Bradenton's Wallenda wins award at Sunday's Emmys

   Apparently, Manatee County residents weren't the only ones who thought Nik Wallenda's walk across the Grand Canyon was the coolest thing on TV in the past year.
   The CBS Emmy Awards website invited the public to vote for the "Top TV Moment of the Year." During Sunday's Emmy broadcast, Wallenda's walk was announced as the winner.
   "He doesn't get an Emmy, but he does get the honor of winning this vote," said Wallenda's manger, Winston Simone. "And it's quite an honor, because he won over some really significant television moments, such as the last episode of 'The Office.' "
   The site gave the public 10 choices for best moment. Besides Wallenda's walk and "The Office," they were the Bob Marley Tribute at the Grammy Awards, the Boston Marathon bombing, the Superbowl blackout, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting the Golden Globe Awards show, the "Mother" episode of "How I Met Your Mother," the "Red Wedding" episode of "Game of Thrones," Hurricane Sandy coverage and a Kristen Wiig's farewell on "Saturday Night Live."
   A comment about the poll  appeared on Wallenda's Facebook page Friday afternoon: "We did it! 'Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda' won Emmy's top TV moment of the year! Thank you friends, family, and fans for all of your support! I couldn't have done it without you guys! Never give up!"
   "Skywire Live" was the title of the Discovery Channel's live coverage of Wallenda's 22-minute high-wire walk some 1,500 feet above the bottom of the Grand Canyon on a high wire on June 24. He was the first person to attempt that crossing and about 21-million people watched and listened as he completed the walk.
   Wallenda's next scheduled walk will be with his sister, Lijana Wallenda Hernandez. They will perform a dual walk 140 feet off the ground prior to the start of the Bank of America 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Oct. 12.
   They'll begin from opposite ends of a 500-foot cable, crossing paths along the way.

   The speedway walk will be about one-third the length and one-seventh the height of the Grand Canyon crossing. But Wallenda, who lives in Bradenton, said crossing speedway carries its own challenges.

“We take every walk seriously, whether it's 20 feet off the ground or 200 feet," he said. "You can't let up for a second.”