Kudos to Novak Djokovic, Aaron Rodgers and American Pharoah, all among the nominees for ESPYS (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly).
AP got the nod in the Best Championship Performance category, along with San Francisco Giants’ ace (and World Series star) Madison Bumgarner, Florida Softball’s Lauren Haeger and LeBron James. No word yet on whether the Pharoah will attend, although his jockey and fellow nominee Victor Espinoza will no doubt be there.
Nole got two noms – Best International Athlete along with Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton, the LPGA’s Lydia Ko and soccer’s Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo; and Best Male Tennis Player, along with Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic. Aaron was also a double nominees as Best NFL Player (along with Tom Brady, Antonio Brown, DeMarco Murray and JJ Watt) and Best Male Athlete, with Watt again, James and Stephen Curry.
I think the Pharoah deserved a Best Male Athlete nom. Some say a horse can’t be an athlete. Watch those three Triple Crown races – all different, with AP surmounting the challenges in increasingly convincing style – and think again.
As for the tennis nods, I’m not sure Cilic is in quite the same league as Nole and Feddy. Indeed, I’m not sure Stan the Man is in that league though I think his upset of Nole at the French should’ve been nominated for Best Upset, a category that is dominated by college football.
The emotional high point, however, will undoubtedly be Caitlyn Jenner receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
The ESPYS will be announced July 15 at 8 p.m. at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Vote early and often, as they used to say in Chicago.