It is hard to believe, but another year has come and gone. With it, new sports champions have been crowned and new athletes have emerged on the scene for all of us to cheer.

All of which leads us to the awarding of this year’s Cappy's, the awards for the best, and not-so-best, in sports for 2005. Sit back, relax and enjoy.

They are Champs, Again and Again… and (maybe) Again Award?
The USC Trojans. On January 4, 2005, the Trojans made it two in a row, winning their second NCAA championship… though some still question the first, as LSU won the "official" BCS title, while USC won the Coaches poll. But, it doesn't matter. Matt Leinart (Heisman 2004) and Reggie Bush (Heisman 2005), head coach Pete Carroll and the rest of the Trojans are now shooing for an unprecedented three in a row when they face a tough Texas Longhorn team in the Rose Bowl. Without question, they are one of the best teams in the history of the game.

They are Champs, Again and Again… and (maybe) Again Award. #2.
The New England Patriots. Last year, the Patriots made it two in a row, winning their second Super Bowl in as many years and third overall in four years. Last year, with some defensive injuries, quarterback Tom Brady, linebacker Tedy Bruschi, wide receiver Troy Brown, who also played some defense, head coach Brian Belichick and the rest of the Pats still managed to put it all together to win the Super Bowl. This year the Pats will try to make it three in a row. It will be tougher than before, as they have had even more injuries this year. But, don't count them out until it is over, that's for sure. These Pats are definitely one of the best teams in the history of the NFL.

The Idiot of the Year Award
The NHL. The brains behind the league allowed the entire 2004-2005 season to go down the drain while they fought over, what else, money. An entire season down the tubes. No other league has ever done that. They lost the respect of the fans, they also lost their ESPN TV contract. They lost some of their greatest players to retirement. Idiots. Thankfully, they are on the road to recovery this year, with some new rules and a new TV deal with OLN (Outside Living Network). It will take some time, but the NHL is still an exciting league to watch and they will recover. (Note: They might have actually gotten lucky in a way. By washing out the entire season, when they started up again this year, it was in a "normal" way -- training camp started at the "regular" time, preseason started the "regular" time, and the games started the "regular" time. That one thing might have helped the fans ease back into the game.)

The Idiot of the Year Award #2
Terrell Owens. This guy doesn't even deserve the energy it will take to type this up, but he has to be mentioned since he pretty much, single-handedly, destroyed the Philadelphia Eagles. Because of his self-centered, egotistical, inconsideration to go for "more money," and his irresponsible comments to the press about Philly favorite, quarterback Donovan McNabb, he managed to sabotage and destroy the chemistry and team camaraderie of a four-time NFC Championship team, which made it to the Super Bowl last year, and just might have made it to the Super Bowl. Way to go TO! Kudos for Eagles management for canning the bum. Maybe he should go try the Canadian Football League.

An Honorable Mention has to go to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who tried to play "hardball" with the Eagles to get Owens more money and failed miserably. Though, he does get some kudos for saving the life of a drowning boy during the summer, he still is an idiot.

The Idiot of the Year Award #3
Ron Artest. First he asked for a few days off from playing basketball -- during the season -- for the Indiana Pacers to go and promote his CD. Then, he started a riot during a basketball game, going into the stands and fighting with fans. Luckily, nobody got seriously hurt. However, the NBA really got a black eye on that one and, thankfully, had some brains and suspended him for the rest of the season. What a knucklehead. Such a great talent going to waste.

