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July 12, 2016Chris Paul takes home the Sports Humanitarian of the Year Award; San Francisco Giants win for Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award; Bank of America wins Corporate Community Impact Award and the NBA wins the League Humanitarian Leadership Award. Quincy Williams II Womens Jersey .The leagues, teams, individuals and members of the sporting community met in Los Angeles at The Conga Room at L.A. LIVE Tuesday, July 12, to celebrate those who have used the power of sports to make a positive impact on society at the 2016 Sports Humanitarian of the Year Awards, hosted by Laila Ali.Chris Paul was honored with the Sports Humanitarian of the Year Award, recognized as an athlete whose continuous demonstrated leadership has created a positive impact on their community through sports. Through the Chris Paul Family Foundation, Chris has leveled the playing field in education, sports and community. He has helped open a newly refurbished Boys & Girls Club in the L.A. neighborhood of Watts - part of a $1 million commitment his Foundation has made to made to Boys & Girls Clubs across the country.The Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year went to the San Francisco Giants. Through the teams Junior Giants program, they have been helping put an end to the cycle of violence in impoverished areas around the region. The program is designed to build life skills using the power of sports, and a parent survey found that 76% of participants were engaged in more physical activity, 64% read more, 89% said their confidence was improved, and 86% knew what to say or do about bullying.The winner of the new Corporate Community Impact Award was given to Bank of America. Bank of America used the power of sports to help change the hearts and minds of people across the country by starting a nationwide movement for inclusion and respect for all people. Working with the Special Olympics, they staged the first-ever Unified Relay Across America (URAA) in 2015 - organizing more than 10,000 participants to bring the torch through all 50 states to start the Special Olympics World Games.. As a result of the Relay and Games, many more U.S. households identified as knowing a non-immediate family member, co-worker, neighbor or friend with intellectual disabilities (ID) from 24% pre-World Games to 31% post-World Games. Perceptions of the capabilities of people with ID saw similarly positive increases after the URAA and World Games.The NBA was honored Tuesday with the first League Humanitarian Leadership Award for driving social impact. In 2015, NBA Cares celebrated its 10th anniversary, and with the NBA All-Star Game in New York City, the league ambitiously engaged more than one million youth in basketball through 754 events across the five boroughs. This includes hosting an unprecedented 100 basketball clinics in just one day.Three Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Awards, which recognizes individuals who have taken risks and used an innovative approach to help the disadvantaged through the power of sports, were presented to Billie Jean King, Robert Kraft and 2015 University of Missouri Football Team. Billie Jean King has taken risks throughout her career to champion equal pay, opportunities for women and advocating Title IX, and she continues her quest for inclusion through the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative. Robert Kraft is empowering small nonprofits across New England to make an even greater impact through an innovative and strategic philanthropic program. The 2015 University of Missouri Football Team showcased the incredible power the athlete has to inspire social change. They threatened to boycott their next game to help end a student hunger strike that was a response to race issues on campus.The net proceeds from the Sports Humanitarian of the Year Awards benefited the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund at The V Foundation. Additionally, ESPN will grant a collective total of $800,000 to the charities of the nominees and winners, double the amount awarded last year. In total, more than $1.4 million will be distributed to the community as a result of the initiative. In recognition of Muhammed Ali and to make sure his vision for his humanitarian efforts continue, ESPN is proud to make a $100,000 donation to the Muhammad Ali Center.Another special moment related to the Awards ceremony was the opportunity to experience the Breaking Barriers: Sports for Change exhibit by the Center for Civil and Human Rights as part of the ESPYS Experience. The showcase, located on Microsoft Plaza, allows guests to view visual displays of athletes who have made an impact on the civil and human rights. The exhibit