Feb. 3, 2014 — Many of Chicago's most popular professional athletes will take center stage to receive honors at the 26th Annual Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois benefiting the March of Dimes. The annual reception, dinner & ceremony will be held on Monday, February 10th from 5:00-9:00 PM CT at the Hilton Chicago & Towers, 720 S. Michigan Avenue. Over the past 25 years, the Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards has raised over $10 million for the March of Dimes.
The honorees chosen are top athletes from Chicago's professional teams who have made considerable contributions to their teams, as well as the Chicago community. This year's honorees include Nazr Mohammed (“Bull of the Year”) - Welington Castillo (“Cub of the Year”) - Nate Jones (“White Sox of the Year”) - Patrick Sharp (“Blackhawk of the Year”) - Martellus Bennett (“Bear of the Year”) - Mike Magee (“Fire of the Year”) - and Stan Mikita (“Lifetime Achievement Award”). For the pinnacle moment of the evening, this year’s March of Dimes “Inspirational Athlete” award winner is 18-year-old Naperville, IL resident/Paralympic swimmer Alyssa Gialamas from Waubonsie Valley H.S. in Aurora, IL. Alyssa has persevered as a standout athlete, student and ambassador, despite being born with a birth defect.
The evening is also scheduled to include a special honor to the 2013 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, along with a tribute to Comcast SportsNet’s leader and longtime March of Dimes advocate, the late Jim Corno, Sr. (1947-2013).
Attendees at this year’s 26th Annual Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards will also be able to participate in a silent auction featuring Chicago sports packages and “Dream Day” tickets, vacation packages including airfare, autographed jerseys of star athletes, tickets for Chicago sports events, golf outings, spa packages, dinner packages, hotel stays and much more.
Dan Fields, President of Fields Auto Group is the event’s Honorary Chairman and Phil Bedella is the Vice President/General Manager of Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
Event sponsors include Comcast SportsNet, Fields Auto Group, Auto Trader, Bank of America and PricewaterHouse Coopers.
The event will begin with a reception at 5:00 PM, followed by dinner at 6:30 PM. The awards ceremony, which will be carried live on Comcast SportsNet in HD, starts at 7:30 PM (featuring emcee David Kaplan) with a special half-hour pre-show set to air at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $400 per person and sponsorships are available. To purchase tickets or to make a donation to the 26th Annual Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards, please contact Kate Adams at 312-596-4721 (kadams@marchofdimes.com) or visit CSNChicago.com/sportsawards26.