Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/24/2024

Another week, another dominating running back performance.  This time in the NFL.  Veteran Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley thrust his name to the shop of the NFL MVP list with a career high performance.  Barkley thrashed the Los Angeles Rams defense for 255 yards on the ground with two touchdowns, from 70 and 72 yards respectively.  He also caught 4 passes (on 4 targets) for another 47 yards surpassing 300 yards of offense single handedly as the Eagles pounded the Rams 37-20 in Prime Time.  The Eagles have been poised for their next championship since their Super Bowl LII victory in 2018, perhaps it is Barkley who is the X-factor to get them to the Super Bowl for the third time in 8 years.  

This is Saquon Barkley's second Sportsman of the Week, his first coming in 2017 as a Penn State Nittany Lion.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/17/2024

The college football season is winnowing down to the last couple of weeks and several name brand teams are angling for a playoff berth.  A recent name brand that continues to make its name is the Boise State Broncos.  At 9-1 and now projected to potentially get a first round playoff berth, the Broncs have ripped teams up on the ground thanks to Heisman short list candidate Ashton Jeanty.  Jeanty is pushing 2000 yards so far through just 10 games and seems unstoppable.  This week, he tallied 159 yards and 30 carries and 3 TD in a 42-21 win over a bowl-bound San Jose State Spartans.  Boise State's only loss was a 3-point squeaker to number one, undefeated Oregon Ducks (in which Jeanty had 200 all-purpose yards and yes, another 3 TD).  Expect Jeanty to continue to roll and prove himself in the playoffs, but for this week he is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!  

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/10/2024

History was made in the NASCAR Cup Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway as a two-time champion managed to win his second title in three years and join an elite fraternity of NASCAR Champions.  Joey Logano behind the wheel of his Ford dominated much of the third stage and held off Penske teammate, and 2023 Cup Champion Ryan Blaney for his third Cup Championship joining nine other drivers all time.  Logano had a nondescript regular season finishing well outside of tenth place in the points but found the winning touch in the Playoffs winning three times (only Kyle Larson won more than once besides him) including the first race of the round of 8, then, of course, the Championship 4 race on Sunday to win him the Cup.  This is also Logano's third Sportsman of the Week title, but first in 6 years when he won his first championship in 2018.  His first was a Daytona 500 victory three years earlier   This puts Logano tied for the most Sportsman of the Week ever with a lot of career in front of him.  We'll look forward to next year, but for now Joey Logano is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/3/2024

The college football season is reaching a boil with the playoff picture becoming more clear week by week and undefeated teams falling by the wayside.  In one of the most intriguing matchups of the weekend, the Southern Methodist Mustangs are showing the ACC that they were a worthy add in a huge defeat of the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Panthers in one of two ranked matchups on the weekend.  The Ponies were led by a Pony express vintage effort by running back Brashard Smith who thrashed the Panthers defense for 161 yards on 23 carries and 2 TDs.  The senior tailback added a third TD on a pass (21 yards there as he tickled 200 total).  Smith has reached 100+ yards now 5 times, is averaging 6.5 yards per carry, and is near 1000 rushing yards total.  SMU is in position for a playoff berth and even a bye if they win the ACC.  Brashard Smith is a worthy Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!