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! 

Sportswoman of the Week Ending 4/3/2022

The NCAA Women's Final Four ended up with a familiar matchup as two perennial heavyweights squared off to notch another National Title in their dynastic era.  This time, the South Carolina Gamecocks emerged with their second championship in six years (five tournaments).  Led by our Sportswoman of the Week Aliyah Boston, who filled up the stat sheet in both wins in the Final Four.  In a 72-59 victory over the Louisville Cardinals in the National Semifinals, Boston netted 23 points (66% shooting) and 18 rebounds with a block and 4 assists.  In the National Finals domination, she netted another 11 points, 16 boards, 2 blocks, and 3 assists to beat the Connecticut Huskies going away 64-49.  The 2022 John Wooden award winner for National Player of the year stepped up and led her team to a National Championship.  She's a worthy Sportswoman of the Week!

Sportswoman of the Week Ending 4/1/2018

If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.  And that's just what the Notre Dame Women's basketball team did.  The Fighting Irish completed an improbably National Championship season by defeating the seemingly invincible Connecticut Huskies (36-0) and last year's runner up Mississippi State Bulldogs (37-1).  But it was the style in which our Sportswoman of the Week defeated them that will make her legend.  Arike Ogunbowale didn't shoot particularly well in either game, but was unstoppable at the end.  Ogunbowale first slayed the Huskies with a 19 foot jumper with just a second left to break a tie in overtime.  Then against the Bulldogs, she hit a fall away three pointer under guard as the buzzer sounded.  She averaged 22.5 points her game in willing her team to the title.  The Irish overcame injuries to four players throughout the season to complete the improbably run, and Arike Ogunbowale made it happen as our Sportswoman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/30/2014

It's March, and that can only lead to Madness.  And this year's NCAA Men's tournament hasn't disappointed.  As the field was whittled down from 16 to 4, one team seems to have come from nowhere to be in the mix, led by our Sportsman of the Week.  Shabazz Napier is an enigma in the tournament.  He's a senior.  In leading the Connecticut Huskies to two wins over the weekend, he poured in 44 points, 11 boards, and 9 assists.  Shooting 44% from the field, but 93% from the line and 53% from beyond the arc.  Including three key free throws in the last 30 seconds to oust Michigan State.  Senior leadership does matter in the tournament, and having Napier on your bench might mean a championship.  He is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!