The annual ESPY Awards was held yesterday, July 16, 2006. I wasn’t able to watch it live but did catch the replay this morning.

The awards given out included Best Male Athlete which was won by no other than Lance Armstrong. Best Female Athlete was given to golfer Annika Sorenstam, Best Team – Pittsburgh Steelers, Best Coach – Bill Cowher of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Best NBA Player – Dwyane Wade just to mention a few. But the one that caught my attention was the Best Moment award.

Best Moment winner – Jason McElwain and his family.

The nominees for the Best Moment award were Dakota Dowd,13yrs old, playing in the LPGA and fulfilling a sick mother’s dream; George Mason defeating UConn and making it to the NCAA Final Four; Jason McElwain scoring 20 pts in 4 minutes; and Kobe Bryant’s 81 point game performance against the Toronto Raptors.

Most people would vote for Kobe Bryant and expect him to win. But that’s if you don’t know who Jason McElwain is. Who is he? Why did he win the award? He won the award not only because of his 20 points in 4 minutes performance but also because of his story. Below is a video of Jason McElwain and the “story”.

J-Mac’s story is very inspiring and I believe that he really deserves to win the award.

*video courtesy of Metacafe.com