Nickandmore!

Last night, Nickelodeon presented their first ever Kids’ Choice Sports awards, hosted by retired NFL defensive end and current Live with Kelly and Michael co-host Michael Strahan.

The inaugural event scored 2.3 million total viewers, slightly more than this year’s ESPY Awards on ESPN (2.2 million).

Below is a rundown of the winners, as well as more information of the event, attendees and ratings (all via press releases):

Kids’ Choice Sports 2014 winners

BEST MALE ATHLETE
Kevin Durant (NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder)

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE
Gabby Douglas (USA Gymnastics)

FAVORITE NEWCOMER
Russell Wilson (NFL, Seattle Seahawks)

FAVORITE CATCH
Dez Bryant (NFL, Dallas Cowboys)

BEST SAVE
Tim Howard (English club Everton and the United States Men’s National Team)

CLUTCH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Carmelo Anthony (NBA, New York Knicks)

SICKEST MOVES
Alex Morgan (NWSL, Portland Thorns)

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME AWARD
Shaun White (American professional snowboarder and skateboarder)

SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT
Seattle Seahawks Fans

PARTY LIKE A SPORTS STAR (Best Victory Celebration)
Victor Cruz (NFL, New York Giants)

KING OF SWAG
Dwyane Wade (NBA, Miami Heat)

QUEEN OF SWAG
Gabby Douglas (USA Gymnast)

BIGGEST CANNON
Serena Williams (WTA)

FAVORITE COMEBACK ATHLETE
Bethany Hamilton (Surfer)

Events

World-renowned athlete David Beckham was presented with Kids’ Choice Sports’ first Legend Award, a gold mohawked blimp, for his incredible talent and outstanding sportsmanship on the field.  Adding to his list of accomplishments, Beckham also received the first-ever gold sliming in Kids’ Choice history with his sons Romeo and Cruz.

In a thrilling half-time show filled with music, athleticism and slime, award-winning country stars Florida Georgia Line rewarded fans with a performance medley of their smash hits “Cruise” and “This is How We Roll,” followed by a thorough drenching of the mosh pit.  In a live vote during the show, kids decided on the contents–maple syrup, whipped cream or slime–of the giant dunk tanks in the “Verizon Power Dunk” competition.  Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald prevailed, dunking Seattle Seahawks defensive back Earl Thomas III in a giant tank of green goo, only to be dunked himself by Strahan.  Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler, basketball forward Metta World Peace, and The Haunted Hathaways star Benjamin “Lil’ P-Nut’’ Flores Jr. cheered on 15-year-old Ricardo Jacobo Jr. in the “Kids’ Choice Sports  Half-Court Shot Contest” who landed the $50,000 grand prize.

Additional highlights from the sports celebration include: Super Bowl XLVIII champion Marshawn Lynch (Seattle Seahawks) running an epic football play into a pool of slime with a KCS trophy; Will Arnett (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie) and New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist going head to head in a hockey shoot-out; a cross-arena football pass by sports trick shot group Dude Perfect; and an exhilarating grand finale featuring multi-Grammy Award-winner Pharrell Williams who performed his chart-topping hit “Happy.”

Ratings

Nick’s first-year Awards won the night with kids 2-11, 6-11 and tweens, but also handily outperformed the prior evening’s ESPYs with kids 2-11 by triple digits (850%) and edged out a win with total viewers by +5% (KCS’s 2.3MM total viewers v. ESPYs 2.2MM).  This makes Kids’ Choice Sports stand as the biggest must-see sports awards telecast.

Kids’ Choice Sports earned a 3.8/1.2 million with Kids 2-11, up +52% from last year. With kids 6-11, it posted a 5.2/1.0 MM, up +68%. Among tweens, it garnered a 4.2/848,000, up +83%. The show’s total viewer average of 2.3 MM represents a +37% increase over last year’s time period, as well.