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(January 11, 2001)
Female Nominees Announced For 2001 Espy Awards
Ultimate Sports Awards To Honor The Year's Best Celebration Of The Most Memorable Moments Of 2000
NEW YORK, NY. (Januaray 11, 2001) The best of the best athletes, teams and coaches of the past year will be honored at the ninth annual ESPY Awards Monday, February 12 live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. (The one-hour ESPY Red Carpet Special will begin at 8 p.m. and will include live arrivals.) Each year the ESPYs - for Excellence in Sports
Performance Yearly -- set the stage for the sports world to commemorate the year's achievements, relive the memorable moments and salute the best performers and performances.
The nominees for the 2000 honors include Marion Jones, Sheryl Swoopes, Karrie Webb and Venus Williams as Female Athlete of the Year. The nominees for Team of the Year are the Houston Comets, the Los Angeles Lakers, the New
Jersey Devils and the New York Yankees.
Overall, there are 34 categories, highlighted by 14 awards in which the best of the best across sports disciplines compete
directly, including Male and Female Athlete of the Year, Team of the Year and Coach/Manager of the Year. The ESPY
Awards also honor the performer of the year in 20 professional and college sports. Nominees for the Professional
Football Player of the Year and the Action Sports Athlete of the Year - featuring competitors from the world's best in
surfing, skateboarding, bike stunt, motocross, skiing and other "emerging" athletic disciplines - will be announced shortly
The winners will be chosen by a newly expanded voting body - the ESPY Awards Academy -- which includes Hall of Fame athletes from each of the sports disciplines the ESPYs honor as well as national recognized print, and broadcast
sports journalists representing every major outlet.
In addition, Jack Nicklaus will receive the ESPY Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award will be presented to an individual whose contributions transcend sports.
Past recipients have included Jim Valvano (1993), Muhammad Ali (1997), Billie Jean King (1999) and Columbine High School coach Dave Sanders (2000).
Below is a list of female nominees or female teams nominated for the 2000 ESPY Awards. For a complete list of male and female athletes contact Rob Tobias (rob.tobias@espn.com).
COLLEGE TEAM OF THE YEAR
*Connecticut women's basketball: Went 36-1 en route to winning NCAA Championship
*LSU baseball: Won its fifth College World Series in 10 years
*Michigan State men's basketball: Won final 11 games of season en route to national championship
*Oklahoma football: Finished 13-0 in winning its first national championship since 1985
COMEBACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
*Moises Alou, Astros: .335 BA, 30 HR, 114 RBI
*Andres Galarraga, Braves: .302 BA, 28 HR, 100 RBI after returning from one-year absence due to lymphoma
*Sean Elliott, Spurs: Returned to NBA following a kidney transplant. In 19 regular-season games, he averaged 6 ppg (10 ppg in postseason)
*Dara Torres, swimmer: Returned from 7-year absence to win five Olympic medals
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
*Marion Jones: First woman to win five Olympic medals in Track and Field (including 3 golds)
*Sheryl Swoopes: WNBA MVP and member of U.S. Olympic gold medal basketball team
*Karrie Webb: LPGA Golfer of the Year, she finished 69.5 pct. of her rounds under par
*Venus Williams: Won Wimbledon, U.S. Open and two Olympic gold medals
FEMALE U.S. OLYMPIC ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
*Brooke Bennett: Won 400 and 800 meter swimming
*Misty Hyman: Won 200 butterfly in major upset
*Marion Jones: Won five medals (three gold, two bronze)
*Laura Wilkinson: Won gold in high platform diving, 1st US winner in that category since 1964
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF THE YEAR*
*Cathy Freeman: Lit Olympic flame and won gold in the 400 meters
*Rulon Gardner: Wins wrestling gold by upsetting Alexander Karelin
*Keith Primeau: Goal in 5th overtime beats Penguins
*Tiger Woods: Putt on 18th at PGA Championship to send tourney into sudden death
RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
*Corey Dillon: Breaks Walter Payton's NFL single-game rushing record
*Marion Jones: Gets five medals, the most by a female in Track and Field at one Olympic games
*Patrick Roy: Breaks Terry Sawchuk's NHL career goalie wins record
*Pete Sampras: Breaks Roy Emerson's men's Grand Slam singles championships record
TEAM OF THE YEAR*
*Houston Comets: Won fourth straight WNBA championship
*LA Lakers: Led NBA in regular-season wins (67) and earned the franchise's first championship since 1988
*New Jersey Devils: Won Stanley Cup after second place finish in Atlantic Division
*New York Yankees: Won third straight World Series
PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR
ACTION SPORTS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Nominees to be announced later this month.