honors Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, among many others, with a display tapered to their success. The Breaking Barriers exhibit will start its tour from the ESPYS Experience and will travel around the U.S. for viewing.Below is a complete list of award winners.Sports Humanitarian of the Year Award: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers (2016) Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever (2015)Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award: San Francisco Giants (2016) Chicago Bulls (2015)NEW Corporate Community Impact Award: Bank of America (2016)NEW League Humanitarian Leadership Award: NBA (2016)Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Awards: Billie Jean King, Robert Kraft and the 2015 University of Missouri Football Team (2016) Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll, Like a Girl Campaign by Always, MLB Commissioner Emeritus Bud and his wife Sue Selig, and the You Can Play Project (2015) Josh Allen Womens Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Jalen Ramsey Womens Jersey . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. http:///...gakoue-Elite-Jersey/ . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw still absolutely adores practice, and she always will. It appeals to the puzzle-solving side of her, and how she enjoys the process of finding the right answers.I went up to Michigan and spent some time with [Michigan mens coach] John Beilein, and it was like Christmas, said McGraw, whose Irish host No. 1 UConn on Wednesday (ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET). We had two hours, talking about the 1-3-1. I just love it. Ill watch YouTube videos about zone offense. Ill play with the sugar packets at lunch, lining them up. I cant wait for practice; its my favorite part of the day.And while they diverge in personality in some key ways, McGraw shares this trait with UConn coach Geno Auriemma. He might not express it the same way -- Hey, I LOVE practice! -- and has talked about how important a presence associate head coach Chris Dailey is, because shes still such a stickler for details.But the truth is, Auriemma is a stickler, too, and if you ever watch him conduct a practice, youll see that. He doesnt miss anything and still really enjoys teaching basketball.This all speaks to why the UConn-Notre Dame matchups have been so compelling the past several years. And why everyone is looking forward to this seasons rendition Wednesday in South Bend, Indiana.The Huskies, coming off four NCAA titles and riding a 82-game winning streak, have moved back to No. 1 in The Associated Press poll, with Notre Dame at No. 2. The Fighting Irish started the season at No. 1 in the AP top 25 and have dropped despite not losing a game. They are 8-0 and UConn is 7-0; the Irish have beaten one ranked team thus far (Washington), the Huskies four (Florida State, Baylor, DePaul and Texas).It appears, based on the poll numbers, that when then-No. 3 South Carolina lost to Duke on Sunday, those voters who had the Gamecocks at No. 1 switched their votes to the Huskies. And at least one moved from the Irish to the Huskies. So this week, UConn -- which was espnWs No. 1 team in the preseason -- has 18 first-place votes to Notre Dames 15.These are the kinds of details, though, that are unimportant to Auriemma and McGraw. They are tuned into exactly how their teams are playing and what they need to improve. But even as the personnel changes for UConn and Notre Dame, their performances remain high quality.Its going to be fun the next couple of days preparing, Auriemma said after UConns victory over Texas on Sunday. Thats still one of my favorite things to do: prepare for good teams, especially on the road.The Huskies and the Irish are smart squads, always. Their coaches expect them to learn to think for themselves. Sure, Auriemma will make the usual wisecracks about a certain Huskies player not making a good pass all season, or another who moves too fast for her mind to keep up, etc. It has long been part of his shtick, and it works. He recruits players who understand the method and see how consistently it produces results.Auriemma and his assistants have excelled for decades now at recruiting the right fits for the UConn program. And its something that Notre Dame has refined, too.The Irish always have reflected McGraw: scrappy, intelligent, tough and a bit on the reserved side. They won the 2001 NCAA championship with a team that had each starter essentially personifying the most important traits of the position she played, from point guard to center.Yet even after that championship, the Irish retained an underdog mentality. That changed when guard Skylar Diggins stayed home in South Bend, Indiana, to play for the Irish from 2010 to 13.McGraw has talked