Just a few hours before the ESPYs began, ESPN.com sat down with Eisen and Ley to chat with users. Eisen admitted it's taken some time getting used to his expanding ESPY role and Ley pointed out the people he'd like to meet during the show.

Eisen also broke down his wardrobe for the telecast while Ley broke down the Women's World Cup draw and the U.S. men's soccer team's win over Germany. If you missed the pre-ESPY chat, an edited transcript follows.

Smooth: Rich, you are the best and a great dresser to match. Loved that gold vest you wore with your tux last year. Will we see it again or will there be a different fashion statement?

Eisen: This is definitely someone who knows me. No gold this year, it's just going to be the classic look -- the black-vest, black-tie look. But I appreciate your concern over my haberdashery.

Rob: How does it feel from being the new guy not to long ago to schmoozing with these big stars of both the sports and entertainment world now?

Eisen: It's been a lot of fun. This is my third year with the ESPYs now and it definitely was an adjustment so it's an interesting question to ask.

You get to feel like you belong. Now that I've done this for three years, now there's a comfort level.

Kevin Cook: Do the ESPYs really mean a lot to the winners or is it just another award?

Eisen: I asked this question, facetiously, of Ken Caminiti -- that he'd won an MVP award, he was on the verge of being the NLCS champion, but where did that ESPY fit?

His response was that at the end of his career that he'd look at all of his accomplishments but that right then he was focusing on the ESPY.

So he treated it like a real award so I think the athletes do care. Steinbrenner cried when the Yankees were named the team of the year.

Bob K. Boston, MA: I own a business in Massachusetts but am moving to Hartford. The problem is my new site is on top of a toxic monstrosity so I have a question, does your backyard have room for 60,000? If so can I borrow the yard eight times or so a year? I don't think we'll be needing it anytime in late December or January. By the way, can you play running back, center or punt?

Eisen: Are you asking if I could host the Patriots games in my back yard?

I will have to check the zoning laws, but I'd be more than happy to host the Patriots -- you'll just have to give me a little heads-up so I can stock the fridge.

George Lucas: Do you think Sam Jackson will need to resort to any Jedi mind tricks during the braodcast?

Eisen: No. Before he had his light sabre, he had the big Uzi in Pulp Fiction so, no, nobody is messing with him.

Go Yanks: Who do you think will win the NBA Finals?

Eisen: So, a real sports question ... whoever is the healthiest. Really, that is my answer. It has become the year of the stress fracture and pulled groin.

Moderator: Thanks Rich for your time, next up is Bob Ley.

Ley: Hello everyone. Let's get to some questions.

Barbaq: Hello Bob, you have been with ESPN almost from its inception, how has the network developed over the years to earn the respect it so rightly deserves?

Ley: The most amazing thing to me is that we are part of, not just sports in this country, but part of the culture. When you write about social history in this country, America in the 20th century, you have to consider what we have meant to people and what we have brought to people. I think we are all just proud of what we have become beyond simply sports and the ESPYs are very much an indication of that.

Slapmaster: What are your chores tonight at the ESPYs?

Ley: I will working both the pre- and post-show, interviewing folks as they come in and I will be interviewing Billy Jean King during the post show back stage as she receives the Arthur Ashe Award.

Stat man: What do you think of the Women's World Cup draw?

Ley: It was a very interesting draw. I think the biggest wild card for Team USA in their group is the Nigerian team. Their team is a crapshoot. If they are organized, and bring a package of skills like the men have, it won't be a walk-through group for the U.S. and that is good. I think coach Tony DiCicco would say the same thing. They'll have competitive games and they'll be ready. But there won't be any walk-overs but the U.S. women will be focused.

The home field will count for a lot and so will the home atmosphere. I think you will have people come to these games wrapped in the U.S. flag but they'll get turned into women's soccer fans and it will be a three week process.

Stinkey Pete: Anyone in particular you have enjoyed talking to leading up to the ESPYs?

Ley: I have gotten to talk with Mark McGwire and David Wells and if you consider what they accomplished in 1998, it is just a trill to be able to tell Mark, thanks for last summer as a fan. He turned 280 million people into baseball fans and that is hard to do.

I am also looking forward to talking with Billy Jean King after she receives the award.

If you look at our Sports Century series and the Top 50 fifty athletes, she is definitely in that category. She is getting the Arthur Ashe Award for courage. She is being recognized for her life's work but also her outspokenness. She has spoken up about comments from Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport at the Aussie Open. Whether you agree with what she said or not, she does feel the need to speak up.

One of the questions I intend to ask her is, looking at this current generation of athletes in this time of fame and fortune, is she encouraged about the prospects of others rising up like she did and Arthur Ashe did to do the things that they had to do. I will be curious what she has to say.

Sam & Maddie: What can we read into the U.S. Men's soccer team's win over Germany last week?

Ley: What you want to read into it is that the players feel confident and they had a plan to go out and take it to a quality opponent. In the last four years the U.S. has beaten Argentina and Brazil, albeit not at full strength and this was a the best German side they could put together at this moment. I think they were only missing three players and injuries are a part of that but you have to deal with that.

I spent over an hour in the U.S. lockerroom after the game to find out what they are going to get out of this game and how they are going to treat it. Everyone I talked to had their feet firmly planted on the ground and coach Bruce Arena was a big part of that. But even though these are some of the young players, they realize it was just one game in 1999 but what they can take from it is confidence when they play Brazil and Germany in the same group in the Conferdations Cup in July. Confidence is a big part of any athletic performance, and they have that.

Alone on V-Day Katie: What do you think about Thomas Dooley playing his last game this coming weekend?