Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/18/2020

What a week of League Championship Series action in MLB and there were two strong MVP candidates to present the weekly Sportsman of the Week.  But one guy wasn't the best only of the week, but ever.  Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers raked for 7 straight games and left the Atlanta Braves in his team's dust.  Including winning the last 3 games to get to the World Series for the 3rd time in 4 years.  Seager finished 9-29, but 9 of those hits left the field.  And even more amazing, 11 runs knocked in.  Capitalized on his opportunity.  Can Seager and his Dodgers finally break through in the World Series?  Tune in the next week.  Seager secured the NLCS MVP and is our Sportsman of the Week!

Sportswoman of the Week Ending 10/11/2020

The recovery of the sports world continues, this time with the French Open...in October.  And while the Gentlemen's side of the bracket went predictably, the Ladies' side most certainly did not.  Roaring through some of the biggest names in the sport, Poland's phenom star Iga Swiatek could not be slowed down.  Like not even a dropped set.  Not even a tiebreak.  Only once after the second round did an opponent get as many as four games against her in a set.  And that was in the finals against upshot fourth seeded American Sofia Kenin.  At 19 years old, the unseeded Swiatek (ranked 54th in the World) became the youngest to win at Roland Garros since legend Monica Seles in 1992.  Easy to guess she might not be done winning big championships.  A legend to watch and the Longhorndave Sportswoman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/4/2020

The Oklahoma Sooners were poised for the College Football Playoffs again in 2020, but this year has not been kind to them.  After a home loss to an overmatched (skill wise) but underestimated (coach and heart-wise) Kansas State Wildcats, the Sooners strolled into Ames, Iowa thinking time to right the ship.  The ship may be sunk.  The plucky Iowa State Cyclones love to get the big teams at home at night.  And using a power football mentality, bullied the bully Sooners and sent them back to Norman with a second straight Big 12 loss.  Their effort was no more personified than the yeoman like work of sophomore tailback Breece Hall.  Toting the ball 28 times for 139 yards and 2 TD.  Iowa State only threw it 25 times.  Tied at 30, he carried the ball twice for 36 yards, then 8 yards to give Iowa State the 37-30 lead they would not relinquish.  Hall may just lead Iowa State to a surprise Big 12 Title game appearance, but certainly remember the name.  Our Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 9/27/2020

Despite expert opinion in early summer, the NFL season has kicked off (literally) with a bang.  Story lines abound as teams establish their favorite status for a playoff run.  One of the more surprising teams may be the Seattle Seahawks but it should be because their quarterback has been elite for years.  And this year, really elite.  Russell Wilson continues to be overlooked as one of the best QBs in the NFL despite an NFL championship and now setting more records.  In a victory against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Wilson went 27-40 with 5 TDs and no interceptions.  The effort included an easy 2 minute drill TD to turn a 1 point deficit into a 7 point win.  Having defeated the Cowboys, Falcons, and Patriots three straight with 14 TD and 1 INT, he's making the league forget about other QBs of the prior era.  Not to mention, his Seahawks defense, once vaunted, is averaging allowing 28+ PPG so his effort is needed.  The road to the Super Bowl appears Wide Open and Wilson is ready to lead his team again.  A worthy Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 9/20/2020

 

Once again, defying COVID odds, another sport had an amazing competition with an unexpected outcome.  The Tour de France, a tradition of over 100 years, slipped about 6 weeks and despite having little crowd control, managed to execute safely.  With a result nobody expected.  With favorite Primoz Roglic winning by a near one minute margin coming out of the crucial Alps stages, it was thought the final few days would be a coronation.  Oh but for the Time Trial.  Most of the Tour de France is run in packs where moves can be countered and precious seconds over rivals are hard to generate.  But the Time Trial is an event in which each cyclist is on his own for, in this case, about an hour.  And it's easy to lose time.  And lost time Roglic did.  To his fellow Slovenian countryman Tadej Pogacar (Tah-dey Po-GAH'-cha).  Pogacar reeled in his 57 second deficit and tacked on a minute advantage in winning the Time Trial on Stage 20, the penultimate stage.  He demolished the field by 2 minutes, even Roglic finished 5th out of 100+ cyclists and looked like he got whooped.  Pogacar had seemed the strongest rider the last week, but couldn't make up the time he had lost early on a mechanical failure combined with cross winds that cost him nearly 2 minutes early.  But the best cyclist won.  Oh, and Pogacar is only 21 years old (22 today, actually).  He may be the future of cycling and many more Sportsman of the Week honors to come!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 9/13/2020

