LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The past year was a momentous one for Southland sports franchises, and the Los Angeles Sports Council tonight will honor those who made it possible, with LeBron James of the Lakers and Mookie Betts of the Dodgers among those set to be recognized at the LA Sports Awards.
James, Betts and Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks will be honored as the sports people of the year during the event, which will be broadcast on Spectrum SportsNet and SportsNet LA. Fans can also register to watch the event online at www.lasports.org.
Dodger manager Dave Roberts will be recognized as coach of the year, while the Lakers owner Jeanie Buss will be honored as executive of the year. Rams offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth will be recognized as the mayor's community athlete of the year, while the late Rafer Johnson will be honored with a lifetime achievement award.
Also during the show, the LA Sports Council will unveil its ranking of the greatest sports moments of the past year. The list of moments, in alphabetical order by team, was released earlier this year. The moments are:
-- Angel City FC: All-star investor group announces formation of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchise set to begin competing in 2022 (July 21);
-- Angels: Albert Pujols hits his 661st and 662nd home runs to pass the legendary Willie Mays for fifth on MLB's all-time home runs list (Sept. 18);
-- Chargers: Quarterback Justin Herbert throws for 4,336 yards and 31 touchdowns in his first season in the NFL, capping a remarkable season that earned the 22-year old the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and NFL Pepsi Rookie of the Year honors;
-- Clippers: Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank was named 2019-20 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year (Oct. 8) after leading the front office to shape a roster headlined by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George;
-- Dodgers: Dodgers win the World Series for the first time since 1988, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays, four games to two (Oct. 27);
-- Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw strikes out six in Game 5 of the World Series (5.2 innings) to set an all-time postseason record for strikeouts with 207 (Oct. 25);
-- Lakers: Lakers defeat Miami, 106-93, in Game 6 of the NBA Finals - held in the “NBA Bubble'' in Orlando - to earn the club's 17th NBA title (Oct. 11)
-- Lakers: Anthony Davis hits game-winning three to lift the Lakers to a 105-103 win over Denver, giving the team a 2-0 lead in the NBA Western Conference Finals (Sept. 20);
-- LAFC: MLS international Diego Rossi, 22, wins the 2020 MLS Golden Boot, leading the league with 14 goals in just 19 appearances. Rossi is the youngest player in league history to win the award and LAFC is the first Club to ever produce back-to-back Golden Boot winners after Carlos Vela took the title in the 2019 season. (Nov. 8);
-- SoFi Stadium: Rams open SoFi Stadium, LA's new indoor-outdoor, 70,000-seat venue, with a Rams 20-17 win over Dallas on Sunday Night Football (Sept. 13); and
-- UCLA: Senior Kyla Ross repeats as Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year, becoming only the second back-to-back winner in conference history (March 25).
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