ESPYs 2018: Nominees for Top Awards and Predicting the Winners
The day after the MLB All-Star Game is always a brutal 24 hours for sports fans to suffer through because the schedule is barren.
Although it isn't a sporting event, the ESPYs give us an opportunity to celebrate the best moments from the year in sports.
With so many remarkable individual and team performances in championship situations, it's hard to decipher clear-cut favorites in most of the major categories.
Although the awards honor different aspects of the sporting world, some of the nominees are similar, as the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Eagles, Golden State Warriors and Washington Capitals were rewarded for their championship runs.
Below is a breakdown of the major award categories for Wednesday night's show, which is set to start at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Top Awards and Predictions
Best Male Athlete
Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
All four of the Best Male Athlete honorees produced incredible individual campaigns in their respective sports, but only two hoisted trophies.
Jose Altuve eclipsed 200 hits for the fourth time in his career and hit a career-high 24 home runs during the MLB regular season, and he produced seven home runs and 14 RBI in the postseason.
During the Capitals' capture of their first Stanley Cup, Alexander Ovechkin picked up 24 goals and 15 assists in the postseason to add to his regular-season totals of 49 goals and 38 assists.
Despite falling short against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, James Harden blew us away by averaging 30.4 points per game at the forefront of an electric Houston Rockets offense.
To make the discussion even more difficult, Tom Brady threw for 4,577 yards and 32 touchdowns for the New England Patriots.
Brady and Harden had the most impressive numbers of the quartet when compared to the rest of their respective leagues, but since Best Male Athlete has been a basketball-dominated award this decade, Harden gets the nod.
Prediction: James Harden
Best Female Athlete
Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx
Mikaela Shiffrin, Olympic skier
Chloe Kim, Olympic snowboarder
Julie Ertz, Chicago Red Stars and U.S. Women's National Team
If you try to predict the favorite for Best Female Athlete off past winners, Sylvia Fowles and Olympians Mikaela Shiffrin and Chloe Kim have the edge.
Julie Ertz is looking to become the first soccer player to earn the award since Mia Hamm in 2000, and it's going to be difficult to justify her winning the award in a year in which the U.S. women's national team didn't participate in a major international tournament.
Shiffrin and Kim come into focus more because of their achievements in Pyeongchang, South Korea, as Shiffrin won a gold and silver, while Kim became the youngest winner of the women's halfpipe at 17.
However, Fowles shouldn't be counted out, as she led the Minnesota Lynx to the WNBA title as regular-season and WNBA Finals most valuable player.
While Shiffrin and Kim captured our hearts with their Olympic performances, it's hard to pick against Fowles, who is one of the most decorated players in WNBA history.
Prediction: Sylvia Fowles
Best Team
Houston Astros
Philadelphia Eagles
USA Women's Ice Hockey
Notre Dame Women's Basketball
Villanova Men's Basketball
Golden State Warriors
Washington Capitals
It's difficult to compare teams across different sports, but it would be hard to argue against the Warriors possessing the best roster of the Best Team nominees.
Because of their dominance in the NBA, the Warriors must be considered as one of the favorites to win the ESPY.
The Eagles, Astros, Capitals and United States women's ice hockey team produced memorable championship moments, as they all ended exhausting title droughts.
Villanova's men's basketball team exemplified the perfect qualities of a team, as it worked its way to the NCAA championship behind standout games from a handful of players.
While all of those achievements deserve credit, the most astounding of them all was earned by the Notre Dame women's basketball team, who won the NCAA championship despite missing four starters due to injury.
The Fighting Irish used a pair of buzzer-beaters from Arike Ogunbowale to beat UConn in the Final Four and Mississippi State in the title game to earn the unlikeliest championship in sports over the last 12 months.
Prediction: Notre Dame women's basketball
Best Championship Performance
George Springer, Houston Astros
Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles
Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Donte DiVincenzo, Villanova
Best Championship Performance could arguably be a showdown between two Philadelphia sports triumphs.
Although Kevin Durant once again starred in the spotlight in the NBA Finals, the Warriors were expected to dominate the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Nick Foles originally struggled in his attempt to replace the injured Carson Wentz before coming alive in the postseason and winning the Eagles' first Super Bowl title.
Donte DiVincenzo was regarded as a key piece on Villanova's roster, but no one expected the 31-point performance off the bench in the National Championship against Michigan.
World Series MVP George Springer deserves serious consideration for the award as well, as he hit five home runs to lead the Astros to their first championship.
No matter who the award goes to, the winner will be more than deserving of the honor, but the edge goes to Foles for pulling the Eagles back from the heartbreaking blow delivered by Wentz's injury and winning a title.
Prediction: Nick Foles
Best Moment
Minnesota Vikings defeat New Orleans Saints in NFC divisional round
Notre Dame defeats Mississippi State to win NCAA women's basketball tournament
Vegas Golden Knights advance to Stanley Cup Final
UMBC upsets Virginia
Two of the most stunning moments over the last 12 months of American sports came in the NCAA men's and women's tournaments.
UMBC became the first No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed, as it powered past Virginia in a 20-point victory.
The moment would have been good enough if the Retrievers won by a few points, but the emphatic margin of victory made the win even more stunning.
Ogunbowale's buzzer-beater to win the NCAA women's championship capped one of the most magical title runs in recent memory, which included another buzzer-beater against UConn in the Final Four.
Before those basketball moments occurred, the Minnesota Vikings advanced to the NFC Championship on a walk-off touchdown pass from Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs.
In any other year, an expansion team earning a berth in a championship series would be worthy of honoring, but the Vegas Golden Knights are up against stiff competition.
Prediction: UMBC's win over Virginia.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
Statistics obtained from Sports Reference
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