Shaquille O'Neal and Nick Cannon Host Hall of Game on Cartoon Network

•     Hit sports awards show premieres Tuesday, February 12 at 7 p.m. ET/PT
•     Fans can vote for their favourite nominees at cartoonnetwork.ca/hallofgame until Saturday, February 9

To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/YGBnKG

TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2013 /CNW/ - Who's got game? Viewers can find out when Nick Cannon and Shaquille O'Neal host the third annual Hall of Game Awards, the first-of-its-kind sports award and entertainment event for kids, which premieres Tuesday, February 12 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on Cartoon Network. The co-hosts will be handing out GAME trophies to sports superstars in front of an audience of celebrity attendees, including familiar faces from the worlds of television, film, music and, of course, sports. Presenters include Jessica Alba and Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte.

At 6 p.m. ET/PT during two back-to-back episodes of Regular Show, Cartoon Network will be broadcasting footage from the "Green Carpet," featuring celebrity arrivals and bonus content. Green carpet footage will continue airing throughout the evening.

Fans can influence the outcome by visiting cartoonnetwork.ca/hallofgame and casting votes for their favourites in the following categories:

● Most Awesome Mascot
Nominees: Kansas City Chiefs "KC Wolf" (NFL); St. Louis Blues "Louie" (NHL); San Francisco Giants "Lou Seal" (MLB); and Denver Nuggets "Rocky" (NBA)

● Alti-Dude (Top alternative sports high flyer)
Nominees: Kelly Clark (Snowboarding); Nyjah Huston (Skateboarding); Kelly Slater (Surfing); and Shaun White (Snowboarding)

● That's How I Roll
(The award for the most stylish athlete)
Nominees: Jonny Gomes, Oakland A's (MLB); Brett Keisel, Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL); Ryan Lochte, Team USA (Swimming); Serena Williams, WTA (Tennis)

● He's Got Game
(The award for the best male athlete)
Nominees: Usain Bolt (Track); Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (MLB); Arian Foster, Houston Texans (NFL); LeBron James, Miami Heat (NBA)

● She's Got Game
(The award for the best female athlete)
Nominees: Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever (WNBA); Gabby Douglas, Team USA (Gymnastics); Alex Morgan, Team USA (Soccer); Serena Williams, WTA (Tennis)

● Dynamic Duo
(The award for the best teammates)
Nominees: Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA); Eli Manning & Victor Cruz, New York Giants (NFL); Michael Phelps & Ryan Lochte, Team USA (Swimming); Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh, Team USA (Volleyball)

● Gnarliest Newcomer
(The award for the top rookie)
Nominees: Missy Franklin, Team USA (Swimming); Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins (NFL); Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts (NFL); Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (MLB)

● We Got Game
(The award for the best team)
Nominees: Los Angeles Kings (NHL); Miami Heat (NBA); San Francisco Giants (MLB); US Olympic Women's Gymnastics Team

● Super Siblings
(The award for best related athletes)
Nominees: Pau & Marc Gasol (NBA), Peyton & Eli Manning (NFL), Eric, Marc, Jordan & Jared Staal (NHL), Venus & Serena Williams (WTA)

● Best Foes Forever
(Award for the greatest rivals)
Nominees: Rory McIlroy vs. Tiger Woods (PGA); San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB); Jimmie Johnson vs. Brad Keselowski (NASCAR); Duke vs. University of North Carolina (NCAA)

● Amped Up Anthem
(The award for the song that gets you the most psyched)
Nominees: Psy "Gangnam Style" Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me Maybe" The Script, feat. Will.i.am "Hall of Fame" Philip Phillips "Home"

● That's How I Roll
(The award for the most stylish athlete)
Nominees: Jonny Gomes, Oakland A's (MLB); Brett Keisel, Pittsburg Steelers (NFL); Ryan Lochte, Team USA (Swimming); Serena Williams, WTA (Tennis)

