Bowling Green State University Athletics
Voting for 2005 ESPY Awards Ends This Friday, July 8
July 06, 2005 | Ice Hockey
July 6, 2005
Bowling Green, Ohio -
Lance Armstrong could capture Best Male Athlete for a third consecutive year but will have stiff competition from the likes of Peyton Manning, Michael Phelps, Vijay Singh and Bode Miller, while Annika Sorenstam takes her third swing at the Best Female Athlete Award versus 2004 Wimbledon champion and tennis sensation Maria Sharapova (also nominated for Best Breakthrough Athlete and Best Women's Tennis Player) at the 13th annual ESPY Awards Co-Presented by GMC and Under Armour.
The two-hour show will be televised from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on ESPN Sunday, July 17 at 9 p.m. ET. Nominees were announced for all 36 categories on Nomination Friday (June 24) and will be voted on completely by fans. Voting will run from June 24 through July 8 at ESPN.com and ESPNDeportes.com; five million votes have been cast thus far.
Former Bowling Green State University student-athlete Jordan Sigalet (Surrey, B.C.) is nominated for Best Comeback Athlete. The 2001 draft pick of the Boston Bruins (7th round) was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in March of 2004 and made his disease public on December 11, 2004. He played in 32 of BGSU's 36 games last season and had a 2.89 gaa. and .915 save pct. Sigalet was in net for all of BGSU's 16 victories, helping lead the Falcons to its best season in nearly a decade.
For his efforts, Sigalet was one of 10 finalists for the 2005 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given annually to the top collegiate hockey player. He was the first BGSU finalist for the award since 1995 when Brian Holzinger won the award.
The 2005 ESPY Awards will gather sports and entertainment celebrities to recognize top achievements, relive memorable moments and salute the best performers. Actor Matthew Perry will host the show and be joined by musical guest Destiny's Child. The awards include 22 "Best in Sport" categories - which pit athletes from different sports against each other - as well as 12 individual sport categories and two special performance categories.
Also during the ESPY Awards, Oprah Winfrey will present the Arthur Ashe Courage Award to two individuals whose contributions transcend sports. This year's co-recipients are Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah and Jim MacLaren, two disabled athletes who forged a bond while inspiring millions worldwide to achieve beyond their physical limitations.
The ESPY Awards 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 ESPY Awards in 1993.
