21st Annual Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards to be Televised Live  on Comcast SportsNet on Monday, February 9th at 7:30 PM

(Chicago – January 7, 2009) – Some of Chicago's best-known professional athletes will take center stage to receive honors at the 21st Annual Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards presented by Navistar to benefit the March of Dimes.  The dinner will be held on Monday, February 9th, 5 – 9 p.m. at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago.  The emcee is Chicago radio legend and personality Steve Dahl.

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 Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks, John Danks of the White Sox, Greg Olson of the Chicago Bears, Brian McBride of the Chicago Fire, Drew Gooden of the Bulls, and Reed Johnson of the Chicago Cubs. In addition, Bobby Hull, former Chicago Blackhawks left wing, is the “Lifetime Achievement Award” recipient.  This year’s “Farmers Insurance Inspirational Athlete” award winner is Stella McMillan, an 11-year-old congenital amputee, whose perseverance and determination earned her a spot in an outdoor adventure trip in Colorado with the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center in 2007 where her enthusiasm inspired both campers and staff. Among her many athletic activities, Stella excels at baseball, cycling, swimming, kayaking, golf, yoga, horseback riding, and water skiing.

The 900-plus expected attendees for the 21st Annual Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards will also be able to participate in a silent auction featuring Chicago sports packages featuring Cubs Dream Day tickets including batting practice, a chance to throw the first pitch at Wrigley Field, vacation packages including airfare, autographed jerseys of Lebron James and Wayne Gretsky, tickets for the White Sox Diamond Suite, a golf outing at Medinah Country Club, tickets to Chicago sports events, and much more including spa packages, dinner packages & hotel stays.

Daniel C. Ustian, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Navistar International Corporation, the parent company of Warrenville, Illinois-based International Truck and Engine Corporation, is the honorary chair of the Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards. William T. Barry, Senior Vice President of Draper & Kramer is the event’s Chairman and James J. Corno is the President of Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

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, starts at 7:30 PM and is sponsored by Four Seasons Air and Cooling.  Tickets are $300 per person. Tables with preferred seating for 10 are $4,000 each. Regular tables of 10 are available for $3,000.  To purchase tickets to the Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards, call Amanda Condon at (312) 596-4722 or visit csnsportsawards.com.
Celebrating its 21st anniversary, the Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards has raised more than $6 million for the March of Dimes over the past two decades.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health.  With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies.  For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. 

Comcast SportsNet operates 10 sports networks that cover more than 2,400 live sporting events annually and deliver comprehensive sports news and analysis to 40 million cable and satellite homes.  Comcast SportsNet’s networks are: Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, Comcast SportsNet West, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, SportsNet New York, FSN Bay Area, The Mtn. – Mountain West Sports Network, and CSS.  These networks provide live game coverage of 18 professional teams, as well as college, minor league and other sports.  For more information, see ComcastSportsNet.com.