@MarkKnudson41
It’s once again time to dust off the slightly cracked crystal ball and take a look at some of what could be ahead for 2025 in the very wide world of sports. (Just don’t bet on it…)
January 6th, New York. It’s “Black Monday” for head coaches in the NFL. While a pair of jobs are already open, the Dallas Cowboys, the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Giants add to the list by firing Mike McCarthy, Antonio Pierce and Brian Daboll respectively. Each of the clubs are reportedly interested in hiring University of Colorado Head Coach/TV star Deion Sanders as their new head coach.
January 20th, Atlanta. Overcoming the depression that followed their regular season loss to Michigan, the Ohio State Buckeyes complete their emotional comeback with a 32-21 win over upstart Boise State in the College Football Playoff title game. Will Howard passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, but the Buckeyes ground game, led by TreyVon Henderson’s 212 yards and three touchdowns is too much for the Mountain West champions. The Broncos’ Ashton Jeanty rushes for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns in defeat.
February 7th, Dallas. Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones upstages Super Bowl LIX week by announcing that the Cowboys have hired former University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders as their new head coach. Sanders gets a five year contract worth a reported $10 million per season and will be paid handsomely to also host a weekly reality TV show filmed at the Cowboys facilities.
February 9th, New Orleans. After surviving the gauntlet that was the AFC playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens drub the Philadelphia Eagles 37-10 to win Super Bowl LIX in the Superdome. Quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry each crack the 100-yard rushing mark while Jackson adds 265 yards and three touchdowns through the air. After the game TV commentators complain that the NFL playoffs have too many blowouts and that the teams should be re-seeded after each round.
March 17th, Durham, N.C. Projected top NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg of the Duke Blue Devils shocks the college basketball world by opting out of the NCAA tournament to avoid injury and prepare for the draft. Flagg’s agents, Creative Artists Agency, refuse to answer specific questions from former Blue Devil turned ESPN broadcaster Jay Bilas as to why Flagg waited until the eve of the tournament to pull himself out. Co-Chairman Richard Lovett would only say that Bilas of all people should understand the move, given the broadcaster’s public statements regarding the value of student athletes and how they’d been exploited for so many years.
April 17th, Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Clippers, behind 32 points from James Harden, win the NBA play-in mini-tournament, ousting the Denver Nuggets and recently crowned four-time MVP Nikola Jokic. It’s Denver’s earliest playoff exit since 2022, when they lost in the first round to eventual NBA champion Golden State.
April 24th, Green Bay. The Dallas Cowboys send more shock waves through the NFL when they trade star quarterback Dak Prescott to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the second pick in this year’s draft. Dallas also agrees to take back the three expiring contracts of linebackers Arden Key and Kenneth Murphy, plus safety Armani Hooker in the deal. Later that day, following the selection of Sanders former teammate Travis Hunter by the New England Patriots, the Cowboys select quarterback Shedeur Sanders from the University of Colorado, reuniting him with his father/head coach Deion Sanders.
May 8th, Atlanta. Following an April ruling by a federal judge that approved a settlement in the NCAA v House case, several new rules are set to go into effect on July 1st. Among things that will change are roster sizes in college football and how student-athletes are compensated for Name, Image and Likeness. In a joint statement, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Big 10 Commissioner Kevin Warren announce that the two conferences are not satisfied with the new guidelines and are in discussions to break away from the NCAA to form their own “Super League” that would begin competition in the fall of 2026. The new league members would reportedly only compete with each other in the non-conference and have their own form of College Football Playoff that would only include their 36 member schools. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban is said to be the choice to oversee the new football-only league.
June 18, Cleveland. The Cleveland Cavaliers win their second NBA Championship in the past nine years, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 145-134 in a thrilling Game Seven at the Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell hits 10 three pointers and scores 38 points for the victorious Cavs, who also get 27 points from Evan Mobley in capturing the series. After the game, LeBron James and his son Bronny, who were at the game, are overheard speaking to Cavs management about possible trade scenarios that could bring them back to Cleveland next season.
July 8th, Chicago. As new NCAA rules take effect, colleges begin to sign their players to two and three year contracts that replace all previous grant and aid agreements. Student-athletes who wish to remain with their schools/programs will now be paid directly by the school under a new defacto “salary cap” of just over $21 million per year. In response, National Collegiate Players Association Director Ramogi Huma announces plans to begin steps unionize student athletes by having them join existing labor unions.
July 15th, Atlanta. The Major League Baseball All-Star game is upstaged by an announcement from Commissioner Rob Manfred that the clubs have all agreed with his idea to implement the “Golden At-Bat” rule for the remainder of the 2025 season. The rule will allow each team the opportunity to insert anyone on their roster – whether that player is in the lineup or not – as a pinch hitter at any single moment in every game. Manfred states that with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees so far head in their respective divisions, the rest of the regular season is all but a formality at this point, making it a great time to test the new rule. MLB has not decided if it will be used in the postseason or not.
August 30th, Columbus, Ohio. With new starting quarterback Arch Manning under center, the Texas Longhorns travel to Ohio State and upset the defending National Champion Buckeyes 31-28 in the season opener for both teams. After the game, Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian says that Manning had been the target of several transfer offers – including from the Buckeyes – during the off season. Meanwhile, “Fire Ryan Day” begins trending on social media moments after the game ends.
September 14th, Philadelphia. The defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles blast the Dallas Cowboys 41-6 in the season opener for both teams, handing Head Coach Deion Sanders his first big defeat as an NFL coach. Cowboys quarterback Shedeur Sanders is sacked six times and throws two interceptions in the loss. “I guess maybe he is holding on to the football too long,” the elder Sanders admits after the game.
October 30th, Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Dodgers win their second consecutive World Series championship, defeating the New York Yankees in six games when “Golden At-Bat” Shohei Ohtani hits a seventh inning grand slam. After the celebration is over, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred tells the gathered media that the owners will be exploring more ways to level baseball’s playing field, including a new revenue sharing program that will include all local media rights revenue. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner responds to the idea with a quick four word statement: “Like hell we will!”
November 17th, Denver. Following a loss to the lowly Utah Jazz, four-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets tells reporters he wouldn’t object to being traded if he could be sent to a contending team on the east coast. The Nuggets, strapped by the NBA salary cap and unable to make significant improvements to their roster, had reportedly begun exploratory talks with eastern conference teams over the past couple of weeks.
December 8th, Dallas. The College Football Playoff committee, given new rules for seeding in the second year of the 12-team playoff, select four teams each from the sports’ two dominant conferences. Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon and Michigan get the nod from the Big 10, while Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M and three-loss Alabama are chosen from the SEC. Rounding out the field of 12, and seeded 9-12 are Big 12 champion BYU, ACC champion Clemson, independent Notre Dame and the Group of five representative, UNLV. Committee chair Warde Manuel notes the while the Crimson Tide did lose three games for the second consecutive season, two of the losses featured unlucky breaks and the third was the result of poor officiating. Ohio State, Texas, Georgia and Michigan were awarded first round byes.
Expect more of the same in 2026…
