The most glamorous night in sports (look at Amber Rose killin’ the red carpet), the ESPY Awards (broadcast exclusively on the ESPN network) were held this week in Los Angeles. A celebration of achievements ranging from Best Championship Performance to Best Sports Film (that award went to The Blind Side), the show was hosted by Saturday Night Live‘s Seth Meyers.

The awards featured funny skits from comedians Andy Samberg (as “Paul The Octopus”) and Tracy Morgan (pretending to audition for the role of Nelson Mandela in Invictus) plus spirited performances from acts like Janelle Monae. NFL player Drew Brees picked up the most awards of the night, and the Arthur Ashe Courage Award—won by Ed Thomas and accepted by his family—left not a dry eye in the house. (Thomas was a high school football coach from Parkersburg, Iowa, who was fatally shot by a former player on June 24, 2009.)

List Of Main ESPY Awards (winners are highlighted):

BEST MALE ATHLETE
Drew Brees, NFL
Kobe Bryant, NBA
LeBron James, NBA
Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR
Albert Pujols, MLB

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE
Maya Moore, NCAA Basketball
Diana Taurasi, WNBA
Lindsey Vonn, Skiing
Serena Williams, Tennis

ESPY PERSEVERANCE AWARD
George Karl, Nuggets

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
Drew Brees
Anthony Johnson
Michael Phelps
Shaun White

ARTHUR ASHE COURAGE AWARD
Aplington-Parkersburg (Iowa) High School Ed Thomas’ family

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
Brittney Griner, Baylor
Chris Johnson, Tennessee
Stephen Strasburg, Nationals
John Wall, Kentucky basketball

BEST COMEBACK
Kim Clijsters, Tennis

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
Usain Bolt
Brett Favre
Roger Federer
Connecticut Women’s Basketball
Isner vs. Mahut at Wimbledon

BEST UPSET
Frankie Edgar over B.J. Penn, MMA
Hawaii softball upsets #1 Alabama
Northern Iowa shocks No. 1 Kansas, Men’s Basketball
Y. E. Yang stuns Tiger Woods, PGA Championship

BEST GAME
Twins beat Tigers in Extra Innings (AL Central One-Game Tiebreak)
Canada edges USA in Olympic hockey championship game in overtime
Duke gets past Butler in Men’s NCAA Championship

BEST MOMENT
Phil Mickelson, 2009 Masters
Joannie Rochette, Winter Olympics
New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV
Landon Donovan World Cup vs. Algeria

I didn’t attend the awards but I was in the house for the after-party. It was held at Club NOKIA, inside the LA Live entertainment precinct, with surprise performances from Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, Gucci Mane with Lil Kim (hmm…remember when Gucci and Nicki Minaj were tight? Could this be a new ploy?) and Waka Flocka Flame complete with the FAMU marching band. Check out my VERY amateur Blackberry pics below:

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