Best of 2025 - Sports

We are getting close to the end of the year so that means it is time for my Best Of 2025 lists. This year I'm going to do four lists, sports, music, movies and tv shows. These are what encompasses the majority of my time right now, besides my family, so they will be the focus moving forward. I'm going to start with my personal top five sports moments of the year. Some involve my fandom, one involves my kid and the others were moments I was just happy to bear witness to, even if I had no real rooting interest.

My number 5 moment is Michigan beating Alabama in the 2025 Reliaquest Bowl. Michigan was somehow able to beat the university of Ohio State in their regular season finale to give them a 7-5 record. Had they not won that game they may not have gotten such a decent non playoff bowl game. But they got into a bigger New Years Day game and they were matched up with Alabama, who had barely missed out on the playoff. Alabama was also at almost full strength, playing pretty much every important player they had on their roster. Michigan had a bunch of rotation guys step into starting roles. On paper this should have been a blowout for Alabama. Lucky for me, these games aren't played on paper. From the start Michigan looked more prepared and more game ready. The defense was firing off the ball. They were in Jalen Milroe's face all afternoon. Then it started to rain down. This only helped Michigan. They caused a myriad of turnovers, most of which ended with a Dominic Zvada field goal. They did have one td, a pass from Davis Warren to Fred Moore. But the defense won the day for this team. Even after Davis Warren had to exit the game due to tearing his ACL, Alex Orji, who had announced he was transferring after the game, stepped in and kept the ball moving on the ground. And Jordan Marshall announced himself as a serious force to come in the Big 10. This was a great way to start 2025 as a Michigan football fan. I was pretty happy.

At number 4, speaking of Michigan football, while the regular season ended with a thud, The Wolverines finished the year with 9 wins, but the big takeaway for me, the young kids got a ton of playing time and I got to get a glimpse into what this team might look like for the next three or four years. Uber recruit Bryce Underwood became the third true freshman to start at QB for Michigan. He had his ups and downs, but you can see the talent is there. Jordan Marshall came on strong after Justice Haynes got injured. Andrew Marsh looks like the best wideout prospect they've had since Braylon Edwards. They have an anchor at left tackle in Blake Frazier. Shamari Earls has a depth of talent at safety. Nathaniel Owusu Boateng got some run late in the season and he looks the part of a Big 10 linebacker. Jyaire Hill built on a solid sophomore year. Brandyn Hillman is one of the best hitters in college football. This team is young and has tons to improve upon, but they also have a good upside and I'm interested to see how they progress while they are with the Wolverines. I'm very, very cautiously optimistic about the talent they are bringing to Ann Arbor right now.

At number 3 I have the World Series. Now, I will fully admit I was rooting against the Dodgers the whole series, but damn this was exciting. I feel like baseball may be back. This series had it all. From blowouts to pitchers duels, it was all there. But game 7 was one for the ages. I'm sure Blue Jays fans were devastated at the outcome, they were so close, but damn did they play against this juggernaut incredibly admirably. They should have won. But the Dodgers' talent and luck showed up at the most opportune time. From Miguel Rojas', who hadn't had a hit in forever, game tying home run, to the Blue Jays getting robbed in the bottom of the ninth, to the Dodgers starters making up for the bullpen, they fought hard and earned this title. This wasn't a walkover. They had to fight for every win. And to see Shohei Othani pitching and hitting again, in high pressure situations, he may be the best to ever play baseball professionally. This World Series was incredible and I'm so glad my son convinced me to watch game 7 with him. It was one for the ages.

At number 2 I have the NBA Finals. This was another seven game series with a massive underdog making the heavy favorite work for every single thing they wanted. The Pacers did not go down without a tremendous fight. It is such a bummer what happened to Tyrese Haliburton in the first quarter of game 7. He looked to be on fire and then his body gave out on him. But the Pacers kept fighting, so much so that they had a lead going into halftime. But then the talent of the Thunder showed up and won out. Chet Holmgren became a black hole for anyone trying to drive to the hoop. Jalen Willimas started to hit shot after shot. Shai Gilgeous Alexander proved why he was the rightful MVP. Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso were pests. Lu Dort made big shots and frustrated everyone he guarded. The Thunder are on the cusp of something magical right now and last season's NBA Finals was just the start. This team is here to stay. But the Pacers did give them a run for their money.