about that a lot: how the overall confidence level of the program elevated. Notre Dame trails in the series 34-11, but had a stretch from April 2011 to March 13 -- the arc of Diggins career -- when the Irish beat the Huskies in seven of eight meetings.Unfortunately for the Irish, that didnt result in an NCAA title, and theyve lost their subsequent five meetings with UConn. Three of those came at the Final Four: in 2013 (semifinals), 14 (final), and 15 (final).Yet overall, the tone of the UConn-Notre Dame rivalry clearly was altered during Diggins time with the Irish -- in a good way, even if its been a bit testy.The programs dont reallly like each other, but there is mutual respect. Marqise Lee Womens Jersey. They both recognize the best qualities that each one of them brings to college sports in general, and womens basketball specifically.Auriemma can get on McGraws nerves, just as he used to with Tennessees Pat Summitt, although for different reasons. Summitt had a certain Southern decorum that typically didnt mesh that well with Auriemmas humorous Philly-style verbal sparring. (And, of course, they also had some heated recruiting battles.)McGraw, by contrast, is from the Philadelphia area, too, and understands exactly what Auriemma is doing. She just generally doesnt prefer to engage.To some degree, Auriemma has mellowed, as cliché as that sounds. He was moved to tears at the Final Four last April, reflecting on how much his team and coaches meant to him, and showed the real person underneath the clever wisecracks. The one his players remain devoted to long after they leave Storrs. He also sincerely was affected by Summitts struggle with Alzheimers disease and her death this past summer.But not only has Auriemma maintained his mastery of coaching basketball, he continues to somehow get even better. There are plenty of very good players who dont go to UConn, and several talented, motivated coaches out there. And yet, here Auriemma is at No. 1 again a year after losing the top three picks in the WNBA draft -- including Breanna Stewart, one of the best players in the history of college basketball.With Katie Lou Samuelson (19.1 PPG) and Napheesa Collier (19.0 PPG), the Huskies have sophomores who played their parts well as understudies last year. Auriemma wasnt sure how they or the other Huskies returners, including Kia Nurse (13.9 PPG) and Gabby Williams (10.3 PPG), would respond to having to carry the weight with Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck gone.So far, though, they havent missed a beat. UConn might have some concerns in how they handle opponents with a lot of size, but theyre also great at finding answers.The Irish have become particularly adept at recruiting and developing dynamic guards, and building around them. Sophomore Arike Ogunbowale leads the team in scoring (17.5 PPG). A lot of eyes also will be on Marina Mabrey (13.8 PPG), a sophomore who had 23 points at UConn last season, and freshman Jackie Young (10.2 PPG), who has a sky-high ceiling.This is also a big game for senior point guard Lindsay Allen (8.8 PPG, 7.5 APG) and junior forward Brianna Turner (13.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG). The rankings dont mean anything, really -- but it probably is a little motivating that the Irish fell to No. 2 despite being unbeaten.Wednesdays game is also a chance for the Notre Dame faithful to roar. The Irish crowd always gets up for facing UConn, and its become a consistently strong fan base for womens basketball. Notre Dame is averaging 8,037 per game this season at Purcell Pavilion, which has a capacity of 9,149.I would think its going to be a high level of intensity and energy in the crowd and in their team, Auriemma said. Were going to have to match that. Theyre deep, they have a lot of players. Were not so much right now.Five of the Huskies next six games are on the road, with three in the Midwest. Following Notre Dame, the Huskies go to Kansas State on Dec. 11. They return to Hartford, Connecticut, for Ohio State on Dec. 19, then play at Nebraska on Dec. 21.UConns second-to-last nonconference game is at Maryland on Dec. 29. The Huskies start the American Athletic Conference season at Central Florida on Jan. 1. Their only nonleague game after that is Feb. 13, when South Carolina visits Connecticut.Considering the Huskies domination of the American conference, these remaining games in December are all the more intriguing. UConn is nine victories away from breaking its own 90-game winning streak, and getting past Notre Dame obviously is the biggest hurdle remaining, along with the No. 4 Terps.So there is a lot on the line Wednesday, even as early as it is in the season. Its a matchup that has stood out on the schedule every year now, and thats a tribute to both programs. ' ' '