Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/22/2020

 

As the college football season enters Thanksgiving (rivalry) week it seems like it just started.  Well for some teams (Utah) it just did.  But other teams have been battling for a couple of months and making a push for a Conference Championship.  Enter the 8-0 University of Cincinnati Bearcats.  Officially the preseason pick for second place in the American Athletic Conference, they knocked off the favorite Central Florida Knights to take the top spot angling for their first outright conference title since 2009.  In a see-saw game against the rival Knights in Orlando, the Bearcats leaned on the strong arm and competent legs of their star quarterback Desmond Ridder.  Ridder pushed the ball down the field with his strong arm for a 21-32 and 338 yards for nearly 15 yards per completion.  And two touchdowns.  When he wasn't throwing he was running.  14 carries for 52 yards.  And two more touchdowns.  Clever decision making and dynamic athleticism made the Cats offense nearly unstoppable as they won the crucial game 36-33 (noting they were on the doorstep for another TD but opted to run out the clock instead of give UCF any chance to get the ball back).  Ridder did it all and the Bearcats are positioning themselves for strong postseason consideration.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/15/2020

 

What.  A.  Catch.  Legendary for perhaps the best Wide Receiver on the planet.  Down and out, few seconds left, the QB throws it.  And our Sportsman of the Week hauls it in.  With three defenders around him.  Funny thing is, he made it look easy like there was no other outcome to be had.  The Arizona Cardinals steal trade of the offseason DeAndre Hopkins showed why he's the best WR by hauling in a 43 yard TD on a Hail Mary from QB Kyler Murray for the potential statement win for the franchise in the last 10 years.  The drama was fueled by a see saw game of two probably playoff teams that saw the Bills score what seemed to be the winning TD with a scant 34s left and the Cardinals needing a TD.  Kyler and D-Hop said otherwise and you will be seeing this catch for years, decades to come.  Greatness rises, and our Sportsman of the Week rose.   And caught it.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/8/2020

 

A definite candidate for Game of the Year, Clemson at Notre Dame delivered.  It had it all.  Talent all over the field.  Drama with a backup quarterback for Clemson replacing a Heisman Trophy favorite.  A team that hadn't lost a regular season game in years.  And Notre Dame.  Under the shadows of Touchdown Jesus.  And the game lived up to the hype.  It ended in overtime.  Notre Dame's Kyren Williams was steady in all aspects of the game.  The sophomore toted the ball 23 times for an impressive 140 yards, and 3 TD, including one in each overtime.  He was also a key cog in the blocking scheme that allowed Notre Dame to throw for over 300 yards in a workman-like effort.  He consistently found the blitzer and gave his QB time to find his man down field.  Williams joins an historic legacy of Fighting Irish running backs and will likely play on Sunday, and is a worthy Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week! 

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/1/2020

The man of the match, best way to describe the gutsy performance of our Sportsman of the Week.  Texas Longhorns linebacker Joseph Ossai terrorized the Top 10 Oklahoma State offense forcing turnovers, and in the end saving the game.  Ossai notched 12 tackles, including an astounding 7 for loss (not your typical tackle the running back after 5 yards).  And the three sacks were the biggest, one he forced a fumble, recovered two, another he ended the game on fourth down by chasing the Pokes QB Spencer Sanders in overtime for the Horns to beat the #6 Cowboys 41-34.  Additionally, he led the defense that held 2019 Doak Walker finalist Chuba Hubbard to under 100 yards for the first time in conference play since his freshman year in 2018.  Ossai wouldn't be stopped and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/25/2020

 

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to tear through the MLB Postseason and another hero emerges.  One of their best franchise players. Clayton Kershaw, despite those who feel his postseason performances have not been up to par, won two critical games in the World Series to edge his Dodgers up 3 games to 2 over the Tampa Bay Rays.  He won pivotal Game 1 with 6 IP, 2 H, 8 K in victory to send them to a 1-0 lead, then responded with a gutsy performance (5 2/3, 2 ER, 6 K) to win Game 5 to again push the Dodgers ahead.  This time, they need just one more game.  After coming up short in the World Series in two prior appearances, this may be the Dodgers year.  Heavy favorites after a dominant regular season, along with a loaded lineup and arsenal of arms in both starting and relief roles, this is their best chance to win a Series since the 1988 season.  And their ace set them up.  The Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

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!