And finally, at number 1 I have my son playing his last year of junior football and making the B team in his final year of junior basketball. My son is a big 13 year old. He is almost 6 feet and he weighs about 220 pounds. He plays right tackle on the offensive line for his football team and to see his growth this season was great. His team wasn't that great, they have issues actually acting like a team, but he improved in areas he needed work on. He used to struggle with smaller, faster defensive ends, but he worked hard with his coaches and found ways to block them this year. He played to the whistle. He would get pancake blocks that stunned me from the crowd. He worked with coaches individually in the offseason and you could tell it helped. He has told me he loves football and he is showing that by what he does on a field. Things will be different when he is in high school next year, but I know he has the talent and ability to be very good if he continues his hard work. As for hoops, he has been on my team since 5th grade, which is the C team in our feeder program. But each year he has added something new or really just started to literally throw his weight around on the court. I noticed him doing just that in a tournament last season, and the coach of the B team happened to be at that game. The coach approached me and said he wanted my kid on his team the next year. And luckily for my kid he had a great summer of basketball and a very good tryout. He made the B team and he has been doing some very nice things. He needs to get in basketball shape to continue, but to see him throwing around kids that may have a little more talent than him has been so nice for me. He's got a nice soft touch around the hoop. His passing has gotten way better. He could close out and rebound a little better for my taste, but I see his coaches working with him on that at practice. It is so nice to see his hard work pay off in the ways he has wanted and I'm very proud of him as a coach and a dad. We all want better for our kids, and in the case of my son and the sports he plays, he is better than I could have ever imagined being when I was 13.

That's it, those are my top five sports moments of 2025. Come back tomorrow when I give you my top five albums of the year. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Can The Thunder Be Beat?

After watching the Thunder-Timberwolves game last night, I don't think there is a team left that can compete with the Thunder. Let’s discuss.

The Thunder look like they might have a cakewalk through the finals no matter who the opponent ends up being. This is no disrespect to the Pacers, Knicks or Timberwolves. The Thunder look damn near unbeatable at the moment. They may have already had their toughest series, last round against the Nuggets. It took them seven games to dispose of Denver, but game seven of that series showed me pretty much all I needed to see. They had a rough first quarter in that game, and then they totally ran away with it. I believe they won that game by 30 plus points. And they have easily disposed of the Timberwolves in the first two games of the West Finals. I have been rooting for the Timberwolves ever since the Thunder cruised against my team in round one, the Grizzlies. I'm a big Anthony Edwards fan, Julius Randle has always had a fan in me and I like their head coach. But, there is little the T'Wolves can do because this Thunder team is deep, their defense is elite, they can score in a ton of ways and everything has led them to this moment.

The Thunder are relentless on both ends of the floor. I know people complain about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the fact that he may or may not "foul bait", but that is part of the modern game. If SGA can get to the line 10-12 times a game that is an extra 10-12 points per game for the team. That is smart basketball and every big time player does it in the league now. Until the refs decide to stop buying in, it is going to become more and more of an issue and every player will do it anyway. That is the current nature of the game.

SGA also happens to be awesome at basketball. He is the MVP after all. But it isn't just him. Lu Dort is a solid three point shooter, and one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. He is like a tank trying to move, and he is constantly going for the steal. Alex Caruso is much of the same, and he can guard anyone, be they a point guard or a center. He guarded Nikola Jokic in game seven of the last round. Chet Holmgren is still skin and bones, but the dude can block shots and make threes when given the chance. Aaron Wiggins is replicating what his brother did for the Warriors during their Finals run in 2022. Cason Wallace is earning big time minutes on the best team in the league as a rookie. He is a hound on defense and he is making great decisions on offense. Isaiah Joe is liable to hit three or four threes a night on very limited minutes. Isaiah Hartenstein was a massive addition last offseason, and that move is paying dividends at the best possible time. Jalen Williams has been kind of up and down during this run offensively, but he has brought it every night on defense, and when he is on offensively, you may as well call it a night if you are their opponent. Teams usually trim their roster down during the playoffs to six or maybe seven guys. The Thunder are still playing damn near ten dudes every night, thus keeping the integral players healthy, rested and ready when they need them most.

I'm in awe of the way they're playing right now, and it is primarily their defense. The offense has done enough, but the defense is literally winning them games. They're constantly in passing lanes, they go for steals all the time, they get blocks at a consistent rate, they hamper what the other team wants to do and they frustrate them to no end. They are showing everyone that defense truly wins titles.

The series, and playoffs for that matter, are far from over. But, it damn near looks inevitable that the Thunder will win the first title in their short run as a franchise. This team has made all the right moves, drafted good fits and hired the right coaches. All of that should end up with them winning the chip in a few short weeks. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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