With 36 nominations, ESPN leads all networks for the upcoming Sports Emmy Awards, to be held May 2 at Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City.
In a distant second and third were HBO and NBC with 22 and 20 nominations, respectively.
The most honored event was NBC’s coverage of the Vancouver Olympics with 11 nominations, one more than the 10 by ESPN/ABC for their coverage of the 2010 World Cup.
Al Michaels and Jim Nantz lead the way in the Outstanding Play-By-Play Sports Personality category. Nantz won the award last year and will compete against Mike “Doc” Emrick, Bob Costas, Verne Lundquist, and Joe Buck.
A glaring snub from the list was Gus Johnson. Come on Emmy voters: the time has come for Johnson to get the accolades he deserves.
As for Michaels, he will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Sports. “It’s amazing how his call of the U.S. Olympic hockey team’s 1980 ‘Miracle on Ice’ resonates to this day,” said Steve Ulrich, Executive Director of the Sports Emmy Awards. “Al’s legacy in sports television goes far beyond that moment, having called some of the greatest games in the history of the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NHL.”
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has the complete list of nominations.