Picking the ESPY winners
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by user Cultural commentator
The nominees have been released for the 2007 ESPYS (ESPN’s annual awards for outstanding sport achievement). Here are the finalists for the interesting categories along with who I think should win:
Best Male Athlete : Roger Federer, LeBron James, Peyton Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson, Tiger Woods
Winner : As much as it kills me to do this being a diehard Patriots fan, I have to give the nod to Manning. He took a team with no defense, an average running game and a moderate level coach to the title, and led them all the way while competing in an ultra-competitive conference. He even stood up to Tom Brady and the Pats, the team that had been haunting him all these years, by staging an epic comeback in the AFC Championship Game. It’s not possible to win an NFL title by yourself, but Manning came about as close as anyone can come this year. Everything that made that team work was either directly caused by Manning or indirectly (like when the Pats were so scared of Manning hurting them at the end of the game that they let Joseph Addai run right to win the AFC title game).
Best Team : Florida Gators basketball, Florida Gators football, Indianapolis Colts, San Antonio Spurs, St. Louis Cardinals, Tennessee Lady Vols basketball
Winner : It’s tough to compare different champions but the most convincing had to be Florida’s run to the men’s basketball championship. For the second consecutive year, they ripped right through the bracket and basically made the most exciting month in sports a rather bland journey to see who was going to lose to Donovan’s Gators. With that starting five, they had everything a college team needs: A dominant inside scorer (Al Horford), a big defensive presence who could hustle and lead the team (Joakim Noah), a penetrating scorer who could guard the opposing team’s best scorer (Corey Brewer), a point guard who could pass and shoot (Taurean Green), and the token white guy who could hit 3’s (Lee Humphrey). They never even had to decide who their go-to guy was because for the second straight year they went untested—and they did it during an unusually great year for college teams. They were the best college hoops team of the past 10 years, easily.
Best Breakthrough Athlete : Kevin Durant (Texas basketball), Devin Hester (Chicago Bears), Ryan Howard (Philadelphia Phillies), Morgan Pressel (women’s golf)
Winner : Hester can be a solid contributor, Howard might win some home run titles but not much else, and Pressel has a chance to compete in a sport that goes mostly unwatched. But Durant gets this award because he has a decent chance to be one of the top couple of players in the history of basketball—seriously. Watching this guy in action is so exciting because he can rebound (top 10 in the nation), play fast or post up, and he can score with more moves than most current NBA all-stars. You don’t lead the NCAA in scoring on a major team (it’s usually a ball hog from a small conference team) without being able to score by shooting fades, 3’s, posting up smaller guys, blowing by bigger guys, getting to and making shots from the line, finishing through multiple defenders—I’m trying to find a guy in the NBA who can guard Durant and all I can think of is Tim Duncan. He won’t be, but he should be the top pick in Thursday's draft.
Best Coach/Manager : Billy Donovan, Tony Dungy, Jim Leyland, Gregg Popovich, Pat Summitt
Winner : It seems weird to say it this year because the Tigers are so scary but don’t forget how much of a leap they made last year with Leyland. These other coaches simply had to work with a top roster to win, but Leyland took a team that had a horrible recent history (remember 119 losses in 2003?), hadn’t been to the playoffs since ‘87 and led them to the World Series. Guys like Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya are stars now, but last year he had to work with these youngsters to make sure they wouldn’t crack against proven competitors like the Yankees (ALDS) and Athletics (ALCS).
Best NFL Player : Drew Brees, Larry Johnson, Peyton Manning, Jason Taylor, LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Urlacher
Winner : I already gave Manning the overall award so let’s give Tomlinson this one. Breaking the all-time rushing TD mark doesn’t seem like a big deal since Shaun Alexander set it the previous year, but it’s still an incredible mark to basically score two touchdowns each game over an entire season. The guy is the best player at his position in the league and the second best running back isn’t even in his class. Had he been used on about 90 percent of the Chargers’ plays last January like a player of his caliber should, the Patriots wouldn’t have had a chance in last year's playoffs.
Best Baseball Player : Ryan Howard, Derek Jeter, Justin Morneau, Albert Pujols, Johan Santana
Winner : Pujols has been the best player in the game since 2001. Take a look at his AVERAGE season since 2001, with his 2006 marks in parentheses: .330 average (.331), .417 on-base percentage (.431), 1.038 on-base plus slugging percentage (1.102!), 43 home runs (49), and 130 RBIs (137). Those averages are absolute MVP numbers—but to do it over a six-and-a-half year span is pretty amazing. He’s actually above average defensively at first base, too. And the guy is only 27—most power hitters, like A-Rod, Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, really don’t start putting up their best numbers until they hits their early and mid-30’s. At this pace, by the time he reaches age 39, he’ll have 750 home runs and 3,500 hits. Oh, and he helped the Cardinals win the World Series last year.
Best NBA Player : Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki
Winner : Duncan, for whatever reason, never seems to get the credit he deserves. He’s the best player on the best team in the league—but because he doesn’t put up 30 points per game, he never seems to get the attention that guys like Bryant and James seem to get. Duncan can score on any big man in the league and can guard any power forward or center—and he’s also a legitimate shot blocker for penetrating guards who reach the paint. He’s a sure rebounder and the best team leader in the league. Some guys make their teams better statistically (like James), some guys make the players around them better (like Nash), but only Duncan makes his team play better.
