Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/15/2015

Sometimes a single performance justifies honors.  We saw that this week, with the Cleveland Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving.  The second year phenom put his team on his back to defeat the reigning NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs in spectacular fashion.  On Thursday, the fourth year superstar from Duke scored 57 points (highest in the league this year) with an incredible 20-32 from the field and 7-7 from beyond the arc (routine 10-10 from the free throw line).  Including a clutch 3 pointer at the buzzer to send it to overtime.  The other two games of the week, he chipped in 22 and 33 points; for the latter he was 12-15 from the field, 5-6 from beyond the arc (meaning 12-13 during the two game stretch).  The Cavs went 3-0 for the week, all on the road.  Playing in LeBron's shadow, he's quickly becoming the secret weapon for a deep Cavaliers playoff run.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 6/15/2014

Unbelievable week for the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs, and they were carried by a very unlikely star.  Kawhi Leonard come from nowhere to suddenly be the scoring leader for the Spurs.  Over Games 3 through 5 (all Spurs wins), he poured in 23.7 PPG, shooting 69%, including 54% from behind the arc.  He also tallied over 9 rebounds per game and was frequently matched with one LeBron James on the defensive end.  The 22-year-old outshined better known teammates like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker to win the Final MVP.  Good enough for us to win the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/11/2014

There's one playoff team (in both hockey and hoops) that is simply tearing opponents apart.  The San Antonio Spurs, after a first round donnybrook against the Dallas Mavericks, easily won Game 7 of that series and haven't looked back.  It's unheard of to win a NBA playoff game by 19 points.  Let alone the first three games in a series by an average of 19 points. And they were never that close.  Led by point guard Tony Parker, the Spurs look like a team possessed against the Portland Trailblazers.  This week, Parker averaged 22 points, 8 dimes and shot 52% of the field.  Leading the hottest team in the land, Tony Parker is our Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Symptom of the problem with sports today

I stumbled across this headline today and it struck a nerve: Pick one: LeBron James or NBA playoffs: Free-agency saga has more drama, human interest than postseason games so far.

I have no previous opinion of the author of the article, ESPN's Mr. Tim Keown, and find ESPN articles well written (as that one surely is if I had the stomach to read it) and I frequently read (Insider subscriber). My offense is not with the premise or his opinion, it's with the fact that most readers probably agree. At what point did the story behind sports become more of a story than the sports themselves? Has this years playoffs not been filled with stories? Kobe having his knee drained between series? Pretty sure the Western Conference finals will decide whether the AZ Immigration legislation is repealed. The Celtics and their band of older men just waltzed through Orlando and smacked the Magic in the chops but I have a feeling they're going to respond like a cornered junk yard dog. The Spurs put a hurt on the favored Mavs, and there have been some game 7's. Yet. We think about next year. And the year after. Who will LBJ sign with? What will the deal be? Will Cal come with him? Coincidence that the two markets in play are New York and Chicago? Probably not. I don't blame the markets themselves for focusing (local news media, etc). After all, your season is done. I just don't think the average fan (who tunes into ESPN) and especially those smaller markets like Orlando and Phoenix should have their accomplishments ignored for a story that isn't going to settle for months and may or may not affect next years playoffs (not that it matters, maybe they'll focus on the free agents that year instead).