Sportsman of the Week Ending 4/26/2026

Late spring sports continue to peak, and a peak performance was delivered at the London Marathon.  In race conditions, the first human being in the history of running marathons finished under 2 hours.  A mark that was thought to be unobtainable has come to fruition.  And of course, done by a Kenyan, the elite runners on the planet.  29-year-old Sebastian Sawe torched the British Course 30 seconds under 2 hours, at 1:59:30.  To speak to the conditions, the second-place finisher, Yomif Kejelcha also finished under 2 hours.  Only 11 seconds too late to be the first, so settle for second place.  The pace is insane.  Every mile for 26.2 is 4:34.  A quarter mile in under 70s.  Sawe will be remembered like the four-minute mile and Roger Banister, perfect 10 for Nadia Comăneci, sub 10s 100m, and other major milestones and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 4/19/2026

Spring sports is peak, with summer sports starting (baseball, golf), winter sports entering playoffs (hockey, basketball), and college sports reaching end of academic year.  It's baseball we go to this week.  The Chicago Cubs loaded up for a pennant run in 2026 but stumbled out of the block going 7-9 but are now on a 5-game winning streak a lot due to our Sportsman of the Week.  Infielder Nico Hoerner poured it on this week leading the Cubs to a 5-1 record and a sweep of the Rival New York Mets and taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies.  On Sunday, he had the walk off Sac Fly RBI.  For the recent 5-game winning streak, Hoerner went 9-23, 2 HR, 11 RBI leading the team to 10+ runs 3 of the games.  The Cubs are going to contenders, and if they can get a career year from the 28-year-old Hoerner, maybe a deep playoff run.  Nico Hoerner is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 4/12/2026

Another year, another green jacket.  A generational talent did generational things on the biggest stage as Rory McIlroy surged ahead, fought tough stretches, surges by competitors, was behind, then ahead, then finished.  One stroke ahead of Scott Scheffler.  That's what champions do.  McIlroy becomes only the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters championships joining legends like Nicklaus, Woods, and Faldo.  And in today's game, it's just more difficult.  He was also either first or tied for first after each round.  Impressive.  It wasn't a perfect performance, but the best in the biggest tournament as McIlroy won his second green jacket in two years and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week for the third time!

Rory McIlroy Sportsman of the Week 2025

Rory McIlroy Sportsman of the Week 2014

Sportswoman of the Week Ending 4/5/2026

The NCAA tournament on the men's AND women's side have been amazing theater.  The big teams are winning when it counts, and UCLA has fit the bill on the women's side.  At 31-1 entering the tournament, the Bruins seemed to be about the fourth choice by betting favorites behind fellow number one seeds Connecticut, South Carolina, and Texas.  They made no match for two of three.  The Bruins played absolute clamp down defense and scored consistently to win by an average of 17 points, culminating in a 28 point beatdown of South Carolina in the Finals .  Led by our Sportswoman of the Week Lauren Betts.  In relative low scoring games, The 6'7" senior Betts scored 30 points in the Final Four, on efficient 13-20 from the field, perfect 4-4 from the line, 22 rebounds, 5 blocks, 5 assists, all of what it takes to win.  It was their first NCAA Championship for a program of proud sports tradition.  Betts and her team finished the season 37-1, and a worthy Longhorndave Sportswoman of the Week!