BOSTON – Let’s start the Year 2025 with some bold predictions for the sports world in the year to come.
- Ohio State will win the College Football National Championship.
- Free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki will sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Canada will win the 4 Nations Face-Off.
- The Detroit Lions will win the Super Bowl. Jared Goff will be MVP.
- Kansas will win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship with Tennessee, Duke and Florida falling short in the 2025 Final Four.
- Citizen Bull will win the Kentucky Derby but not the Triple Crown.
- The Vegas Golden Knights will win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Washington Capitals.
- The Oklahoma City Thunder will win the NBA title, defeating the Boston Celtics with OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning a double MVP for the regular season and NBA Finals.
- Scottie Scheffler will repeat as the winner of the TOUR Championship, the FedEx Cup and the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year. He will not get arrested this season.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers will be World Series champions once again.
Admittedly, there are no wild and crazy predictions included in the bunch. Every team, player and horse has a legitimate chance if you were to poll the oddsmakers of Las Vegas.
It’ll be evident in the results of MLB that the rich will continue to get richer (Dodgers, Yankees, Mets), largely because the rules of baseball allow for it without much regard to league-wide parity.
For instance, the Dodgers agreed to a deal with star Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim, the team announced this weekend. The deal is for three years and a guaranteed $12.5 million with an option for 2028-29 that could increase the value of the deal to $22 million. … Kim batted .304 and logged a .364 on-base percentage over eight seasons with the Kiwoom Heroes. He also stole at least 20 bases in each of the past seven seasons, reaching as high as 46 in 2021. A left-handed hitter, Kim slashed .326/.383/.458 with 11 home runs and 30 steals for Kiwoom in ’24.
In the NBA and NHL, where teams play from the same proverbial deck of cards with various salary cap restrictions, repeating as champion is a difficult task.
Photo by HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Many of us fell asleep after midnight as December 31st turned to January 1st and the year 2025 began in the quiet peace of the night. In New Orleans, it wasn’t quiet nor peaceful in the French Quarter and by 3:15am, horror brought 2025 in with death and destruction. If you’ve been paying attention to the news, they (terrorists) ruined the celebratory atmosphere of fun and revelry in one of America’s great cities. In doing so, they put a damper over the Sugar Bowl (quarterfinal of the CFP) and the Bowl season, in general. More importantly, 15 souls were lost in a random, senseless attack which injured 36 others and left the entire city of New Orleans on edge, fearful of what might be next.
We’ve seen it before, right here in Boston, when two morons decided to place deadly homemade bombs in two backpacks and dropped the bags along the sidewalks of the finish line route of the Boston Marathon in 2013. The initial bombing caused the deaths of three and injured more than 260 others, not counting the emotional scars of friends and families of the victims and casualties. In addition, in the ensuing police action, a police officer was shot and killed.
The terrorism didn’t start in Boston, as there’s been countless strikes, including the 9/11 attacks, an open shooter at a Las Vegas outdoor concert, bombings at clubs in cities dotting the USA, Europe and throughout the world.
The unbelievable thing is the fact film producers turn the acts of terrorism into motion pictures and documentaries. Director and screenwriter Peter Berg, along with co-writers Matt Cook, and Joshua Zetumer, made a the film based on the book – “Boston Strong” – by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge. Boston-based actor Mark Wahlberg became the face of the film, “Patriots’” Day, all with good intention but still glorifying the act.
In theaters now is director Tim Fehlbaum‘s Golden Globe-nominated film “September 5.” The film is set almost entirely in the ABC Sports control room and focuses on the real-time challenges faced by the broadcasters in covering the terrorist plot at the 1972 Munich Olympics. September 5 wasn’t the first to chronicle that horrendous attack, as “Munich” and “One Day in September” predate the current film.
ABC Sports anchor Jim McCay summed it up that bleak September day, stating: “Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said that there were 11 hostages. Two were killed in their rooms, yesterday morning. Nine were killed at the airport, tonight. They’re all gone.”
Yes, the victims of the ‘72 Olympics are all gone, but the terrorists – and the motion pictures – keep coming back.
