The 20th annual Greater Cleveland Sports Awards are scheduled to take place tonight, Jan. 22, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Hosted by ESPN’s Mike Golic, the show will, theoretically, showcase the best sports that the Cleveland area has to offer. If you didn’t shell out $350 for a ticket to see it in person, you can stream the show live online for free.
Among the awards will be the Dolan family, including of course Indians owners Paul and Larry Dolan, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award. In the middle of forcing the team they have owned for 20 years to cut payroll and dump the salary of their two-time Cy Young Award winner for a bullpen pitcher and salary relief, the Dolan family will honored for their lifetime of achievements.
To their credit, the Dolan family have kept the Indians in Cleveland and have done what it takes to retain a consistent front office and organizational structure. Once upon a time they opened up the budget and allowed the team to sign Edwin Encarnación. In all honesty, it’s not a terrible thing that they are getting some kind of award for all they’ve done for the Indians and Cleveland in general. But optics wise, it sure is a rough time to be giving them a trophy for anything.
I highly recommend checking out the latest Selby is Godcast from The Athletic’s Zack Meisel and T.J. Zuppe of Cleveland Baseball Insider for a nuanced discussion of the Dolan family’s award. They talk about why it makes sense, why it doesn’t, and why it’s a damn shame that the former Cavaliers broadcaster Fred McLeod wasn’t given the honor after his untimely death last September.
Aside from the Dolan family, the Indians aren’t well represented in this year’s awards. Roberto Pérez is up for professional athlete of the year, and that’s it. He’s up against Nick Chubb, who was arguably the best running back in the NFL last season, and Stipe Miocic, who beat Daniel Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in August. Collin Sexton is also there.
The Indians could technically also win Moment of the Year, but the nonimees haven’t yet been announced. Perhaps Shane Bieber hosting the All-Star MVP trophy? We’ll find out soon.