10 New Year's Resolutions
For a happy 2024 in sports
I can’t bring myself to discuss the wrenching agony of another Wide Right, so we’re doing something #fun and #new today. We’re going full listicle gimmick. This could be the tackiest All Fields since Swelce. Off we go!
Since it’s still January, I figure it’s not too late to make a couple New Year’s resolutions on behalf of 10 athletes who don’t need my help on this or anything else. Shall we?
And no, before you start — don’t start! — these are not in any particular order.
1.) Joel Embiid
Resolution: Take over the league.
He scored 70 this week. 70! Dude’s feeling it.
I’d be the first to tell you that he didn’t actually deserve the MVP last year, and I’d also say he showed us why in the playoffs. For as good as he’s been, he’s still never had a dominant postseason, seeming to run out of steam at the worst possible times.
That all said, he’s been playing on a different level this year. He’s set to win the MVP and deserve it this time, and he’ll get a chance this summer to prove he’s the best player in the world when it counts.
2.) Lamar Jackson
Resolution: Prove it.
Lamar’s about to win his second MVP, but much like Embiid, he’s perennially doubted come this time of year. He was 1-3 in the postseason prior to Saturday’s win over Houston. He’s faded in big moments before.
He also had a pretty friggin’ good 2023, not only on the basis of his excellent season, but also in negotiating a $260 million deal representing himself. No agent, no problem.
This is a guy who’s been doubted at every step of the way. People thought he couldn’t play quarterback. We know now that that was silly.
But what we’d really like to know now is whether he can win the whole damn thing. And even though Mahomes and the Chiefs have clearly found their stride again, this is a great chance for Baltimore. Ravens could have it.
3.) Jannik Sinner
Resolution: Get started.
After Alcaraz, Sinner is the brightest rising star of men’s tennis. He’s 22, he ranks no. 4 in the world, and he’s got a great chance to keep climbing this year.
[[Time zones are wild, huh? This happened after my bedtime, but I did see Sinner was in control, so I’m guessing.]] Today, he stared down the legendary Novak Djokovic — 14 years his senior — and beat him at his favorite tournament. Nole’s won at Melbourne 10 times. 10! It’s hard to beat him there.
In this tournament and beyond, Sinner looks ready to announce he’s next up. I once worried for what would happen to tennis when the golden era guys I’ve grown up with hung up their rackets. In Sinner, I see more reason to hope that we’re gonna be fine. Go Carota Boys.
Also! This is a celebrity comp that only the truest of All Fields devotees will recognize, but it needs to be said: Sinner is also NCAA president Charlie Baker’s long-lost Gen-Z Italian son. Look it up!
4.) Juan Soto
Resolution: Be the guy.
A few years ago, it was pretty normal to see Juan Soto compared to Ted Williams. Right after Bryce Harper left town, it was Soto who anchored the Nationals lineup and helped deliver them the 2019 World Series.
Since then, he’s made the All-Star Game every year and even came close to winning an MVP in 2021. And yet, through a slew of injuries and a weird move to San Diego, he doesn’t have quite the same air of Chosen One as he did in ‘19.
Other players — most notably Ronald Acuna, Jr. — have taken his shine.
Soto’s still just 25, and he’s walking into a situation in New York where he can help bring the Yankees some long-sought relevance. Let’s see what he can do.
5.) James Harden
Resolution: Keep smiling.
Harden’s year with the Clippers has been a pleasant surprise in more ways than one: it’s surprising how pleasant this experience has been for all parties.
I, like many, thought the Clippers might have an even worse There’s Only One Ball problem than the Sixers did, what with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook all on the squad too.
What we’ve seen instead is a budding powerhouse in the West, largely thanks to Harden excelling in a smaller role than we’ve seen him seek in years past.
He’s happy. That’s the difference right now. And if he can stay that way, he could make the people of Los Angeles — the other, sadder ones — pretty happy too.
6.) Caitlin Clark
Resolution: Finish strong.
Caitlin Clark has done more for women’s college basketball than anyone I can remember. She’s averaging 31.7 points a game this season for Iowa, which is made all the more impressive when paired with 7.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists. Those are Luka Doncic numbers, and she’s got his step-back game too.
It’s much too early for the GOAT conversation, but she absolutely has a shot. Clark seems destined to break Kelsey Plum’s all-time scoring record before joining her in the WNBA, presumably as the top overall pick, where I expect she’ll be extremely successful at the pro level too.
