Sportswoman of the Week Ending 3/25/2012

This week's Sportswoman of the week is one of the most dominant forces in her sport. Perhaps the greatest of all time, but we'll let the 21 year old finish her junior year first. Here's a rundown of her stats this week in two games versus Florida and Georgia Tech: Two wins, 60 points, 21-32 from the field, 18-21 from the line, 19 rebounds and 12 blocks. She's actually blocked more shots than she's missed. And her team has won by an average of 17 points in rounds when you're not supposed to win by that many points. Oh, and did I mention she dunked the ball twice? Brittney Griner is a deserving Sportswoman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/18/2012

While March Madness consumed the U.S., there is clearly not one sportsman who stands above the rest, as the beauty of the NCAA Basketball tournament is in the teams and seeds. All that digested, this week's Sportsman of the Week is the winner of the 2012 Iditarod, Dallas Seavey. 975 miles of man and canine against nature, best man, woman or child wins. This time, child, as a 25 year old, Mr. Seavey is the youngest winner ever. He's a third generation musher, whose dad won the Iditarod in 2004. Congrats to Dallas, you clearly represent the tenets of the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week.

Franchise Performance Pt. 5 (#11 - #30)

Recapping the groundrules of the study, we are ranking all sports city-team combinations for playoff performance since 1974 using a poker like system:
1) All teams chip in $10 at the beginning of the year
2) Winner takes 50%, Runner up 25%, Semifinalists 10% each, remaining playoff teams split the last 5%
3) City/Team combinations are separate, the Charlotte Hornets are not associated with the New Orleans Hornets, etc.

Totals through the 2012 Super Bowl are included.

Number 121-148 were revealed in part 1
Number 91-120 were revealed in part 2
Number 61-90 were revealed in part 3
Number 31-60 were revealed in part 4

The fifth batch brings us all teams that have won titles, most have been around since 1974. Only one NBA team, seems like NBA is either feast (Top 10) or famine (can't make a profit). Lots of NHL teams represent different eras, from the Habs to the Isles to the Pens to the Avs to the Devils. Interesting in baseball you have back-to-back the Braves, Red Sox, and Dodgers (three pretty good franchises).

Rank	Total	Team	City	League	Titles	Finals	Semis	Playoffs	Years
30	$127.38	Hurricanes	CHA	NHL	1	2	3	5	13
29	$136.08	Bruins	BOS	NHL	1	6	11	32	37
28	$143.50	Athletics	OAK	MLB	2	4	8	12	37
27	$145.31	Penguins	PIT	NHL	3	4	6	24	37
26	$148.02	Redskins	WAS	NFL	3	4	5	13	39
25	$209.08	Islanders	NYC	NHL	4	5	10	21	37
24	$219.50	Dodgers	LA	MLB	2	5	9	13	37
23	$223.00	Braves	ATL	MLB	1	5	10	16	37
22	$224.75	Red Sox	BOS	MLB	2	4	9	13	37
21	$248.33	Avalanche	DEN	NHL	2	2	6	12	15
20	$255.75	Phillies	PHI	MLB	2	5	9	12	37
19	$274.98	Broncos	DEN	NFL	2	6	8	20	39
18	$277.71	Devils	NEW	NHL	3	4	6	20	28
17	$296.00	Raiders I	OAK	NFL	2	2	6	6	9
16	$308.46	Giants	NYC	NFL	4	5	5	15	39
15	$344.29	Pistons	DET	NBA	3	5	11	25	38
14	$350.73	Flyers	PHI	NHL	2	8	16	31	37
13	$374.25	Canadiens	MON	NHL	6	7	11	31	37
12	$390.50	Cardinals	STL	MLB	3	6	10	12	37
11	$396.83	Oilers	EDM	NHL	5	7	9	20	31

Discussion: Boston finally checks in with two teams. Two remaining are Top 10. Habs with six titles still don't crack the Top 10, can't wait to review those. Braves the best team with only one title, figures how much success they've had without (Broncos come to mind, but they've won two).

The break down of this set by league as:
NHL: 9
MLB: 6
NFL: 4
NBA: 1

Each team is summarized below. A reminder, the years below are the year of the playoffs, so for NFL, 2010 is associated with the 2009 regular season. For best season, playoff performance is given precedence over regular season record.

Number: 30
Team: Hurricanes
City: Charlotte
League: NHL
Years: 1998 – 2011 (13)
Playoffs: 5
Semifinals: 3
Finals: 2
Championships: 1
Best year: 2006 (52-22-0-8, won Stanley Cup)
Worst year: 2003 (22-43-11-6)
Winnings: $127.38

Number: 29
Team: Bruins
City: Boston
League: NHL
Years: 1974 – 2011 (37)
Playoffs: 32
Semifinals: 11
Finals: 6
Championships: 1
Best year: 2011 (46-25-0-11, won Stanley Cup)
Worst year: 1997 (26-47-9)
Winnings: $136.08

Number: 28
Team: Athletics
City: Oakland
League: MLB
Years: 1974 – 2011 (37)
Playoffs: 12
Semifinals: 8
Finals: 4
Championships: 2
Best year: 1989 (99-63, Won World Series)
Worst year: 1979 (54-108)
Winnings: $143.50

Number: 27
Team: Penguins
City: Pittsburgh
League: NHL
Years: 1974 – 2011 (37)
Playoffs: 24
Semifinals: 6
Finals: 4
Championships: 3
Best year: 2009 (45-28-0-9, won Stanley Cup)
Worst year: 1984 (16-58-6)
Winnings: $145.31

Number: 26
Team: Redskins
City: Washington
League: NFL
Years: 1974 – 2012 (39)
Playoffs: 13
Semifinals: 5
Finals: 4
Championships: 3
Best year: 1992 (14-2, won Super Bowl)
Worst year: 1995 (3-13)
Winnings: $148.02

