12th Annual SBAs A Great Night In N.Y., With Some Atlanta Flavor

Wolfson served as emcee for the night, marking the second time the awards have had a formal hostMARC BRYAN-BROWN

The hardware and accolades were spread around at the 12th annual Sports Business Awards last night, as the industry came together for a big evening. The event was rocking early, with SI's Amy Campbell hosting the red carpet, streamed on a live feed for the first time. CBS' Tracy Wolfson did a fantastic job as emcee steering the awards, which went around two hours. She joked early about breaking the glass ceiling for women hosting the SBAs, which drew big applause. She then quickly followed up with a punchline about being only the second host for the event (Mike Tirico emceed last year as the first ever master of ceremonies). Anyone and everyone in the industry was gathered at the Marriott Marquis. Many attendees showed up early to pregame for the event and mingle with colleagues and acquaintances from the business. Octagon's David Schwab called the event "first class."

HONORED GUESTS: When the night turned to trophies, guests saw new industry faces, stalwarts and pioneers take to the stage. Soccer took home a few wins, including MLS' Don Garber for top exec and Atlanta United for best team. The second-year MLS club also saw its home venue of Mercedes-Benz Stadium win for top facility. The NBA kept up its run of success at the event, taking home League of the Year for the fourth time. It was a great night for new tech, as ESPN+ and the Clippers/Second Spectrum's CourtVision both won awards. MGM Resorts Int'l took home the award in the Breakthrough category, but it was also a breakthrough night for Wasserman, which won its first SBA in corporate consulting.

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ONCE IN A LIFETIME: Tim Finchem was as deferential as ever when accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award, going to great lengths in his speech to heap praise on his predecessor, Deane Beman, as well his successor, Jay Monahan. While many may have wanted Finchem to have more time in the spotlight on stage, it's just not his style. As was noted this week in SBJ, it took a while to convince Finchem to even accept the honor. When SBJ's Abe Madkour and John Lombardo visited with him at PGA Tour HQ, Finchem spent much of time focused on others like Beman, Monahan, Tiger Woods, Hale Irwin and Davis Love III.

LOUD & PROUD: For a sport where fans are often hushed at critical moments, the USTA erupted in perhaps the loudest table celebration of the night as the U.S. Open Tennis Championships won Event of the Year. The group went nuts when the award was announced. Once on stage, USTA CEO & Exec Dir Gordon Smith, who is set to retire this year, called the win "shocking" and admitted he did not have an acceptance speech prepared. It was one of the biggest groups of the night, with a photographer struggling to fit them all in a picture. But the USTA wasn't alone in having a big contingent on stage, as the NBA and ESPN also had healthy presences for their respective wins.

TWITTER REAX: AMB Group Senior VP & Chief Communications Officer Brett Jewkes: "Amazing run at #SBJAwards. 2018: Sports Executive (Arthur Blank); Sports Breakthrough (MBS Food/Beverage). 2019: Sports Facility (#MBStadium); Team of the Year (Atlanta United). Proud of our owner, organization, colleagues and Atlanta!" ESPN VP/Corporate Communications Mike Soltys: "Great night at the #SBJAwards. After the first win for ESPN+, no more hardware for us. But the NBA’s Mike Bass grabbed some." Monumental Sports & Entertainment Senior VP/Strategic Initiatives Zach Leonsis: "Congrats to the @NBA for being named 'League of the Year.' ... An amazing team!" Flyers Dir of Marketing Sarah Schwab: "HUGE congrats to our very own @GrittyNHL, who took home Best in Sports Social Media." Twitter Head of U.S. Content Partnerships Laura Froelich: "I’m so grateful for this award. Thank you SBJ, our incredible @TwitterSports team of whom I’m beyond proud, and our partners, without whom there’s no way we win this." USTA Managing Dir of Partnership Marketing Deanne Pownall: "US Open is Event of the Year at #sbjawards. So proud to be part of this fantastic event and honored to work with so many talented people!"