That leaves just one thing left to do before leaving school. Avenge last year’s loss in the title game and bring one back to Des Moines.
7.) Jared Goff
Resolution: Complete the redemption arc.
This could just be the entire Detroit Lions team, since their sad sack history goes back way further than Goff. But isn’t he just the perfect guy to see in this spot?
On the one hand, he’s come a long way already. He vanquished Matthew Stafford in his return to Detroit, which had to be huge for him. Lest you forget, they were traded for one another in one of those rare swaps that helps both teams.
I’ve been critical of Goff, as have we all. A couple years ago, I would’ve told you that he wouldn’t be a starter in the league by now. But he was a top 10 QB this year, full stop. Take it from the big man:
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I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Stafford got his Super Bowl. How about Goff?
8.) Connor McDavid
Resolution: Raise the Cup.
I don’t know enough about hockey to tell you any more about what makes McDavid special than what I see with my untrained eyes: he’s fast. Really fast. He’s a fast kid. Fastest kid alive:
He tops out at over 25mph. That’s absurd. He’s won the MVP (The Hart Trophy; the NHL has cool names for everything) three times, including last year, and he’s leading the hottest team in hockey.
After a terrible start, the Oilers are winners of 14 straight and back in the hunt. The hunt, though, is not enough for the league’s best player.
As time goes on, McDavid runs the risk of becoming hockey’s Mike Trout. Things in Edmonton aren’t quite Anaheim dire, but the Oilers have had some early exits in his tenure, and he’s never made the big dance. It’s been 34 years since they last welcomed the Stanley Cup. Think they’re due?
9.) Coco Gauff
Resolution: USA! USA! USA!
As per usual, America’s hopes for tennis greatness are in the women’s bracket rather than the men’s. Gauff went straight to phenom status at just 15 years old when she beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon.
In the four-and-a-half years since, she’s steadily racked up some actual hardware, making the French Open final in 2022, winning the U.S. Open last year, and just missing the Australian Open final in a semifinal loss today.
No need to make this a hate resolution, but none of the American men inspire anywhere near the same level of confidence as Gauff. She’s the real deal, and I expect her to add at least one more Grand Slam to the trophy case this year.
10.) Jayson Tatum
Resolution: Close.
Three NBA guys? Diversify your portfolio!
That’s what all my haters say, but Tatum has worse haters than me. They say things like: is he really a top-five player? Will the Celtics’ depth even matter if he can’t be the dude when it counts? Is he really the best athlete from St. Louis with this Michael Hendricks guy around?
We’re well past the He’s Only 19! phase with Tatum. This isn’t a precocious wonder thing anymore, and while it’s funny to think a 25-year-old could be feeling real pressure to deliver a title, we’re getting there.
The Celtics are the best team in the league this year, and he’s the best player on it. That brings expectations, and it will primarily fall on Tatum to meet them. No more falling behind 3-0 to Miami, or those haters will only be getting louder.
jk 11.) Antoine Dupont
Resolution: Medal.
This one’s an honorable mention, because only I care about this. Dupont captains the French national rugby team, but he’s sitting out Europe’s biggest annual tournament — the Six Nations — to focus on playing sevens in preparation for the Paris Olympics. It’s a different-ish sport played with far fewer players, all of whom tend to be quicker and more skilled than your average. It’s more fun, and Dupont trying to win one for the home crowd should be too.
Also, This
Harbaugh to the Chargers, eh? Guess he won with his old team at Michigan. I do think this has more than a little to do with the impending NCAA investigation into his program, the consequences of which he doesn’t want to deal with. But I can also see why he might want to go and coach up Justin Herbert. Somebody ought to.
Congrats to the newest residents of Cooperstown: Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, and Joe Mauer. I’d say all three are deserving, and I would’ve added Carlos Beltran, Gary Sheffield, and Andruw Jones.
At this point I’m really just waiting for ‘27 and ‘28, when Pujols and Yadi become eligible. Should we go? We might have to go.
Looks like Doc Rivers is back. That didn’t take too long. Not sure I love the idea of handing him the reins in Milwaukee right in the middle of the season, but I guess the front office didn’t like what they were seeing. This’d be quite a feat if he could get them firing on all cylinders.
Netflix bought wrestling? I mean, kinda. They’re buying W.W.E. “Raw” for the next 10 years for a cool $5 billion, the latest instance of streamers Hungry Hippo’ing up live sports broadcasts.
Great to see some rugby content! Can’t wait to watch Dupont with even more space to play in.