TIDBITS: The things I think about include the fact that 8 o’clock coffee is just as good at 6:30 or 7 o’clock. … When I ordered my coffee, the counterperson seemed quite confused when I asked for No Sugar but Half and 1/4 … Wind breakers don’t really break the wind, and, in fact, the wind breaks the jacket more often than not. … Aside from their size, there’s not much difference between softballs and hardballs in baseball. If you get hit with either one, they’re both pretty hard. … You’ve heard of Manute Bol’s son Bol Bol, right? Pretty good player. Maybe he should sponsor a bowl game and it could be the Bol Bol Bowl.
Random Notes: In case anyone hasn’t noticed, UConn has reeled off seven straight “Ws” since the shakedown start in Maui. … the Big Ten basketball matchup of the week was UCLA at Nebraska. … Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama thinks the object of the game of golf is to shoot 65 or better … BC’s Zay Flowers, now known as Lamar Jackson’s favorite Baltimore Ravens wide receivers left Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Browns with an injured right knee. He walked off the field under his own power but further examination(s) will be necessary. Some might criticize Ravens head coach John Harbaugh for playing his starters, but Baltimore needed the win to earn the AFC North title, a game ahead of Pittsburgh. … TGL Golf will tee-off Tuesday, January 7 at 9:00pm ET on ESPN. The inaugural match will pit the New York Golf Club taking on The Bay Golf Club. Three players from each team will go head-to-head in a 15-hole match featuring two different formats – nine holes of Triples and six holes of Singles.
The column is happy to note a new indoor record for “Open Rate,” the key indicator of growth and acceptance for this publication each weekend. The new high mark is 78%. By comparison, a good open rate ranges from 17-28% and 21.33% is the industry average. With subscription offerings, the rate gets higher, of course.
“Hello Old Friend” – Need a new Spotify classic rock playlist? How about 4 hours and 57 minutes of serious rock, all compiled in one place for WWYI readers – right HERE. Eric Clapton and Yvonne Elliman are a reason to tune in right away.
LEGENDS OF SPORT: Here’s one of Andrew D. Bernstein’s tremendous podcasts, recorded at the Basketball Hall of Fame.
KEY DATES IN 2025: Everyone needs to circle these dates on their sports calendar:
January 2025:
9 – Orange Bowl (CFP Semis)
10 – Cotton Bowl (CFP Semis)
11-12 – NFL Wild Card Weekend
18-19 – NFL Divisional Playoffs
20 – College Football Championship (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta)
NBA – King Holiday Full NBA Schedule
26 – AFC/NFC Championship Sunday
February 2025:
2 – NFL Pro Bowl (Orlando)
6 – NBA Trade Deadline
9 – Super Bowl (New Orleans)
12 – MLB Pitchers & Catchers Report to Spring Training
12-15 – 4 Nations Face-Off (NHL) (Montreal)
14-16 – NBA All-Star Weekend (San Fran)
17 – 4 Nations Face-Off – Semis (Boston)
20 – 4 Nations Face-Off – Championship (Boston)
March 2025
8 – Final Regular Season Games in College Basketball
12-15 – BIG EAST Championship (The Garden, NYC)
16 – NCAA Men’s Selection Sunday
18-19 – MLB Tokyo Series (Cubs v. Dodgers) – Tokyo, Japan
18-19 – NCAA Men’s First Four (Dayton)
20-23 – NCAA First and Second Rounds
27 – MLB Opening Day
27-30 – Sweet 16/Elite 8 – NCAA Basketball – (ATL, NJ, INDY, SF)
April 2025:
4 – Boston Red Sox home opener (vs St. Louis)
5-7 – NCAA Men’s Final Four (San Antonio)
21 – Patriots’ Day/Boston Marathon
DIGITAL SPORTS DESK’S ALL NFL FANTASY TEAM: Here are the best players in NFL Fantasy Football for the 2024-25 season:
- QB – Josh Allen
- QB – Lamar Jackson
- QB – Joe Burrow
- RB – Saquon Barkley
- RB – Derrick Henry
- WR – Ja’Marr Chase
- WR – Justin Jefferson
- WR – Amon-Ra St. Brown
- TE – Brock Bowers
- TE – George Kittle
- PK – Chris Boswell
- PK – Brandon Aubrey
- DT – Broncos
- DT – Vikings