Favre nominated for 4 ESPY Awards; Bryant, Woods, Strasburg among other nominees

Kobe, LeBron compete for male athlete at ESPYs

LOS ANGELES — Brett Favre is still deciding whether he’ll return for a 20th NFL season. He’s getting some recognition for his performance last year, with four nominations Thursday for the ESPY Awards.

The Minnesota Vikings quarterback is nominated for record-breaking performance, having set an NFL record for consecutive starts; best play, for his game-winning touchdown pass against the San Francisco 49ers; performance under pressure; and best NFL player, where Favre is vying against quarterbacks Drew Brees and Peyton Manning among others.

Tiger Woods, who owns a record 22 ESPY Awards, is nominated for male golfer of the year, an award he’s won five consecutive years.

Brees is nominated for three individual awards, including male athlete of the year. He’s up against Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Jimmie Johnson and Albert Pujols.

Brees is also up for championship performance, competing with Olympic snowboarder Shaun White, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and Montana basketball player Anthony Johnson.

Nominated for female athlete of the year are basketball players Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn and Serena Williams.

Seth Meyers of “Saturday Night Live” will host the awards on July 14.

John Wall of Kentucky and Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg are among the nominees for breakthrough athlete.

The Canada-U.S. men’s gold medal hockey game at the Vancouver Olympics is one of the best game nominees, along with Duke-Butler in the NCAA men’s basketball title game and Minnesota beating Detroit in a one-game playoff in the American League.

Phil Mickelson’s win in this year’s Masters is nominated for best moment, along with figure skater Joannie Rochette, who won an Olympic bronze medal days after her mother died, and the New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl.

Voting online, by phone and at Facebook began Thursday and runs through July 10, with fans deciding the winners in 37 categories. The winners will be announced during the show on July 14, televised live this year for the first time from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

The Jimmy V Award for Perseverance will be given to Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, who is battling neck and throat cancer; while best comeback will go to Kim Clijsters, who won the U.S. Open after coming out of retirement.

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