Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/29/2026

The shot of the tournament.  Maybe the shot of the tournament in this century.  Heavyweight number one overall seed goes down on a miracle sequence.  This is why we love March Madness.  Connecticut and Duke went toe to toe in the East Regional Finals, two teams with a healthy number of NCAA Championship banners hanging from their rafters.  Despite what some say, NCAA tournament upsets are fun in the short term, but heavy weights going at it at the back end of the tournament is fun too.  Duke was comfortable leading by as many as 19 points as the top seed seemed to be in position to go to their third Final Four in six years.  They led 40-21 three quarters of the way through the first half.  Ten-point lead with 6 minutes left.  Four points and the ball with 90s left.  Two points and the ball with 10s left.  Then it all imploded.  The final sequence will never be forgotten.  Duke just needing to dribble it out throws a pass over a double team, tipped by Braylon Mullins.  Mullins recovers the ball, quick pass, pass back to Mullins, 35-footer.  Good!  It didn't even touch the rim.  Connecticut advances and Duke cries. May not have seen a final sequence like that since the Laettner win over Kentucky.  It's in March Madness Lore and Braylon Mullins is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week! 

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/22/2026

March Madness is in full effect!  With fewer upsets than some wanted (I'm good with it, I want to see big boy heavyweight games downstream), one individual set an all-time NCAA record that is decades old.  Purdue guard Braden Smith hit 1077 career assists passing the sentimental Duke guard Bobby Hurley for most in NCAA history.  Hurley had the record for over 30 years.  One of only four players to have more than 1000 (Chris Corchiani and Ed Cota the other two).  He's an All-Big 10 first team selection for the third straight year.  Epitome of older school college basketball where your best players played through their eligibility and consistently go deep in the tournament.  Purdue is queued up for a Sweet 16 matchup against Texas, and should they play that they'll look for their second Final Four berth since 1980, the last of which was two years ago when they lost to Connecticut in the finals.  Experienced guard play is always key to deep tournament runs and Smith has that for Purdue.  He is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!  

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/15/2026

An incredible sports week commenced with NCAA Basketball ramping up March Madness, and the World Baseball Classic entering knock out round, and NBA and NHL in the playoff push.  For the NBA, the most improbable, neigh impossible happened as Bam Adebayo reach the penultimate scoring game with 83 points in a regulation NBA game.  Yes, 83 points.  By math, that's 1.7 points per minute.  Rounds up to 2 points per minute he played.  Figuring each team gets a possession, maybe two per minute, incredible.  He got his shots, taking 43 and knocking down 20 in a high scoring win for his Miami Heat over the hapless Washington Wizards in a 150-129 win.  Seven of those made shots were from 3-point land for eh, a quarter of his points. But the main damage he did was from the free throw line getting 36 points in 43 attempts.  If you can't stop him, foul him.  He didn't tip toe around other statistics as well, getting 9 boards and actually passing 3 times for assists.  He also had a game high 2 blocks on the defensive end.  Few expect Adebayo to compete for an MVP or scoring title, but he only looks up to Wilt Chamberlain in terms of a single game total.  And his was on tape.  Adebayo is a worthy, Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/8/2026

Not all elite athletes are at the full-time professionals.  Some are electricians.  That is the case for this week's Sportsman of the Week.  Czech pitcher Ondřej Satoria has emerged as the best statistical pitcher in the World Baseball Classic Pool play.  The underdog Czech's were punching up in weight class in the Asian bracket, featuring MLB and Asian professional league laden Japan (defending WBC champions) and South Korea.  Satoria didn't flinch.  He dueled with emerging Japanese superstar Hiroto Takahashi for almost five innings of no run ball.  This was following a near 4 inning performance against a balanced Australian squad earlier also giving up no runs.  In total, 8 1/3 innings, 0 runs, and and ERA at 0.00 leading all pitchers in the Classic.  The very sportsmanship crowd in Japan tipped their hat, along with the Japanese players, to Satoria as he left the mound.  Czech might have gone 0-4 in what was a miracle run to make it, but Ondřej Satoria will be remembered as WBC legend.  The Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/1/2026

In a transition time for team sports, the spring always represents the beginning of competitive motorsports around the world.  In the United States, NASCAR remains a fan favorite.  A rare sport that starts with its most prestigious race at Daytona, then looks for other southern tracks to wait out late winter to include Atlanta (although it was near 40 degrees) and Austin, TX.  Never has a single driver won the first three races in a season.  Until 2026.  Tyler Reddick has driven nothing short of brilliantly in navigating major crashes, variable pit strategies, and outright execution in being the first NASCAR driver with three checkered flags before March (okay at least March 2).  Winning the Daytona 500 is always at the fates' mercy as huge wrecks typically take out leaders and mid-pack alike.  Then onto Atlanta where again, as a drafting track, things are tight to the finish.  Then throw in the newest road course in NASCAR at the Circuit of the Americas and a major road racing king opponent in Shane Van Gispergen who had won the last five road races.  All of it, won by Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing.  Who didn't win any races in 2025.  He's off to a great start and is nearing cruise control for the Playoffs and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!