● Most Viral
(The award for the video that came from obscurity to infamy)
Nominees: High School kicks 67 yard field goal; College baseball player's leaping catch; Tennis ball boy one handed catch; Girl running back- youth football powerhouse

● Whoa-ment
(The award for the moment of the year that had you saying WHOA)
Nominees: Josh Hamilton gets four homers in one game; USA Women's Olympic Swim Team sets World Record in 4x100m medley relay; Adrian Peterson comes within nine yards of all-time single season rushing record; Mitchie Brusco lands first 900 in X Games Skateboard Big Air

● Fanatic Fanstars
(The award for which sports team has the most intense fans)
Nominees: New York Yankees (MLB); Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA); University of Notre Dame: Fighting Irish (NCAA); Dallas Cowboys (NFL)

● Dance Machine
(The award for the best on-the-field dance moves)
Nominees: Jason Pierre-Paul doing Gangnam Style; Ezekial Kemboi dances after winning gold; Denny Hamlin does the Dougie; Ray Lewis does his famous squirrel dance

Shaquille O'Neal
Among his many accolades during his 19-year playing career, O'Neal was chosen as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, ranks fifth all-time in NBA scoring history (28,596 points scored), won the Rookie of the Year award (1993) and MVP award (2000) and was named All-NBA 14 times. Additionally, his career includes four NBA Championships—three with the LA Lakers (2000—2002), where he was named NBA Finals MVP for all three championships and one with the Miami Heat (2006). The 15-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA All-Star MVP (2000, 2004, 2009) also won two scoring titles (1995, 2000). He appeared in 1,207 regular season games, averaging 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocks in 34.7 minutes per contest throughout his career, which included playing for the Orlando Magic, LA Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. He is currently an NBA analyst for TNT's Sports Emmy Award-winning Inside the NBA studio show and also offers analysis on NBA TV, which is jointly managed by the NBA and Turner Sports.

Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon, executive producer of the upcoming Cartoon Network sketch-comedy series Incredible Crew, made his television debut as a teenage sketch comedian on the series All That where he was also a writer, making him the youngest staff writer in television history at the age of 17. Cannon catapulted onto the big screen in 2002 when he appeared alongside Will Smith in Men in Black II before landing a leading role in Drumline. He hosted Wild 'N Out, a show that he created and executive produced for MTV, which was the network's highest-rated comedy series in its history. In the fall of 2006, Cannon was featured in the film, Bobby, where his performance earned him a 2007 SAG nomination as well as being the first African American actor to be honoured at the Cannes Film Festival with the "Breakthrough Actor of the Year" award. Most recently Cannon can be seen as the host of NBC's America's Got Talent as well as a series regular on Up All Night, which earned him recognition at this year's 2012 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor.

For more information, online games and contests, please visit: www.cartoonnetwork.ca,
@CartoonCAN and Facebook.com/cartoonnetworkCAN.

About Cartoon Network (Canada)
Cartoon Network (Canada) offers a unique and diverse slate of entertainment experiences through hilarious animated and live-action content for kids and families. Brought to Canadian audiences by TELETOON Canada Inc., and seen in over 168 countries, Cartoon Network is available in English and in both standard and high definition. Founded in 1997, TELETOON Canada Inc. brings kids, youth and adults the best in animated and animation-related entertainment with five nationwide specialty television channels - TELETOON, Télétoon, TELETOON Retro, Télétoon Rétro and Cartoon Network. Select programming is available through On Demand, Mobile TV, iTunes and through TELETOON Canada's online properties. TELETOON Canada Inc. is owned by Astral (50%) and Corus Entertainment (50%). For more information, please visit cartoonnetwork.ca.

SOURCE: Cartoon Network

Media Contacts:

Megan Dunkley
TELETOON Canada Inc.
Publicist
416-956-5443
[email protected]  

Sarah Etherden
TELETOON Canada Inc.
Communications Manager
416-956-2051
[email protected]