Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/4/2025

It is high arena playoff season, that being the NBA and NHL (a.k.a. Stanley Cup) Playoffs.  Up to four games a night for each league over the last couple of weeks has been a buffet of fan excitement.  But the ultimate climax is Game 7.  Especially a Game 7, and especially with a comeback win.  And an individual single handedly doing it.  The Dallas Stars Mikko Rantanen took a dire situation down 2-0 to score three goals in the last 13 minutes to send his team to the Second Round.  It wasn't just scoring, the former Avalanche star was lighting up the scoreboard in Games 5, 6, and 7 with six assists to go with five goals as the Stars recovered from a 3-2 deficit to win the series. The Stars move on, and Rantanen is a worthy Sportsman of the Week! 

Sportsman of the Week Ending 4/23/2023

The first week of the Stanley Cup Playoffs were as chaotic as could be expected, no team (maybe besides the record-breaking Boston Bruins).  No series ended up in a sweep with even the top teams per Conference battling for survival in the marathon for 16 wins.  The Dallas Stars are positioned strongly for a run for the cup and needed a deep team effort to split the week 2-2.  In their wins, they were led by an unexpected source, Roope Hintz, who was fourth on the team in points in the regular season.  Hintz netted a hat trick in a crucial Game 2 win to at least gain the split headed north to Minnesota.  He backed it up with a 3-assist effort in Game 4, again in a clutch series situation, to send the stars home tied with 2 of the next 3 in the Metroplex.  Hintz's 4 goals are tops in the playoffs (through Sunday).  His 8 points trail only Leon Draisaitl's 9 points but Hintz had the clutch.  Can the Dallas Stars take the cup?  We'll see what the Finnish Roope Hintz can do, but betting on him is a good idea.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/6/2022

In the times between NFL Football, March Madness, and MLB Baseball (if it ever starts again) we turn to one of the great North American winter sports, hockey.  The National Hockey League is entering the home stretch for the playoffs and the Dallas Stars are in the mix for one of the last playoff spots.  After this week, they are in.  Thanks to Jason Robertson.  Robertson led Dallas two three straight victories as a goal scoring machine, tallying 7 goals for the week.  More impressively, two hat tricks in a 48-hour span as he scored 3 on Friday against Winnipeg, including an overtime winner, then followed on Sunday with 3 more against Minnesota for two big road wins for the Stars.  Although in the Top 10 in the NHL in goals scored, the 7 goals scored this week in March were more than any full month in the previous months of the season.  Robertson is getting it done when his team needs it and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week! 

Sportsman of the Week Ending 2/14/2016

It's that time on the sports calendar where football no longer dominates the national scene and so called spring sports take over the airwaves.  Basketball, hockey, golf, soccer, and NASCAR are all getting rolling in 2016.  This week, a hockey team, led by our Sportsman of the Week, made a big statement for the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Patrick Eaves of the Dallas Stars played his best period of the season (maybe life) in skewing the rival Chicago Blackhawks for a hat trick in the first period of a critical tilt.  Behind his three goals, the Stars landed a 4-2 victory on enemy ice (for only the 7th regulation loss for Chicago on the season).  Further, the Stars have now won three straight,  including a 4-3 victory (that was 4-0 entering the 3rd period) over the NHL leading Washington Capitals, their second victory over them on the season (including one of only four home losses for Alex Ovechkin and crew earlier in the season).  On the week, Eaves scored 4 goals with a pair of assists in three victories to position the Stars as the Western Conference top seed at the moment.  Effort worthy of our Sportsman of the Week!