athlete
Kaka, Soccer
Manu Ginobili, Basketball
Cristiano Ronaldo, Soccer
Rafael Nadal, Tennis

Best Female International Athlete
Marta, Soccer
Lorena Ochoa, Golf
Lauren Jackson, Basketball
Justine Henin, Tennis

Best Baseball Player
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox
Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies
Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres
C.C. Sabathia, Cleveland Indians

Best NBA Player
Lebron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics

Best WNBA Player
Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
Becky Hammon, San Antonio Silver Stars
Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx

Best NFL Player
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Randy Moss, New England Patriots
Ladainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
Bob Sanders, Indianoplis Colts
Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
Eli Manning , New York Giants

Best NHL Player
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Best MLS Player
Luciano Emilio, D.C. United
Juan Pablo Angel, New York Red Bulls
David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy
Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chicago Fire
Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy
Matt Reis, New England Revolution

Best Male Action Sports Athlete
Shaun White, Skateboarding/Snowboarding
Kevin Robinson, Bmx
Chad Reed, Supercross
Kevin Pearce, Snowboarding

Best Female Action Sports Athlete
Gretchen Bleiler, Snowboarding
Jessica Patterson, Motocross
Stephanie Gilmore, Surfing
Lindsey Jacobellis, Snowboarding

Best Bowler
Walter Ray Williams Jr.
Chris Barnes
Norm Duke

Best Driver
Jimmie Johnson
Dario Franchitti
Lewis Hamilton
Kyle Busch
Scott Dixon
Tony Schumacher

Best Fighter
Floyd Mayweather, Boxing
Joe Calzaghe, Boxing
Kelly Pavlik, Boxing
George St. Pierre, Mixed Martial Arts
Holly Holm, Boxing

Best Golfer
Tiger Woods
Lorena Ochoa
Annika Sorenstam
Phil Mickelson

Best Jockey
Garrett Gomez
Robby Albarado
Kent Desormeaux

Best Outdoor Athlete
Skeet Reese, Angler
Lance Mackey, Dog Musher
Skip Storch, Marathon Swimmer
Army Capt. Scott Smiley, Mountain Climber
Dave Hahn, Mountain Climber

Best Male Tennis Player
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic
Bob And Mike Bryan

Best Female Tennis Player
Justine Henin
Maria Sharapova
Ana Ivanovic

Best Track And Field Athlete
Tyson Gay
Allyson Felix
Jeremy Wariner
Usain Bolt

Hummer Like Nothing Else Award
Manny Ramirez
Sidney Crosby
Ashley Force
George Martin

also see in July sports -> Allstate 400 | British Open

Scottish Open | Tour de France | World Series of Poker