July 17, 2004

BRISTOL, CONN. - North Carolina soccer stars Catherine Reddick and Mia Hamm and Tar Heel Larry Brown, coach of the NBA champion Detroit Pistons, are amongst the finalists at the 2004 ESPY Awards, televised from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on ESPN Sunday, July 18 at 9 p.m. ET.

Reddick, who graduated from Carolina this spring, is one of the five finalists in the category of Best Female College Athlete, joining Alana Beard of Duke, Diana Taurasi of Connecticut, Tara Kirk of Stanford and Jessica Van der Linden of Florida State in the category.

Hamm. a 1994 alumna, has been tapped as a finalist in Best Female Soccer Player area where her competition isncludes Maren Meinert and Birgit Prinz of Germany as well as Abby Wambach and Brianna Scurry of the U.S.

Brown, a '63 Tar Heel alumnus, has been nominated in the category of Best Coach/Manager. Other nominees are Geno Auriemma of the Unniversity of Connecticut, Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots, Jack McKeon of the Florida Marlins and Bob Ladouceur of De La Salle High School football fame.

The 12th annual ESPY Awards Presented by GMC and Under Armour will gather sports and entertainment celebrities to recognize top achievements, relive memorable moments and salute the best performers. Actor/comedian Jamie Foxx will host. The awards include 19 cross-cutters categories -- which pit athletes from different sports against each other - as well as 17 individual sport categories.

Several cross-cutter candidates are related to some of the year's top champions and Best Team nominees: the Patriots, Marlins, Pistons, Lightning, UConn Men's and Women's Basketball.

Competing against Armstrong for Best Male Athlete are Barry Bonds, who Armstrong edged out last year, as well as Tom Brady, Kevin Garnett and Peyton Manning. For Best Female, tennis star Justine Henin-Hardenne may become the third straight tennis star to win the award (2002: Venus Williams, 2003: Serena Williams). She will compete against Annika Sorenstam and Diana Taurasi, who were both nominated in the category last year.

Also during the ESPY Awards, the Arthur Ashe Courage Award is presented annually to individuals whose contributions transcend sports. This year's honor will go to Liberian-born UNICEF Ambassador George Weah, Africa's all-time greatest soccer star who has, at great risk, worked tirelessly to help his war-torn country.