ESPY Awards 2009 Winners and Highlights

The 2009 ESPY Awards is the 17th annual ESPY Awards ceremony hosted by Samuel Jackson that took place last July 15, 2009 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California broadcast on TV via ESPN and ABC on June 19, 2009.

Watch ESPY Awards 2009 Highlights

ESPY Award 2009 Nominees and Winners
Note: Winners in italic text.

Best Male Athlete
Michael Phelps, Swimming
Kobe Bryant, NBA
LeBron James, NBA
Jimmie Johnson, Auto Racing

Best Female Athlete
Nastia Liukin, Gymnastics
Natalie Coughlin, Swimming
Maya Moore, NCAA Basketball
Candace Parker, WNBA
Serena Williams, Tennis

Best Moment
US swim team wins thrilling finish in Olympic relay
Florida’s Tim Tebow’s speech
Helio Castroneves wins the Indy 500

Best Team
LA Lakers
Connecticut Women’s Basketball
North Carolina Men’s Basketball
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Steelers

Best Coach-Manager
Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers
Geno Auriemma, Connecticut Women’s Basketball
Dan Bylsma, Pittsburgh Penguins
Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays
Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers

Best Game
Steelers vs. Cardinals Super Bowl XLIII
Federer vs. Nadal 2008 Wimbledon Final
Syracuse vs. Connecticut Big East Tournament Quarterfinals

Best Championship Performance
Michael Phelps, Olympic Swimming
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh, Olympic Beach Volleyball

Best Play
Roethlisberger to Holmes Super Bowl Winning TD
Ovechkin vs. Rangers
Pacquiao KO’s Hatton
Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree makes game-winning catch vs. Texas

Best Upset
US Soccer shocks Spain in the Confederations Cup Semifinals
Mine That Bird
Oregon State stuns then #1 USC
Tampa Bay Rays win the American League Championship Series

Best Breakthrough Athlete
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Shawn Johnson ,Olympic Gymnastics
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

Best Record Breaking Performance
Michael Phelps, Olympic Swimmer
Usain Bolt, Olympic Sprinter
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers

Best Sports Movie
The Express: The Ernie Davis Story
Sugar
The Wrestler

Best Male College Athlete
Tim Tebow, Florida Football
Sam Bradford, Oklahoma Football
Matt Gilroy, Boston University Hockey
Blake Griffin, Oklahoma Basketball
Stephen Strasburg, San Diego State Baseball

Best Female College Athlete
Maya Moore, Connecticut Women’s Basketball
Kerri Hanks, Notre Dame Women's Soccer
Courtney Kupets, Georgia Gymnastics
Danielle Lawrie, Washington Softball
Dana Vollmer, California Swimming

Best Male Athlete With A Disability
Jason Lester, Ironman
Jeremy Campbell, Track and Field
Will Groulx, Wheelchair Rugby
Oscar Pistorius, Track and Field

Best Female Athlete With A Disability
Erin Popovich, Swimming
Jessica Long, Swimming
Maureen McKinnon-Tucker, Sailing
Asya Miller, Goalball

Best Male International Athlete
Usain Bolt Jamaica, Sprinter
Pau Gasol Spain, Basketball
Lionel Messi Argentina, Soccer
Rafael Nadal Spain, Tennis
Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal, Soccer

Best Female International Athlete
Lorena Ochoa México, Golf
Yelena Isinbayeva Russia, Pole Vault
Marta Brazil, Soccer
Stephanie Rice Australia, Swimming
Dinara Safina Russia, Tennis

Best Baseball Player
Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
Ryan Howard, Philadelpia Phillies
Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels/New York Mets

Best NBA Player
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

Best WNBA Player
Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
Deanna Nolan, Detroit Shock
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
Lindsay Whalen, Connecticut Sun

Best NFL Player
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals

Best NHL Player
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Best MLS Player
Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy
Juan Pablo, Angel New York Red Bulls
Jon Busch, Chicago Fire
Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas
Guillermo Barros Schletto, Columbus Crew

Best Male Action Sports Athlete
Shaun White, Snowboarding/Skateboarding
Ryan Sheckler ,Skateboarding
Kelly Slater, Surfing
James Stewart, Motocross

Best Female Action Sports Athlete
Maya Gabeira, Surfing
Torah Bright, Snowboarding
Sarah Burke, Skiing
Ashley Fiolek, Motocross

Best US Male Olympian
Michael Phelps, Swimming
Bryan Clay, Track and Field
LaShawn Merritt, Track and Field
Angelo Taylor, Track and Field

Best US Female Olympian
Shawn Johnson, Gymnastics
Natalie Coughlin, Swimming
Dawn Harper, Track and Field
Nastia Liukin, Gymnastics

Best Bowler
Norm Duke
Chris Barnes
Wes Malott

Best Driver
Jimmie Johnson
Helio Castroneves
Scott Dixon
Lewis Hamilton
Tony Schumacher

Best Fighter
Manny Pacquiao Boxing
Lyoto Machida MMA
Shane Mosley Boxing
Anderson Silva MMA

Best Male Golfer
Tiger Woods
Padraig Harrington
Phil Mickelson

Best Female Golfer
Lorena Ochoa
Paula Creamer
Suzann Pettersen

Best Jockey
Calvin Borel
Garrett Gomez
Mike Smith

Best Male Tennis Player
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal

Best Female Tennis Player
Serena Williams
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Dinara Safina

Under Armour All-America Moment
Andre Debose & Russell Shepard, Football
Jake Bernhardt, Lacrosse
Tara Glover, Softball
David Renfroe, Baseball
Hannah Werth, Volleyball

Special Awards
Arthur Ashe Courage Award: President Nelson Mandela
Jimmy V Award For Perseverance: Don Meyer, Northern State University coach
Best Comeback: Dara Torres, Olympic swimmer

Courtesy of Chiff.com