| | Arthur Ashe Courage Award: John Carlos and Tommie Smith, 1968 Olympic medalists |
| | Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Kevin Everett, former Buffalo Bills TE |
| | Best comeback: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers |
| | Best Female Athlete: Candace Parker, Tennessee Basketball/Los Angeles Sparks |
| | Best Male Athlete: Tiger Woods, Golf |
| | Best Moment: “Great Sportsmanship” (Central Washington University’s Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace, Western Oregon University’s Sara Tucholsky) |
| | Best Team: Boston Celtics |
| | Best Coach/Manager: Pat Summitt, Tennessee Women’s Basketball |
| | Best Game: New York Giants over New England Patriots at the Super Bowl |
| | Best Championship Performance: Tiger Woods, 2008 U.S. Open |
| | Best Play: New York Giants Eli Manning’s pass to David Tyree at the Super Bowl |
| | Best Finish: Western Kentucky over Drake in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, winning on a buzzer beater by Ty Rogers |
| | Best Upset: New York Giants over New England Patriots at the Super Bowl |
| | Best Breakthrough Athlete: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings |
| | Best Record Breaking Performance: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers |
| | Best Sports Movie: Semi-Pro |
| | Best Male College Athlete: Tim Tebow, Florida Football |
| | Best Female College Athlete: Candace Parker, Tennessee Basketball |
| | Best Male Athlete With a Disability: Ryan Kocer, Wrestling (Wagner, SD) |
| | Best Female Athlete With a Disability: Shay Oberg, Softball (Montana State-Billings) |
| | Best International Male Athlete: Rafael Nadal, Tennis |
| | Best International Female Athlete: Lorena Ochoa, Golf |
| | Best Baseball Player: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees |
| | Best NBA Player: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers |
| | Best WNBA Player: Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm |
| | Best NFL Player: Tom Brady, New England Patriots |
| | Best NHL Player: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| | Best MLS Player: David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy |
| | Best Male Action Sport Athlete: Shaun White, Skateboarding/Snowboarding |
| | Best Female Action Sport Athlete: Gretchen Bleiler, Snowboarding |
| | Best Bowler: Norm Duke |
| | Best Driver: Jimmie Johnson |
| | Best Fighter: Floyd Mayweather, Boxing |
| | Best Golfer: Tiger Woods |
| | Best Jockey: Kent Desormeaux |
| | Best Outdoor Athlete: Captain Scott Smiley, Mountain Climber |
| | Best Male Tennis Player: Roger Federer |
| | Best Female Tennis Player: Maria Sharapova |
| | Best Track and Field Athlete: Tyson Gay |