Football:

Football in 2015 was so intriguing that not all big stories were on the football field. During Super Bowl week, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were accused of using deflated balls against the Indianapolis Colts during the AFC Championship game. New England won the game, 45-7. This accusation was later brushed off by the NFL and the Patriots for several months before it finally was addressed in the summer. Tom Brady faced a punishment of a four game suspension by the NFL. Brady took the NFL to court to vacate his suspension and clear his reputation. Brady won the court battle against the NFL.

The Super Bowl was a very exciting game. The New England Patriots, who started the year rough, made an incredible comeback to their season to silence the critics. The Seattle Seahawks with a all-time great defense and team were to be respected. The game ended 28-24 in New England’s favor. Seahawks’ Coach Pete Carroll made a controversial passing play at the one yard line with seconds left in the game.

The NFL offseason contained several mega signings. The New Orleans Saints traded star tight end Jimmy Graham for Seahawks offensive lineman Max Unger. The Philadelphia Eagles traded starting quarterback Nick Foles in exchange for Saint Louis Rams starting quarterback Sam Bradford. The Eagles also signed the star running back of the Cowboys, Demarco Murray. The Buffalo Bills signed a star defensive coach in Rex Ryan. The Bills traded for star running back LeSean McCoy. The Indianapolis Colts signed running back Frank Gore and wide receiver Andre Johnson. The New York Jets signed the best cornerbacks in the game in Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie.

In this current 2015 NFL season, things have been very compelling. The Carolina Panthers are the surprise team of the season with being 12-0. Other notable teams that have had outstanding seasons are the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos and the Arizona Cardinals all being 10-2.

Basketball:

NBA in 2015 was very exciting for the typical NBA fan. There were many records broken this season. Klay Thompson dropped 37 points in a quarter which marked the most points in a quarter by a player. Thompson was 13/13 from field goal range and made 9 out of 9 three point field goals. The “Splash Brothers”, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, recorded the most combined three pointers any duo in NBA history. Curry scored 286 three pointers while Thompson scored 239 three pointers. Russell Westbrook of the OKC Thunder scored 41 points in the all star game, which is the second highest points in an all star game. Dirk Nowitzki, player of the Dallas Mavericks, became the first player with 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 1,000 blocked shots, and 1,000 three point field goals.

During the playoffs, LeBron James and Tim Duncan reached 5,000 career playoff points in the postseason. Stephen Curry 59th three pointer in the playoffs passed Reggie Miller’s playoff record of 58 three pointers made. Andre Iguodala became the first person to win NBA Finals MVP with not starting any match in the Finals. During the NBA Finals, LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers became the first player to lead all in statistics in NBA Finals history. James scored 35.8 points, 8.8 assists and 13.3 rebounds. The Warriors with Stephen Curry and Crew won the finals to compliment their phenomenal season.

The current NBA season is very fascinating. The Philadelphia 76ers won their first game, which ended their NBA record of 18 consecutive losses. On the other hand, the Golden State Warriors stand with a record of 24-1. Also, Kobe Bryant is retiring at the end of the season.

Hockey:

If you were a Chicago sports fan then you had some things to cheer about this year. The Chicago Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in six years. The Hawks had a great season. Duncan Keith had a huge role in the cup run. Another team that was really good this season was the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs blew all the expectations out of the water winning 97 games. But with great players and pitching there is also a master mind behind them, and that was Joe Madden.

The Blackhawks had their usual core in Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. With that core the Hawks could contend for a championship for the next five years. Players like Brandon Saad, Teuvo Teravainen, Andrew Shaw and more had important plays in the regular season and Finals. After beating Nashville, Minnesota and Anaheim they went on to play the Lighting.

The Hawks took game 1 in Tampa with a score of 2-1. In game 2 the Hawks lost in a close one 4-3. The next 2 games were split in Chicago tying the series 2-2. In game 5 the Hawks won a thriller when Antoine Vermette scored with 2 minutes left. Then with the chance to win the Cup for the first time since 1938. Keith and Kane scored as Crawford had a shutout. The MVP of the 2015 Stanley Cup finals went to Duncan Keith as he played amazing throughout the playoffs.

