Here are my 12 sports wishes for 2025.
1. Some Football Competence: How about the Giants and Jets hire a general manager and a head coach who knows what they’re doing? How about they hire a general manager and a coach who can deliver meaningful December football next year? It’s been 14 miserable NFL seasons in this town. That’s hard to believe. It’s not fun chronicling about it. There’s nothing remarkable about watching teams play out the string by November. I reached apathy with both NFL teams in this town.
Graphic courtesy Deadspin
2. Accountability: It would be nice if some sportswriters in town and fans demanded more from the teams that play here. The Giants and Jets should be getting more criticism than just a shrug about what happened this season. The Yankees should have gotten more heat for their atrocious World Series performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is unacceptable.
3. Championship: If a team in town deserves a championship, it’s the New York Mets. It is a likable organization, starting with Mets owner Steve Cohen, who spends his money to deliver the best product out there. The Mets have a general manager who knows what he is doing in building a baseball team in David Stearns. They have an affable manager with an excellent feel for the game in Carlos Mendoza. Stability is here for this once star-crossed organization. The Mets are likable and professional as they come. This past season was fun when the Mets had that great summer run culminating in an NLCS appearance. The Mets fans are the best in town. They are passionate, not to mention pleasant to deal with.
4. Class: It would be nice if Yankees, Rangers, Giants, and Knicks fans could behave with decorum. They are too arrogant for a fanbase that has seen bad products year after year.
5. A Knicks Championship Run: I don’t care about the Knicks. I have zero use for people like Leon Rose, James Dolan, Tom Thibodeau, and Jalen Brunson. Knicks fans deserve nothing but misery because of how they have behaved over the last few years. Ok. Ok. Now that it’s off my chest…. I would still love to see the Knicks go on a championship run like the Riley days when the team captivated the city in the early 90s. The 2024-25 team is built for that. Anything short of an NBA Finals appearance would be a disappointment. If not now, when?
6. Better NBA Product: Although I did watch several Christmas games, I haven’t watched much of the NBA this year. It is disappointing. There’s no flow in the game anymore, as players kill possession by shooting untimely threes. No one plays defense, and no one plays hard in the regular season anymore. The Knicks are everything that’s wrong with the game. This team relies too much on 3-point shooting and ISO offense. I also wish most of the players were likable.
Photo courtesy All About Jersey
7. Stanley Cup playoff run: We haven’t had much fun in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the Islanders playoff run ended in 2021 with a frustrating 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s been nothing but misery. The Islanders and Rangers have been disappointments the last few years, and neither team is expected to do much this year. The Devils are off to a great start at 23-11-3, good enough for first place in the Metropolitan Division and the top spot in the Eastern Conference. We will see if they can sustain this. I would love to see them do more than make the playoffs. How about getting to the Eastern Conference Final?
8. NCAA Tournament Run: The last time we had a local team captivate us in an NCAA Tournament run was Saint Peter’s in 2022, when it went to the Elite Eight by beating Kentucky, Murray State, and Purdue. It was fun; people will never forget the Peacocks fondly for that. It would be nice to get back to that again. Maybe Rutgers, St. John’s, or both can do that this year. Rutgers must maximize Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper’s one-and-done season by going on a run, or else this season will be a waste of time.
9. An Untainted Championship for the NY Liberty: The Liberty may have won a tournament this year, but to me, it’s tainted. Refs and the league made sure that the golden franchise won its first championship by giving hometown calls that screwed the Lynx in overtime. Please don’t take my word for it. Most basketball fans agree with me. Can you blame Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve for bluntly questioning the league’s integrity after the Lynx lost the deciding game? The Liberty’s trophy should be engraved with an asterisk.
Photo courtesy CNN
10. Caitlin Clark: I am rooting for Caitlin to do well in the WNBA and win a championship. Clark is a class act and easy to root for. Many people can learn about character from her. We don’t apologize for being Caitlin fans.
11. Pulling for Juju Williams (Southern Cal) and Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame): We are rooting for those two young ladies to play in the championship round this year and become national champions. Either is fitting. Maybe we can have a Larry Bird/Magic Johnson rivalry with these two future WNBA stars.
12. New York Sirens: Let’s hope they succeed in Year 2 by making the playoffs and winning a championship. Most importantly, it will help build a fanbase for women’s pro hockey in this town and for the play of Alex Carpenter and stud rookie Sarah Fillier.
Happy New Year!
