Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/26/2024

Memorial Day Weekend in the United States of America is known as one of the best weekends in motorsports, with the Indianapolis 500 and Coca Cola 600 events in Indy Car and NASCAR respectively.  But the hardcore racing fan gets up early on Sunday and watches the Monte Carlo Grand Prix.  While admittedly, the race is rarely full of drama, it at last captures the essence of glamour, glitz, opulence, and fun.  Even more fun when a driver from Monaco wins like Charles Leclerc.  Who did just that.  Leclerc took the pole position with his Ferrari, then the lead after the start, then a restart after a red flag on Lap 1.  And never looked back.  A balance between keeping distance and preserving tires enabled the Monacan to make it look easy (in a sport dominated by a two-time defending champion).  Leclerc won the biggest race of his life and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/19/2024

Winning your first Major Tournament in Golf is always exhilarating but probably more so when you've been close on multiple occasions.  Xander Schauffele went wire to wire, opening the tournament with a sizzling 62 and finishing with a must have birdie to hit the clubhouse at 21 under par, a record for a major.  And the tournament wasn't without course challenges, with a lot of rain over the early rounds causing the course to play uneven.  But steady as Valhalla played, Schauffele tamed her, and held off hard charging and fan pumped Bryson DeChambeau who was warming up for a playoff before Xander knocked down a 6+ footer for birdie to render BDC at second place at 20 under.  After 12 Top 10, and five Top 5 Majors finishes, Xander Schauffele is finally a major champion and the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/5/2024

The NBA Playoffs first round entered its climax with a big Game 7 for the Cleveland Cavaliers trying to make it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since a 33-year-old LeBron James was their leading scorer six years ago.  Enter a new leader.  Donovan Mitchell.  He took over the series with an amazing 39 points in the last three games, throw in 19 rebounds and 11 assists in those games and everything went through him.  When they needed him in Games 5 and 7 to edge the Orlando Magic in seven games.  He was 33-63 from the field in Games 6 and 7, 27-33 from the line.  Just points one way or another.  The Cavs get the NBAs best regular season team the Boston Celtics in the second round, and Mitchell may just will them to victory.