HBO leads way with 31 Sports Emmy nominations; Chirkinian to be honored

HBO leads the way with 31 nominations for the 29th Annual Sports Emmy Awards to be given out at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center located in the Time Warner Center, on April 28, 2008 in New York City. ESPN and NBC followed with 27 and 23 nominations with Fox receiving 18 and CBS 17 nominations. In addition, Frank Chirkinian, referred to by many as the “Father of Televised Golf,” winner of four Emmy Awards, and an inductee into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Chirkinian, who spent his entire career at CBS, was given the task of figuring out how to televise the game of golf back in 1958 when the network decided golf was worth a look. He went on to produce 38 consecutive Masters Tournament telecasts, making golf a mainstay in sports broadcasting.

The nominees for the George Wensel Technical Achievement Award are:
ESPN NASCAR; ABC / ESPN / ESPN2, Draft Track
Golf on CBS; CBS Swing Vision
Jim Nantz Remembers Augusta – The 1960 Masters, CBS; Color Restoration and Colorization
PGA TOUR and LPGA coverage, Golf Channel; AimPoint
Sport Science FSN, BASE Productions; Sport Science Laboratory

Here is the complete list of nominations:

Outstanding LIVE SPORTS SPECIAL
2007 Open Championship: ABC/ESPN
AFC Championship Game: CBS
BCS on FOX: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: FOX
NASCAR on FOX: Daytona 500: FOX
NBC Wild Card Playoff: Dallas vs. Seattle: NBC
Super Bowl XLI: CBS

Outstanding LIVE SPORTS SERIES
ESPN Monday Night Football: ESPN
NASCAR on FOX: FOX
NBA on ESPN/ABC: ESPN / ABC
NBC Golf Tour: NBC
NFL on FOX: FOX
Sunday Night Football: NBC

Outstanding LIVE EVENT TURNAROUND
De La Hoya vs Mayweather Delay Broadcast: HBO
Inside the PGA TOUR: PGA Tour Productions
NFL Mic’d Up: Ravens vs. 49ers: NFL Network, NFL Films
Quest for the Cup: NASCAR Images
Tour de France: CBS

Outstanding EDITED SPORTS SPECIAL
De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7: HBO
Super Bowl 360: ESPN, NFL Films
The 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship: NBC Ironman Productions
The Natural: Major League Baseball Celebrates an Epic: ESPN2, MLB Productions
Unsettled Scores: ESPN2

Outstanding SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
Barbaro: A Nation’s Horse: NBC
Dale: NASCAR Images
Ghosts of Flatbush: HBO
Jonestown: The Game of Their Lives: ESPN
Triumph and Tragedy: The Ray Mancini Story: ESPN Classic

Outstanding EDITED SPORTS SERIES / Anthology
America’s Game: The Super Bowl Champions: NFL Network, NFL Films
Greatest High School Football Rivalries: Versus, NFL Films
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs: HBO, NFL Films
HBO Boxing: Countdown Shows: HBO
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: HBO

Outstanding STUDIO SHOW – WEEKLY
College Gameday: ESPN
Football Night in America: NBC
Inside the NBA: TNT
Inside the NFL: HBO
NFL on FOX: FOX NFL Sunday: FOX

Outstanding STUDIO SHOW – DAILY
Inside the NBA: TNT
NASCAR Now: ESPN2
Pardon the Interruption: ESPN
SportsCenter: ESPN
Wimbledon Tonight: NBC

Outstanding SPORTS JOURNALISM
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel; Broken: NFL Disability Debate
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel HBO; Dogfighting: Bred to Die
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel; Fading Hope: Sports in Iraq
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel; Headgames: The NFL Concussion Crisis

Outstanding SHORT FEATURE
College Gameday: ESPN; Martel Van Zant
Inside the NFL, HBO; Coal Miner’s Sons: The Jones Brothers
Inside the NFL, HBO; Packers Fans Rebuild
MLB 2007: Never Miss a Game, ESPN; MLB Productions; Never Too Early
Sunday NFL Countdown, ESPN; Fear

Outstanding LONG FEATURE
E: 60, ESPN; Ray of Hope
NBA TV Game Night, NBA TV; NBA Entertainment; 59th and Prairie: Dwyane Wade’s Journey – A Story told by Terrence Howard
NFL Films Presents: Finding Your Butkus, NFL Network, NFL Films
Outside the Lines, ESPN; Still Alive
The Super Bowl Today, CBS; Bill Walsh
The Super Bowl Today, CBS; Hines Ward

Outstanding OPEN / TEASE
107th U.S. Open Championship, NBC; The Open Returns to the Steel City
2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee, ABC; Championship Round
Barbaro: A Nation’s Horse, NBC
De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7, HBO; Episode 1
Indianapolis 500, ABC; Tease: All Roads Lead to Indy
NBA Playoffs, TNT; Opening Night Tease
Super Bowl XLI, CBS; Super Bowl XLI Tease

