2021 SPEEDYLEEWAY AWARDS

 

THE POISON IN THE WELL AWARD: To the COVID-19 Virus.

THE NEWSMAKER OF THE YEAR AWARD: To the COVID-19 Virus.

PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD: First responders, medical professionals and others who faced the virus every day on the one hand and treated those who became infected on the other. A Speedylee thanks for everything you’ve done and are still doing.

CALM IN THE STORM AWARD: No question, this one goes to Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio. This one wasn’t even close. DeWine was head and shoulders above the crowd. His even-keel demeanor, his evident pride in his state and his ability to forge a government-private sector partnership that enabled Ohio to respond to problems brought on by the virus crises with solutions that were within Ohio’s borders all combined to make him a winner here. It was can do and he did.

THE UNITED STATES FOOTBALL LEAGUE TRAIN WRECK AWARD: Donald John Trump, soon-to-be former President of the United States.

PERFORMING WHEN IT COUNTS AWARD: The United States Census Bureau, which completed its job despite a world-wide pandemic and a growing national distaste for governmental functions.

THAT BLOODY HILL AWARD: To Susannah J. Ural, Professor of History at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Ural is a tenacious researcher and a brilliant speaker. This annual award goes to Civil War historians of note.

DRIVER OF THE YEAR AWARD: Co-winners, Takuma Sato for his thrilling victory in the Indianapolis 500 and Lewis Hamilton for setting numerous records on his way to his seventh Formula One championship.

THE GOLDEN BOOT AWARD: To Vanderbilt University kicker Sarah Fuller, who volunteered when her school needed her. Nice job. This is a reoccurring, but not annual, award. Fuller is the second person to win this award. The first was kicker Ella McDonald of Imperial (California) High School in 2019.

BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD: Bullets, Babes, and Baseball by Lee Elder and Buck Weber. Available on Kindle.

BOOK COVER OF THE YEAR AWARD: To Sean McEntee for the cover of Bullets, Babes, and Baseball.

MOVIE OF THE YEAR AWARD: To the gritty World War I epic, 1917.

INTERVIEWER OF THE YEAR AWARD: Caren Glasser on her podcast, Caren Glasser Live.

SPORTS PODCAST OF THE YEAR: Sports Forgotten Heroes, hosted by Warren Rogan.

I CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW AWARD: To the LA Dodgers for their first World Series victory since broadcaster Jack Buck said those immortal words in 1988.

WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING AWARD: To everyone involved with the storming of the field at Notre Dame Stadium after the Fighting Irish’s football victory over Clemson. From the people in the grandstands to the (mostly absent) security personnel to the fools in state government who elected to allow attendance at sporting events to begin with, this was among the dumbest things Americans did after the arrival of the virus in the US.

NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE IT AWARD: The motorcycle rally in South Dakota. The dumbest thing Americans did after the arrival of the virus in the US.