Sportsman of the Week Ending 12/9/2018

The NFL playoff run is in the home stretch and big games call for big players.  None were bigger than the Dallas Cowboys WR Amari Cooper against the Super Bowl Champions to essentially seal the division for his teams.  Cooper was a much talked about acquisition at the trade deadline, some feeling that it was a waste of a draft pick, others thinking it was finally the Cowboys answer for a go to receiver.  The latter were right.  Cooper had the biggest game of his pro career in dismantling the Philadelphia Eagles.  In the end, he hauled in 10 catches for 217 yards including 3 TD.  The last TD the biggest in overtime, as the Cowboys possessed the ball for over 8 of the 10 minutes, the last play being Cooper going into the end zone.  This following his two TDs in the 4th quarter when the game broke open.  The Cowboys now have 2 games in hand plus the tiebreaker.  May have knocked the Eagles out of the playoffs.  Cooper stepped up in the big game, and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 12/2/2018

College Football Conference Championship week separates the men from the boys.  The playoff teams from the also-rans.  What if a supposed also-ran has done nothing to be left out of the playoffs, but keeps getting that verdict.  Another debate for another day.  But the University of Central Florida (UCF) has beaten everybody on the schedule for two years.  Including an SEC team.  Many thought they might have dropped one this week, when starting quarterback McKenzie Milton was devastatingly injured in the season finally against South Florida.  Enter Darriel Mack Jr.  Playing a potent Memphis team (whose last two losses were UCF by one point and SEC bowl team Missouri), Mack put the team on his shoulders.  Especially in the second half when UCF outscored the Memphis Tigers 37-3.  Mack ended up with an astonishing 348 passing yards and 2 TD with no INT.  Good enough.  But he also ran for 59 yards and 4 more TD.  Six TD total.  The Knights are headed to the Fiesta Bowl and will get to play another SEC team.  If they win, can we talk playoffs next year if they don't lose?  Either way, Mack is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/25/2018

One of the most fun weekends on the college football calendar is rivalry weekend, typically Thanksgiving.  And the main dish this year was Ohio State vs. Michigan, both teams 10-1, playing for a division title and a chance to make the college football playoff.  Michigan favored, but traveling to Ohio State.  And it was an unlikely hero that derailed the Wolverines title hopes.  Freshman Chris Olave came into the game with 5 catches for 70 yards on the season.  And left this biggest game of his career with 3 TDs.  All in critical spots.  His first TD catch started off the scoring giving the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead.  His second catch (also a TD) boosted Ohio State to a 14-6 lead.  But it was his blocked punt in the third quarter that put Ohio State up by more than 2 TD.  It would never get close again.  Ogave has a bright future in Columbus and in football, and is our Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/18/2018

The 2018 NASCAR season would down with an exciting finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway among four drivers who had earned the finalist berth.  Or as Joey Logano called it, "The Big 3, and me".  Well "me" showed the Big 3 that he was bigger.  Or faster.  At or near the front during most of the race, Logano feasted on "short runs" (e.g. small periods of green flags between cautions) to run away from the field in the final 20 laps.  Logano's #22 Penske Pennzoil car continually raced ahead of the others in the first few dozen laps of a run, and that was all it took after the final caution came with under 30 laps to go.  He pegged each of the drivers in front of him and then opened a several second gap not only beating the others, but winning the race.  It was Logano's first Monster Energy Cup Series title for his strong career.  There might be many more, but he is our Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/11/2018

The Chicago Bears seem to have finally got past rebuild mode to compete mode, and it started with what appears to be a smart draft pick at the QB position.  Mitch Trubisky is growing into the role of superstar QB, and he might have made a big leap on Sunday.  Trubisky is leading the NFC North Division leaders to a 6-3 record, including an impressive victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.  Trubisky accounted for four of the Bears TD's, 3 through the air and one with his legs.  His 76.7% completion percentage and 355 yards were season highs as the Bears throttled the Lions 34-22.  For the season, Trubisky is sporting a 19/7 TD to INT ratio, including 17-4 in his last six games.  Huge games left with Minnesota (2) and Green Bay (at home) will decide the North, but Trubisky is finally reaching that point of being mentioned with the elite QBs.  And is our Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/4/2018

