Top 25 sports stories of 2025, ranked
CBS Sports••general
Key Points:
- The NCAA sports landscape was radically reshaped by the House v. NCAA antitrust settlement, allowing schools to pay athletes directly, introducing revenue sharing, and creating a College Sports Commission to oversee NIL deals, but also widening the gap between wealthy and less-resourced programs.
- Rory McIlroy completed his career grand slam by winning the Masters in a playoff and led Europe to a Ryder Cup victory on U.S. soil, fulfilling his personal goals for 2025.
- Alex Ovechkin surpassed Wayne Gretzky's NHL goal record by scoring his 895th goal and became the first player to reach 900 career NHL goals, showcasing remarkable consistency and durability.
- The Dallas Mavericks shocked the sports world by trading franchise star Luka Dončić
