Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/22/2023

What a week of League Championship Series action in Major League Baseball with road teams dominating, especially on the American League side of the ledger.  In a Lone Star showdown the Texas Rangers faced off against the defending World Series Champion Houston Astros in a back yard brawl.  The Rangers came out on top, thanks to their defacto ace Nathan Eovaldi.  Facing the Astros for the fifth time at Minute Maid Park, he extended his prior success to end the Astros reign.  Eovaldi won two starts at Minute Maid Park in Games 2 and 6.  12 2/3 innings, 10 hits, and 5 runs with 13 K.  He wasn't perfect, but his team staked him to early leads and he knew what to do with them.  Those two wins at the Juice Box propelled the Rangers to their first World Series in 12 years, looking for their first title in franchise history.  

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/15/2023

This blog has always liked big upsets and nothing is better than an unbelievable performance in such.  Stanford pulled of an unbelievable, and improbably upset of Colorado after trailing 29-0 at half time.  Being a late game on a Friday night, few fans stayed up.  But they should have.  Stanford went full video game mode in the second half, scoring the first 26 points, then the last the last 10.  Of those 36 points, Stanford WR Elic Ayomanor scored 14 of them.  He scored another TD in overtime and ended the night with 294 yards on 13 catches, including a 97 yard grab and run.  And he did it all, catches in traffic, catches and make a guy miss, and there was nothing the Buffs could do about it.  The sheen is off the Buffaloes, but credit to Stanford and credit to Ayomanor, the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week! 

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/1/2023

Parity may be the rule of the 2023 NFL season, but a familiar team from recent and historical playoffs is dominating.  Thanks to a superstar running back that positions the San Francisco 49ers to be one of the most dangerous teams of the year.  Christian McCaffrey has entered, or really continued, his prime in which he is borderline unstoppable. MVP unstoppable if voters will look past quarterbacks.  McCaffrey shredded the Arizona Cardinals for an easy 106 yards on 20 carries and 3 touchdowns in a 35-16 Niners victory.  His longest run was 18 yards so that wasn't padded by a breakaway.  Add to that a game leading 7 catches (one for a TD) for another 71 yards (with longest also under 20 yards).  He basically was an automatic 10 yard weapons just get him the ball.  This isn't Christian McCaffrey's first Sportsman of the Week and may not be his last!