Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/29/2020

The Kentucky Derby may be delayed, but that doesn't stop the qualification races and a big winner was determined this week.  Tiz the Law, trained by Barclay Tagg, scorched the Gulfstream park 9 furlongs in 1:50, healthy for the upper echelon of the Triple Crown events.  But was jockey Manny Franco that rode the colt to victory.  The 25 year old Puerto Rico native has yet to surge onto the national stage, but may be poised to do so, even with the Kentucky Derby delayed to Labor Day weekend.  Will Tiz the Law be the horse to beat this summer?  We shall see.  But Franco is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/22/2020

In a dark time in modern sports history, a shining beacon from the north gives inspiration.  Thomas Waerner won one of the most iconic sports events on the planet.  The Iditarod.  Nearly 1000 miles of mushing across the beautiful yet rugged terrain northern land of Alaska.  Done in 09:10:37:47 (days, hours, minutes, seconds).  For reference, the three weeks of the Tour de France winner finishes in between 3 and 4 days (albeit not elapsed time).  That's a lot of time in the saddle and on the trail.  The Norwegian Waerner is only the fourth non-American to win the Iditarod, and it was surprising in only his second try.  He gave all credit to K2 and Bark, his two lead dogs, giving all of his ten dogs a snack after the race.  Waerner is the second Iditarod champion to be named Sportsman of the Week and should not be the last!

Credit to The Guardian for much of the information in this article

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/15/2020

It was a short sports week in all too many ways but we won't dwell on that.  We had two good days of sports.  Monday and Tuesday.  And in convincing fashion, the North Dakota State Bison showed they were not just a football school in surging to semifinal and final wins in the Summit League Tournament.  Led by our Sportsman of the Week Tyson Ward.  Ward poured in 21 points to beat the 4th seeded Oral Roberts University on Monday, then another 23 points and 13 boards on Tuesday as they dismantled rival North Dakota including 5-5 on three point shots.  Had the NCAA Tournament been held, it would have been the Bison fifth appearance.  As it is, they won their last game and went out on top, thanks to Ward and his Conference Champion teammates.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/8/2020

A hat trick is one thing.  Five goals in a game is another.  But our Sportsman of the Week did just that.  Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers tormented Ilya Samsonov of the Washington Capitals for the quinfecta in 52 minutes to give the Rangers a key win in their playoff chase in the Eastern Conference.  Zibanejad scored 7 goals in 3 games over the week.  His 39 goals this year are a career high and he's hit the 20 goals in a season 5 of the last 6 seasons.  The Swede showed his mettle this week, and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/1/2020

Just when you think it's over, football season is back!  XFL style, as the second edition of the alternative to the NFL takes center stage and has been entertaining to date.  Mainly because the level of play has been high.  The St. Louis BattleHawks have been a team to follow, being that St. Louis was the only XFL city that didn't already have an NFL team.  And it's been a success.  St. Louis is leading the league in attendance at 28K per game and are led by a QB who seems to be a solid NFL backup if not starter in 2020.  Jordan Ta'amu led his team to its third victory in Week 4, on a 20-27, 264 passing yards, 65 yard rushing effort for the teams 3rd win in 4 weeks (second best record in the league).  Ta'amu is second in the XFL in passing yards at 876 yards and is turning heads with his decision making (leading the league at 75% completion percentage).  The 22 year-old had a lot of NFL preseason snaps for the Houston Texans last August (due to preserving Deshaun Watson and an injured backup) and will likely get a nod this summer.  And deserved, our Sportsman of the Week!