Sportsteam of the Week Ending 7/14/2019

In a busy time of the sports calendar, it was at team facing tragedy that won the week.  The Los Angeles Angels faced the worst thing possible as a team.  Losing a player.  Tyler Skaggs passed away on July 1 from unknown cause.  On the road in Arlington, TX, the team had a day off to mourn, but trudged through the rest of the road trip into the All-Star break.  It was the first game after the break that was legendary.  At home with every player wearing Tyler Skaggs #45, Taylor Cole and Felix Pena faced 28 batters, retiring 27.  The one that wasn't retired?  Walked.  That means no hits.  It was a game designed for Cole to get through the first part, then have Pena take over.  And both executed perfectly.  The game was never in doubt as the Angels beat the Mariners 13-0, but after a rough week, the Los Angeles Angels are the first Sportsteam of the Week!

Sportswoman of the Week Ending 7/7/2019

Another week, and another woman takes center stage.  The United States Women's National Team (USWNT) lived up to the billing by winning their fourth World Cup over the Netherlands 2-0, the second Cup in as many tournaments, but perhaps never facing stiffer competition.  The USWNT stormed through all the best European teams on European soil.  In order: Sweden, Spain, France, England, Netherlands.  Outside of their matches against the United States, they were a combined 20-2-1, with only Netherlands beating Sweden, and Spain going 1-1-1 in pool play as the losses.  Against the USWNT?  0-5.  Led by goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who was able to stymie opponents to only 3 goals throughout their 7 games (0.4 goal average).  In the finals she could not be scored upon, but really saved the team in their semifinal battle against a resilient English team that controlled the ball 58% of the time and matched the US with 4 shots on goal.  Naeher stopped them all and is a worthy Sportswoman of the Week!

Sportswoman of the Week Ending 6/30/2019

Round of 16 and Quarterfinals.  Two goals apiece and the United States Women's National Team is moving on to the Women's World Cup (WWC) semifinal [editors note, at time of publication they won that too].  But our Sportswoman of the week has used her veteran savvy and extreme skill to score all the teams' goals in defeat of Spain and France (2-1).  The first two were on Penalty Kicks, the latter two from the field.  And against France, against a hostile environment.  In what may have been the most highly anticipated women's soccer game in history, Rapinoe struck early on a brilliant free kick, and late on a hard counter attack.  Both were needed and Rapinoe earns the Longhorndave Sportswoman of the Week!

Sportswoman of the Week Ending 6/23/2019

Another week, another first time major golf winner.  This time, the ladies.  Hannah Green leaped from obscurity to snap the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota.  The most surprising thing was how close the more experienced and close to the lead competition was, that the 22 year-old Green fended off wire to wire.  Shooting a steady 68-69-70-72 to win by one stroke (despite hard charges from Sung Hyun Park and Mel Reid who shot 66 and 68 respectively in the last round).  The Australian Green won by one stroke.  Mainly by posting a Top 2 score each day the first two days.  Is this her first big splash on the scene of a long career or an alignment of stars never to be replicated?  We'll see over the next couple of decades.  But Green is the Longhorndave Sportswoman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 6/16/2019

Underdog.  Beating the big boys.  Wasn't supposed to win.  All qualities for a great Sportsman of the Week.  35-year-old American Gary Woodland was well below the radar for the 119th United States Open, but put together four consecutive rounds at 2 under par or better.  Only two other golfers finished all four rounds under (John Rahm, Brooks Koepka).  Woodland had only one tour win since 2013, and that was a playoff win over a year prior in 2018.  But Woodland entered Sunday with the lead, with big dogs chasing him.  Like 2-time defending champion  Koepka.  Former major winners Louis Oosthuizen and Justin Rose.  Even Tiger Woods who birdied six of his last 12 holes.  But Woodland didn't fluster. He didn't have his best round, but down the stretch he didn't falter.  He punctuated his win by, while needing just a 3-putt, putting in a 30 foot putt dead center.  And took his trophy.  And the Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 6/9/2019

Pitching a no-hitter is a frequent path to the Sportsman of the Week.  Striking out 19 batters in a game would similarly get you there.  Doing both?  Really strong chance.  Vanderbilt's Kumar Rocker pitched the game of his life, when his team really needed it to win a pivotal Game 2 of a 3 game set against the Duke Blue Devils.  In an elimination game, Rocker threw 131 pitches, 89 for strikes (57 in the strikouts) to send the series to the third game, which the top ranked Commodores also won.  It was Rocker's 10th win of the year.  He only walked 2 facing 2 more than the minimum in the first no-hitter in NCAA Super Regional history.  Rocker rocked the Blue Devils and duly earns the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 6/2/2019

This Blog always loves an underdog and an unexpected champion.  Andy Ruiz Jr. fits both.  Even at 6'2", 270 pounds, and significantly lacking what we would call "muscle definition".  The American heavyweight of Mexican descent survived the first knockdown of his career to beat British Champion Anthony Joshua by 7th round Technical Knockout Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  In a wild third round, Ruiz Jr. was felled once, but came up inspired and sent Joshua to the canvas twice.  Joshua never seemed to be the same.  Ruiz Jr. again floored him twice in the 7th round, the second Joshua looked reluctant to continue and that was that.  Ruiz Jr. went off as an 11-1 underdog, but now sits at 33-1 with 22 KO.  The one loss to Joseph Parker, then Heavyweight Champion.  But now, Ruiz Jr. is champion.  Joshua is contractually guaranteed a rematch and certainly will have his full attention on Ruiz Jr.  But it is Ruiz Jr. who is now the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO Champions.  And the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/26/2019

The Toronto Raptors shocked a lot of teams to crash the NBA Finals, however it was done with a familiar source.  Forward Kawhi Leonard outplayed MVP candidate Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo to win Games 3 through 6 and pace the Raptors to their first Eastern Conference title.  According to media reports, Leonard was slowed by injury, but it didn't show.  In the four wins to beat the Bucks, Leonard averaged 29 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists when they needed it the most.  Leonard is an NBA Champion and showed that he is ready to take down the Warriors.  For the second time in this blog history, Kawhi Leonard is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/19/2019

The NHL Playoffs are reaching a crescendo with two teams that haven't won a Stanley Cup ever coming from the West.  The St. Louis Blues were one of the worst teams on January 7, but may just punch their ticket to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1970.  Led by rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington.  Binnington started his first game on January 7 and led the team to an improbable 29-9-5 streak to get a key Wild Card spot.  A spot they've parlayed into being one game away from a shot at their first Stanley Cup Title.  Binnington has been brilliant in the last 4 games, with a 3-1 record, with only 3 GA in 77 shots in the wins.  His loss, to be honest, involved what should have been called a hand pass.  Will Binnington get the job done in Game 6 (at home) or 7 (in San Jose)?  Time will tell.  But Binnington shows that a hot goalie can carry a team, and he is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/12/2019

The weather is warming up, and that means baseball season.  The Oakland A's aren't off to a strong start, but starting pitcher Mike Fiers sure gave the fans a show.  For the second time in his career, he completed nine innings without a batted ball in play resulting in a batter reaching base that wasn't scored an error.  In other words, he pitched a no hitter.  Fiers only walked 2 batters while a third baserunner reached on an error.  And he needed to keep the bases clean to protect a 2-0 lead (only 1-0 when he took the mound in the 7th).  Further adding to the unusual event was that the game was delayed 90 minutes due to a malfunctions in the lights.  Maybe the Reds bats fell asleep and never woke up.  But really, Fiers proved he could do it on his first no hitter in 2015, and backed it up against the Reds.  Mike Fiers is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!