It's getting to be the part of the NFL season where the men separate from the boys, and when two men battle, you put the women and children to bed and go looking for dinner.  The New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams have emerged as the best two teams in the NFC and the schedule gods had them square off in Week 9.  And it did not disappoint.  Two prolific offenses went toe to toe for 80 points and 970 yards.  There were only 6 penalties and 3 punts.  And there was a 200 yard receiver.  The Saints Michael Thomas torched the Rams seeping secondary for 211 yards on 12 catches, including a back-breaking 72 yard TD from 3x Sportsman of the Week Drew Brees with 3:52 that put the Saints up for good.  Will we see a rematch in January?  If so, the Rams better come up with a better game plan to stop Michael Thomas, the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/28/2018

The Boston Red Sox definitely proved they were the best baseball team in 2018, but it wasn't necessarily their best player that carried them to the title.  In fact, it was a very unlikely one.  Steve Pearce was an afterthought at the trade deadline.  But he wasn't in the final stretch of the World Series.  Three of the biggest hits in Games 4 and 5 came from the unlikely hero.  In Game 4 in the 8th inning with the Red Sox trailing 4-3, he hit a solo home run to tie the game, then followed it in the 9th inning with a 3 run double to push the Red Sox ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for good.  And then shift to Game 5, where he gave the Red Sox a lead 2-0 lead they would never relinquish in the first inning on a home run, then got another solo shot in the 8th in what ended up being a 5-1 win over the Dodgers.  So keeping score at home, that's 8 RBI in 11 innings of batting for his team, or 8 AB total.  The World Series MVP was just that, clearly the best player among a team of All Stars and is our Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!  one might be surprised, this is his second time for the honor.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/21/2018

The Boston Red Sox are poised for their fourth World Series Title in 15 years and it's an unlikely hero that helped slay the defending World Champions.  Jackie Bradley Jr., batting out of the number 9 hole, swung more like Babe Ruth than Spike Owen.  In a crucial Game 3 (with the series tied) against the Houston Astros, he broke the game open with a grand slam off of closer Roberto Osuna to put the Sox 5 runs ahead.  Then he came back in a see-saw epic Game 4, he gave the Red Sox the lead for good with a 2-run homer off of fireballer Josh James who had been baffling Boston.  The homer broke the back of the Astros which never led a game in the series again as they folded in Game 5.  The unlikely hero won the ALCS MVP and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/14/2018

The MLB playoffs chug on to the League Championship Series round, and superstars are emerging.  The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to take their second straight National League pennant and if they do so, it might be behind someone unexpected on opening day.  Manny Machado was acquired just after the All Star game, and is paying dividends.  During the week (clincher against the Braves, plus first two games against the Brewers), he took over two key games for wins.  He finished the 3 games 5-13 (.385), 1 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI and 3 R.  The Dodgers have their hands full with a hot Brewers team, but Machado is looking all the part of the difference between a World Series or not.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/7/2018

The Houston Astros are choo chooing to another World Series title, and it's a different hero this year than last.  Alex Bregman has been the one steady force on a team that already featured a reigning Most Valuable Player plus two former Cy Young Award pitchers.  But it was Bregman who gave the Astros a stranglehold on what turned out to be an easy sweep of the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series.  In the first two games at home, he was 3-6, with 2 HR and 2 BB.  Add 3 runs and 3 RBI and he was basically in the middle of everything.  The next day when the Astros closed it out, he was on base six times (2 hits, 2 walks, 1 HBP, and reached on error).  Unstoppable.  And he's only 24.  He's a big reason the Astros are poised to repeat as World Series Champions and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!