COLUMN: 10 wishes for 2019 sports

Looking back at 2018, I do so with a combination of disappointment and amazement. There were not only some disappointingly predictable outcomes but some really unforgettable moments and welcome surprises.

Indeed, 2018 was a memorable year in sports and one that has set the table for 2019. We’re now one month into this new year and have already bore witness to some incredible moments and shocking results. Personally, I’m very excited to see what the rest of 2019 has to offer, and since it’s still early in the year, I’ve compiled a special wish list for what I would like to see in the sports world in 2019:

1. The Houston Texans buy the rights to the Oilers team name from the Titans. First of all, this kid’s a nostalgia freak. I really miss seeing those Columbia blue uniforms every Sunday. Also, the Texans name is too obvious. Everyone knows Houston is in Texas. It’s been more than 20 years since the Oilers moved to Tennessee and took the name and history with them, and fans still haven’t let it go. Even Oiler greats such as Warren Moon have stated the awkwardness they felt having their jerseys retired in front of a fan base they never played for. That would be like Oklahoma City retiring the jerseys of Seattle Supersonic legends Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton. Speaking of which…
2. The NBA finally gives Seattle an expansion franchise. This one’s a no-brainer considering the Seattle city council has approved the long-overdue renovation of Key Arena and Seattle was recently awarded an NHL expansion team. Oh yeah, and the city had the SuperSonics stolen from them. It’s about time the NBA made up for it, especially with the aforementioned Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp among others still waiting to have their jersey numbers hung in the rafters. At least Seattle got to keep the SuperSonics name, so the new franchise will already have a name when they begin operations.
3. Becky Hammon is hired as the first female head coach of an NBA team. The association has been providing women with more opportunities to get into coaching over the past couple of years, most notably with Hammon being hired as an assistant coach on Gregg Popovich’s staff in San Antonio. Hammon has already proven she has what it takes to be a head coach: she coached the Spurs’ Summer League team to the Summer League championship in 2015. She’s a proven winner and leader and would no doubt be a great coach in the NBA.
4. Tiger Woods finally wins another major. Tiger’s been through a lot since his last major victory from the end of his marriage to numerous injuries which include four back surgeries. More recently, Tiger won the Tour Championship in September for his first tournament victory in five years. If this victory is any indication, then Tiger can absolutely still win another major if he can stay healthy.
5. A Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals series. Granted, this is highly unlikely to occur with the current state of the NBA. The Lakers have recently gone through a rough stretch with LeBron James missing a record number of games due to injury. The Celtics are just now starting to find their rhythm. Oh yeah, there’s the presence of the Monstars-like Golden State Warriors too. The fact that the Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks have the two best records in the East right now doesn’t help either. That being said, the NBA has become predictable and dare I say boring with the Warriors playing for the Larry O’Brien trophy -and usually winning it- every season. What better way to make things interesting again than by adding another chapter to the NBA’s greatest rivalry in the championship round, especially with King James and Uncle Drew vying for the prize just three years after winning it for The Land?
6. Serena Williams surpasses Margaret Court for most Grand Slam titles in women’s tennis. Serena Williams is arguably not only the greatest female tennis player ever, but maybe the greatest to ever play the game. Period. What better way to solidify her status as the G.O.A.T. than by winning the two majors she needs to become the all-time grand slam queen?
7. Rudy Tomjanovich gets inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Several Houston Rockets greats have been enshrined in Springfield: Hakeem Olajuwon, Yao Ming, Calvin Murphy, Clyde Drexler, the list goes on and on. Rudy T. has a strong case of being worthy of induction with accolades including two NBA championships as head coach of the Houston Rockets, a gold medal as head coach of the 2000 USA men’s basketball Olympic team, and he was a five-time all-star as an NBA player. Plus he coached a 6-seed to an NBA championship by defeating four teams with the best records in the league. No championship team before or since has been seeded lower than 4^th. That alone should get him in.
8. Colin Kaepernick finally gets a job with an NFL team. This one is long overdue. Even though his record during the last season he played wasn’t good, he was still a quarterback that was capable of leading a team to victory. Signing him would be risky as far people’s personal opinions of protesting during the national anthem, but it would be a gamble worth taking given his talent. Besides, other players have engaged in far more abhorrent behaviors such as dogfighting, domestic violence and even causing death to others and they were allowed to come back. If they can make a living doing what they love, Kaepernick should be afforded the same opportunity.
9. The NCAA gets completely overhauled. For far too long, the NCAA has refused to pay athletes and penalized them and the programs they represent for impermissible benefits while treating them as business commodities. The only way to change this broken system is to revamp the organization and bring in people with a more progressive and open-minded perspective.
10. James Dolan finally leaves the Knicks. I don’t care how it happens, whether he willingly sells the team or is forced to do so, but Dolan has got to go. One bad decision after another, only two playoff appearances in the last 18 years, and controversies including an ugly spat with Knicks legend Charles Oakley have marred Dolan’s ownership tenure and are a constant dark cloud hanging over Madison Square Garden. Let’s stop the madness already.