The Idiots (plural) of the Year Award
The Major League Baseball players who went in front of Congress for the steroids hearings and hemmed, hawed, and did everything in their power not to answer questions. To Mark McGwire, who came up with a new way to "take the 5th, saying he did not want to talk about the past. To Sammy Sosa, who after years of talking to the media in English, suddenly forgot how to do that and had to have an interpreter/lawyer speak for him. These guys totally lost all credibility and respect from the fans. Then there was Rafael Palmeiro -- the worst of the bunch because he lied. He sat there and emphatically said, "I have never taken steroids. Period." Well, guess what. A few months later, Palmeiro was suspended for using steroids. Of course he still denies it, but because of what he did, he's pretty much done in baseball. A Hall of Fame career right down the tubes. Surprisingly, the one person who couldn't stop talking, Jose Canseco, who has about as much credibility as a pile of dog doo-doo, just might have been the only one telling the truth. How sad is that.

The Good Guy of the Year Award
Charlie Weiss. After helping take the New England Patriots to their second Super Bowl title, he went and became coach of the struggling Notre Dame Irish football team. Result. He led them to a 9-2 record and a bowl appearance against Ohio State in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, their first bowl game in years. In addition. no one will forget his taking the time to run a play that was drawn up by a young boy who was dying of cancer and was an avid Irish fan. Weiss ordered the play called when the Irish were almost in their own end zone. Result… first down Notre Dame. Sadly, the little boy did not live to see the play run. However, Weiss did one more generous thing and awarded the game ball to the child’s family. Way to go Charlie!

The Good Guy of the Year Award #2
Roger Federer. A nicer champion you could not ask for. Federer, who is arguably the best all-around men’s tennis player in the history of the game, added to his legacy last year by taking home the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles. If anyone can finally win tennis' Grand Slam, Federer will be the one. And (almost) no one would begrudge him if he did.

Honorable Mention goes to James Blake and his amazing return to tennis and his great run at the U.S. Open. In 2004, Blake lost his father and came down with a debilitating disease that almost killed him. However, through perseverance, he got better and returned better than before. His semifinal match against Andre Agassi at the U.S. Open was one of those matches to remember.

The Good Guy of the Year Award #3
Lance Armstrong. What can you say about him. He is an amazing athlete and accomplished what no other cyclist has ever done -- winning seven Tour de France races in a row. His run through the mountains last year, and, especially, his amazing opening time trial when he passed his top competitor Jan Ulrich – something almost unheard of in a time trial – just adds to his legacy. It will be hard to watch the race next year without him in it, that's for sure.

The Heart of a Champion Award

Afleet Alex, the winner of two of the three legs of the 2005 Triple Crown. After falling just short of winning the Kentucky Derby, Afleet Alex won a stunning victory at the Preakness. Stunning, in that, the horse almost fell to his knees at the turn on the homestretch when it clipped the horse in front of him, Scrappy T, regained its footing thanks, in part, to his jockey, Jeremy Rose, and went on to win the race by over four lengths. Incredible. Afleet Alex went on to win the Belmont as well, and many will always wonder that, if he hadn't been boxed in for the last quarter of the Derby, if he might just have won the Triple Crown. … In addition to all that was the back story about a young girl named Alex, who lived in Philadelphia, and who had opened a lemonade stand to raise money for cancer research. Alexandra "Alex" Scott, who did all this while suffering from cancer herself, became friends with one of the owners, John Silvertand, who also was suffering from cancer, was impressed by young Alex and began donating some of Afleet Alex's winnings to her "lemonade" stand. Sadly, Alex passed away before the Derby, but to this day Alex's Lemonade stands have gone national and continue to raise money for cancer research in her honor. ( www.alexslemonade.org))

The Yeah! Award
Roy Williams. After year's of almost winning an NCAA championship, he led the North Carolina Tar Heels to the title last year and finally got his elusive first title. See, nice guys do finish first sometimes.

The Reality of Life Award
Tony Dungy and his family. With his team playing some of the best football of any NFL team in history, Dungy, his family, and the rest of the sporting world, were brought back to reality when news emerged that his son, James, had suddenly died… possibly by taking his own life. Dungy has always put family before everything else, and to watch how he dealt with his son's death, with such class and dignity, shows just the type of great human being he truly is. Condolences from all of us at eSports to Dungy and his family. He is truly one of the great, classy people in all of sports. We can all learn from his example.

