The Second Annual People’s Sports TV Awards Winners

5) Best Studio Anchor

Winner: Ernie Johnson (TNT)

Second: Chris Fowler (ESPN)

Third: Bob Ley (ESPN)

Another close contest, but again it’s Inside the NBA that takes home a People’s Award.  EJ bested not just Chris Fowler and Bob Ley, but other strong candidates like Rebecca Lowe, Rece Davis, and Liam McHugh.

6) Best Studio Analyst

Winner: Charles Barkley (TNT)

Second: Jay Bilas (ESPN)

Third: Gabe Kapler (FS1)

Make it a clean sweep for Inside the NBA!  Sir Charles didn’t have quite the depth in competition that EJ had, but it was a close head to head race with the also-excellent Jay Bilas.  Going up against Charles Barkley in this category is like trying to beat turn-of-the-century Tiger Woods in a major.

7) Best Play by Play Announcer

Winner: Doc Emrick (NBC)

Second: Ian Darke (ESPN)

Third: Dan Shulman (ESPN)

Is there any announcer more universally liked in sports than Doc Emrick?  May and June is his time to shine with the NHL Playoffs in full gear.  He was the clear pick for both the panel and the people in a very deep category ahead of names like Darke, Shulman, Tirico, and Breen.

8) Best Game Analyst

Winner: Cris Collinsworth (NBC)

Second: Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN)

Third: Bill Raftery (CBS/FS1)

To give you a taste of how close this vote was, five analysts finished within six percentage points of one another after weighing the final vote tallies.  However, the same person topped both categories.  Cris Collinsworth finished just one vote ahead of Kirk Herbstreit in the reader vote and one point ahead of Bill Raftery in our expert panel.  Steve Kerr, Jeff Van Gundy, and John McEnroe also rated highly.

9) Best Sideline Reporter/Analyst

Winner: Craig Sager (TNT)

Second: Doris Burke (ESPN)

Third: David Feherty (CBS)

The colorful TNT personality rode a major wave of fan support to take home the award for best sideline reporter.  There’s been good news in his battle to overcome leukemia and we continue to wish the best for Sages in his hopes he’ll come back soon to match wits with Gregg Popovich.

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