Outstanding NEW APPROACHES – COVERAGE
Amen Corner Live: CBSSports.com
Fantasy Focus Baseball: ESPN.com
Fantasy Football Live: Yahoo! Sports
Fantasy Football Now: ESPN.com
Live@ Series: PGATOUR.com
NFL.com LIVE: NFL Network, NFL Films

Outstanding NEW APPROACHES – LONG FORM
Kevin Streelman, 24 Hours to the PGA Tour; PGA Tour Productions
2007 Shared Summits K2 Expedition; NBCSports.com
Fan Life: Full Tilt Full Time; HBO
Ray of Hope; ESPN.com
Ruth Lovelace: Chasing a Dream; NBCSports.com

Outstanding NEW APPROACHES – GENERAL INTEREST
An UnAmerican Tragedy; ESPN.com
Anatomy of a Play; NFL Network, NFL Films
Death Race 2007; ESPN.com
Don’t Be Like Mike; ESPN.com
Inside Spring Training with the White Sox; 312 Media

Outstanding Sports Personality – STUDIO HOST
Al Trautwig Versus
Bob Costas HBO / NBC
Bryant Gumbel HBO
Ernie Johnson TNT / TBS
James Brown CBS

Outstanding Sports Personality – PLAY-BY-PLAY
Al Michaels NBC
Jim Lampley HBO
Jim Nantz CBS
Joe Buck FOX
Marv Albert TNT
Mike Emrick NBC

Outstanding Sports Personality – STUDIO ANALYST
Charles Barkley TNT
Cris Carter HBO
Cris Collinsworth HBO/NBC
Jay Bilas ESPN
Terry Bradshaw FOX
Tom Jackson ESPN

Outstanding Sports Personality – SPORTS EVENT ANALYST
Doug Collins TNT
Gary Danielson CBS
John Madden NBC
Phil Simms CBS
Tim McCarver FOX
Troy Aikman FOX

Outstanding TECHNICAL TEAM REMOTE
ESPN NASCAR; ABC / ESPN / ESPN2
NASCAR on FOX; FOX
NBC Golf Tour; NBC
NFL on FOX; FOX
Red Bull Air Race World Series; FSN

Outstanding TECHNICAL TEAM STUDIO
Football Night in America; NBC
MLB Post Season; TBS
NASCAR on FOX; FOX
NFL on FOX: FOX NFL Sunday; FOX
The NFL Today; CBS

Outstanding CAMERA WORK
Down the Barrel; ESPN2
Focused Rush HD; Human Flight
Focused Rush HD; The Furture of Freestyling Skiing 2007
Inside the NFL; HBO, NFL Films
Mayweather/Hatton 24/7; HBO
Road to the Super Bowl; NFL Network, NFL Films
The 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship; NBC Ironman Productions

Outstanding EDITING
Ali’s 65; ESPN, Televerse Media
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs; HBO, NFL Films
Mayweather/Hatton 24/7; HBO
Sport Science; FSN, BASE Productions
Sunday NFL Countdown; ESPN, Fear
Super Bowl XLI; CBS

The Dick Schaap WRITING AWARD
2007 ING New York City Marathon; NBC, IMG Media
Alec Baldwin Open: Costas Now; HBO
The Year of the Cheat; E: 60 ESPN
A Dream Come True: Gunnar Esiason; Every Man A Tiger: The Eddie Robinson Story; NBC
Inside the NFL; HBO
Lewis Black: Miami Vice & Lonely in LA
Mayweather/Hatton 24/7; HBO

Outstanding MUSIC COMPOSITION / DIRECTION / LYRICS
America’s Game: The Super Bowl Champions; NFL Network, NFL Films
Barbaro; HBO
Dale; NASCAR Images
Ghosts of Flatbush; HBO
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs; HBO, NFL Films
Kabul Girls Club; ESPN2
NBA on TNT; TNT, NBA promos on TNT
US Open Tennis Championships; CBS, US Open Tennis Championships Tease

Outstanding Live E
vent AUDIO / SOUND
Arena Football; ABC / ESPN / ESPN2
MLB on FOX; FOX
NASCAR on FOX; FOX
NHL on NBC; NBC
World Championship Boxing; HBO

Outstanding Post Produced AUDIO / SOUND
MLB on FOX: Pre Game Show; FOX
NFL on FOX: FOX NFL Sunday; FOX
Road to the Super Bowl; NFL Network, NFL Films
US Open Tennis Championships; CBS

Outstanding GRAPHIC DESIGN
ESPN NASCAR; ABC / ESPN / ESPN2
Football Night in America / Sunday Night Football; NBC
NBA on TNT; TNT, Turner Studios
NBA Finals on ABC
Sport Science FSN; BASE Productions

Outstanding PRODUCTION DESIGN / ART DIRECTION
107th U.S. Open Championship NBC: The Open Returns to the Steel City
Amazing Sports Stories; FSN, Nash Entertainment /Red Line Films
BCS on FOX; FOX
NBA All-Star Game; TNT
NBA All-Star Saturday Night; TNT
Sport Science FSN; BASE Productions