Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/26/2023

Thanksgiving in the United States is synonymous with football.  And in the NFL, that includes America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys.  Since the early 1960s the Cowboys always play the late afternoon time slot as families settle into their dinner routine.  This year, they were delivered an extra side of sweetness by DaRon Bland.  As the Cowboys completely outclassed their primary historic rival Washington (nee) Redskins, Bland set an all-time NFL record for interceptions for a touchdown.  Talking history.  Deion.  Hayes.  Woodson.  Revis.  Green.  Bland (ironic name) was not that in his FIFTH return for a TD with just under 5 minutes left in the game.  With six more games, he could extend his record.  Is this the Cowboys year?  It's been a couple of decades.  They wuill need their defense to be shut down and score and it just might be so.  DeRon Bland is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/19/2023

The NFL season moves to crunch time as games remaining are dwindling and playoff position is at a premium.  In a season in which most teams have 2 or more losses, seeding will be key.  The San Francisco 49ers have one of the most talented rosters in the NFC and after hitting the skids midseason, seem to be hitting their stride.  Thanks to their unassuming superstar QB Brock Purdy.  Purdy emerged last year after poor performance and injury rendered him the starter and he delivered.  The Iowa State product with polished skills across the board continues to produce.  This week in a must win before a tough stretch of schedule, Purdy scored a perfect QB rating at 158.3 in a dominant performance defeating the plucky Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-14.  Purdy threw 25 times only missing four.  Totaling 333 yards (well over 10 yards per pass and 15 yards per completion) and 3 TDs.  He led the Niners to the NFC Championship game last year and they seemed poised for a potential rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles this year and Purdy can't wait for revenge after being knocked out of last year's blowout.  For now, Brock Purdy is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/12/2023

The college football season is hitting a crescendo for the Playoffs, but I believe it's time we look beyond playoff contenders for Heisman favorites.  Look no further than Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Senior Louisiana State QB Jayden Daniels is dominating the SEC and rewriting record books.  And he's the definition of dual threat.  And both he goes for big yards.  On Saturday against formidable, if not ranked, Florida, Daniels tallied off 372 yards passing on just 26 attempts for nearly 15 yards a drop back.  And when he wasn't throwing, he'd run for 234 on 12 carries for 19.5 yards per tote.  He's third in the country in passing behind last year's Heisman winner and another favorite for this year.  He's nearing 1000 yards, top 30 in the country.  He's a weapon and while LSU won't win the SEC, he deserves to be in New York and perhaps, raising that large trophy.  Jayden Daniels is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/5/2023

An epic week and weekend in sports was highlighted by great NFL matchups, the World Series, the Breeders Cup, and college football.  It's the latter we focus on and in particular, Bedlam.  The Bedlam football series between Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys has taken place for 1xx years, even longer than Oklahoma was a state.  And in what may be the final matchup for a while after Sooners chose to leave for the Southeastern Conference, it was the little brother Cowboys who came out on top in front of a frenzied crowd.  And the engine that made it happen was all world running back Ollie Gordon II.  Gordon II has been epic this season and against the best opponent of the year, put up great numbers.  He ran for 137 yards and 2 TD, while catching another pass for over 150 yards total.  He's been doing this all year now with 1224 yards without even racking up many in non-conference play as he earned the starting nod.  His yardage leads the country.  He's averaging 7.0 yards per carry, best of anyone with 125 carries or more.  He's doing it all and now Oklahoma State is tied for the conference lead.  Ahead of big brother Oklahoma.  It doesn't get any better than that, thanks to Ollie Gordon II, the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/29/2023

As the MLB League Championship Series wrapped up, a surprise winner on the National League side emerged.  Nobody was talking about the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team with the worst record in the playoffs, emerging with the pennant, but that they did.  What they lacked in star power was made up for in talent and execution.  Execution was the name of the game for Ketel Marte.  And consistency.  Marte set a postseason record with a 20-game hitting streak.  During the week ending Sunday October 29, Marte's Diamondbacks won three out of four games, including the last two of the NLCS to send the defending National League Champions home, and also won Game 2 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers to send it back to Arizona tied (spoiler alert, it didn't go well in the desert).  Before the week Marte helped secure the Diamondbacks first win in the series with a walk off hit.  Marte ended the week 5/20, 2 two 2B, a triple and 6 critical RBI to clinch Arizona's first pennant since 2001.  A surprise story and budding superstar, Ketel Marte is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!