Suddenly wives of the world have never been more interested in watching sports.
Jon Hamm announced that he will be hosting the 2013 ESPY Awards, during an appearance on Wednesday's "LIVE with Kelly and Michael." Hamm, best known as Don Draper on AMC hit "Mad Men," is a noted super fan of St. Louis sports teams and a former star athlete himself. Though Hamm downplays the fact that he was recruited to play football football by Ivy League schools.
"I'm very excited to be hosting the ESPYS," Hamm said. "As a longtime sports fan and a marginally successful high school athlete I feel my skill-set jibes well with a host’s duties. I now have to figure out what cleats to wear with a tuxedo.”
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"The ESPYS is designed to showcase the year’s best sports moments in a sharp, fun and entertaining manner and Jon’s the perfect host for this year’s show. His appearances on shows like '30 Rock' and 'SNL' show that humor and creativity are two of his main strengths," ESPYS executive producer Maura Mandt said in a statement. “The combination of Jon’s dry wit with his passion for sports will give fans a unique and original view of the year in sports.”
"Mad Men" has won the Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding drama series four of its first five years. And in the fifth year, "Mad Men" set a record for the most Emmy nominations, 17, without winning.
Hamm has received eight Emmy nominations himself for roles on "Mad Men" and "30 Rock." The versatile leading man will play a sports agent in the upcoming Disney film, "Million Dollar Arm," co-starring "Life of Pi" breakout Suraj Sharma.
The 2013 ESPYS will air live on ESPN on July 17 at 9 p.m. ET from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. The ESPN awards show has had a successful run of non-athlete hosts including Justin Timberlake, Seth Meyers, and Samuel L. Jackson.