Perry to serve as host at The ESPYs   ESPN Press Release

Matthew Perry will serve as host at The 2005 ESPY Awards, it was announced by Ron Semiao, senior vice president of ESPN Original Entertainment. ESPN will televise the 13th annual industry-wide sports celebration Sunday, July 17 at 9 p.m. ET from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.

Best-known as an actor for the natural charm and quick-witted delivery he honed for 10 seasons on the smash hit television series Friends, Perry also is an avid tennis player with a lifelong love of sports. Perry played competitive tennis as a teen in Canada, earning the rank of No. 17 nationally in the junior singles category and No. 3 in the doubles competition. This will be his first time serving as host of The ESPY Awards, which will again be taped four days earlier (Wednesday, July 13).

In addition to his role as Chandler Bing on Friends, Perry has starred in the films The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards, Fools Rush In, Three to Tango, Almost Heroes and Serving Sara. He made his directorial debut with a 2004 episode of the NBC series Scrubs (in which he co-starred with his father, the actor John Bennett Perry), and also earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his recurring role on The West Wing.

Maura Mandt, the show's senior coordinating producer said, "This is my 10th ESPYs, and we've never had a more complete lineup, more compelling sports stories or a more enthusiastic host. I have no doubt that the excitement and energy Matthew brings to everything he does will make the night something truly special for both avid and casual sports fans."

For the first time this year, nominations for The ESPY Awards will be announced on "Nomination Friday" -- Friday, June 24 -- a daylong event that will break the nomination news throughout ESPN's many platforms. Starting at 8 a.m., the "Best in Sport" nominees will be announced on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning, the hugely popular syndicated sports radio show hosted by Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg (Erik Kuselias will be filling in for Greenberg). At 8:10 a.m. fan voting will begin at www.espn.com. After Mike and Mike, the announcement ball will be passed throughout the ESPN network -- from ESPNEWS to ESPN.com chats with celebrities and athletes, and ESPN360, all the way to The ESPY Nomination Show presented by GMC at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN from the ESPN Zone in Anaheim.

The ESPY Awards
The ESPY Awards gather top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements, reliving unforgettable moments and saluting the leading performers and performances. And for the second year in the event's 13-year history, fans will determine the winners in all categories.

The 2005 ESPY Awards will include both sport-specific awards such as Best MLB Player and Best Women's Tennis Player and distinguishing cross-cutter awards, categories that pit different sports against each other, such as Best Team or Best Female Athlete. In addition, the Arthur Ashe Courage Award is presented annually to individuals whose contributions transcend sports. The ESPY Awards are committed to the advancement of The V Foundation for Cancer Research, established by ESPN with the late Jim Valvano and announced at the inaugural ESPY Awards in 1993.