ESPY’s Honest!!! Recap of the 2013 ESPY Awards

It was a night to remember where athletes and teams were in attendance to recapture sports moments from the past year.  The MC of the event was the Golden Globe award winning actor Jon Hamm who made the evening fun and comical with jokes here and there about your favorite sports figures.

Many athletes were nominated for various awards from Best Male and Female Athlete, Best Moment and Best Comeback etc..  As it can already be assumed that the Miami Heat’s LeBron James was not a stranger to taking the stage as he received three individual awards (Best Male Athlete, Best Championship Performance and Best NBA player) to go along with two other team awards. But if you were to ask him about his most memorable moment during the night, he would probably say that it was presenting the Arthur Ashe Courage Award to the veteran television broadcaster Robin Roberts.

It has been well documented that Robin Roberts has survived two life threatening illnesses of cancer as well as myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).  She was given a standing ovation from the adoring crowd as she took the stage to receive her award.  Robin mentioned that she is very thankful for the love showed from friends, fans and family who expressed their support during her time of need.  It was as if the world stopped and listened to the strong woman who has taken center stage as a spokesperson for cancer survivors after making her battle public.

She went on to mention the many people who are prime examples of courage who fight against similar struggles everyday when Roberts said, “I draw strength from you, you give me the courage to face down any challenge to know that when fears knock; let faith open the door.”  It was a historic moment in her life as well as the sports world as the 20th annual ESPY awards came to a close as the Miami Heat received the Best Team Award as voted by the fans throughout the night.  Adrian Peterson walked away with a couple of awards himself (Best Comeback and Best NFL Player) among many other well deserving individuals in attendance.  We all will have to wait and see what spectacular moments will take the spotlight in the 2014 ESPY awards. 

Dwight Howard introduced as a Houston Rocket

Dwight Howard has officially signed a 4 year $88 million contract today with the Houston Rockets.  Former Rockets such as Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler gathered at the press conference in Houston in support of the newly acquired Center.

Howard answered questions from the media as he seemed excited about starting fresh with his new team.  It was widely speculated that Howard would return to the Los Angeles Lakers and sign a $118 million extension with the team, but he had other plans.  He mentioned that new teammate Chandler Parsons should receive a lot of the credit for blowing up his phone daily.

During the “wooing” of Howard by multiple NBA teams, he mentioned that he was in Aspen and prayed to God for a sign of what team to join.  Dwight went on to say that while in Aspen, he came in contact with numerous people who were from Houston encouraging him to sign with the Rockets and he took that as confirmation.

Now fast forward to present day and what does the signing of Howard mean for the Rockets and the rest of the league.  It can be argued that the Rockets are one of the favorites to be contenders this upcoming season for a NBA title, but not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon just yet.  The decision to join the Rockets was not well received by everyone as Shaq was very vocal about his feelings about Howard’s move when he said, ” We’ve all been in L.A., and not a whole lot of people can handle being under the bright lights. Everybody wants to do it, but when you get there, there are certain pressures. I think it was a safe move for him to go to a little town like Houston. That’s right, little town. I said it.” Shaq is clearly not a big fan of the move but appears not to be convinced that the Rockets are now a threat.

Time will tell if the hype is well deserved for the new-look Houston Rockets and they set out to challenge the league for basketball supremacy.  One thing that can be obvious is that they should be able to give the back-to-back champion Miami Heat trouble due to their overwhelming size on their roster.  The Rockets expect to go deeper in the playoffs next season after being eliminated in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The 2013-2014 schedule has not yet be released but it can be assumed that everyone will be glued to television for their first game.