The Weekend In Sports: Scheffler dominates, the Stars move on and Longhorn baseball is crowned

The Weekend in Sports: 5/19

Scottie Scheffler

No Longhorn had a better weekend than Scottie Scheffler, who won his third major tournament at the PGA Championship on Sunday. It was also his first major victory not at Augusta National. He dominated the field by five strokes (-11) at Quail Hollow in Charlotte. Scheffler’s celebratory hat spike onto the green at the 18th hole showed just how much the win meant to him.

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Just one year after being arrested on the Friday morning of the PGA, for charges that were immediately dropped, Scheffler won the whole thing.

Joe Cook wrote about the scorching-hot run Scheffler is on for us yesterday. He’s showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The Stars at Night

It’s Dallas versus the Oilers! Finally!

Oh wait, wrong sport.

Still, I’ve been absolutely suckered in by playoff hockey the last two years, and I’m fully on the Stars bandwagon. It only took 35 years, but I even know what icing is now. They weren’t trying to teach young fans the rules at the old Austin Ice Bats games. Those guys were just there to throw punches at each other on the ice.

Dallas closed out the Winnipeg Jets in six games on Saturday thanks to a Thomas Harley slapshot in overtime. It was a freaking thriller. Why can’t every sport have power plays?

Harley brings the number of Stars I can name to four, along with goalie Jake Oettinger, goal scoring machine Mikko Rantanen, and long time center Tyler Seguin.

I’m planning to be locked in for the showdown versus Edmonton in the Western Conference Finals, so there’s a good chance I’ll learn approximately three more names by the time Dallas gets their vengeance on Connor McDavid and company.

Tariffs Are Hitting Dynasties Hard

We’ve got our conference finals in the NBA, and it’s another feather in the cap for fans of parity in sports. In the West, the Thunder will host the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the East, it’s a 1990s-style rematch between the Knicks and Pacers.

Those of us who grew up loving dynasties in the NBA should be concerned, because we’re guaranteed to have a different champion for the seventh straight year. That’s the first time it’s ever happened in league history.

Even more wild: we’ll either have a first-time champion (OKC, Minnesota, or Indiana), or a franchise hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time in over 50 years (New York).

I guess it’s up to Victor Wembanyama and my Spurs to restore dynasties in the NBA.

Texas Softball

The Longhorn softball team dominated its Austin Regional. Teagan Kavan pitched a complete seven-inning shutout as the Horns blanked UCF 9–0.

Mike White’s squad is off to its sixth straight Super Regional and will face No. 11 seed Clemson in a three-game series beginning Thursday.

As for the #1 seeded Aggies? They became the first ever number one overall to not make it through their regional after they were eliminated by Liberty. What a year in College Station.

Pretty Raise Purdy

Brock Purdy, once Mr. Irrelevant as the final pick in the NFL Draft, now has a $265 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers. The former Cyclone has excelled in a wide-zone/play-action system and never gave up the reins when uncertainty and injuries struck the other quarterbacks.

When Purdy first began starting for Kyle Shanahan’s squad, I had to do a double take. “Pump fake Purdy from Iowa State is on a winning streak in San Fran?”

But the difficult path from a late seventh-round pick to starter on a huge payday can be trekked.

I bring this up to say: ex-Longhorn Quinn Ewers has a similar opportunity in front of him. The two quarterbacks actually remind me of each other a bit. Undersized passers who excel in play action and the intermediate game. But the new Dolphins quarterback will have to drastically improve his athleticism in Miami.

Ewers was taken 10 spots ahead of Purdy, and Miami runs a system very similar to Shanahan’s. It’s tailored to Ewers’ strengths. Plus, Tua Tagovailoa’s injury history—and Zach Wilson’s love of Utah’s empty nesters—will probably open the Dolphins’ door wide for Ewers at some point. It’s up to him to burst through it, just like Purdy did.

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Champs

Oh, the Texas Baseball had a nice close to the regular season. Check out Evan Vieth’s case for why the Longhorns should be the number one overall seed in the postseason.

Winning the SEC championship in their first year in the conference, and doing it in front of Sooner fans in Norman? Pretty great. Now Jim Schlossnagle’s squad heads to the SEC Tournament as it looks to prepare for a deep run to Omaha.