A year is certainly a long time, 365 days, 8,765 hours, 525,600 minutes. Understandably so, there’s a lot that happens in a year. Champions are crowned, history is made, and records are set. Teams win, and teams lose. That’s where the fun is in sports, you never know what will happen next. So let’s recap 2025 in sports!
Insanity has happened in the NHL this year, but let’s start with the NHL. A bunch of trades and other unforgettable moments happened in 2025. To start, the Anaheim Ducks acquired Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers and to recover from not having someone wearing a C for the Rangers, they decided to acquire J.T Miller. On the topic of captains, the captain for the Vancouver Canucks Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild. He is now paired up with the highest paid NHL player of all time, Kirill Kaprizov. Kirill signed a 8 year $136 Million contract extension. The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup this year, with the Edmonton Oilers falling short yet again.
The Four Nations Face Off Hockey tournament was some way to kick off the month of February, with Canada taking victory over the U.S in an intense game with Connor McDavid scoring the overtime winning goal. It was an insane ride for both countries from start to finish with the first match kicking off with both fans booing each other’s anthems then, Brady Tkachuk dropping the mitts for team U.S.A in the first 9 seconds of the game, brawling on the world’s biggest stage.
This year, a mountain was climbed by the “Great Eight” Alex Ovechkin, who surpassed the “great one” Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record of 894 goals. Ovechkin, now well past the 900-goal mark, may very well be in his final season in the NHL.
– Brandon J.
Since the 2024 edition of this article, a lot has happened in the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles stopped yet another Super Bowl dynasty, this time defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX to win their second Super Bowl in franchise history, their first since their triumph against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII (2018). West Coast rapper and music superstar Kendrick Lamar headlined Super Bowl LIX’s Halftime Show, at the height of his famous feud with Toronto-based rapper and fellow music superstar, Drake.
Continuing in the NFL, former-New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones got the starting quarterback role for the Indianapolis Colts, and led them to an 8-5 record, before suffering a torn ACL, and without another QB on the roster, the Colts relied on the 44-year old grandpa, a 2025 Hall of Fame semi-finalist, someone who hasn’t played since 2020, Philip Rivers. Rivers was rough in his three-game return, going 0-3, with 544 yards, 4 TD, and 3 INT.
On the topic of veteran NFL players, Aaron Rodgers is leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to the playoffs, and he’s turning back the clock with each week. Rodgers and the Steelers clinched their playoff berth over the Baltimore Ravens due to a missed game-winning field goal by Ravens rookie K Tyler Loop.
In MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers won their second-straight World Series, taking the victory in Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays in a thriller of a game that went on past midnight in Toronto. Reports of a possible lockout in 2027 have emerged, due to the Dodgers billion-dollar-roster that only gets bigger each day, with new acquisitions such as former Mets star closer, Edwin Diaz. Should the Dodgers win the 2026 World Series, a lockout seems imminent.
The star of the 2025 MLB Season in the AL was definitely Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. Raleigh had more than a breakout year, he had a year for the history books. He had a league-leading 60 home runs, 125 RBI, with a .247 batting average. While the Mariners fell short in the ALCS to Toronto, Raleigh’s 2025 season won’t be forgotten, even if the MVP voters failed to see how he was statistically better than AL MVP Aaron Judge.
In the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in a Game 7-thriller to claim their first Larry O’Brien trophy since leaving Seattle. The Thunder are the hottest team in Basketball, and their young roster is always fun to watch.
In NASCAR, Kyle Larson took his second Championship, winning the coveted Bill France Cup for the first time since 2021. In broader NASCAR news, the 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports v. NASCAR lawsuit settled after 11 days of court. The two race teams argued that NASCAR was a monopoly and violated the Sherman Antitrust Act with their 2024 Charter Agreement, and the details of the out-of-court settlement have yet to be fully announced as of writing.
In Formula One, Lando Norris claimed his first World Drivers’ Championship, ending the four-year reign of Max Verstappen, by a mere two points. Norris is the sixth youngest champion of F1, at 26 years old. General Motors’ luxury brand Cadillac will start a team next season, bringing the total teams in F1 to 11, and total drivers to 22. In 2026, new technical regulations take effect, and a new era in F1 will start.
Well, as we look ahead to 2026, we remember how 2025 happened. A year that made history, set records, and a year that won’t be forgotten for a long time.
– Valentino V.
