If you’re a crazed sports fan like me, navigating the holiday season is always an interesting challenge.
Take it from someone whose mental health is inextricably tied to the success of my favorite teams. It’s hard to be jolly after enduring a season that results in anything less than a championship or at least gives you hope that things are headed in the right direction.
Still, this was a fascinating year for Baltimore sports, and there were also plenty of compelling developments on the national and global scale that shaped this year in sports. Let’s reflect on some of the most intriguing athletic stories of 2023.
The Lamar Jackson contract saga finally ended
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson became eligible for a new contract after the 2020 season. Between then and April 27, 2023 — when he agreed in principle to a five-year $260 million extension on the same day as the start of the 2023 NFL Draft — absolute mayhem ensued.
For a little background, Baltimore suffered a myriad of injuries and COVID-19 cases in 2020, losing more than 20 players to long-term injuries that ended up bleeding into the following year. The injury-riddled Ravens missed the playoffs for the first time in four years in 2021 as Jackson missed the final four games of the season due to an ankle injury.
The 2022 season was simply a continuation of the previous two disastrous years for Baltimore. Former offensive coordinator Greg Roman once again struggled to evolve his scheme from the strategy that helped Jackson earn MVP honors. And Jackson failed to finish the season healthy after suffering a PCL injury in week 13 against the Denver Broncos.
Despite overcoming another slew of injuries to return to the playoffs, Baltimore’s season ended in a 24-17 Wild Card loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in which the offense was predictably inept during crucial situations — most notably when Bengals defensive lineman Sam Hubbard completed a 98-yard scoop-and-score fumble return for a touchdown as the Ravens squandered a goal line scoring opportunity that would have given them the lead.
Following this sobering defeat, the spotlight quickly shifted to Jackson since he opted against traveling with the team to Cincinnati in order to focus on rehabbing his knee injury. These ongoing negotiations turned Jackson from a beloved darling into a polarizing figure and, frankly, brought out the ugliness in a lot of people, whether they supported or defended Jackson.
Jackson’s eventual agreement with the Ravens for an extension combined with the addition of first round selection wide receiver Zay Flowers opened the door for where we are now. With Baltimore sitting atop the AFC and healthier than the previous two seasons, it has a chance to put the cherry on top of its long-term commitment to Jackson with a championship run over the next few months.
The O’s Are Back
Coming off an 83-79 record in 2022, fans weren’t exactly flooding through the turnstiles at Camden Yards to watch the Baltimore Orioles. But that completely changed in 2023.
The Orioles revitalized the city’s love for baseball thanks to its young nucleus demonstrating an unflappable grit and determination throughout the entire season that culminated in their first 100-win season since 1980.
Although Baltimore’s quick playoff exit against the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series was disappointing, the Orioles finally have a foundation to build upon as we get closer to spring training in February.
LSU took the women’s basketball landscape by storm
When LSU Tigers star (and Randallstown native) Angel Reese taunted Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark by pointing at her ring finger and doing the “you can’t see me” celebration at the end of LSU’s 102-85 victory in the NCAA national championship, it set the college basketball world ablaze.
On one hand, many observers viewed Reese’s antics as classless and unbecoming of a champion. But on the other hand, plenty of people came to Reese’s defense and labeled criticism of her as a double standard since Clark had done the exact same celebration earlier in the tournament.
With LSU being a predominantly Black team and Iowa being predominantly white, this inevitably created a racial divisiveness among viewers and pundits that clouded what was an excellent tournament.
First Lady Jill Biden exacerbated this drama by expressing interest in inviting the Hawkeyes to the White House (which would have been the first time a runner-up visited the White House) before eventually rescinding her invitation.
Reese went on to say that LSU would prefer to visit the Obamas until eventually agreeing to attend the White House ceremony. What’s lost in the racial overtones of this entire situation is that women’s college basketball completely stole the spotlight from the men’s tournament for the first time in recent history.
While the tension from this saga has cooled down, this could lead to an epic rematch when March Madness rolls back around in a few months.
The PGA Tour joined forces with LIV Golf
The PGA Tour — the world’s pre-eminent professional golf league — shocked the sports world this summer when it announced a merger with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
With LIV Golf boasting billions of dollars in funding from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF), this announcement prompted several PGA Tour golfers to switch allegiance in pursuit of larger paydays such as recent addition Jon Rahm.
Groups representing families and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have expressed disapproval about the merger, but that outrage hasn’t prevented negotiations from continuing.
The two sides are still working together to seal the partnership, targeting an official deal by Dec. 31. But with that deadline fast approaching, that time frame could be extended into the next several months. With so much money at stake, a deal feels inevitable but this will be a major story to keep an eye on throughout early 2024.
Shohei Ohtani secured the largest contract in sports history
When two-time American League MVP reached free agency after the 2023 season, many estimates projected he’d receive a contract worth around $500 million or on the low end of $600 million.
Not only did the 10-year $700 million deal he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this month exceed those expectations, but it was completely unprecedented in how it was structured. Ohtani deferred a majority of his salary until 2034, giving the Dodgers the financial flexibility to build a strong team around him throughout the prime of his career.
The deferrals total $680 million, meaning Ohtani will receive $68 million from 2034 through 2043. With many fans and experts touting Ohtani as the most talented player of all time, the two-way star can put a stamp on his already-illustrious career by leading the Dodgers to a title — if not multiple ones.
LeBron James claimed the NBA’s scoring crown
I no longer wish to hear debates about who the greatest scorer of all time is. Yes, I’m just as entranced as any other basketball observer when Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant showcases his repertoire of pull-up jumpers, post moves, and off-balance shots. And there’s no doubt it never got tiring seeing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pull off his unstoppable sky hook.
But the reality is, no player in NBA history has a greater scoring arsenal than Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. He cemented this by surpassing Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record in a mid-February matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, becoming the leading scorer in NBA history at the ripe old age of 38.
Most basketball fans and pundits assumed Abdul-Jabbar’s record would always stand the test of time because it appeared unreachable since his retirement in 1989. But the truth is James can’t be measured by normal standards. Even now, he’s still breaking the mold by playing at a supremely high level as he nears 39 years old.
If he leads his team to another championship at this stage of his career, I’ll be willing to table the LeBron-Jordan debate too. I have a feeling we’ll be having this same conversation about James’ superhuman ability in 2025, so let’s just sit back and enjoy this ride as we approach 2024.
