Sportsman of the Week Ending 4/24/2022

In one of the grandest and most traditional sports, perhaps one of the greatest in that sport etched his name into history in what may be his final competition.  Tyson Fury proved his heavyweight boxing championship meddle with a 6th round knockout of contender Dillian Whyte in front of a phrenetic 90K plus home crowd at England's Wimbley Stadium.  Whyte seemed overmatched by the largish champion Fury as he faced a constant barrage of punches, with 76 landing including 47 power punches.  As the waning seconds of the 6th round ticked down, the referee stopped the fight for a TKO.  Fury finishes his career undefeated, with a 32-0-1 (only 10 fights going the distance, none lost).  In an era where boxing is finding itself among other combat sports, Fury ends with a record in some of the annals of history.  And is a worthy (second time) Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 4/17/2022

Another amazing week in sports, especially American sports, but we go over to the Pacific Rim for an amazing, near impossible or stuff of legend, story.  Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) has started just like the American Major League Baseball but has a story never matched.  20-year-old pitching phenom Roki Sasaki (佐々木) of the Chiba Lotte Marines in his second and third start of the young season pitched 17 consecutive perfect innings.  Read that again.  17.  Consecutive.  Perfect.  Innings.  Sasaki pitched the 16th perfect game in NPB history (first since 1994, 7+ years before Sasaki was born) on Sunday April 10, on a magnificent 19 strike out (including 13 straight) 27 up, 27 down performance.  He followed it a week later with 24 up and 24 down before being lifted (by his own admission suffering "some fatigue") in a 0-0 game.  For a young arm like that, discretion is definitely warranted.  What will Sasaki do for his next act?  Check it out on Sunday for his next start.  And maybe in a Major League Baseball ballpark in the not-too-distant future!  Sasaki is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 4/10/2022

What a week of sports.  It started with the NCAA Men's Basketball finals, transitioned to the Major League Baseball Opening Day, but finished with the iconic Masters tournament, the first with full fans in 3 years.  And it did not disappoint.  The surging best player in golf lapped the field to win not only his first Masters, but first major.  Scott Scheffler has been one of the best up and coming golfers for over a year now.  Including his inclusion on the dominant American Ryder Cup team in which his inclusion was questioned, as usually spots go to veterans, to a 4-0 matchup performance.  But in Augusta, he was unmatched.  Consistency, big shots, and nerves of steel, and talent.  Lots of talent.  Scheffler is one of the next generation greats, and a worthy Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportswoman of the Week Ending 4/3/2022

The NCAA Women's Final Four ended up with a familiar matchup as two perennial heavyweights squared off to notch another National Title in their dynastic era.  This time, the South Carolina Gamecocks emerged with their second championship in six years (five tournaments).  Led by our Sportswoman of the Week Aliyah Boston, who filled up the stat sheet in both wins in the Final Four.  In a 72-59 victory over the Louisville Cardinals in the National Semifinals, Boston netted 23 points (66% shooting) and 18 rebounds with a block and 4 assists.  In the National Finals domination, she netted another 11 points, 16 boards, 2 blocks, and 3 assists to beat the Connecticut Huskies going away 64-49.  The 2022 John Wooden award winner for National Player of the year stepped up and led her team to a National Championship.  She's a worthy Sportswoman of the Week!