The World Cup has ended, NFL Training Camps are still a few weeks away, and baseball is in its Mid-Season break. So why not give out honors to all the hard-working athletes? One awards show has been doing this in mid-July for 20 years, but a new, direct competitor is looking to steal some of the spotlight.
The ESPY Awards, on ESPN Wednesday night, mix the sports and entertainment worlds together (even though they made a mistake by eliminating the Best Sports Movie category a few years ago). A-list celebrities are part of the extravaganza at LA’s Nokia Theatre, paying tribute to some of the year’s most successful athletes and teams. The host also gets to crack jokes about some of the most talked-about and controversial topics of the year (I’m sure Donald Sterling will be a hot one). Previous emcees have included Samuel L. Jackson, Seth Meyers, Rob Riggle, Jon Hamm, Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Kimmel, and even Lance Armstrong. This year ESPN is stepping a little outside the box with rapper Drake. He’s a major sports fan, but I’m not sure if he’s got the charisma and talent to be a great host. My prediction is that, unlike his favorite beverage – Sprite – Drake will deliver a flat performance.
Then on Thursday night, the sports universe gets a little more family friendly. Even though Nickelodeon honors male and female athletes at their annual Kids Choice Awards in March, they’ve decided to start-up a Kids Choice Sports Awards. Former New York Giants player and current talk show host and analyst Michael Strahan will be master of ceremonies. Ratings for this show won’t be as big as the ESPYs, but it should get the young demo, and with Pharrell Williams performing, some older viewers as well.
No doubt many top athletes and celebs will try make it to both events on back-to-back nights. It’s similar to last January when all the nominated actors and directors had to deal with The Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and SAG Awards in the same week. Except the sports stars are probably in better shape.