Good Sports: ESPN makes entertainment mark with ESPYs

Kirk Baird

Friday, Feb. 9, 2001 | 10:03 a.m.

NBA stars are making movies and records. NFL players show up in TV commercials and sitcoms. And golf phenom Tiger Woods attracts the kind of crowds usually reserved for Hollywood's elite.

These days it's getting more and more difficult to discern athletes from actors, sports figures from celebrities.

Certainly the XFL, with its professional-wrestling-meets-professional-football approach, is blurring the lines even more.

And now there are the ESPY Awards.

Live at 6 p.m. Monday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the ESPYs (which stand for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) will air on ESPN (Cox cable channel 19). In its ninth year, the awards show is an opportunity for big-name stars to mingle with big-name athletes both as presenters and members of the audience.

"The original architects of the ESPYs had a simple and brilliant idea: to create the Academy Awards of sports," Maureen Murray, executive director of the ESPYs, said. "This is the ultimate convergence of sports and the entertainment industry."

And to look at the guest list, it appears they succeeded.

This year's show features host Samuel L. Jackson, along with other Hollywood celebrities, such as Jackie Chan, Don Cheadle, Martin Sheen, Taye Diggs and James Woods. On the sports front, among those expected to attend are Mark McGwire, Sheryl Swoopes, Dante Culpepper, Las Vegan Greg Maddux and Pete Sampras.

In all, 100 celebrities and sports figures are to attend.

And to further play up the notion of the ESPYs not only as a gala event but a spectacle as well, there will be a one-hour pre-awards show program, "ESPY Red Carpet Special," that will showcase the athletes and celebs as they arrive.

The fact that the all-sports network took that approach with the ESPYs should come as no surprise. After all, when ESPN aired its first broadcast on Sept. 7, 1979, it stood for the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.

And although the network only goes by ESPN now, little has changed in terms of its programming focus -- especially when it comes to the awards show.

"Our goal (for the ESPYs) has always been the night that stars of sports and screen converge," said Fred Gaudelli, senior producer of the awards show. "It's a perfect forum for these people; each has what the other wants."

ESPN anchor Rich Eisen, who helped with hosting duties during last year's ESPYs, said he enjoyed watching the actors and athletes mingle at the awards show.

"Celebrities who come act like little kids when they see a sports figure who they've followed all year long. And athletes who aren't very star-struck are just that as they see people they've seen on screen and TV," Eisen said.

But lost in all the hoopla of famous faces is what the show is about: a total of 34 categories honoring individual and team achievement in various sports and athletic events -- both professional and collegiate.

And not just the best of the sports realm in terms of athletic accomplishment.

The Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award is given each year to an individual whose contributions transcends athletic achievements. Previous winners include Jim Valvano, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King and late Columbine High School wrestling coach Dave Sanders. This year's winner is Australian Olympic track star Cathy Freeman.

This approach has further increased the ESPYs' standing in the athletic community.

"It gains credibility by the year," Gaudelli said. "Every single year you see an increase in the athletes' participation. They've come to accept it ... the award has some meaning to them."

And because of the growing prestige placed on the award, ESPN has begun to promote it more, he said. In previous years, for example, the network wouldn't begin advertising the awards show until three weeks before the event. This year, however, the marketing blitz began in May.

Gaudelli said that he hoped the increased exposure, via TV and radio commercials and magazine ads, will translate to a "significant rise" in viewership.

Still, he acknowledged no matter what type of marketing campaign is created, or how many people tune in to the broadcast, there are still differences between the ESPYs and the other major award shows -- chiefly financial.

When entertainers win an Oscar, a Grammy or an Emmy they stand to gain a better movie deal, sell more records or a better TV contract, respectively.

That's not the case with an ESPY.

"We're still in the growing process. Our goal is that one day (owners) will put a $50,000 clause in the contract for winning an ESPY. That's what we're building to," Gaudelli said. "It's going to take a while, but we hope the ESPY becomes that."

Kirk Baird

is an Accent feature writer. Reach him at kirk@lasvegassun.com or at 259-8801.