The ESPYS Pt. 1

So it’s almost that time again. That yearly event which makes sports fans giddy with glee. Ok, maybe not but giddy with glee, but watching the ESPYS is 20 times more fun than watching The Grammy’s or some other lame awards show.

What I like about the ESPYS is that they are awarded based on fan votes. There are 19 Best In Sport categories and 17 individual sport categories and two sponosored awards. They will also be presenting the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and the first ever Jimmy V Award for Perserverance. You can cast your vote for the ESPYS here.

I also thought I would take the opportunity to post my votes and just a brief explanation of why I voted for them. My personal selections will be shown in bold and the explanation behind my choice will be below all of the names of the athletes/teams. So check after the page break for the first set of my choices. I will share more of my choices in my next post.

U.S. Open

So as most of the sporting world knows the U.S. Open ended yesterday with a very unexpected champion. Angel Cabrera, a 37-year old from Argentina, bested Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by one stroke.

Cabrera became only the second Argentine to win a major event. It may not seem like much but I think it’s great to see people from other countries and cultures excel in a sport that has been dominated by Americans and Britons.

Additionally, I’m one of those people who likes to hate on Tiger Woods. So Cabrera’s victory over Woods was just icing on the cake for me. I completely admit that Tiger is incredibly talented I’m just at that point where I’m sick of him. The media follows him like he’s the second coming and his attitude just annoys me. I guess it’s also the fact that I think it’s really scary when someone is so focused on one thing from a young age. I’m sure he loves golf but from the way he talks it seems more like an obsession.

Of course it is entirely possible that I’m wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time.

While at work today, like most days, sports radio was on and the station that my coworker listens to is a sports talk station out of his hometown of Chicago. When The Dan Patrick Show came on today the promos kept asking the question: “Did Angel Cabrera win or did Tiger Woods lose?”

The question just irritates me! I realize that questions like that are what drive sports talk, but really is there not some other more pertinant question that could be asked?

Anyway, enough of my rant. In other U.S. Open news Rhys Davies, one of the former golfers at the school I work for (East Tennessee State University) participated after winning the qualifier at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.  Davies finished the first day with a 4-over score which for an amateur who had just wrapped up his collegiate career a few weeks earlier seems to be pretty impressive. Unfortunately he didn’t make the cut after struggling on the second day but it’s always good to see an ETSU alum see a little success.