Hardly anyone expected a no hitter to be pitched in 2020.  Odds were strongly against TWO no hitters.  What if both were from teams in the same city?  One of the most unlikely candidates for the Chicago Cubs defied odds.  Alec Mills eased his way through 9 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers with no batted ball in play that resulted in a baserunner.  In other words, a no hitter.  The soft tossing Mills drew contact but nothing that was able to land safely.  The 28 year-old only struck out 5 while having well more than that hard hit balls.  Sprinkle in 3 walks, no runners due to error, and it seemed way too easy.  Mills had only started 15 games with but 5 career wins.  But his sixth will be memorable for sure.  And earns him the Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 9/6/2020

 

The first Saturday in May is a fixture of sports for the Kentucky Derby.  Of course, 2020 has been different, so no later than the first Saturday in September all was made right with the world with the 146th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.  What was expected to be a coronation for the most dominant horse of 2020 and Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law, instead a surprise winner emerged.  The lone entry by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert that wasn't scratched, Authentic held off a meager charge by Tiz the Law to win almost wire-to-wire.  Jockey John Velazquez ran nearly a perfect race by getting Authentic up front and fending off all challengers.  Word was that Authentic couldn't handle the full mile-and-a-quarter but it appeared to be no problem.  No Triple Crown winner this year, as Authentic with Velazquez made sure of it.  John Velazquez is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 8/30/2020

That magical pitching feat in baseball.  Twenty-seven outs, no baserunners reach via a batter ball not ruled an error.  Otherwise known as a no hitter  It happened again, even with the shortened season.  Chicago White Sox ace pitcher Lucas Giolito shut down the Pittsburgh Pirates for a full nine innings (not one of those shortened ones) recording the first (and likely only) no hitter in 2020.  With a stout defense behind him, he walked only one batter in facing 28 with 27 outs fanning 13 Bucs.  The 26 year-old, former first round draft pick seems to be reaching his full potential.  With this effort, opponents are batting only .180 against him for the season.  A microscopic .149 batting average against in August.  As the White Sox are positioned for a postseason run, Giolito will likely get his first chance to pitch in the playoffs in October.  He'll be the guy you don't want to face.  He is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 8/23/2020

The next great NBA superstar is here and he lives in Dallas.  Wunderkind Luka Doncic is getting a lot of eyes on him in his first postseason of what could be a serious run for the Mavericks.  In four games this week, Doncic twice showed what he could really do unabated, in scoring 43 and 42 points, including a cold blooded game winner in overtime to win Game 4 over the Los Angeles Clippers.  More on that game, he had a triple double magnanimous, with a 43-17-13.  The two games he didn't score as well, he logged under 30 minutes with an injury and dubious foul trouble that seemed to be unfortunate to the casual observer.  Oh, and did we mention the Slovenian is only 21 years old?  The 2019 Rookie of the Year is a generational talent and the Mavericks are likely to build around him for years to come.  A worthy Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 8/16/2020

In just a few weeks from delayed "Opening Day", baseball is hitting it's playoff chase stride.  And one of the teams of interest is Tampa Bay Rays.  As spoiler.  They don't have the high payroll or big free agent names of other teams, but they do have young talented players.  Like Brandon Lowe.  The Rays 26 year old second baseman may be the biggest under the radar star.  Mainly because Tampa.  But this week he broke out.  Lowe scorched his fellow NL East opponent Red Sox and Blue Jays by going 14-29 with 4 HR and 10 RBI.  Most importantly, the Rays went 6-1, and this was coming off a weekend sweep of the New York Yankees.  Don't look now Bombers, the Rays are on your heels.  The Rays will be pests to the presumed NL East Champion Yankees and with this years expanded playoff format, likely to wreck other teams hopes as well.  Lowe is set up to lead the charge, and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!