In an effort to cultivate sports discussion here at Blogcritics.org, every day I will highlight one ESPY Award and its nominees, leading up to the taping of the 2006 ESPY Awards on July 12. Weighing the options, I will ultimately pick a winner for reasons unknown to anyone, especially me. Dissent from the commenting masses is not only encouraged, but mandatory.
Best Moment
Kobe Bryant, guard, Los Angeles Lakers — He scored 81 points in a win against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006, the second-best single game point total in NBA history.
Dakoda Dowd, golfer — The 13-year old was given a sponsor's exemption to play in an April 2006 LPGA tournament so her mother, suffering from terminal cancer, could watch. Although she missed the cut, Dowd posted a first-round score of 74, just two over par.
Jason McElwain, guard, Greece Athena (NY) High School — The team's autistic manager saw playing time as a senior in Athena's final home game in March 2006. McElwain scored 20 points, including 6-of-7 from three-point range. He was the game's high scorer.
George Mason, Men's Basketball — The Patriots entered the NCAA tournament as an at-large 11-seed. They became the lowest (highest?) seed to reach the Final Four after beating 6-seed Michigan State, 3-seed North Carolina, 7-seed Wichita State, and 1-seed Connecticut. They finished the 2006 season ranked 8th in the nation.
One of these four just doesn't belong: Kobe Bryant's 81 points. Indeed it's an amazing one-man performance, and the Lakers won the game. We talked about it for a couple weeks, but we moved on. In the light of the other three moments, it looks very mediocre.
Article comments
1 - Q Bit
Kobe shouldn't have made the cut -- the last 3/4 mins of that 81 point game must rank amongst the top 5 disgusting moments ever in any professional sport (did u watch the game?)
I appreciate sentiments -- I can also appreciate human spirits soaring in adverse situations, but I don't like when people correlate with sporting achievements, -- that rules out D & M
Actually, if you try hard enough, you can always find admiring sentimental stories behind every success, coz that's how everything works -- nothing comes easy. Lest we forget there's no success without someone sacrificing to make it happen.
So I guess, by elimination it has to be GM.
2 - Lakerfan
To the comments above, any "record breaking" achievement like that looks "cheap" in the end. From what I've heard, Wilt's 100 points was the same to the point that the opponent team was letting him score. David Robinson's 70 points was like that, so was Shaq's 60 some points few years ago. It's just the way it is.
But, I didn't find anything "disgusting" about Kobe's 81 pt game and I watched it from start to finish. Now, if you remember couple years ago when he had that 40+ point run, the last few minutes of the last game in that stretch was truly disgusting, if you watched it.
Thanks to ESPN for making Kobe a non-winner by putting his 81 pt game in a category with "sentimental" plays. Nothing against the other nominees, though.
If he won, people like the person who wrote this blog would be enraged. If he lost, it cheapens one of the tremendous accomplishments in sports. Lose-lose. Thanks BSPN!
3 - Jared
Here's my problem with GM.
Michigan State? Most credible team they beat.
UCon? Six of their players were in the draft. THe NCAA's were an audition. That leads to lesser basketball all the time, especially in the more team oriented college game.
North Carolina? An amazingly good freshman and a bunch of scrubs.
So, yeah, all three teams were recent winners of the tournament, but let's not forget how fast the turnover is in college hoops. One could argue that all three teams had a down year. Plus, there's a cinderella story every year. Maybe not to the final four, but that'll be more frequent if the current trend towards parity continues in NCAA basketball.
Personally, I'd take McElwain, but I'm probably biased. I'm totally blind. Now, I don't have any sort of mental disabilities, but blindness and mental disorders such as Autism are more than slightly linked. Attending a school exclusively for the blind, I got to know a couple of real inspiring kids that were autistic. So I definitely got a smile on my face not just from seeing that he played, but that he shot 6 for 7 from beyond the arc. I'll give GM their credit for being a good team and making a better run, but best moment? I'll take J-Mac.
Of course, since the fans vote on the Espies if I remember correctly, GM or Kobe will win. Pity.
4 - Matthew T. Sussman
Lotta validity there -- five years from now GMU's scenario could be played out yet again and it won't be such a big deal. Or a 16 beats a 1, and everyone says "This is bigger than George Mason."
And it's not that GMU was the first 11 seed to make the Final Four, because we had 10 seeds make it before. But it was just the feeling I got when I heard that they won. I was on a plane at the time of the game. Never before did I get updates from the pilot through the P.A. on a basketball game.
Although I disagree, I think McElwain will win the award based on popular vote. J-Mac met the President, and George Mason won't, even through they're right down the street.
Why is why I feel even dirtier.
5 - Jared
Well, I'd definitely be happy to see him win. I totally missed his story wehn it first hit, so maybe to me it seems to have gotten less attention than it really did.
6 - Matthew T. Sussman
(YouTube videos are fixed and working.)
Well it was during the Olympics, so perhaps it did get lost in the flurry (rimshot) of the Chad Hedrick/Shani Davis melodrama. But I have a feeling he wins it. Plus George Mason really deserves some kind of award.
Jim Larranaga is also a nominee for Best Coach. We'll see what I decide then. If nothing else a Colonial Athletic Association basketball team got two ESPY nominations.
7 - STEVE
J-Mac All the Way!!!! What a story!!!! I cried like a baby when I saw this. He gave so many people hope and made me relize that getting up on monday is not that hard after all. God Bless Him!
8 - DK
The right candidate won. To see how excited he was when he was was outstanding. I forgot how much I loved that story until I just watched it again. Great stuff!