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Monday, February 14, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Stars will be out in Las Vegas
The national spotlight will shine on entertainers and athletes for tonight's ESPY Awards at the MGM Grand.
By Mark Anderson
Review-Journal
The ESPY Awards, which has provided such moments from Jim Valvano's emotional "Don't ever give up" speech in the debut show to Billie Jean King's disjointed acceptance talk last year, comes to the valley tonight.
For the first time in the show's eight-year history, the ESPYs are out of New York, which might mean a non-New York team could actually win Team of the Year. The show will be televised live on ESPN (Cable 19) at 5 p.m. from the MGM Grand.
ESPN wanted to give the show more of a West Coast presence, and Las Vegas was chosen as the spot.
"It's easier to attract athletes and entertainers to a warm-weather site, and there are activities and the entertainers don't have a six-hour (plane) ride," said Fred Gaudelli, the show's senior producer. "It's less than a one-hour ride (from Los Angeles). We could attract athletes and we could attract entertainers, and that's one reason we moved it."
As usual, the ESPYs will draw some of the top names in sports and entertainment. Jimmy Smits, famous for his roles in "NYPD Blue" and "L.A. Law," is the host, and Michael Jordan will make his first appearance.
Other top athletes expected to attend include Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Las Vegan Andre Agassi, Mark McGwire, Mia Hamm and Steffi Graf.
"It's come a long way," Gaudelli said of the ESPYs. "You look at the cast of athletes who are going to be here this year. It's taken hold in the athletic community. I wouldn't say it's the same as winning the Super Bowl MVP, but the turnout says a lot about ESPN."
Some famous entertainers also will be here. Tyra Banks, Daisy Fuentes, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Burt Reynolds, David Schwimmer, Martin Sheen and Cybill Shepherd are among the presenters.
Athletes and entertainers will start arriving at the east entrance of the MGM Grand Garden at about 3 p.m. Stands will be in place for fans to watch them enter.
Some of the top awards that will be handed out include Female Athlete of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year and Team of the Year.
Perhaps the most emotional, as it often is, will be the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. This year, the award will be presented posthumously to Dave Sanders, the Columbine High School coach who died while trying to save students during last April's shooting rampage.
It was the award's first recipient, Valvano, who gave a speech still partially aired on ESPN. Dying of cancer, the former North Carolina State basketball coach urged the audience to live life to the fullest and never quit.
"Jim's speech was legendary," Gaudelli said. "It's what people really remember of the ESPYs."
Valvano died 2 1/2 months later, unable to fulfill his hope of presenting the Arthur Ashe Award the following year. However, he formed the "V Foundation," which has raised more than $12 million for cancer research. The ESPY Awards contribute to the charity.
As touching as his speech was, the ESPYs have had other memorable moments. In accepting the Arthur Ashe Award last year, King gave a speech so ill prepared, it was ridiculed on national talk radio that week.
In addition to the awards given out for 1999, this year's ESPYs will recognize the decade's top athletes.
Jordan, McGwire, Mario Lemieux, Jerry Rice and Pete Sampras are up for top male athlete, and Graf, Hamm, Bonnie Blair and Chamique Holdsclaw are in contention for best female athlete.
The Chicago Bulls, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Red Wings and New York Yankees are up for the decade's top professional team; and Duke men's basketball, Florida State football, North Carolina women's soccer and Tennessee women's basketball are being considered for best collegiate team.
As for the annual awards, Woods, Tim Duncan and Pedro Martinez are in the running for best male athlete; and Hamm, Marion Jones and Karrie Webb are up for top female athlete. Bobby Bowden, Jim Calhoun, Joe Torre and Dick Vermeil are in contention for best coach/ manager.
The top team will go to Florida State football, the Yankees, the St. Louis Rams, United States Ryder Cup team or U.S. Women's World Cup team.
Perhaps New York held a little bit of a home-city advantage at the past ESPYs, considering it produced three of the past five winners in this category. Considering the U.S. women's soccer team will be in attendance, that might be an indication of who the winner will be this time.
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