The fingers started twitching on New Year’s Eve, sometime between watching Pitbull slip after he’d tested three cocktails at the Thompson Miami Beach Hotel and watching Kathy Griffin put blue and red dye in Anderson Cooper’s head. (Some time I’ll tell you about the time I sat behind Cooper in the auxiliary pressbox at Fenway Park during the World Series. Maybe.)
M-u-s-t …. w-r-i-t-e … l-i-s-t.
I mean, seriously, you aren’t anybody in this business unless you do some kind of list around New Year’s. So what I’ve done is picked out 20 of the people I’ll be most interested in watching in 2015.
Teaser warning: it’s a golf-free and almost tennis-free zone.
- Danny Ainge, Owner and Operator, 2015 NBA draft: The Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations has two first-round and three second-round picks in 2015, part of a parcel of seven first-round picks over four years to go along with a decent core of under-25 players and enviable cap-space. That’s the team-building trifecta in the NBA.
- Alex Anthopoulos, In The Cross-hairs: This isn’t just a parochial choice, the Toronto Blue Jays’ general manager has acknowledged privately that his job is on the line, and with six weeks left before spring training he barely has a bullpen.
- Mike Babcock, Genius: It’s a toss up what we’ll hear more: rumours that he’s staying or leaving as Detroit Red Wings head coach. My guess? He’s gone.
- Michael Bradley, Big Fish in Murky Pond: I’m sorry, Toronto FC fans, there is no way that Bradley, at 27, risks U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s wrath by playing for a no-hoper. He needs high-level, European soccer.
- John Collins, Visionary: The people who run Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Ltd., desperately wanted him to replace out-going chief executive officer Tim Leiweke. Hell, we all did. But the NHL’s Chief Operating Officer pulled his name out of consideration, and will remain highly sought after.
- Donald Fehr, Been Too Quiet Lately: Labour peace? Check. Fighting going out of the game not by legislation but because stakeholders realize it’s a waste of time? Check. The head of the NHL Players Association’s next big challenge will be cobbling together a formal partnership with ownership to launch a true World Cup of Hockey. Remember, anything that hurts the IOC is an advancement for humanity.
- William Foley, Gamblin’ Man: Las Vegas will have a professional franchise soon. It makes sense for the NHL, but Foley — the prospective owner — needs to continue to show a low-key, deft touch to pull it off. I don’t know whether or not Wayne Gretzky will make a difference to the thing, but it can’t hurt, I guess.
- Phil Jackson, Zen Master ®: The New York Knicks president could find Madison Square Garden as the place where reputations go to die. Or he could become even more of a sports god in the only city that matters. Why do I see all this leading to LeBron James playing for the Knicks? Speaking of which…
- LeBron James, King: The most powerful athlete on the planet was caught suggesting to Dwyane Wade during a post-game interview that they ought to hook up again to win a title — and it’s likely he wasn’t talking about James returning to the Miami Heat or Wade joining the Cleveland Cavaliers. James, who showed leadership during the Donald Sterling fiasco and was judicious in taking a stand against the recent spate of shootings by police, can opt out of his Cavaliers deal after this season, just in time for the start of the NBA’s new nine-year, $24-billion TV deal to kick in. James will also have a major say in whether the NBA Players Association opts out of the current collective bargaining agreement.
- Kyle Lowry, Irreplaceable, Indefatigable: Hey, if you can go from a coach-killing, out-of-shape, pariah-cum-malcontent to being the most popular athlete in Toronto and an all-star in the space of 14 months, who knows what the next year holds for you?
- McEichel: It’s been a thing all year and that won’t change in 2015. Top NHL prospects Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel will continue to be twinned like Bird and Magic. Why is it that Eichel’s story seems more like the traditional Canadian young-boy-turns-star than McDavid’s? Asking for a friend.
- Joe Maddon, Genius: After managing the little engine that couldn’t in Tampa, he’ll take over a star-crossed franchise with astonishingly strong minor league depth as manager of the Chicago Cubs. He has the right balance of goofiness and gravitas to make it work — and at $5 million per year for five years, he’d better.
- Rob Manfred, Leader: Baseball’s 10th commissioner will have no shortage of avenues to go down if he wants to make his mark: finding growth opportunities for a $9 billion industry; incorporating plans to speed up the game without destroying its integrity; resolving the Tampa Bay Rays ballpark issue; ensuring an orderly market for Cuban players after the President Barack Obama’s recent move to normalize relations; keeping hawkish owners at bay ahead of negotiations on a new collective agreement which expires after 2016; and dealing with Pete Rose’s reinstatement, which I’m told is now back on the table despite Selig’s presence as commissioner emeritus.
- David Price, Bank-buster: The left-hander is this season’s Jon Lester or Max Scherzer, and will land the biggest free-agent contract of next winter after being counted upon to carry much of the load for the Detroit Tigers in 2015.
- Milos Roanic, Because I Have To: Not my cup of anything, but considering all the money and chattering-class capital the sport has in this country, Raonic bears watching. No point in raging against the night. Eugenie Bouchard? I’m told the women’s talent pool is thin compared to men.
- Adam Silver, Not David Stern: How do you replace the guy who helped save the NBA from becoming Arena Football? Silver, who replaced Stern as NBA commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014, wasted little time in cleaning up the mess that was Donald Sterling’s ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers, put the finishing touches on a jaw-dropping TV deal and opened the door to a relationship with legalized gambling. He’s scary brilliant, and if race continues to increase as a flashpoint in the U.S. his leadership will be tested.
- Christine Sinclair, Icon: It’s to be hoped that we all stop worrying about who will be the next Christine Sinclair to celebrate the woman herself this year, when Canada hosts the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
- Stuart Sternberg, Handcuffed: The managing general partner of the Tampa Bay Rays has been given a nod and wink by the commissioner’s office to examine moving the franchise if a last-gasp attempt to build a new ballpark fails. He’ll get help to break the lease, if he wants.
- Dana White, Carny Barker: The smoke and mirrors are gradually disappearing as UFC and MMA continue trudging towards irrelevance. Too much power in one set of hands is never a good thing; this will be a personal come-uppance enjoyed by many of us. The emperor has no tights.
- Jameis Winston, First-round pick, Florida Corrections: Yet another example of how big-time college sports often aids and abets miscreants, the Florida State quarterback isn’t smart enough to realize that he’s overmatched by real life. TMZ can’t wait for this guy to start making big money!