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Perez Nominated for Kids’ Choice Sports Awards

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Salvador Perez has a golden glove… But does he have golden hands? 

The 26-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Kansas City Royals has earned a nomination for this year’s Kids’ Choice Sports Awards.

Salvador Perez

Perez, a four-time MLB All-Star, three-time Gold Glove Award winner and the World Series Most Valuable Player in 2015, is nominated in the Hands of Gold category.

But Perez isn’t the only Latino athlete nominated…

Soccer star Lionel Messi is nominated in the Sickest Moves category.

Meanwhile, professional skateboarder Leticia Bufoni is nominated in the Queen of Swag category.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will take the stage at UCLA‘s Pauley Pavilion to host the Kids’ Choice Sports Awards on Sunday, July 17.

Fans can vote for their favorite sports star through the use of online voting on both Nick.com and the Nick app starting Monday, May 23.

Tune in on July 17 at 8:00 pm ET, 9:30 pm PT on Nickelodeon to find out which sports star takes home the most orange, mohawked blimps.

Here are this year’s nominees:

Best Male Athlete
Bryce Harper (MLB, Washington Nationals)
Cam Newton (NFL, Carolina Panthers)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer, Real Madrid C.F.)
Kyle Busch (NASCAR)
LeBron James (NBA, Cleveland Cavaliers)
Stephen Curry (NBA, Golden State Warriors)

Best Female Athlete
Alex Morgan (NWSL, Orlando Pride)
Elena Delle Donne (WNBA, Chicago Sky)
Jamie Anderson (Professional Snowboarder)
Katie Ledecky (Competitive Swimmer)
Lydia Ko (Professional Golfer)
Serena Williams (WTA)

Favorite Newcomer
Jewell Loyd (WNBA, Seattle Storm)
Karl-Anthony Towns (NBA, Minnesota Timberwolves)
Kristaps Porzingis (NBA, New York Knicks)
Simone Biles (Professional Artistic Gymnast)
Taylor Fritz (WTA)
Todd Gurley (NFL, Los Angeles Rams)

Hands of Gold



Andrelton Simmons (MLB, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
Antonio Brown (NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers)
Corey Crawford (NHL, Chicago Blackhawks)
Odell Beckham Jr. (NFL, New York Giants)
Rob Gronkowski (NFL, New England Patriots)
Salvador Perez (MLB, Kansas City Royals)

Clutch Player of the Year



Carli Lloyd (NWSL, Houston Dash)
James Harden (NBA, Houston Rockets)
Kevin Durant (NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder)
Patrick Kane (NHL, Chicago Blackhawks)
Peyton Manning (NFL, Denver Broncos)
Stephen Curry (NBA, Golden State Warriors)

Sickest Moves
Alexander Ovechkin (NHL, Washington Capitals)
Kyrie Irving (NBA, Cleveland Cavaliers)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona and the Argentina Men’s National Team)
Odell Beckham Jr. (NFL, New York Giants)
Russell Westbrook (NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder)
Stephen Curry (NBA, Golden State Warriors

Don’t Try This At Home Award



Alise Post (Professional BMX Racer)
Ashley Caldwell (Professional Aerial Skier)
Danny Davis (Professional Snowboarder)
Nyjah Huston (Professional Skateboarder)
Ronda Rousey (UFC, MMA Fighter)
Satoko Miyahara (Professional Figure Skater)

King of Swag


Andre Iguodala (NBA, Golden State Warriors)
Antonio Brown (NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers)
Cam Newton (NFL, Carolina Panthers)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer, Real Madrid C.F.)
Russell Westbrook (NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder)
Von Miller (NFL, Denver Broncos)

Queen of Swag



Caroline Wozniacki (WTA)
Elena Delle Donne (WNBA, Chicago Sky)
Leticia Bufoni (Professional Skateboarder)
Misty Copeland (Professional Ballet Dancer)
Skylar Diggins (WNBA, Dallas Wings)
Swintayla “Swin” Cash (WNBA, New York Liberty)

Best Cannon



Aaron Rodgers (NFL, Green Bay Packers)
Bryce Harper (MLB, Washington Nationals)
Novak Djokovic (ATP)
Russell Wilson (NFL, Seattle Seahawks)
Serena Williams (WTA)
Tom Brady (NFL, New England Patriots)



Biggest Powerhouse


Draymond Green (NBA, Golden State Warriors)
Holly Holm (UFC, MMA Fighter)
J. Watt (NFL, Houston Texans)
Prince Fielder (MLB, Texas Rangers)
Rob Gronkowski (NFL, New England Patriots)
Von Miller (NFL, Denver Broncos)

Need for Speed
Usain Bolt (Professional Track and Field Athlete)
Candace Hill (Professional Track and Field Athlete)
Billy Hamilton (MLB, Cincinnati Reds)
Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR)
Ted Ligety (Alpine Ski Racer)
Chloe Kim (Professional Snowboarder)

Aguayo Drafted in the Second Round of the NFL Draft

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Roberto Aguayo is headed to the National Football League…

The 21-year-old Latino kicker, who played for Florida State, was picked in the second round of the NFL draft.

