Candice Rankin Speech Coach / Speech Writer
By Candice Rankin
Executive Speech Coach /Speech Writer
The following is a “mashup” from talented photographers and writers who actually attended the event and reported the copy below. We bring this to you a summary of the vent
When celebrities and America’s best athletes came together, it must be the ESPY Awards. The 2012 ESPYs kicked off on July 11, 2012 with a star-studded guest list that ranged from Jessica Biel to Tim Tebow to Zooey Deschanel. Check out what the celebs and pro athletes were sporting on the red carpet …
Rob Riggle speaks onstage during the 2012 ESPY Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on July 11, 2012, in Los Angeles.(CBS News) Comedian Rob Riggle took over ESPY Awards hosting duties for the first time Wednesday night.
Riggle assumed the role previously held by Justin Timberlake, Matthew Perry, Samuel L. Jackson and recent two-time host Seth Meyers.
The former “Saturday Night Live” cast member began his opening monologue by recapping the past year’s winning sports teams – from the New York Giants to the Miami Heat.
He addressed NBA star LeBron James’ move from Cleveland to Miami, saying, “Enough hating on LeBron. Come on, seriously. Does it bother you that a young man wanted to move to Miami with all his best friends to play basketball for millions of dollars. Who wouldn’t do that? Hell, I’d move to Miami with my worst enemies just to manage a car wash. Enough with the hate.”
Riggle continued, “The only exception on chilling on LeBron might be Cleveland, OK. I get it. Cleveland, I get it. You guys get screwed non-stop. Look at how many great
players have left your town to go on and win elsewhere. You got Manny Ramirez, Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, your entire NFL franchise.”
At one point, he invited New York Jets back-up quarterback, Tim Tebow, up to the stage.
“This guy has been shadowing me all week,” Riggle said before he addressed New York Jets starting quarterback Mark Sanchez. “Hey Sanchez, good luck with that all year,” Riggle joked to a smiling Sanchez.
After he got through his opening monologue, Riggle took to Twitter:
An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993. Because of the ceremony’s rescheduling prior to the 2002 iteration thereof, awards presented in 2002 were for achievement and performances during the seventeen-plus months previous. As the similarly-styled Grammy (for music), Emmy (for television), and Academy Award (for film), the ESPYs are hosted by a contemporary celebrity; the style, though, is more relaxed, light, and self-referential than that of many other awards shows, with comedic sketches usually included. The host for the 2012 ESPYS was Rob Riggle.
Our favorite sports stars turned into style stars at the 2012 ESPY awards in Los Angeles Wednesday night.
The annual event is a chance for top athletes to shine outside their arenas/fields/stadiums, and these jocks definitely cleaned up nicely.
Vernon Davis, tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, was dapper in a wine-colored tuxedo jacket, polka-dot bow tie and a pair of nerdy thick-rimmed glasses (like those all the NBA ballers have been rocking) to accept his award for “Best Game.”
We also loved Demaryius Thomas’s grey and black three-piece suit. He was hands down our pick for the best-dressed athlete of the night. And the Denver Bronco star walked away with an ESPY for “Best Moment.”
It’s a night dedicated to the athletes.
Most of sport’s biggest names got dressed up to acknowledge their peers for various accomplishments at the 20th annual ESPY Awards.
Don’t worry if you missed it, we’ve got the highlights and complete winners list for you right here…
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Best Opening Montage: Get ready for a roller-coaster of emotions. From watching UFC fighters getting kicked in the face, snowboarders face planting and football players flipping into a touchdown to seeing a teary Peyton Manningsay farewell to the Colts and remembering legendary
sport coaches, the opening of this year’s ESPY Awards was very touching and entertaining. Kudos.
Worst Attempt at Getting Us Jealous: The L.A. Dodgers’ Matt Kemp walked out (looking ridiculously handsome) with two beautiful ladies on his side—Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere—to announce the winner of Best Female Athlete. Nice try, Kemp. We’re not bitter, not at all. But seriously, stop it.
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Best Awkward Host: Sigh, Rob Riggle. The host attempted to deliver the sport-related jokes best he could, but it was just unfortunate. Between the awkward pauses and his trouble reading the teleprompter, it was hard not to feel kinda bad for the guy. But hey, it wasn’t all horrible and he still seemed to be having a great time, and that’s (kinda) all that counts.
