Time to hand out the Greenies — or something like that

The Oscars will be handed out Sunday in Los Angeles, as
the film industry’s best and brightest will be rewarded
for the hard work they’ve put forth over the last year.

It is in that spirit that we’re going to hand out the
Greenies umm…Arizona Sports Oscars,
given to Arizona’s teams, athletes and coaches for their
hard – and sometimes disappointing – work over the last
year.

So, without further ado, here we go…

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Best Performance in a Leading
Role

Nominees: Steve Nash, Larry Fitzgerald, Derrick
Williams,
Justin Upton, Ian Kennedy, Shane Doan

Winner: Larry Fitzgerald
No one was as great as consistently as Larry Fitzgerald
this past year, as he hauled in 80 catches for 1,411 yards
and eight touchdowns despite incredibly shaky QB play.
Whether he was making one-handed grabs or going across the
middle, Fitz put the team on his back multiple times, and
his presence alone gives Cardinals fans hope for the
future.

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Best Performance in a Supporting Role

Nominees: Grant Hill, J.J. Putz, Radim Vrbata, Miguel
Montero, John Skelton

Winner: J.J. Putz
Putz arrived in the off-season and gave the D-backs the
closer they had lacked since trading Jose Valverde away
after the 2007 season. The veteran tallied 45 saves and a
2.17 ERA, while striking out 61. If the D-backs got to the
ninth with a lead you felt really good about their chances
to win the game, and that’s because of Putz.

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Best Costume Design

Nominees: Diamondbacks throwbacks, ASU
Football, Arizona Basketball

Winner: D-backs throwbacks
The Diamondbacks honored their 2001 World Series team by
rocking one of the jerseys they wore that season. The
white vest with purple pinstripes and a purple shirt
underneath is a look many fans were excited to see, and
hope to see again. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the D-
backs won three of the four games they wore the jerseys
in, but no matter the reason it’s a look that brings
plenty of fond memories.

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Film I wish I never saw

Nominees: Hedo Turkoglu, Melvin Mora, Ilya Bryzgalov
against the Red Wings, “Beast Mode”

Winner: Hedo Turkoglu
Hedo came to the Suns in a trade with hopes of
rediscovering the form that made him one of the game’s
better all-around players. He left the Suns in a trade
after averaging just 9.5 points, 4 rebounds, 2.3 assists.
On the plus side, he did lead the team in fans cursing his
name, so there’s that.

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Best Director

Nominees: Kirk Gibson, Dave Tippett, Ken Whisenhunt,
Sean Miller, Clint Myers

Winner: Kirk Gibson
The Diamondbacks entered the season low on talent and
expectations, and finished it NL West champions with
dreams of even more. “GibbyBall” proved to be an effective
strategy, as the D-backs led the league in come-from-
behind victories and played hard for 27 outs each night.
While they may be a more talented group than originally
given credit for, there is no doubt Gibson got the most
out of the least.

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Best Picture

Nominees: Arizona basketball, Arizona Diamondbacks,
Phoenix Coyotes, ASU Softball

Winner: ASU Softball
The only Arizona team to win a national championship,
Clint Myers’ squad went 51-9 during the regular season and
won all five of its postseason games, outscoring the
competition 30-12 in a dominant effort that led to the
school’s second ever Women’s College World Series
Championship.

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Best Short Film

Nominees: Larry Fitzgerald vs. Eagles, Beanie Wells vs.
Rams, Ian Kennedy vs. Phillies, Derrick Williams vs.
Duke

Winner: Derrick Williams vs. Duke
Derrick Williams destroyed Duke. Derrick Williams
eviscerated Duke. Derrick Williams owned Duke. However you
want to put it, Williams’ 32 point, 13 rebound performance
in the Sweet 16 was as dominant as you’ll see at any
level. Williams made 11 of 17 shots – including 5 of 6
from three – and basically carried the Wildcats to the
Elite 8.

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Most Disappointing Picture

Nominees: Kevin Kolb, Vontaze Burfict, Phoenix Suns,
ASU Football

Winner: Vontaze Burfict
Vontaze Burfict entered the season one of the most feared
linebackers in all of college football, and left it as one
of the most ridiculed. His issues personified all that was
wrong with ASU football, as he was undisciplined some of
the time and ineffective most of it. Save for a few
moments of “yeah, that’s ‘Taz,” the junior had a season
everyone would like to forget.

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Best Editing

Nominees: Kevin Towers, Don Maloney, Greg Byrne

Winner: Don Maloney
Don Maloney has built a team that will likely reach the
playoffs three consecutive seasons, with few resources
other than his own ability to discover talent and work
contract-negotiating magic. I mean come on, he was
basically forced to dump Ilya Bryzgalov, only to come up
with Mike Smith as a replacement. Well done, sir.

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Best Storyline

Nominees: Steve Nash trade rumors, Peyton Manning to
the Cardinals rumors, D-backs playoff run, Coyotes
sale/move, Kevin Kolb rumors

Winner: Peyton Manning to the Cardinals rumors
Everyone loves a good rumor, and this one may be the best.
A QB of Peyton Manning’s stature and ability wanting to
join the Cardinals? Sign me up! The thought of the laser-
rocket arm throwing passes to Larry Fitzgerald is enough
to make any Birdgang fan salivate. Of course, it’s all a
rumor, as the QB may not even be able to play next year —
if ever again.

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