Today marks the slowest day on the sports calendar. There are a variety of sporting events, but the big four sports are out of commission for the day. Major League Baseball picks back up on Friday following the All Star break.
SB Nation put together a video on what you can get out of this free day, but there is also one other notable thing happening: the ESPYs. I say notable, if only because people know what it is. Notable does not in fact mean it is something I'll be watching. This year is kind of a big deal with Caitlynn Jenner getting the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, but otherwise, it is like any other awards show: a lot of navel-gazing and back-slapping.
The show will include the usual opening monologue, and that is one reason to remember the ESPYs. The greatest monologue in awards show history took place at the 1998 ESPYs. Norm MacDonald was the host, and he put together a monologue that I feel will never be topped. It got him banned from ESPN, but had to be entirely worth it for him.
The jokes are dated, but many are still hysterical. He concludes with an O.J. joke that had Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey, Jr. cringing in the front row, and still has me laughing to this day. The whole monologue is worth watching, but the final 45 seconds are spectacular.