Diego Costa wins the Premier League Player of the Month award for August

He's off to the hottest start by a Chelsea newcomer in a decade.  He's become an instant fan favorite, not just for his goalscoring but for his attitude and ability to annoy opponents as well.  He's scored more goals by himself than half the teams in the Premier League.  He's the complete center forward.  He is Diego Costa.  And he is your Premier League Player of the Month for August 2014.

Congratulations to Diego Costa who has won the Barclays Player of the Month award! http://t.co/ngcWdiHvbR #CFC pic.twitter.com/GUpCsYpnmt

— Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) September 12, 2014

I'm not sure that really counts as a smile, but congrats!

Unbelievably, Costa becomes just the first Chelsea player to win the award in almost two years.  It's been 22 months and a few managers ago that Juan Mata collected the one for October 2012.

On the managerial front, handshake enthusiast Garry Monk beat out fellow perfect league record man Jose Mourinho.  The two will meet this weekend for the real prize.  Monk is the first Swansea manager to win it since Brendan Rodgers did it in January 2012.