It was another big year in sports media, and The Big Lead staff has announced their picks for the sports media awards of the year.
The Sports Personality of the year went to NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor. Taylor was surrounded by controversy this whole year, but remained professional and on her game regardless. Taylor also made a move this year after 8 years at ESPN. She has been a part of Summer Olympics coverage as well as the host of Football Night in America, and will contribute heavily to this year’s Super Bowl coverage on the network. Taylor beat out Dan Le Batard, Stephen A. Smith, and Mike Greenberg for the award.
The best Radio Show of the year went to The Pat McAfee Show, beating out The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Tiki and Tierney, and The Dan Patrick Show. McAfee has really emerged this year as a staple in the sports radio world with his natural charisma and humor that turns any guest into an interesting listen.
The Biggest Sports Media Acquisition went to Peyton and Eli Manning for their role in the Manningcast, ESPN 2’ss alternate feed for Monday Night Football. The NFL and ESPN hit a gold mine this year with a new and interesting format to a familiar product. Many other networks and sports leagues will be trying to replicate their success for years to come. The Manning brothers beat out some other notable acquisitions for the award including Ariel Helwani, Drew Brees, and Maria Taylor.
Here is a list of the other awards that were given out throughout the year by The Big Lead.
Best Game Analyst: Jeff Van Gundy
Best Play-by-Play Announcer: Joe Buck
Newcomer of the Year: Aqib Talib
Sportswriter of the Year: Tyler Tynes
Best Podcast: Pardon My Take
Insider of the Year: Adam Schefter
Best Sports Media Reporter: Andrew Marchand
Most Versatile Sports Media Member: Mina Kimes
Sports Media Event of the Year: Dan Le Batard for “Freedumb”
Sports Book Author of the Year: Mirin Fader
Best Studio Show: NFL RedZone
Best Sports Television Series: Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Meme of the Year: Brooks Koepka vs. Bryson DeChambeau
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jackie MacMullan