Los Angeles - The Los Angeles Lakers NBA championship was named the top sports moment of 2010 at the 6th annual LA Sports Awards, presented by Skechers, held last night at The Beverly Hilton.
The Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in a dramatic seventh game, 83-79, to win their second straight title and the franchise’s 16th overall championship.
The LA Sports Awards are presented annually by the Los Angeles Sports Council to celebrate the greatest moments of the year in sports in the Los Angeles/Orange County area.
In other award presentations, Derek Fisher of the Lakers was honored as 2010 Sportsman of the Year and UCLA softball standout Megan Langenfeld was named the Sportswoman of the Year. Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena received the Coach of the Year award and Tim Leiweke, president & CEO of AEG, was the Sports Executive of the Year honoree.
During the gala the overall Top 10 moments of 2010 as selected by a blue-ribbon media panel were revealed in ranked order. They were:
- Lakers Win NBA Title (June 17): TheLakers defeat the Boston Celtics in seven games to win their 16th NBA championship and 11th in Los Angeles.
- John Wooden’s Life and Legacy Remembered (June 26): Theinfluence of thelong and distinguished life of Coach John Wooden is commemorated in a stirring memorial at UCLA.
- Buss Elected to Hall of Fame(April 5): Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss is elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
- Donovan’s Dramatic Goal Propels U.S. to 2nd Round of World Cup (June 22):USA forward and team captain Landon Donovan scored a last-minute goal to defeat Algeria, 1-0, and advance the U.S. to the second round of the World Cup in South Africa.
- Zenyatta’s Remarkable Winning Streak (October 2): With a series of come-from-behind finishes, Southern California’s own Zenyatta wins five consecutive races to run her career unbeaten streak to 19 and confirm her status as one of the greatest race horses of all time.
- Olympic Gold for Lysacek (February 19): Los Angeles’ Evan Lysacek wins the gold medal in Figure Skating at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, becoming the first American man to do so since 1988.
- Kings Return to NHL Playoffs(April 19): The Kings qualify for the playoffs and host their first postseason game since 2002, defeating the Vancouver Canucks, 5-3, at Staples Center.
- UCLA Wins its 11th NCAA Softball Title (June 8):UCLA goes 10-0 in the postseason, including a sweep of Arizona in the Championship series, as Megan Langenfeld is named Most Outstanding Player of the World Series.
- L.A.’s Best Power Team USA to Basketball Gold (September 12): The Clippers’ Eric Gordon, the Lakers’ Lamar Odom, and former UCLA Bruin Russell Westbrook help lead Team USA to a gold medal at the FIBA Basketball World Championships in Turkey.
- Angels Host All-Star Game; Dodgers Broxton Registers Save (July 13):The Angels host the All-Star game for the first time since 1989; the Dodgers’ Jonathan Broxton records the final three outs to save the game, 3-1, for the National League’s first victory since 1996.
Fox Sports West will televise the star-studded awards show on Friday, March 4 at 10:45 pm PST.
During the festivities, fourteen additional awards also were presented to each of the major local teams and universities -- plus Olympic sports and individual sports --recognizing each one’s greatest moment of 2010. Those winners were determined by online fan voting and the complete list of winners will be posted on the Sports Council’s website www.lasports.org.
“Moments” must have taken place in the local area or have involved a local athlete or team.
