The Sportsish Tonys
Broadway's biggest night, the 78th annual Tony Awards, lit up Radio City Music Hall this past Sunday. While sports were initially created as a form of military preparation, they quickly evolved into entertainment, with performances that left fans on their feet. This past year, we’ve witnessed countless moments that “defied gravity” and raised the bar. So, “raise a glass” because it's time to honor the athletic acts that stole the show with the inaugural ‘Sportsish Tonys’!
The stage setup for the 78th Tony Awards (Charles Sykes/AP Photo)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Jalen Hurts
Jalen Hurts celebrating his Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Jalen Hurts is the definition of an ideal leader, which is one of the reasons why he was crowned MVP of Super Bowl LIX. He never gets rattled, despite the stakes of this past championship, trying to stop the Kansas City Chiefs from three-peating. He led the Philadelphia Eagles to a blowout win, connecting 17 of 22 passes and recording the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a Super Bowl (72). Just like actor Darren Criss, who took home the Tony for Maybe Happy Ending on Sunday, this was definitely Hurts’ “Maybe Happy Ending” to an incredible season by the Eagles.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role: Nyara Sabally
Every great production has the contributions of an actor who might not be on the marquee but is still invaluable to the show. Nyara Sabally of the New York Liberty delivered what is one of the most critical and clutch performances in franchise history. Having only logged 15 minutes in the entirety of the semifinal series against the Las Vegas Aces, Sabally played 17 of the greatest minutes in her career in Game 5 of the Finals. She recorded 13 points and 7 rebounds, but her most impactful contribution was her defense on Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier (who, ironically enough, was named the 2024 defensive player of the year). If you didn’t know her then, you do now!
Not to mention, Nyara and a few of her teammates went to see Hell’s Kitchen on Broadway earlier in the season, so it’s only fitting that the Sportsish Tony goes to her!
Best Play: Coco Gauff
For a category that recognizes a complete performance in its entirety, who else could we give it to other than 21-year-old Coco Gauff after winning her first French Open? Her journey was far from easy, and she has faced tough defeats in some of the biggest moments of her career, but that’s what prepared her for this moment. Facing top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka for the 11th time is not easy, but Coco came into this Final with a different sense of mental toughness, one that is built with age and experience.
With the environmental conditions not ideal, only the strongest would survive, and Coco was able to fight through the weather and any pressure placed on her by Sabalenka. When she was able to come back from a 40-0 deficit to win one of the games, that’s when we knew that the “underdog” status didn’t mean anything. Now, she has a Suzanne Lenglen Cup and a Sportsish Tony to her name!
Best Direction: Geno Auriemma
Geno Auriemma celebrating his 12th National Championship (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
He’s the winningest coach in NCAA history for a reason. This past season, Coach Geno Auriemma led the UConn Huskies to their 12th victory in the Women’s National Championship. With the help of associate head coach Chris Dailey, UConn blew out the reigning champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks, after defeating them earlier in the year to snap their home win streak. The past few years were not easy for the team, as the injury bug affected many of their star players; however, they finally recognized the championship window and leveraged the “power of friendship” to take them all the way. They did it in the most dominating way, which is very fitting for one of the best basketball programs in the country.
Best Original Score: Texas Longhorn Softball
The Longhorns hold their first National Championship trophy in history (Kyle Phillips/AP Photo)
While the "Best Original Score" award is music-based, for the Sportsish Tony's, we're switching it up. There is nothing quite like a championship-deciding game, especially for a sport that deserves more love! This past weekend, the Texas Longhorns defeated Texas Tech in the Women’s College World Series, winning their first softball championship in history. It was a dominant performance, with Texas leading 10-0 in only the fourth inning and preventing Texas Tech from making a significant push throughout the rest of the game. The impact of “Most Outstanding Player,” Teagan Kavan, is one of the reasons why this team was able to contend for a championship. This is truly a “score” that the team will never forget!
Best Revival of a Play: Tyrese Haliburton
In the world of theater, this Tony goes to a play (or musical) that was previously on Broadway but has been reinvigorated into an outstanding production. Here at Sportsish, the award is going to someone who “revived” his team, not letting the curtain close. It’s not hard to guess that the player is Tyrese Haliburton. While it was a collective team effort to climb back from all the deficits they faced, Haliburton was able to seal the deal with not one but four clutch shots thus far in the NBA postseason. The best part: In an anonymous survey conducted by The Athletic, Tyrese was voted “most overrated player” in the league by his peers. Surely, watching Haliburton and the Pacers in the playoffs has left those players speechless.
*Bonus* Best Choreography: Charm La’Donna (Kendrick Lamar)
We couldn’t give out Sportsish Tonys without recognizing the iconic Super Bowl LIX halftime performance. On the biggest stage in sports, the athletes weren’t the only ones who showed up; Kendrick Lamar and his dancers did, too. Paying homage to the city of Compton, the performance was a powerful critique of equality and social justice in America. The actual award for “Best Choreography,” however, goes to Charm La’Donna, who was the mastermind behind this show, in addition to Kendrick’s current tour with SZA. Women really can do everything. Who knows, maybe one day, this work will be featured in a jukebox musical!
Cynthia Erivo at the 78th Tony Awards (Charlie Sykes/AP Photo)
That’s a wrap on the Sportsish Tonys! This past year in sports has been filled with countless athletes who turned their fields and courts into remarkable stages, where we hoped to say that we were in the “room where it happened”!