2017 ESPYS Predictions

The 25th ESPYS Awards are tomorrow on ABC. They will be hosted by former Denver Broncos quarterback and Super Bowl 50 champion, Peyton Manning. In honor of the biggest awards night in the sports world I'm going to list a couple of predictions for each award category.

Best Male Athlete: Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins

Arguably the greatest NHL star of his generation, Sidney Crosby has a strong case for Best Male Athlete. Along with it comes a pair of Stanley Cups against two rookie franchises, a Conn Smythe Trophy for the playoffs MVP, and is the top goal scorer in the NHL with he Maurice Richard Trophy. Maybe this will come down to him and Russell Westbrook for his historic triple double season, but I wouldn't be surprised if Crosby beat him out for the award.

Best Championship Performance: Tom Brady, New England Patriots - Super Bowl LI

This may be the best and obvious choice of Best Championship Performance. Never in my entire life of watching sports, have I seen a comeback so big, that when first watching the game I thought that the greatest quarterback in football would retire because of his failing performance in the first half. Now I'm not a Patriots fan, but this is probably the greatest Super Bowl performance ever put on by a quarterback who was down 25 points and didn't let the Falcons score a single point in the fourth quarter and most importantly, never gave up; even if he had to get the winning touchdown in the "fifth" quarter.

Clearly, Tom Brady deserves this award for his heroics in saving his team from possible destruction after the game. And as a reward he is now the first quarterback to earn 5 rings.

Best Team: Chicago Cubs - MLB

October 14, 2003, an innocent Chicago Cubs fan by the name of Steve Bartman attempted to catch a foul ball in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. Had the Cubs fielder Moises Alou caught the ball, the Cubs would've been four outs away from their first pennant in 58 years. Sadly, their opponent the Florida Marlins came back to win the pennant and eventually the World Series. As one team's quest to the championship ended in joy, the others' quest ended with a drought continuation of 95 years. 13 years later however, everything was about to change.

In 2016, the Cubs planned to end the 108 year drought. They did that by having the best record in baseball going 103-58 and winning the NL Central. In the postseason, the Cubs swept the Giants in 4 in the NLDS and faced the Dodgers in NLCS. Leading 3-2 in the series with one out in the top of the 9th, The Cubs ended their pennant drought on a double play and went to the World Series for the first time in 71 years.

In Game 7 of the World Series, for the second consecutive year, the clincher took extra innings. But due to a rain delay, this gave the Cubs to shift the momentum as Ben Zobrist hit an RBI double to give the Cubs the go ahead run. Then what happened next became the best moment for the Cubs the entire season. The Indians' Michael Martinez hit a slow groundball to Chris Bryant an he then threw the ball fast to Anthony Rizzo at first to end the longest championship drought in the history of American sports.

This team had the most resilience and unselfishness than any other team in sports; because together, they made the city of Chicago proud by bringing their third World Series title and their first in 108 years. This is why I give them my vote for the 2017 ESPY Award for Best Team.

"The ESPYS will be so good" if my predictions are correct. And if these three win the following awards they not only have won it for their teammates, family, and friends, but also for the determination, hard work, commitment, persistence and perseverance they have demonstrated throughout their lives on and off the playing the field. These awards may not be the defining moment for each athlete's career, but The ESPY Awards are a great platform for everyone to watch as it teaches us the simple life lessons for every athlete as we can use those lessons in our everyday lives to become better people. The athletes that win an award tomorrow signify that they have used these life lessons on and off the field to become the best athlete, person, and example they can be for others. And for those reasons, there should be no reason why they should not be honored for their physical and personal strengths.