Soccer:

Soccer in 2015 was a year that left none with disappointment. In the Barclays Premier League, Chelsea had a phenomenal year with 26 wins. Teams such as Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United also had great years placing in the top four of the league.

Leicester City for this current season has been leading the Premier League for months with 9 wins. Everyone has been shocked by Leicester City’s performance and rise to dominate English Football.

Bayern Munich controlled the German League once again with 25 wins, 4 ties, and five draws. A top German team was one of the last teams in the standings in early January but made an astonishing comeback to place 7th in the Bundesliga with qualifying for Europa League.

This current season, Bayern Munich lost their first game of the season with 13 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. Borussia Dortmund is having a better season placing 2nd in the league with 11 wins 2 draws and 2 losses.

Soccer in Spain during 2015 was another season with the two mega teams dominating the league: Barcelona and Real Madrid. Barcelona won the league with 94 points with Real Madrid trailing them by 2 points. Barcelona not only won the league title, but won the Champions League beating Juventus 3-1 in the Champions League Final.

Let’s not forget about the two superstars: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Ronaldo led the La Liga with 48 goals and Messi trailed Ronaldo by 5 goals with his 43 goals. The two box office stars Messi and Ronaldo led the league with assists. Messi had 18 assists while Ronaldo had 16 assists.

Italian Football in 2015 was another great year for fans. The champions of Series A were Juventus with 26 wins, 9 draws and 3 losses. Juventus also made an appearance the to Champions League Final. Roma and Lazio had great seasons with both qualifying for Champions league since they placed top 3 in the league. The Series A currently is more competitive with teams such as Napoli, Internazionale, Fiorentina, Roma and Juventus all fighting in the top five of the league for Champions League and Europa League qualification.

American soccer in 2015 has brought attention to many fans in the United States. Many fans take the MLS more seriously after the signings of quality players.

David Villa, a world cup champion, signed with New York F.C. Steven Gerrard, a legend not only in Liverpool but throughout the English Premier League, elected to join the L.A. Galaxy. Kaka, veteran of European Soccer, joined forces with Orlando City this summer. Didier Drogba, an all-time scorer of the Ivorian National team joined the Montreal Impact. Frank Lampard, who is a legend of Chelsea soccer, joined New York City F.C. this summer. Andrea Pirlo, an Italian Superstar for Juventus, chose to play for New York City F.C. as well.

Baseball:

Next it’s time to talk about the Chicago Cubs and their insane season. Now all the predictions and expectations were a team that could win 81-82 games and maybe win a Wild Card spot. Well, the Cubbies knocked that out of the park; with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, Starlin Castro and Jorge Soler. They also pulled in the top free agent in pitcher Jon Lester, but he was not are best pitcher. Jake Arrieta had one historic season with a 1.77 ERA, going 22-6 and having a WHIP under 0.90. There were a lot of memorable moments in the year like Kris Bryants first home run and Jake Arrieta’s no hitter. But nothing would stand the moment we clinched the playoffs.

When the Chicago Cubs clinched their spot in the playoffs the air in Chicago seemed different. Jake Arrieta took control of the game from the start. With a home run from Dexter Fowler and just a complete bomb from Schwarber, the Cubs sailed into the NLDS with a 4-0 victory. In the NLDS the Cubs took on their arch rival the St. Louis Cardinals. Game one was not so good as they lost 4-0, but the next 3 games were a total different story. The offensive started clicking as Dexter had another home run in a explosive 2nd inning in game 2. Game 3 was a slug fest as the Cubs had 7 home runs. Arrieta pitched well as the Cubs went on to win 8-6. With a chance to win the series the offensive came to life again. Kyle Schwarber had one of the biggest home runs ever as it landed on the top of the Budweiser scoreboard. They ended the series with a 6-4 win. In NLCS the offensive went quiet. Sadly, the Cubs got swept 4-0 as we got out scored, 21-8.

Overall:

In conclusion, during the offseason the Hawks lost some key players in Brandon Saad and Patrick Sharp. But right now the Hawks are in the middle of the pack in the division. Patrick Kane is on a total tear this season. The Cubs have had an amazing offseason as Joe Maddon won Manager of the Year, Kris Bryant won Rookie of the year and Jake Arrieta won the Cy Young award. Knowing that the Cubs have beat the expectations already I can’t wait to watch them in the upcoming seasons.