North Carolina State Women’s Basketball Coach Kay Yow Named First Recipient of the Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance

ESPN will Televise the 15th Annual Sports Celebration Co-hosted by LeBron James and Jimmy Kimmel from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre Sunday, July 15, 2007 at 9 p.m. ET

North Carolina State Women's Basketball Coach Kay Yow will be the first recipient of the new Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance in honor of the late Jim Valvano and The V Foundation for Cancer Research at The 2007 ESPYs Co-presented by HUMMER and Under Armour. Yow coached the entire 2006-07 season taking her team deep into the NCAA Tournament despite battling breast cancer and enduring chemotherapy treatments. Her attitude and work inspired her team and people throughout the country, calling to mind Valvano’s unforgettable mantra, “Don’t Give Up. . .Don’t Ever Give Up!” ™ Yow will be honored during a special presentation at this year’s show which will be co-hosted by LeBron James and Jimmy Kimmel. The ESPYs honor the year’s best sports stories and will be televised Sunday, July 15 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

For the fourth consecutive year, fans will determine the winners in all contested categories, by voting June 25 through 11:59 p.m. ET July 7 at www.espys.tv (last year, more than 12 million votes were tabulated). The ESPYs include 19 “Best in Sport” categories pitting athletes from different sports against each other, along with 17 individual sport categories and two sponsored awards. All nominees are listed below.

2007 ESPYS NOMINEES – BEST IN SPORT (19 CATEGORIES)

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE

Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks

Lorena Ochoa, Golf

Candace Parker, Tennessee Basketball

Taryne Mowatt, Arizona Softball

BEST MALE ATHLETE

Roger Federer, Tennis

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers

Tiger Woods, Golf

BEST MOMENT

Derek Fisher makes it to NBA Playoff game after flying in from daughter’s eye cancer surgery

New Orleans Saints return home, beat Falcons

Tiger Woods tears up after winning British Open

Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith are first African American coaches in the Super Bowl

BEST TEAM

Florida Men's Basketball

Florida Football

Indianapolis Colts

San Antonio Spurs

St. Louis Cardinals

Tennessee Women's Basketball

BEST COACH/MANAGER

Billy Donovan, Florida Men's Basketball

Tony Dungy, Indianapolis Colts

Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers

Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs

Pat Summitt, Tennessee Women's Basketball

BEST GAME

Fiesta Bowl: Boise State over Oklahoma

AFC Championship: Colts over Patriots

Men's Basketball: Oklahoma State 105-103 win over Texas in triple-overtime, 1/16/07

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE

LeBron James, NBA Eastern Conference Finals

Jimmie Johnson, 2006 Nextel Cup

Peyton Manning, Super Bowl

Serena Williams, Australian Open

BEST PLAY

Travis Pastrana’s double backflip at X Games

Darrelle Revis, U. of Pitt, 73-yard punt return

Endy Chavez, Mets, robs Scott Rolen of a HR

Dwyane Wade, Heat, hits wild shot vs. Pacers

Boise State beats Oklahoma with a two-point conversion using the Statue of Liberty play

BEST FINISH

Dodgers vs. Padres, 9/18/06: Dodgers hit four straight HRs to tie the game; Nomar Garciaparra HR in the 10th inning wins the game

Division II Men's Basketball Championship: Barton over Winona State

Preakness: Curlin beats Street Sense by a nose

Daytona 500: Kevin Harvick beats Mark Martin at the finish line

BEST UPSET

Detroit Tigers: Upset the New York Yankees in the American League Divisional Series

Golden State Warriors: As a #8 seed, upset the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in NBA Playoffs

