Simon's miracle basket doesn't impress voters

The Tulane junior was honored at the ESPY awards last night as the winner of the college basketball play of the year. His under-the-arm three-pointer to beat Florida State was chosen by fan balloting over Simon's thrilling buzzer-beater to beat Cincinnati at last year's 7-UP Shootout.

Comedian Bill Cosby, in his first live television appearance since his son was killed, honored baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson Monday in a serious moment on the usually irreverent ESPY awards show.

President Clinton also saluted Robinson and boxer Muhammad Ali was honored on the sporting awards program sponsored by cable network ESPN, a show generally filled with jocks struggling to make jokes.

Cosby beckoned the applauding Radio City Music Hall crowd to sit down when he took the stage an hour into the program.

''Hello, friends,'' he said. Cosby has swiftly moved back to work after the still-unsolved shooting death of his only son, Ennis, in Los Angeles.

Robinson, he said, ''was a sportsman in the truest sense of the word and a role model for millions of Americans.'' Cosby was warmly hugged by Robinson's widow, Rachel, and thanked for his support of the late baseball star's scholarship fund.

Robinson, a World Series hero with the Brooklyn Dodgers, broke baseball's color line in 1947 and was the first black ballplayer elected to the sport's Hall of Fame.

Another great second baseman, Joe Morgan, recalled walking up to Robinson once when he saw him at a baseball game and saying, ''thanks.'' Robinson greeted him with a smile.

''I'll never forget that smile, and I'll never forget Jackie Robinson,'' Morgan said.

Former heavyweight champion Ali, slowed by Parkinson's Syndrome, was given the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard and Olympic sprinting champion Michael Johnson both saluted Ali when picking up their own awards.

''I love you very much,'' Howard said. ''I love what you've done. I love what you stand for.''

The awards show sponsored by the ESPN cable network celebrated memorable sports moments of the past year like Dwight Gooden's no-hitter, Ohio State's last-minute Rose Bowl victory and Kerri Strug's Olympic vault into history.

It also ran tape of some lowlights, like Dennis Rodman kicking a photographer in the groin and a golfer vomiting on the course.

About three dozen ESPY trophies were handed out. Some of them were chosen by representatives of different sports, others by ESPN executives and 10 in balloting by about a half-million fans.

Golf prodigy Tiger Woods was named breakthrough athlete of the year, heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield was the comeback athlete of the year and Olympians Amy Van Dyken and Johnson won the outstanding female and male athletes of the year.

The World Series champion New York Yankees and their manager, Joe Torre, were named outstanding team and manager of the year, respectively.

''George, congratulations on getting rid of all those pesky World Series heroes,'' host Jeff Foxworthy told Yankees owner George Steinbrenner while walking through the audience.

Football star Howard paid wry tribute to the athletes and actors struggling to show they were witty and hip.

''I'd like to thank the ESPY for slowly turning into Comedy Central,'' he said.