Denny Hamlin to Win the Cup Series

Entering what is looking like the last year of his full-time NASCAR career, Hamlin has 64 Cup series wins, among the most of all time.

In the NASCAR world, he’s also the Susan Lucci (Cultural Education Alert for you young people: Lucci was a soap opera star who kept getting passed over for a Daytime Emmy). Hamlin was second last year after dominating the last race at Phoenix only to lose in an overtime restart.

Painful. Hamlin has his share of critics and fans. He was the breakout star of the Full Speed NASCAR series on Netflix – at least he had a personality. He’s a major reason to watch NASCAR this year.

Maple Leafs Win the Stanley Cup

You could also plug in any of the Canadian teams in the NHL, but Toronto winning would be the biggest story. What’s worse is that the Maple Leafs haven’t even been in the finals since 1967 and went 19 years without even winning a playoff series until 2023.

This year they seem to be hitting the reset button again on the franchise. Toronto is one of the Original Six franchises, with a monster fan base. This is like if the Yankees didn’t win a World Series for 60 years.

A World Basketball Championship

The NFL keeps playing games in Europe and dangling the idea of a European division or subsets of teams, but then geography and distance comes up and you realize it’s just not a feasible idea. Even if you put four teams in Europe, at some point they’d have to come over to the U.S. and play.

Basketball is the only sport where this is actually possible. What if the NBA joined up with one of the professional leagues in Germany, or Russia or Greece and there was an actual champion vs. champion series? You could play four games in one country, then fly back to America and play four more games here.

Someone else wins Gold

Staying with basketball for a minute, it’s the most global sport and although it seems like it, Team USA doesn’t get to win the men’s basketball medal every year.

In fact, this has already happened. Team USA didn’t win in 2004, but then changed its strategy and team-building style and has won the gold ever since. But the margin keeps getting smaller. You think Wembanyama is a villain now, just wait until he’s repping France in the Summer Olympics in LA in two years.

Browns or Bills Win Super Bowl

Four teams have never appeared in a Super Bowl (Browns, Lions, Texas and Jags). Two we throw out right away. Houston and Jacksonville are still relatively new. The Lions did win NFL championships, back in the day, so did the Browns too. In fact, the Browns are the greatest football dynasty no one ever talks about. They ruined a whole league, for crying out loud.

Cleveland has had its heartbroken in the NFL playoffs too many times to count and an Super Bowl title would probably stop the entire Midwest from working for a week.

Meanwhile, the Bills. Four Super Bowl trips. Four losses. We all know the story. (Yes, I know about the Vikings too, but they aren’t as lovable as Buffalo). What’s amazing about this story right now is it could happen. The Bills have one of the best teams in the NFL and are in the championship window.

Tiger Woods Plays

Woods, of course, has nothing left to prove on a golf course and has clearly gone through a lot of turmoil in his life.

If he ever decides to tee off again in a PGA Tour event as an individual – not with his son – it will be one of the biggest stories ever. Can you imagine the press conference announcing that one? It would have to be in an airport hangar.

England Wins World Cup

This is the biggest possible sports story in the world….that hasn’t happened in a while.

This is like if Team USA never won the gold medal in men’s basketball, or South Africa not winning in rugby or the Swiss not being good at skiing or chocolate.

England last won the World Cup in 1966. Sure, they had homefield advantage that year and maybe one of the goals in extra time was loopy, but since then, one of the most passionate countries in the world for sport has not been able to “bring it home.”

England was knocked out in the quarters in 1970, 1982, 2002 and 2006 and 2022. In 1986, they lost on the Hand of God goal to Argentina in the quarters. They were fourth in 1990 and 2018, lost in the second round in 1998 and 2010.