The You Go Girl! Award
Danica Patrick. This young woman is for real in the race world of Indy Cars. She almost won the Indy 500 last year in her first try, and probably would have won it except for being just a little short on gasoline. She did take home Rookie of the Year honors and finished in the top 10 in most of her races. She might not have won a race yet, but if she keeps her cool and keeps on learning, that is sure to change in the next year or two. Watch out fellow male drivers, Patrick is coming on strong.

Note: For those of you out there who kept whining and complaining that she didn’t deserve the hype because she hadn’t won a race yet, and that because she hasn’t won a race yet, she probably never will, note how long it took some of the current "great" men to win their first race in Indy car racing: Dario Franchitti, rookie in 1997, first win came win his 30th race in 1998; Tony Kanaan, rookie in 1998, first win came in his 31st race in 1999; Helio Castroneves, rookie in 1998, first win came in his 46th race in 2000, and Patrick Carpentier, rookie in 1997, first win came in his 71st race in 2001. Give Patrick some time. She will win a race and maybe more than one.

The Congrats to this Year's Champs Award
To the Chicago White Sox, who finally won their first World Series in 86 years; to the San Antonio Spurs, who with Tim Duncan leading the way, won their second NBA title; and to the New England Patriots (previously mentioned)… congratulations to all of you for great seasons and well earned titles.

The NASCAR Awards
There are a few, starting with...

* Tony Stewart, on his well earned and hard fought championship title.

* Carl Edwards, on being NASCARs exciting new driver and winning his first 4 races. Hopefully, he wins many more and fans will get to keep seeing him do backflips off his car after his wins.

* A whoops to last year's champ, Kurt Busch, who had a tough end to his year, getting a two race suspension after a traffic incident in Phoenix. However, while Busch didn't repeat -- or even come close to repeating – as champion, hopefully, he'll rebound next year and be back into the thick of things once again.

* Same goes for fan favorites, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Both struggled mightily this past year and will somehow find their way back into the thick of the championship chase in 2006.

* Oh, yeah… Robby Gordon. The guy has a good arm, which he showed when he threw his helmet at Mike Waltrip's car after an accident. It cost him a few bucks, helped him relieve a lot of frustration, and brought back memories of NASCAR's "wilder" days. But, all in all, Gordon is a good guy, so hopefully, people won't judge him too harshly based on that one incident.

* Mark Martin. One of the truly nice guys in the sport. Thanks for coming back for one more season. Your fans are thrilled!

The Volleyball Awards
There are three:

* Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, who continue to dominate the women's tour like no other team in history. They won the Olympic Gold Medal in Athens in 2004, and just kept rolling along. And while they did lose a few times this past year -- hey, they are human -- when it comes to crunch time, right now, there's no one that can touch them. Even more important, they have not let it go to their heads. They are still two of the nicest people in sports.

* Elaine Youngs and Rachel Wacholder, who managed to win three times over May-Treanor and Walsh, in three of the most exciting matches of the season. Without question, EY showed she is one of the most talented players on the tour and Wacholder showed she is for real and can play with the best players on the tour. It was great watching these play and come together as a team.

Liz Masakayan, the coach of Youngs and Wacholder, who is slowly proving that she is one of the brightest coaches on the pro beach circuit. In 2004, she coached Holly McPeak and Youngs to an Olympic Bronze medal, and in 2005, she coached EY and Rachel to three wins over May-Treanor and Walsh. An excellent job for sure.

The He Is A Traitor Award
Johnny Damon. The favorite of so many Boston Red Sox fans, who swore he'd never play for the hated New York Yankees, did just that recently when he signed with the Evil Empire for mucho, mucho money. Some Boston fans call him a traitor. Others say that management blew it by not resigning him. Bottom line -- he's now a Yankee. (Can't wait to see what happens the first time he plays in Boston next year.

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