Roberto Aguayo

Aguayo, the 59th pick overall, was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming the highest-drafted kicker since Mike Nugent in 2005.

The NFL’s lengthened extra point has put new emphasis on the play, now effectively a 33-yard attempt. Aguayo was perfect on his 198 PATs in college. More pertinent, the 2013 Lou Groza Award winner was 69-for-78 (88.5%) on field-goal tries and didn’t miss on any of his 49 attempts inside 40 yards.

Aguayo, quarterback Jameis Winston‘s teammate at FSU, expressed a desire to play for the Bucs and seems likely to hold the job for years to come.

But Aguayo wasn’t the only Latino footballer picked during this year’s NFL draft…

Blake Martinez is headed to the Green Bay Packers…

The Packers selected the Latino inside from Stanford with the 131st pick, which arrived late in the fourth round, and contained a bit of a premonition from his mother, Carrisa Martinez.

“The funny part of it was, (my mom) was always telling me throughout the process, she was like, ‘I believe you’re going to end up at the Packers,'” Martinez said on a conference call. “And obviously it was just a lucky guess type of thing, but it’s just funny. My mom said right after, ‘Moms are always right.’ And I’ll take it.”

When his moment arrived, Martinez donned a green Packers hat and matching gray T-shirt, and immediately posted a family photo on social media. His father, Marc, had bought the gear in a pre-draft shopping spree that accumulated gear from all 32 teams — just in case.

Martinez, who stands 6 feet 1 1/2 inches and weighs 240 pounds, earned All-American honors in 2015 and was also named first-team all-Pac-12.

He recorded a team-high 141 tackles last season, and his 10.1 tackles per game led the conference.

The Packers, according to director of football operations Eliot Wolf, were enamored of Martinez’s all-around game. He flashed the ability to blitz, evidenced by 13 1/2 tackles for loss and 6 1/2 sacks over the last two years. He expressed confidence in his ability to cover, and Martinez said he served as the main coverage linebacker in nickel and dime packages last season. His 40-yard dash time of 4.67 seconds is far from blazing, but Wolf said the Packers have no qualms about his mobility or range.

“I felt like this last year I improved tremendously on that,” Martinez said. “I feel 100% confident to go out there and cover whoever I need to cover.”

Oklahoma’s Zack Sanchez was picked in Round 5 by the Carolina Panthers.

The 21-year-old Latino cornerback, picked 141st overall, is a ball-hawk who intercepted 13 passes over the past two seasons. His seven picks in 2015 tied for fifth nationally. Sanchez was not afraid to gamble, and sometimes paid for his mistakes. During his career at Oklahoma, he also recorded 134 tackles and three touchdowns.

“He’s instinctive. I think when you get into the fourth or fifth rounds, and find a cornerback with some instincts, this is a great pick,” said NFL Network’s Mike Mayock.

Thomas Duarte is switching coasts…

The 21-year-old half-Mexican American receiver, who played for UCLA, was picked in the seventh round by the Miami Dolphins.

The 231st pick overall, the 6-foot-2, 231-pound Duarte was drafted as a tight end.

Duarte turned pro with a season of eligibility remaining. He ranked second on the Bruins last season with 53 receptions for 872 yards and a team-best 10 touchdown receptions.

Derbez Signs First Look Deal with Universal Television

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Eugenio Derbez is ready to crossover into English-language television.

The 54-year-old Mexican comedian, writer and director and his 3Pas producing partner Ben Odell have signed a first-look deal with Universal Television and sold their first two English-language comedies.

Eugenio Derbez

Derbez may be best known for Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film of all time, but he got his start in television.

The UTV deal marks Derbez’s first season developing English-language television, though both he and Odell have experience in the Spanish-language market.

Early in his career, Odell created and wrote some of Colombia’s highest-rated series; Derbez wrote, produced, directed and starred in numerous Spanish-language comedies and dramas for Televisa.

