Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large NBC’s coverage of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games and Fox’s FIFA World Cup telecasts were the big winners Monday night at this year’s 44th annual Sports Emmy Awards, winning three Emmys each. ESPN, meanwhile, was the night’s biggest winner among outlets, pulling 13 Emmys. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded this year’s Sports Emmys at a ceremony at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. Bryant Gumbel will receive the lifetime achievement award for his role in sports journalism. The Sports Emmys took place even as the writers strike has led to the postponement of NATAS’ premiere Daytime Emmys telecast next month. “While we gather together, other parts of our television community stand divided tonight,” Adam Sharp, president & CEO of NATAS said during the ceremony. “You’ll note most of the typically scripted elements of our ceremony have been pared back in acknowledgment of, and respect for, the WGA-represented writers out on strike.”