Florida Football: Upset Ohio State in the BCS National Championship game

Rutgers Women's Basketball: Upset top-seeded Duke in the NCAA Women’s Sweet 16

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE

Kevin Durant, Texas Basketball

Devin Hester, Chicago Bears

Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies

Morgan Pressel, Golf

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

Bobby Knight, Texas Tech Men's Basketball

Michael Phelps, Swimming

Kelly Slater, Surfing

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers

BEST SPORTS MOVIE

Invincible

Pride

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

We Are Marshall

BEST MALE COLLEGE ATHLETE 

Ben Askren, Missouri Wrestling

Kevin Durant, Texas Basketball

Greg Oden, Ohio State Basketball

Troy Smith, Ohio State Football

BEST FEMALE COLLEGE ATHLETE  

Monica Abbott, Tennessee Softball

Kerri Hanks, Notre Dame Soccer

Kara Lynn Joyce, Georgia Swimming

Taryne Mowatt, Arizona Softball

Candace Parker, Tennessee Basketball

BEST MALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY 

Robin Ammerlaan, Wheelchair Tennis

Joshua George, Track & Field and Wheelchair Basketball

Krige Schabort, Wheelchair Marathon

Casey Tibbs, Track & Field

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY 

Jessica Long, Paralympic Swimming

Esther Vergeer, Wheelchair Tennis

Stephani Victor, Alpine Skiing

Amy Winters, Marathon and Triathlon

BEST MALE INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE

Didier Drogba, Football

Roger Federer, Tennis

Dirk Nowitzki, Basketball

Albert Pujols, Baseball

BEST FEMALE INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE

Justine Henin, Tennis

Lorena Ochoa, Golf

Maria Sharapova, Tennis

Annika Sorenstam, Golf

INDIVIDUAL SPORTS (17 CATEGORIES)

BEST BASEBALL PLAYER

Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies

Derek Jeter, New York Yankees

Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins

Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins

BEST NBA PLAYER

Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

BEST WNBA PLAYER

Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever

Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm

Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks

Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury

BEST NFL PLAYER

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts

Jason Taylor, Miami Dolphins

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers

Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears

BEST NHL PLAYER

Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning

Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks

BEST MLS PLAYER

Jeff Cunningham, Real Salt Lake/Toronto FC

Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy

Christian Gomez, DC United

Matt Reis, New England Revolution

BEST MALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE

Ricky Carmichael, Motocross

Kelly Slater, Surfing

Travis Pastrana, Motocross

Danny Way, Skateboarding

Andreas Wiig, Snowboarding

BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE

Jamie Anderson, Snowboarding

Layne Beachley, Surfing

Torah Bright, Snowboarding

Sarah Burke, Skiing

Elissa Steamer, Skateboarding

BEST BOWLER 

Norm Duke

Doug Kent

Pete Weber

BEST DRIVER

Dario Franchitti

Jeff Gordon

Kevin Harvick

Sam Hornish Jr.

Tony Schumacher

BEST FIGHTER

Miguel Cotto, Boxing

Randy Couture, Mixed Martial Arts

Floyd Mayweather, Boxing

Quinton Jackson, Mixed Martial Arts

Manny Pacquaio, Boxing

BEST GOLFER

Jim Furyk

Phil Mickelson

Lorena Ochoa

Tiger Woods

BEST JOCKEY

Robby Albarado

Calvin Borel

Frankie Dettori

John Velazquez

BEST OUTDOOR ATHLETE

Mike Iaconelli, Bass Angler

Dean Karnazes, Marathon

Samantha Larson, Mountain Climbing

Lance Mackey, Dog Racing

Ian McKeever, Mountain Climbing

BEST MALE TENNIS PLAYER

James Blake

Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal

Andy Roddick

BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER

Justine Henin

Jelena Jankovic

Maria Sharapova

Serena Williams

BEST TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE 

Allyson Felix

Tyson Gay

Sanya Richards

Jeremy Warriner

SPONSORED AWARDS

HUMMER "LIKE NOTHING ELSE" AWARD

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, scores 48 points vs. Pistons, including team's final 25

Michael Phelps gets seven gold medals, setting five world records at swimming championships

Kendric Smith, Hughes High School, nine touchdowns sets Arkansas single-game record

Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury, sets WNBA single-game scoring record

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers, breaks single-season scoring and touchdown records

UNDER ARMOUR “UNDENIABLE PERFORMANCE” AWARD

BEST FEMALE COLLEGIATE TEAM OF THE YEAR

Arizona Softball

Nebraska Volleyball

North Carolina Soccer

Northwestern Lacrosse

Tennessee Basketball

Wisconsin Hockey

The ESPYs

The ESPYs gather top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements, reliving unforgettable moments and saluting the leading performers and performances.  The 2007 ESPYs co-presented by HUMMER and Under Armour will include both sport-specific awards such as Best MLB Player and Best WNBA Player and distinguishing “Best in Sport” awards, categories that pit different sports against each other, such as Best Team or Best Female Athlete. The ESPYs are committed to the advancement of The V Foundation for Cancer Research, established by ESPN with the late Jim Valvano and announced at the inaugural ESPYs in 1993.

Presenters confirmed to attend The 2007 ESPYs include: Dane Cook, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Matt Leinart, Peyton Manning, Michael Phelps, Maria Sharapova, Kate Walsh, Jamie Lynn Sigler, T.I. and Vince Young, with more to be announced in the days leading up to the event.  Additionally, Common, Macy Grey, Rocco Deluca and the Dap Kings will perform this year's musical finale. 

*The show will be taped on Wednesday, July 11 at 6 p.m. PT. 

- espy07 -