The 2007 ESPY Awards In Los Angeles

Find out who the big winners were at the 2008 ESPYs -- Click Here for Results!

Led by hosts Jimmy Kimmel and LeBron James, stars from the worlds of sports and entertainment gathered at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on Wednesday night to celebrate the best sports stories of the year at The 2007 ESPYs co-presented by HUMMER and Under Armour. James, who took home the ESPY for Best NBA Player, showed off his off-the-court skills as he and Kimmel entertained the audience with funny and surprising moments throughout the show. The 15th annual industry-wide sports celebration will be televised on ESPN Sunday, July 15 at 9 p.m. ET.

Stealing the show, however, was San Diego Chargers star LaDainian Tomlinson, who won four awards on the night, beating out James for Best Male Athlete, while also winning the ESPYs for Best NFL Player and Best Record-Breaking Performance as well as the HUMMER Like Nothing Else Award. The NFL MVP ran over his competition, being recognized by fans who felt his NFL-leading 1,875 rushing yards and record-setting 31 regular-season touchdowns (28 rushing and three receiving) made him the best man across all sports.

Tomlinson's opponents for Best Male Athlete weren't left empty-handed. Roger Federer won his third-straight ESPY for Best Male Tennis Player; Tiger Woods three-peated in the Best Golfer category by winning his record 18th ESPY; and Peyton Manning was recognized with one of his Indianapolis Colts' three ESPYs, for Best Championship Performance. The Super Bowl champs also won the ESPY for Best Team, with Tony Dungy getting the nod for Best Coach/Manager.

2007 ESPY Awards Photo Gallery    Check out which athletes were at the Awards View Gallery>

In the Best Female Athlete category, University of Arizona Softball's Taryne Mowatt won the ESPY to cap off an incredible year that included pitching every inning -- including eight complete games and over 1,000 pitches in six days -- to lead her team to the softball championship. Mowatt was also awarded the ESPY for Best Female College Athlete, joining other double-ESPY winners Maria Sharapova (Best Female Tennis Player, Best International Female Athlete), Federer (Best Male Tennis Player, Best International Male Athlete) and Boise State Football (Best Game, Best Play).

A new ESPY category was added in 2007, with the Dodgers win over the Padres being recognized for Best Finish. Down 9-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Dodgers produced back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs to force extra innings, and then won the game in the bottom of the tenth inning on a Nomar Garciaparra two-run homer, creating one of the most memorable finishes to a game in baseball history. Accepting the ESPY for Best Moment were Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Scott Fujita and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints, who were part of the team's first home game at the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina: a 23-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football.

The ESPYs, which celebrate the best stories, performances and moments from the past year in sports, has created some memorable moments of its own over the past 15 years. North Carolina State Women's Basketball Coach Kay Yow became 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, when she was presented the special ESPY by Ashley Judd and Tennessee Lady Vols Coach Pat Summitt. Yow coached 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!” ™

Jimmy V, of course, was the first ever recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, which each year recognizes individuals whose contributions transcend sports. This year's Ashe Award was presented to two men born in Northern Ireland on opposite sides of the violent 30-year conflict known as “The Troubles” who have brought Protestant and Catholic children together to play basketball with the goal of building a new, peaceful future. Trevor Ringland and Dave Cullen of PeacePlayers (formerly Playing for Peace) -- an organization founded to bring enemies together through basketball -- were presented this ESPY after moving words from Samuel L. Jackson, and took the stage following a touching documentary narrated by Christian Slater.

Aside from those listed above, this year's guest presenters included Camilla Belle, Chris Berman, Mary J. Blige, Ricardo Chavira, Kelly Clarkson, Dane Cook, Josh Duhamel, Kevin Durant, Carmen Electra, Janet Jones-Gretzky, Wayne Gretzky, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jimmie Johnson, Regina King, Matt Leinart, Greg Oden, Shaquille O'Neal, Travis Pastrana, Danica Patrick, Michael Phelps, Maggie Q, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Daniel Sunjata, T.I., Kate Walsh, Shaun White, Serena Williams and Vince Young. The show closed with a musical finale comprised of Sly Stone hits performed by Common, Macy Gray, Rocco Deluca and the Dap Kings along with members of the USC Trojan Marching Band.

For the fourth-straight year, winners for all awards (except the Arthur Ashe and Jimmy V ESPYs) were determined by online fan voting. This year, 12.5 million votes were tabulated, setting a new ESPYs record. A complete list of 2007 ESPY winners can be found on the next page.

The 2007 ESPYs -- WINNERS
All except special awards were chosen by the fans, with 12.5 million votes tabulated in 2007.

SPECIAL AWARDS
ARTHUR ASHE COURAGE AWARD: Trevor Ringland and Dave Cullen, PeacePlayers

JIMMY V ESPY FOR PERSEVERANCE: Kay Yow, North Carolina State Women's Basketball Coach 

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE: Taryne Mowatt, University of Arizona Softball

BEST MALE ATHLETE: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers

BEST MOMENT: New Orleans Saints return home, beat Falcons on Monday Night
Football

BEST TEAM: Indianapolis Colts

BEST COACH/MANAGER: Tony Dungy, Indianapolis Colts

BEST GAME: Fiesta Bowl: Boise State over Oklahoma

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE: Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts: Super
Bowl

BEST PLAY: 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 home runs to tie the game, then Nomar arciaparra wins it with a home run in the 10th inning

BEST UPSET: Golden State Warriors over top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in first
round of NBA Playoffs

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE: Devin Hester, Chicago Bears

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers

BEST SPORTS MOVIE: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

BEST MALE COLLEGE ATHLETE: Kevin Durant, University of Texas Basketball

BEST FEMALE COLLEGE ATHLETE: Taryne Mowatt, University of Arizona Softball

BEST MALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY: Casey Tibbs, Track & Field

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY: Jessica Long, Paralympic Swimming

BEST MALE INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE: Roger Federer, Tennis

BEST FEMALE INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE: Maria Sharapova, Tennis

INDIVIDUAL SPORTS

BEST BASEBALL PLAYER: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees

BEST NBA PLAYER: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

BEST WNBA PLAYER: Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks

BEST NFL PLAYER: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers

BEST NHL PLAYER: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

BEST MLS PLAYER: Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy

BEST MALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE: Travis Pastrana, Motocross

BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE: Sarah Burke, Skiing

BEST BOWLER: Norm Duke

BEST DRIVER: Jeff Gordon

BEST FIGHTER: Floyd Mayweather, Boxing

BEST GOLFER: Tiger Woods

BEST JOCKEY: Calvin Borel

BEST OUTDOOR ATHLETE: Dean Karnazes, Marathon

BEST MALE TENNIS PLAYER: Roger Federer

BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER: Maria Sharapova

BEST TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE: Jeremy Wariner

HUMMER LIKE NOTHING ELSE AWARD: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers

UNDER ARMOUR UNDENIABLE AWARD, BEST WOMEN'S COLLEGIATE TEAM: University of Tennessee Basketball

--Press Release