Derbez’s series, which have aired on Univision, have helped him amass a major stateside following that includes nearly 18 million fans on Facebook and Twitter.

As part of their stateside push, ABC is developing single-camera comedy Don’t Judge Me, which is inspired by Derbez’s life and revolves around Ignacio Galves, who is raising three kids with three ex-wives in a story of a man caught between his parenting style, pleasing the mothers of the kids and making room for the new woman in his life. Derbez will exec produce the comedy, which will be written by Aseem Batra and Eduardo Cisneros. Cisneros, who will reunite with frequent collaborator Derbez on the comedy, will co-exec produce.

NBC, meanwhile, has picked up script The Great Brown Hope, a single-camera comedy created by Isaac Gonzalez (Bordertown). The comedy centers on Nick, who after he’s kicked out of UCLA following a legendary semester, moves back home with his smothering, working-class — and very disappointed — Mexican family in Logan Heights, San Diego.

Gonzalez will also be credited as a co-EP on the comedy, which is also exec produced by Derbez and Odell.

Both projects hail from Universal Television.

The comedies come as diversity continues to be a high priority for broadcast networks, who this development season have put a focus on family comedy. “We’re all trying to figure out the family dynamic that’s not currently on the air,” ABC Studios executive vice president Patrick Moran told THR, noting that his studio in particular was looking for diverse voices — particularly Latino.

For its part, ABC recently picked up a family comedy inspired by the life of comedian Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias (Cristela) as the network has found success with such diverse family fare as Black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, Dr. Ken as well as veteran The Goldbergs.

In Derbez, the networks have a brand star with a built-in following attached, which — should either comedy move forward — would give either network a leg up with marketing and public awareness. (ABC, for its part, found success with Pryanka Chopra and Quantico, utilizing her massive social media fan base to help launch the series as one of the few breakouts of the 2015-16 broadcast season.)

Michele & Darren Criss Perform “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at Taste For A Cure Benefit

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Lea Michele is doing her part offer a musical taste for the cure…

The 27-year-old part-Spanish actress/singer and her Glee co-star Darren Criss joined voices at the 19th annual “Taste For A Cure” benefit gala to help raise more than $700,000 for UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center at the Beverly Wilshire Friday night.

Lea Michele & Darren Criss

As an all-star crowd of Hollywood elite dined on a sumptuous menu paired with 14 distinguished vintages from six of France’s premier wine-making regions, Criss asked who in the audience would donate to hear Michele join him on stage for a duet.

Co-chair Dana Walden bid $5,000 and the pair performed a touching version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz.

Michele voices Dorothy in the new animated Oz-inspired movie, Legends Of Oz: Dorothy’s Return.

She posted a snippet of the performance on Instagram and wrote, “And then this happened!”

In all, more than 450 guests attended the event, which also included the participation of How I Met Your Mother’s Alyson Hannigan, Community’sJoel McHale and actor/comedian Tom Papa.

Fernandez Inducted Into U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame

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She may not be competing at this year’s Summer Olympics in London, but Lisa Fernandez still has plenty of reason to celebrate…

The 41-year-old half-Cuban/half-Puerto Rican softball star, a three-time gold medalist, has been inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, along with her 2004 U.S. Softball Team.

Lisa Fernandez

Dubbed the “Real Dream Team” on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the 2004 Olympic Team went 9-0 in Athens, a record that included eight consecutive shutouts and four run-rule victories. Along with Fernandez, the team roster included Latina players Crystl Bustos and Jessica Mendoza, as well as the team’s Latino head coach Mike Candrea.

Sports Illustrated Cover

Fernandez won gold medals in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 games and is the only pitcher ever to appear in three Olympic finales.

She earned the save in the final game of the 1996 Olympics as the U.S. team beat China 3-1 for her inaugural softball Olympic gold medal.

The U.S. team took the silver medal, losing gold to Japan, in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

In 2005 the International Olympic Committee voted to drop softball along with baseball from the Olympic program leaving the U.S. with three gold medals and Japan with one.

Softball advocates are trying to get the sport back by 2020, it won’t be played at the London games later this month or the Rio de Janeiro games in 2016.

Fernandez led the University of California, Los Angeles to the National Championship in softball during the 1990 and ’92 seasons, the Bruins softball team were runner ups during the ’91 and ’93 seasons.

She was a first team All-American during her four collegiate years at UCLA.

She currently serves as an assistant coach at her alma mater.