Sportsman of the Week Ending 2/22/2015

Spring sports always bring a mixed bag of stars and this week continues that Blog tradition.  In the Great American Race, a new face emerged as the winner.  With eyes on Jeff Gordon in his final Daytona 500, and other eyes on Dale Earnhardt Jr. to see if he could repeat last year's success.  It was Joey Logano who made the leap from promising talent to immortality with a razor thin win at the Speedway.  He controlled the race for the late laps, then a wreck with around 10 laps to go put him in control for the green, white, checkered finish.  It went green/white, but then another wreck, with Jeff Gordon in the middle of it, ended the joust.  And Logano emerged.  Others should have maybe considered getting in front on the late laps just in case.  That is, if they could have!  Congrats to Joey Logano, our Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 2/15/2015

Winter sports are in full swing and if it's an odd number year, that means the World Ski Championships.  This year's event was held on United States home soil, but podium finishes were sparse.  That was until Utah-born Ted Ligety saved the Stars and Stripes.  Ligety navigated the Giant Slalom ahead of the field for his third straight World Championship (2011, 2013, 2015) and 23rd World Cup championship overall (second place in history for GS).  He also won the GS at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.  The three straight championships are a record for the GS, and only two others in different disciplines have won three straight World Championships.  For his work this week, he also claimed bronze in the Alpine category.  A great week for a great American skier and our Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 2/8/2015

With football season over, it's time to turn to hockey and hoops for weeknight sports entertainment.  Our Sportsman of the Week entertained indeed, as Russell Westbrook of the surging Oklahoma City Thunder dominated over four games.  He dropped in 34 points per game, averaged 9 rebounds AND 9 assists.  He hit >50% from the field and 95% from the line.  The team went 3-1, as Kevin Durant gets more and more healthy, the dynamic duo appears poised for a postseason run, despite sitting outside of the playoff picture.  Let's just say I wouldn't want to face a hot Westbrook and Durant in the first round and I wouldn't bet against them getting in.

This is Westbrook's second nod, joining teammate Kevin Durant (2) as well as Peyton Manning (3), LeBron James (2), Aaron Rodgers (2) and Ezekiel Elliott (2) with multiple nods through 165 weeks.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 2/1/2015

** This is late due to vacation **

The biggest event in American Sports produced a nail-biting, spine-tingling finish rarely matched in the big game.  Super Bowl XLIX was a back-and-forth affair to the last minute.  By the time the clock struck zero and the confetti reigned, Tom Brady cemented his status as a short-list candidate for the greatest of all time.  In his sixth Super Bowl start (record), he tossed for 328 and 4 TD in winning his fourth Super Bowl (tied for record with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana).  Another key element, his first and last Super Bowl titles were 13 years apart (record) and he won Super Bowl MVP for the third time (tied for record with Joe Montana).  Hard to believe this is his first nod as Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!