Sportsman of the Week Ending 1/13/2019

The NFL Playoffs are reaching a crescendo as the Division Playoffs yielded the four finalists for the Super Bowl.  While the winners were all the home team favorites, it was a surprise player that carried the Los Angeles Rams to their first NFC Championship Game in 17 years.  Veteran running back C.J. Anderson stepped up as a 50/50 back to superstar Todd Gurley and delivered.  Having been the Rams featured back in the final two regular season games (which were of little importance to the Rams playoff seeding), Anderson eclipsed 100 yards on both occasions.  Now he did it when it mattered most.  Anderson notched 123 yards and 2 TD against what had been considered a stingy Cowboys defense.  And the yards were hard earned, as no carries were longer than 15 yards meaning Anderson made each and every carry count.  The Rams moved on with a 30-22 victory that was less in doubt than the score seemed.  And the 27-year old veteran looks poised to provide balance to MVP candidate Gurley.  Which will be a lot for the New Orleans Saints to handle.  Anderson is the epitome of Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 1/7/2019

Another week, another dominant performance, and another National Championship for the Clemson Tigers.  Led by super freshman Quarterback Trevor Lawrence (and last week's Sportsman of the Week Justyn Ross), the Alabama Crimson Tide were overmatched.  Lawrence torched the Tide defense for 347 yards and 3 TD in a flawless performance with no interceptions.  Lawrence also scrambled effectively for 27 yards on six carries.  The end result was a dismantling of the number one Alabama 44-16, the worst loss in the Nick Saban era.  It marks the second title for Clemson in 3 years, as well as the third straight title game loss for the Southeastern Conference.  And the best may be yet to come for Trevor Lawrence who will have at least two more years at Clemson.  But for now, he is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 12/30/2018

On college football's biggest stage, against college football's most storied program, it was a freshman that had a career day to push his team to the National Championship game.  Clemson Tigers wide receiver Justyn Ross looked like a man among boys as he ran past, around and through the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense for an easy Cotton Bowl win.  Ross helped the Tigers bust the game open in the second quarter, catching both of his TD passes from 40 yards or more out.  Overall, he hauled in six catches for 148 yards, both were career highs.  Considering the throws were coming from a freshman QB, this is probably not the last we'll hear from Ross.  Starting next week, when the Alabama native faces the home state Crimson Tide in the National Championship Game  Ross is a surprise but worthy, Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 12/23/2018

The College Football Bowl Season continues through the pre-Christmas slate and another unheralded star has emerged.  Brigham Young University freshmen quarterback Zach Wilson put his team on his back and led the Cougars to a decisive 49-18 victory over the Western Michigan Broncos in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.  Yes, the one on Blue Turf.  However, it was that turf that none of Wilson's passes actually hit.  He was a record perfect 18-18 in passing with 4 of those resulting in touchdowns.  Lest you thought he was just throwing easy short routes, he eclipsed 300 yards (317 to be exact) and no, none of his passes were caught by the other team either.  BYU finished a transition season at 7-6 but is positioned strongly for the future, with our Sportsman of the Week a talent at QB to watch for years to come!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 12/16/2018

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Also known as Bowl Season.  The Las Vegas Bowl is typically one of the more elite bowls in the first weekend of the 40 game Bowl matching up a Pac 12 school and Mountain West Champion.  For the third year in a row, the Mountain West Champions took the bowl.  This year, led by a strong running performance, the Fresno State Bulldogs defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils 31-21.  Bulldog RB Ronnie Rivers torched the Sun Devils for 212 yards on 24 carries, both career highs.  Add two touchdowns and 4 catches and he was clearly the man of the match.  His two touchdowns were the last two of the game and the only points for the Bulldogs to put away the Sun Devils.  As the bowls get bigger, there may not be a bigger running performance than Rivers, and he is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

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!