Jeremy Lin, the first NBA player of Taiwanese descent, won the Best Breakthrough Athlete award on Wednesday at one of the most glamorous events on the US’ annual sports calendar.
The accolade, part of the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Awards, dubbed the “Oscars of sports,” represented recognition of the “Linsanity” hoopla created by Lin during the 2011-2012 NBA season with his brilliant, breakout performance.
Dressed in a stylish light-grey suit, Lin accepted the trophy from famous NFL New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow at the celebrity-studded ceremony held at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
Photo: AFP
Lin, who shot to global stardom after coming off the New York Knicks bench and leading the squad to a seven-game winning streak in February, said at the ceremony that he felt honored and gratified to win the trophy.
He expressed gratitude to his parents and thanked his Knicks teammates.
New York is fantastic, especially its basketball fans, Lin said, adding that he wants to share the award with all New York fans.
Lin revealed in a Twitter post that he had borrowed some items of his outfit for the occasion.
“Going to the ESPY ... trying the bowtie for the first time. Thanks to friends for letting me borrow stuff for the outfit,” he said.
On the red-carpet walk, Lin warmly greeted his Knicks teammate Landry Fields, who has reportedly reached a three-year contract deal with the Toronto Raptors.
In an interview prior to the ceremony, Lin did not touch on any contract issues, but said the “Linsanity” craze has indeed changed his life.
The NBA free-agent signing moratorium ended on Wednesday, but there was still no word if the Knicks would match the Houston Rockets’ four-year, US$28.8 million offer to Lin, who is now a restricted free agent.
Some media reports speculated that Lin was upset at the Knicks’ negotiating strategy, under which the team would not make Lin an offer and had him set his own market, essentially forcing him into an offer sheet from another club.
On Twitter, Lin disputed that any ill feelings still exist over the Knicks’ strategy, writing: “Lol why do u guys believe everything? No quotes from me = probably not true.”
The 23-year-old Harvard economics graduate also thanked his fans for their votes, which helped him win the ESPY award.
“THANKS and much LOVE to all the fans for the ESPY votes,” he said.
Taiwan’s world No. 1 female golfer, Yani Tseng, was nominated for ESPY awards in the Best International Athlete category and the Best Female Golfer category, but she failed to clinch either of them.
The annual event is organized by the US TV network ESPN.
LeBron James was the big winner at the ESPY Awards, collecting three trophies, including Male Athlete of the Year, for helping the Miami Heat win the NBA championship.
Baylor basketball star Brittney Griner won two trophies, including female athlete of the year, in which she beat out French Open champion Maria Sharapova, skier Lindsay Vonn and soccer player Abby Wambach.
Taiwan last night defeated Cuba 2-0 in their World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 Group B game at the Taipei Dome and finished the group second. At the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, South Korea yesterday defeated Australia 5-2, while Japan last night won 11-3 against the Dominican Republic. On Sunday, Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome to advance to the Super Round. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champions and Group B winners Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome last night to advance to the Super Round of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 tournament. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champion and Group B winner Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the off. After taking a walk to first base, Taiwan’s Chen Chieh- hsien (陳傑憲) then stole second before Tseng Song-en (曾頌恩) drew a walk to first in the top of the first inning. Chen then
TWO-NIL LOSS: Taiwan’s best chance to score came at the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but Venezuela’s Liarvis Breto got out of the jam Taiwan yesterday suffered a shutout 2-0 loss to Venezuela in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome. Taiwan had seven hits, one more than Venezuela’s six, but catcher Carlos Perez’s two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning delivered the only runs scored by both teams and secured victory for Venezuela. Taiwan’s best chance came at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Venezuela reliever Liarvis Breto struck out Chen Chen-wei before reliever Pedro Garcia finished the inning by allowing an infield flyball by Lin
RSS