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 July 19 at 9PM, hosted by actor Samuel L. Jackson.

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.

2008 ESPY Awards Recap

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

Presenters included 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.

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 2009 nominees, 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best WNBA Player
Deanna Nolan Detroit Shock
Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks
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
Juan Pablo Angel New York Red Bulls
Jon Busch Chicago Fire
Kenny Cooper FC Dallas
Landon Donovan LA Galaxy
Guillermo Barros Schletto Columbus Crew

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

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

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

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

Best Bowler
Chris Barnes
Norm Duke
Wes Malott

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

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

Best Male Golfer
Padraig Harrington
Phil Mickelson
Tiger Woods

Best Female Golfer
Paula Creamer
Lorena Ochoa
Suzann Pettersen

Best Jockey
Calvin Borel
Garrett Gomez
Mike Smith

Best Male Tennis Player
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal

Best Female Tennis Player
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Dinara Safina
Serena Williams

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

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

Baseball ALL-Star Game | Tour de France

Wimbledon final