2013 ESPYS Recap: Go Titletown 2012-2013 season awards

The 2013 ESPYS were last night and frankly, any show that kicks off with a Hollywood actor hating on nearly every disliked professional sport team on earth is one that has me hooked.

Beginning just after 9 PM last night, actor Jon Hamm began his pre-show monologue referencing the fact that this show was now the 20th anniversary of Pro Sports Grammy awards, yet as with almost all of these comedic opening speeches, Hamm reduced you to laughter almost instantly all at the expense of our beloved former Celtic Ray Allan.

"This is the 20th anniversary of the ESPYS that means when they first aired Ray Allen was only 35 years old" Expanding on those painfully funny insults he went on to reference the fact that "It great to be here in LA but apparently we don’t all think so because Dwight Howard just signed a deal to LEAVE!" 

Yet last but not least, his most Bostonian shout-out came at the conclusion of his monologue by simply saying "Its moments like the Bruins Game Seven comeback that really show how amazing the plot twists of sports can be."

Fact is, that Bruins comeback was the only Bostonian moment or player up for an award at last night’s ESPYS and while in the end they were beaten out by the Heat's Game Six win in the NBA Finals below are my picks for the 2012-2013 Athletic Awards all be it, slightly biased towards a specific city ;)

Best Moment: Bruins fans sing Star Spangled Banner at first home game after Marathon Bombing

On April 15th 2013 two deranged men lost their mind and detonated 2 lethal pipe bombs killing three and changing the lives of 264 people who were mauled by the brutality of these bombs. On April 15th those attacks ripped Boston and the USA apart yet just 2 days later, the Boston Bruins transformed the TD Garden into a rallying point for a city tormented by tragedy and for 4 consecutive home games invited fans to sing the national anthem aucapella style earning them my pick as the team behind the Best Moment of these past 2 seasons.

Best NFL Player: Adrian Peterson 

Best MLB Player: Mike Trout

Best NHL Player: Alex Ovechkin 

Best Soccer Player: Abby Wambach

On June 20th, Abby Wambach made history scoring her 159th goal in a 4 tally first half to break the long standing international scoring record of Mia Hamm. She has done it time and time again putting the shot in via her head and it was only fitting that the biggest goal of Wambach's career was scored in that coveted fashion. 

Biggest sports sacrifice: Gregory Campbell AND Kevin Ware

On March 31st of this season's March Madness tournament, Kevin Ware fell awkwardly and made a nation cringe as one as his shin snapped in half inducing horrified reactions on the part of his teammates and one captivating plea on his part directed towards those teammates. "Just win the game" he said "I'm fine, just win the game." 

On June 5th, Gregory Campbell went down to block an Evgeni Malkin shot breaking his tibia all before remaining on the ice for 45 seconds in unimaginable pain as he worked to finish his team's penalty kill.

Best Rookie: Russel Wilson

Best Humanitarian moment: Jeff Baumen's march through Boston Sports

On April 15th, the USA was torn apart by the Marathon bombings yet over the next few weeks, America's 4 favorite sports rallied together to give it hope and distraction from the horrors of that brutal Monday. Regardless of that, no moment of sympathy expressed by a sports team outweighed a historic gestures of the Bruins and Red Sox to allow Bombing victim Jeff Bauman to drop a ceremonial puck and throw a ceremonial first pitch at Fenway.

Most shocking sporting event: Bruins vs Leafs Game Seven.

Best Olympian: Michael Phelps

Best International athlete: Ussain Bolt

Biggest blooper of season: Replacement Refs botch Seahawks vs Packers final play