Worst Not the Greatest Presenter: It’s already kinda random that Kenny Chesney was at the ESPYs, but we got over it. Then he got on stage to present an award and we couldn’t even see his face because of that huge cowboy hat, and he seemed so nervous the whole time, we got so distracted. What award was it again?
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Best Awww Moment: We caught a glimpse of Lamar Odom and Bruce Jenner sitting next to each other in the crowd. A little in-law bonding time over sports, eh? That’s too adorable.
Worst “Quick” Acceptance Speech: When Drew Brees won for Best Record Breaking Performance, he promised a quick thank-you speech, but that clearly wasn’t the case. In fact, he had one of the longest speeches tonight. But we’re not mad. Brees’ speech was very heartfelt and sweet, so keep on talkin’, Drew!
Best Good Deed: When accepting the award for Best Game, a player from the 49ers saluted a boy named Jimmy who was also present onstage, and we learned he was a teenager battling cystic fibrosis. “As athletes, we work hard on the field and off the field, that’s what Jimmy’s doing.”
Worst Onstage Performance: Poor Joel McHale. The comedian was weaseled into doing some little secret handshake dance with Riggle when he came to present an award and it was, well, kinda sad. The jazz hands had no spirit, guys, but the air teeter-totter was kinda cool.
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Best Story: Women’s basketball head coach for University of Tennessee Pat Summitt received the Arthur Ashe Award. And with that honor, the ESPYs shared with
her story: She was young girl who grew up on a dairy farm and became passionate about what was then a man’s sport which ultimately led her to a life-long, successful career of coaching. We also found out that Summitt was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s disease last Spring, however her courageous personality led her to continue coaching. She led the Lady Vols to the 16th SEC Championship for the final time.
Worst Award: Who wants to win Biggest Upset? The title of the award is not the best, but the Los Angeles Kings seemed to appreciate it. Maybe they meant underdogs? Let’s try to figure out a better name for that one.
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Here’s the complete list of winners for the 2012 ESPY Awards:
Best Breakthrough Athlete: Jeremy Lin
Best Female Athlete: Brittney Griner
Best Record Breaking Performance: Drew Brees
Best Game: The 49ers vs. The Saints
Arthur Ashe Award: Pat Summitt
Best Comeback Athlete: Matthew Stafford
Best Upset: Los Angeles Kings
Best Play: Christian Watford
Best Moment: Tim Tebow
Best Male Athlete: LeBron James
Best Championship Performance: LeBron James
Best Coach/Manager: Tim Coughlin, New York Giants
Best International Athlete: Lionel Messi
Best NFL Player: Aaron Rogers
Best MLB Player: Josh Hamilton
Best NHL Player: Jonathan Quick
Best Driver: Tony Stewart
Best NBA Player: LeBron James
Best WNBA Player: Diana Taurasi
Best Fighter: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Best Male Golfer: Bubba Watson
Best Female Golfer: Cristie Kerr
Best Male Tennis Player: Novak Djokovic
Best Female Tennis Player: Maria Sharapova
Best Male College Athlete: Robert Griffin III
Best Female College Athlete: Brittney Griner
Best Male Action Sports Athlete: Shaun White
Best Female Action Sports Athlete: Jamie Anderson
Best Jockey: Mario Gutierrez
Best Male Athlete With a Disability: Kyle Maynard
Best Female Athlete With a Disability: Jessica Long
Best Bowler: Sean Rash
Best MLS Player: David Beckham
Best Track & Field Athlete: Walter Dix
Best Team: Miami Heat
- New York Giants wide receiver (and model) Victor Cruz was stylin’ and profiln’ in a navy Calvin Klein Collection suit and stripped button-down shirt, which was left open a bit to show off some of those money-making muscles
From their inception to 2004, ESPY Award winners were chosen only through voting by fans. Since 2004, sportswriters, broadcasters, sports executives, and sportspersons, collectively experts; or ESPN personalities also vote. Award winners have been selected thereafter exclusively through online fan balloting conducted from amongst candidates selected by the ESPY Select Nominating Committee.
