MAIN Sports Sports Idols 2009 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 June 25, 2009 watch for the 17th annual ESPY Awards ceremony to air on ESPN on Sunday July 19 at 9PM.

Espy 2009 Winners

Hosted by actor Samuel L. Jackson, the awards ceremony actually took place on Wednesday evening, July 15, at LA's Nokia Theatre and taped for official airing on Sunday.

This year, Olympic champion Michael Phelps has ended Tiger Woods' 5-year reign as Best Male Athlete by swimming away with the 2009 title — in addition to Best Record-Breaking Performance, Best Championship Performance, and Best Male Olympian.

Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow won the 2009 Best College Athlete Award to become the only two-time winner in the category (he also won in 2008). Other winners named this year include Lebron James as Best NBA Player, Jimmie Johnson as Best Driver, and Larry Fitzgerald as Best NFL Player.

All about the Espys

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, and Team 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.

Around the Web, find out more about the awards ceremony with top sites featuring video highlights, photos and fun facts, along with a complete list of major 2009 nominees & winners, below:

Espy Awards 2009 around the Web:

ESPYS 2009 - 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.

2009 ESPY Award Nominees & * Winners

Best Male Athlete
* Michael Phelps Swimming
Kobe Bryant NBA
LeBron James NBA
Jimmie Johnson Auto Racing

Best Female Athlete
* Nastia Liukin Gymnastics
Natalie Coughlin Swimming
Maya Moore NCAA Basketball
Candace Parker WNBA
Serena Williams Tennis

Best Moment
* US swim team wins thrilling finish in Olympic relay
Florida’s Tim Tebow’s speech
Helio Castroneves wins the Indy 500

Best Team
* Los Angeles Lakers
Connecticut Women’s Basketball
North Carolina Men’s Basketball
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Steelers

Best Coach-Manager
* Phil Jackson Los Angeles Lakers
Geno Auriemma Connecticut Women’s Basketball
Dan Bylsma Pittsburgh Penguins
Joe Maddon Tampa Bay Rays
Mike Tomlin Pittsburgh Steelers

Best Game
* Steelers vs. Cardinals Super Bowl XLIII
Federer vs. Nadal 2008 Wimbledon Final
Syracuse vs. Connecticut Big East Tournament Quarterfinals

Best Championship Performance
* Michael Phelps Olympic Swimming
Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers
Cole Hamels Philadelphia Phillies
Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Olympic Beach Volleyball

Best Play
* Roethlisberger to Holmes Super Bowl Winning TD
Ovechkin vs. Rangers
Pacquiao KO’s Hatton
Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree makes game-winning catch vs. Texas

Best Upset
* US Soccer shocks Spain in the Confederations Cup Semifinals
Mine That Bird
Oregon State stuns then #1 USC
Tampa Bay Rays win the American League Championship Series

Best Breakthrough Athlete
* Matt Ryan Atlanta Falcons
Shawn Johnson Olympic Gymnastics
Evan Longoria Tampa Bay Rays
Derrick Rose Chicago Bulls

Best Record Breaking Performance
* Michael Phelps Olympic Swimmer
Usain Bolt Olympic Sprinter
Larry Fitzgerald Arizona Cardinals
Phil Jackson Los Angeles Lakers

Best Sports Movie
* The Express: The Ernie Davis Story
Sugar
The Wrestler

Best Male College Athlete
* Tim Tebow Florida Football
Sam Bradford Oklahoma Football
Matt Gilroy Boston University Hockey
Blake Griffin Oklahoma Basketball
Stephen Strasburg San Diego State Baseball

Best Female College Athlete
* Maya Moore Connecticut Women’s Basketball
Kerri Hanks Notre Dame Women's Soccer
Courtney Kupets Georgia Gymnastics
Danielle Lawrie Washington Softball
Dana Vollmer California Swimming

Best Male Athlete With A Disability
* Jason Lester Ironman
Jeremy Campbell Track and Field
Will Groulx Wheelchair Rugby
Oscar Pistorius Track and Field

Best Female Athlete With A Disability
* Erin Popovich Swimming
Jessica Long Swimming
Maureen McKinnon-Tucker Sailing
Asya Miller Goalball

Best Male International Athlete
* Usain Bolt Jamaica, Sprinter
Pau Gasol Spain, Basketball
Lionel Messi Argentina, Soccer
Rafael Nadal Spain, Tennis
Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal, Soccer

Best Female International Athlete
* Lorena Ochoa México, Golf
Yelena Isinbayeva Russia, Pole Vault
Marta Brazil, Soccer
Stephanie Rice Australia, Swimming
Dinara Safina Russia, Tennis

Best Baseball Player
* Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals
Roy Halladay Toronto Blue Jays
Ryan Howard Philadelpia Phillies
Dustin Pedroia Boston Red Sox
Francisco Rodriguez Los Angeles Angels/New York Mets

Best NBA Player
* LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers
Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers
Dwight Howard Orlando Magic
Dwyane Wade Miami Heat

Best WNBA Player
* Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks
Deanna Nolan Detroit Shock
Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury
Lindsay Whalen Connecticut Sun

Best NFL Player
* Larry Fitzgerald Arizona Cardinals
James Harrison Pittsburgh Steelers
Peyton Manning Indianapolis Colts
Adrian Peterson Minnesota Vikings
Kurt Warner Arizona Cardinals

Best NHL Player
* Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins
Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings
Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins
Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals

Best MLS Player
* Landon Donovan LA Galaxy
Juan Pablo Angel New York Red Bulls
Jon Busch Chicago Fire
Kenny Cooper FC Dallas
Guillermo Barros Schletto Columbus Crew

Best Male Action Sports Athlete
* Shaun White Snowboarding/Skateboarding
Ryan Sheckler Skateboarding
Kelly Slater Surfing
James Stewart Motocross

Best Female Action Sports Athlete
* Maya Gabeira Surfing
Torah Bright Snowboarding
Sarah Burke Skiing
Ashley Fiolek Motocross

Best US Male Olympian
* Michael Phelps Swimming
Bryan Clay Track and Field
LaShawn Merritt Track and Field
Angelo Taylor Track and Field

Best US Female Olympian
* Shawn Johnson Gymnastics
Natalie Coughlin Swimming
Dawn Harper Track and Field
Nastia Liukin Gymnastics

Best Bowler
* Norm Duke
Chris Barnes
Wes Malott

Best Driver
* Jimmie Johnson
Helio Castroneves
Scott Dixon
Lewis Hamilton
Tony Schumacher

Best Fighter
* Manny Pacquiao Boxing
Lyoto Machida MMA
Shane Mosley Boxing
Anderson Silva MMA

Best Male Golfer
* Tiger Woods
Padraig Harrington
Phil Mickelson

Best Female Golfer
* Lorena Ochoa
Paula Creamer
Suzann Pettersen

Best Jockey
* Calvin Borel
Garrett Gomez
Mike Smith

Best Male Tennis Player
* Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal

Best Female Tennis Player
* Serena Williams
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Dinara Safina

Under Armour All-America Moment
* Andre Debose & Russell Shepard Football
Jake Bernhardt Lacrosse
Tara Glover Softball
David Renfroe Baseball
Hannah Werth Volleyball

Special Awards
Arthur Ashe Courage Award: President Nelson Mandela
Jimmy V Award For Perseverance: Don Meyer, Northern State University coach
Best Comeback: Dara Torres, Olympic swimmer.

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

Baseball All-Star Game | Tour de France

Wimbledon final