July 12, 2016
ESPN's annual ESPY Awards are airing live Wednesday night at 8 on ABC. Not surprisingly, none of Philly's four major professional teams or any of their players were nominated for any awards; after all, the Flyers were the only team to make the playoffs.
But, the Villanova Wildcats were nominated for several awards after their NCAA Championship performance against the University of North Carolina, capped off by Kris Jenkins' buzzer beater to win the title.
Here's what 'Nova's been nominated for (click the links to vote/see who the Cats are up against):
• Best Coach/Manager — Jay Wright
• Best Play — Jenkins' Buzzer Beater
Voting for the awards is open until the live show starts Wednesday night. If the chance at winning more national accolades isn't enough for the Wildcat faithful, here's something else: The team released a photo Tuesday of the team's title rings.
Take a look:
A look at the Wildcats @NCAA Final Four rings. A full ring ceremony will be held at Hoops Mania. pic.twitter.com/VAiMRjf6nG
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) July 12, 2016
Nice.
A couple of other local ties regarding the ESPYs:
• Delran, New Jersey native Carli Lloyd is up for Best Championship Performance for her hat-trick in the World Cup final to lead the United States past Japan. She's up against Sidney Crosby in that category (as well as LeBron James and Von Miller), so you might want to go vote for her.
• Penn State soccer star Raquel Rodriguez is up for Best Female College Athlete. She racked up a host of accolades as a Nittany Lion now plays professionally for Sky Blue FC, a team located in Piscataway Township, New Jersey.
