The Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Awards took place Wednesday night, July 14th at the Nokia Theater (Los Angeles) and was simulcast on the ESPN channel.
Canadian rapper Drake hosted and performed both live and in pre-recorded sketches. His musical parody, “Honorable Mention”, included the line “Real talent doesn’t always win championships, like real music doesn’t always win Grammys,” as he stood in front of a large screen picture of Macklemore at the 2014 Grammys. Later he was joined onstage by singer Brian McKnight as he took a poke at play-yah athletes with a song called “Side Pieces.”
The main business of the ceremony included Dan Marino presenting a very humble Peyton Manning with the Best NFL Player Award – which he said was only possible thanks to the support he receives from his family and teammates.
The Jimmy V Perseverance Award was awarded to Sports Center anchor Stuart Scott who spoke about his battle with cancer during his acceptance speech. This year the ESPY Awards ceremony raised $6.5 million dollars for cancer research.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson presented Michael Sam, the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Sam is the first openly gay football player to be drafted into the NFL. Sam tearfully accepted the award, saying “This year I had a lot of experience being part of something bigger than myself. At times, I felt like I’d been living in a massive storm…but the lessons learned – love, respect and being true to yourself – will never leave me.”
The Ceremony concluded with the Seattle Seahawks winning The Best Team Award.
The list of Winners:
Best Breakthrough Athlete: Richard Sherman
Best Moment: U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team
Best Game: Iron Bowl
Best Record-Breaking Performance: Peyton Manning
Best Play: Chris Davis
Best Female Athlete: Ronda Rousey
Best Male Athlete: Kevin Durant
Best Team: Seattle Seahawks
Best Upset: Mercer
Best Female Action Sports Athlete: Jamie Anderson
Best Male Action Sports Athlete: Nyjah Houston
Best Female Athlete with a Disability: Jamie Whitmore
Best Male Athlete with a Disability: Declan Farmer
Best Female College Athlete: Breanna Stewart
Best Male College Athlete: Doug McDermott
Best Coach/Manager: Gregg Popovich
Best MLS Player: Tim Cahill
Best NBA Player: Kevin Durant
Best NFL Player: Peyton Manning
Best NHL Player: Sidney Crosby
Best MLB Player: Miguel Cabrera
Best WNBA Player: Maya Moore
Best Female U.S. Olympian: Jamie Anderson
Best Male U.S. Olympian: Sage Kotsenburg
Championship Performance: Kawhi Leonard
Best Bowler: Pete Weber
Best Female Tennis Player: Maria Sharapova
Best Male Tennis Player: Rafael Nadal
Best Comeback Athlete: Russell Westbrook
Best Female Golfer: Michelle Wie
Best Male Golfer: Bubba Watson
Best International Athlete: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Fighter: Floyd Mayweather
Best Driver: Ryan Hunter-Reay
Best Jockey: Victor Espinoza