Number: 25
Team: Islanders
City: New York
League: NHL
Years: 1974 – 2011 (37)
Playoffs: 21
Semifinals: 10
Finals: 5
Championships: 4
Best years: 1982 (54-16-10, won Stanley Cup)
Worst years: 2001 (21-51-7-3)
Winnings: $209.08

Number: 24
Team: Dodgers
City: Los Angeles
League: MLB
Years: 1974 – 2011 (37)
Playoffs: 13
Semifinals: 9
Finals: 5
Championships: 2
Best year: 1988 (94-67-1, Won World Series)
Worst year: 1992 (63-99)
Winnings: $219.50

Number: 23
Team: Braves
City: Atlanta
League: MLB
Years: 1974 – 2011 (37)
Playoffs: 16
Semifinals: 10
Finals: 5
Championships: 1
Best year: 1995 (95-67, won World Series)
Worst year: 1988 (56-106)
Winnings: $223.00

Number: 22
Team: Red Sox
City: Boston
League: MLB
Years: 1974 – 2011 (37)
Playoffs: 13
Semifinals: 9
Finals: 4
Championships: 2
Best year: 2008 (98-64, won World Series)
Worst year: 1992 (73-89)
Winnings: $224.75

Number: 21
Team: Avalanche
City: Colorado
League: NHL
Years: 1996 – 2011 (15)
Playoffs: 12
Semifinals: 6
Finals: 2
Championships: 2
Best year: 2001 (52-16-10-4, won Stanley Cup)
Worst year: 2011 (30-44-0-8)
Winnings: $248.33

Number: 20
Team: Phillies
City: Philadelphia
League: MLB
Years: 1974 – 2011 (37)
Playoffs: 12
Semifinals: 9
Finals: 5
Championships: 2
Best year: 2008 (92-70, won World Series)
Worst year: 1977 (65-97)
Winnings: $255.75

Number: 19
Team: Broncos
City: Denver
League: NFL
Years: 1974 – 2012 (39)
Playoffs: 20
Semifinals: 8
Finals: 6
Championships: 2
Best year: 1999 (14-2, won Super Bowl)
Worst year: 2011 (4-12)
Winnings: $274.98

Number: 18
Team: Devils
City: Newark
League: NHL
Years: 1983 – 2011 (28)
Playoffs: 20
Semifinals: 6
Finals: 4
Championships: 3
Best year: 2003 (46-20-10-6, won Stanley Cup)
Worst year: 1984 (17-56-7)
Winnings: 277.71

Number: 17
Team: Raiders I
City: Oakland
League: NFL
Years: 1974 – 1982 (9)
Playoffs: 6
Semifinals: 6
Finals: 2
Championships: 2
Best year: 1977 (13-1, won Super Bowl)
Worst year: 1982 (7-9)
Winnings: 296.00

Number: 16
Team: Giants
City: New York
League: NFL
Years: 1974 – 2012 (39)
Playoffs: 15
Semifinals: 5
Finals: 5
Championships: 4
Best year: 1987 (14-2, won Super Bowl)
Worst year: 1975 (2-12)
Winnings: $308.46

Number: 15
Team: Pistons
City: Detroit
League: NBA
Years: 1974 – 2011 (38)
Playoffs: 25
Semifinals: 11
Finals: 5
Championships: 3
Best year: 1989 (63-19, won NBA Championship)
Worst year: 1980 (16-66)
Winnings: $344.29

Number: 14
Team: Flyers
City: Philadelphia
League: NHL
Years: 1974 – 2011 (37)
Playoffs: 31
Semifinals: 16
Finals: 8
Championships: 2
Best year: 1974 (50-16-12, won Stanley Cup)
Worst year: 2007 (22-48-0-12)
Winnings: $350.73

Number: 13
Team: Canadiens
City: Montreal
League: NHL
Years: 1974 – 2011 (37)
Playoffs: 31
Semifinals: 11
Finals: 7
Championships: 6
Best year: 2007 (60-8-12, won Stanley Cup)
Worst year: 2001 (28-40-8-6)
Winnings: $374.25

Number: 12
Team: Cardinals
City: St. Louis
League: MLB
Years: 1974 – 2012 (37)
Playoffs: 12
Semifinals: 10
Finals: 6
Championships: 3
Best year: 1982 (92-70, won World Series)
Worst year: 1978 (69-93)
Winnings: $390.50

Number: 11
Team: Oilers
City: Edmonton
League: NHL
Years: 1980– 2011 (31)
Playoffs: 20
Semifinals: 9
Finals: 7
Championships: 5
Best year: 1984 (57-18-5, won Stanley Cup)
Worst year: 1993 (26-50-8)
Winnings: $396.83

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/11/2012

A spectacular performance in a single game earns the title of Sportsman of the Week for Lionel Messi. An unprecedented five goals in a Champions League match (25th, 42nd, 49th, 58th, and 84th minutes) is a notch in the career hall of fame stick for Messi, thrusting him into a small group of elite who can be debated as "Best Ever". Now if he can just bring a World Cup back to the pampas of Argentina, his legacy will be cemented. For now, he'll have to settle for being the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/4/2012

This week's Sportsman involved a bit of luck, that being the unprecedented delay of the Daytona 500 to make it this week. Of course, I'm speaking of the 2012 champion, Matt Kenseth. Affectionately known as "America's Race", it had more of the theatre of the bizarre than usual, to include the Monday start (which turned out to be a ratings bonanza), a yellow flag within the first lap and a half, then an explosion of jet fuel (courtesy of Juan Pablo Montoya) within the last quarter of the race that put the whole event back until the wee hours of the morning. Yet still, the winner of this race is a deserving Sportsman of the week, and that's what he gets!