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JJ: “The Year in NY Sports for 2025. Not Good Enough…”

BQE Admin on December 25, 2025

New York New York

By John Jastremski

Believe it or not, next week is the final full week of 2025. 

In NY Sports, I think many of us went into the calendar year with high hopes for our teams and prospects for success. 

Looking back on the year, it’s hard to not have a feeling of disappointment. 

I think the best way to look at NY Sports in 2025 is to say the year wasn’t good enough. 

Our baseball teams were fresh off a trip to the World Series and the NLCS a year ago at this time. 

Life was good for Mets fans, Juan Soto was the new conquering hero and the sky was the limit… Until it wasn’t. 

The Mets inexplicably missed the playoffs in 2025 and it was no fluke. 

They were a terrible baseball team for the final 4 months of the season and the ramifications of that poor play is the wholesale change we are witnessing within the team heading into 2026. 

In Yankees land, it was another year of coming up short in October. 

Yes, the Yankees pivoted brilliantly away from Juan Soto. 

Yes, they tied the Blue Jays for the most wins in the American League, but another year slips through the hourglass of Aaron Judge’s career without a ring. 

The pressure continues to mount and yet the team continues to be content with where they stand. 

Good enough to be in the dance, sure they have a chance, but it hasn’t been good enough to win. 

The football teams. Par for the course. And not in a good way. A collective 5 wins by 2 teams is a special sort of ineptitude. 

One would argue the New York Knicks would buck this trend of not being good enough. 

And compared to the other teams in town, it makes perfect sense. 

The Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in 25 seasons. 

They had an epic 2nd round series win against the Boston Celtics. 

Yet, they can join the club of disappointment. Why? The Game 1 collapse against the Indiana Pacers will be a game that lives forever in infamy. 

It flat out cost the Knicks the series and will haunt this team until of course they reach the NBA Finals. 

2025 was eventful. There were some monster moments, promising debuts & plenty of interesting subplots. 

At the end of the day, it wasn’t good enough for our fair city. Let’s hope 2026 can be better…

You can listen to my podcast New York, New York every Sunday & Thursday on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite at 11 PM on SNY.

Johnnies Drop Out of the Top-25

BQE Admin on December 25, 2025

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

The St. John’s Red Storm are ranked no more, and it was a long time coming. After a brutal defeat to Kentucky over the weekend, the Johnnies finally lost their spot in the national rankings, one they’ve held since January. After ranked losses to Alabama, Iowa State, and Auburn, it was the 78-66 loss to unranked Kentucky that ended the St. John’s stint in the Top-25. 

The second half was nothing short of a disaster in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, GA. After holding Kentucky to 25 first half points, St. John’s was outscored 53-34 in the second frame, scoring nearly half of those points from the free throw line.

Head Coach Rick Pitino and his captains have committed to growth more than a few times this season, and now their words are starting to feel a little familiar and repetitive with that promised growth still to be seen.

‘I’m disappointed in any loss, but it’s not my job to be disappointed. My job is to make the team better,” said Pitino after the defeat. “We can be a good team, and we can get better and better and better.”

There isn’t much time left for St. John’s to get better, and following Tuesday’s matchup against Harvard, all that’s left in the Johnnies schedule is their BIG EAST slate. Their final 19 games include two against the #4 UConn Huskies, as well as matchups with a much improved Seton Hall squad. 

Additionally, Creighton, Butler, Georgetown, Xavier, Villanova, and DePaul have all started the season with 8 or more wins, a sign that the BIG EAST will be a fiery contest this season and in the conference tournament next year.

Senior big man Zuby Ejiofor is well aware of the challenge and time constraint as he looks to lead his team to a conference title defense and a return to the NCAA Tournament, but acknowledged that they can’t let their focus drift far from the next game on the schedule.

“It’s important to take one game at a time and take things one day at a time,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of opportunities, so we’ve got to stay focused and keep working.”

This season is far from over for St. John’s, but if they don’t see improved performances and consistency, it’s hard to envision Pitino’s group reaching the same heights as last year’s team.

WNBPA Authorizes Strike if Deemed Necessary

BQE Admin on December 25, 2025

Can the W Avoid a Catastrophic 2026 Lockout?

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

On Thursday last week the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) saw historic participation and support for a potential strike, authorizing executives to dig their heels in if CBA negotiations don’t progress. The vote saw overwhelming participation and support, with 98% in support of authorizing a strike and 93% of the league casting a vote.

“The players’ vote is neither a call for an immediate strike nor an intention to pursue one,” the WNBPA said in their statement. “It is an emphatic affirmation of the players’ confidence in their leadership and their unwavering solidarity against ongoing efforts to divide, conquer and undervalue them.”