BOWLER OF THE YEAR
*Chris Barnes: Led PBA Tour in average, tied for most tourneys cashed in
*Norm Duke: Led PBA Tour in earnings (over $135,000), won three events
*Wendy Macpherson: Led PWBA in earnings ($108,525) and average (214.9)
*Walter Ray Williams, Jr.: 1st in world rankings
WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
*Tamika Catchings, Tennessee: National Player of the Year, 15.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg
*Kelly Miller, Georgia: First-team All-American, 15.4 ppg
*Shea Ralph, Connecticut: Final Four MVP, 14.3 ppg, 62.4 fg.pct.
*Jackie Stiles, SW Missouri State: 27.8 ppg, led nation in scoring
WOMEN'S GOLFER OF THE YEAR
*Juli Inkster: Won McDonald's LPGA Championship and Samsung World Championship
*Meg Mallon: Third on money list, won duMaurier Classic
*Annika Sorenstam: Second on money list, 15 top 10 finishes
*Karrie Webb: Led LPGA Tour in money winnings and lowest stroke average, won U.S. Women's Open, 69.5 pct. of her rounds under par
WOMEN'S PRO BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
*Cynthia Cooper, Houston: Finished in top 10 in scoring, assists and FT pct., 17.7 ppg
*Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles: in top five in scoring, rebounds and blocked shots, 17.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg
*Sheryl Swopes, Houston: WNBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year
*Natalie Williams, Utah: Led WNBA in rebounds and double-doubles (19), 18.7 ppg, 11.6 rpg
SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
*Mamadou Diallo, Tampa Bay (MLS): Led MLS in goals (26) and points (56)
*Mia Hamm, U.S. women's soccer team: All-time international goal scoring leader, two goals, two assists at the Olympics
*Tony Meola, Kansas City (MLS): Honda MVP and MLS Cup MVP, MLS record 16 shutouts
*Tiffeny Milbrett, U.S. women's team: Scored both goals in Olympic gold medal game vs. Norway
WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
*Lindsay Davenport: Won Australian Open, reached U.S. Open finals, 59-12 match record
*Martina Hingis: Leading money winner on WTA Tour, captured season-ending Chase Championship
*Serena Williams: Won Olympic gold medal in doubles, won three championships In 11 tournaments, 37-8 match record
*Venus Williams: Won Wimbledon, U.S. Open and two Olympic gold medals (singles/doubles), enjoyed 35-match win
streak (June-Oct)
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
*Stacy Dragila: Won pole vault at Olympics
*Heike Dreschler: Won long jump at Olympics
*Cathy Freeman: Won 400 meters at Olympics
*Marion Jones: Won 100 and 200 meters among five medals at Olympics
* additional candidates may be added at a later date.
[For more information contact: Rob Tobias (rob.tobias@espn.com) or Dave Nagle dave.nagle@espn.com at ESPN at (860) 766-2000, Jeff Freedman at Freedman Sports Public Relations (323) 655-6590,
(fsprjeff@aol.com), Jennifer Allen at PMK (LA) 310-289-6200 or Jill Fritzo at PMK (NY) 212-582-1111]
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