The ESPY Awards is a tough ceremony to love. It's taped four days in advance, so all the surprise is ruined. The voting comes strictly from the fans, so sometimes popularity takes precedence over dominance. And, well, it's ESPN. Take that for what it's worth.
But there are always a couple of show-stopping moments — namely, the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and old footage of Jim Valvano's famous "Don't Ever Give Up" speech.
And there in the harmless middle lie the oh-so-fun sports bar debates: Who is the best team? The best athlete? The best play?
In an attempt to cultivate discussion, I will preview one award each night, leading up to the taping of the show on July 12. I won't get to them all, but that's what happens when you come up with an idea painfully late.
Part One: Best College Athletes
Best Female College Athlete
Nominees:
Seimone Augustus, basketball, LSU: back-to-back Player of the Year honors, three straight Final Four appearances, and No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft.
Courtney Thompson, volleyball, U. of Washington: Led the nation with 14.89 assists/game — I assume that's pretty good — and led her team to the 2005-06 national championship. (I know that's good.)
Virginia Powell, track & field, USC: Set the NCAA record in the 100-meter hurdles (12.55 seconds), then for an encore she decided to break it again (12.48).
Christine Sinclair, soccer, U. of Portland: Scored a career 110 goals, second best of all-time. Helped the Portland Pilots to a national championships. Also won the Honda-Broderick Cup, which goes to the top female college athlete in the nation. Sign of things to come?
Cat Osterman, softball, U. of Texas: 0.34 career ERA, Olympic gold medal in 2004, and oh, and this might kind of matter — she won this award last year.
Admittedly, I know jack about all five. I've heard of Augustus and Osterman, and that's about it, so let's start from the top.
• Who has their own Wikipedia pages? Osterman, Augustus, and Sinclair.
• Who won national championships? Thompson and Sinclair. Powell isn't on a team, but she broke a friggin' NCAA record, so that oughta count.
• Who usually wins this award? Basketball players. And once, softball. Look at the previous winners:
- 2005: Cat Osterman, Texas (softball)
- 2004: Diana Taurasi, Connecticut (basketball)
- 2003: Diana Taurasi, Connecticut (basketball)
- 2002: Sue Bird, Connecticut (basketball)
• Thinking to myself: There's a sneaking suspicion that Augustus racked up more votes than anyone else, I'm not quite ready to comply. Maybe Osterman will win again if the voters are smart enough. The other three top-notch athletes can't be dismissed so quickly, because they either helped their team to a first-ever NCAA championship or set an individual NCAA record. Suss, don't split hairs at this point. There are a lot of picks ahead of you. Just pick one and move on.
Article comments
1 - Kevin
"Led the nation with 14.89 assists/game â€" I assume that's pretty good"
Put it this way... In college, games go to 30 points. I don't know this Courtney Thompson, but she's assisting HALF of her team points each game. That's not just "pretty good," that's un-freakin-real.
She's getting my vote, It's time for a little known person to win this. And besides, not to be sexist, volleyball is the only women's sport worth watching, women's basketball is like watching curling, it's not fun. Volleyball on the other hand is not only bearable, it is exciting to watch big spikes and the type of offense and defense teams run. I'm telling you, womens volleyball should be huge. Other than that I don't care for the lady sports.
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
I've caught myself watching volleyball games on curious hours at night. Frenetic as hell. Too bad it has to compete with college football.