After seeing significant growth over the past few seasons, WNBA players are eyeing a significant jump in shared revenue, also hoping for other significant concessions. However, the league has made little progress on negotiations. While a strike could be catastrophic to continued league growth from its current peak, the vote sends a strong message to the league, urging executives to pursue a fair deal in good faith.

The emphasis in a new CBA largely falls on league revenue sharing and salary ranges. Right now, the league only shares roughly 10% of revenue, much lower than most male sports leagues that share nearly half of their profits. As a result, many players are forced to look overseas or into offseason leagues like Unrivaled to supplement their time playing in the WNBA. With the league making more than ever, players are searching for significant increases.

Reports say that the WNBA is offering an increase in revenue sharing up to 15% with minimum and average salaries roughly quadrupling, but players are steadfast in their demands for 30% of revenue, with salaries dependent on annual league profits.

“What we’re doing right now isn’t working,” said NY Liberty star Breanna Stewart, who serves as a Vice President in the Players’ Association. “We know how important as players it is to play and to be on the court. But at the same time, if we’re not going to be valued the way that we know we should be, then we’re just not going to do something that doesn’t make sense for us.”

It doesn’t seem likely that the league will cave to player demands quite yet, but the threat of a 2026 lockout shouldn’t be taken lightly. After all the growth in recent years, it would be disastrous for players, teams, and the league if the upcoming season doesn’t start on time.

Perea Re-Signs, but Haak Deal Looms Large for NYC

BQE Admin on December 25, 2025

Boys in Blue add new homegrown players, draft selections, and academy director

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

New York City FC midfielder Andres Perea is returning to the club on a three-season deal running though the transitional 2027 season and until the end of the 2027-28 campaign. There is a club option to retain Perea for the 2028-29 season. 

After joining the team on loan from the Philadelphia Union in 2023 and later re-signing in NYC, the American-born Colombian had a breakout season in 2025, providing an immense defensive presence in the middle of the park and contributing on the offensive end a number of times. That season was cut short in the playoffs when Perea fell after an aerial challenge, breaking his leg in Game 3 of the opening round. 

After receiving surgery, the club made sure to take care of their midfield man. Although they declined Perea’s club option for 2026, NYC remained in negotiations with him to ink a longer term deal.

“I’m really excited to sign a new contract with New York City and continue this journey with Los Celestes,” said Perea after penning his new deal. “I’ve felt so much love from the City, my teammates, the entire staff, and the fans, making me truly happy here.”

Perea wasn’t the only player up for a new contract this offseason, nor the only defensive player to break out this season. Homegrown center back Justin Haak may have seen his final minutes of MLS action against Miami in the Eastern Conference Final, and he’ll be an extremely difficult piece to replace.

Haak was the third homegrown player to join the senior team as an academy graduate and first to sign from the 5 boroughs, playing on the club’s first ever U-14 academy team back in 2015. He made his senior debut in 2019 after inking his first professional contract.

After a few shaky seasons and a pair of loan spells with USL side Hartford Athletic, Haak began to settle in with the club before stepping into a vital role this past year. Paired at CB with Thiago Martins and backed by Goalkeeper of the Year nominee Matt Freese, Haak was central in the team’s terrific defensive record, tied for the 6th least goals conceded in the league.

Unfortunately it appears that contract talks have broken down, making a reunion unlikely. Haak has attracted decent interest from Europe, as well as other MLS clubs. It would be disappointing for NYC to lose out on Haak to another club in the league, but it appears their valuation of the Brooklyn native isn’t in line with him or his potential suitors.

Regardless of Haak’s future with the club, NYC has other homegrown talents waiting in the ranks. This past week they announced the signing of Duke defender Kamran Acito and Wake Forest midfielder Cooper Flax, both on multi-year deals.

The club also made four MLS Superdraft selections in midfielders Ransford Gyan (pick #27, Clemson), Kevin Pierre (#57, Georgia Southern), and Joey Mueller (#71, UCF), as well as defender Luca Nikolai (#87, UNC). 2025 draftees Nico Cavallo and Max Murray, both defenders, are also likely to feature in the near future, progressing well in their first year with NYC.

To help oversee the club’s academy and youth structure, NYC also announced the appointment of Robin Nicholls as Academy Director. Nicholls spent a few years with English club Sunderland AFC, some formative years for the club as they mounted a return to the Premier League after a troublesome 8-season absence.

“New York itself is not only a fantastic city, but the background of the people who live there, the different socioeconomic backgrounds, means the potential for talent is exceptional, one of the best and most diverse talent pools in the world, in my opinion,” said Nicholls about his new home. “I wanted to tap into that and really help develop that level of talent to hopefully go on and play at the highest level one day. The Club is headed in the right direction, and with the opening of Etihad Park, it’s an exciting time to be a part of.”

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