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(Photo by Los Angeles Times) BALTIMORE ORIOLES Well, that wasn't expected. The O's decided to make changes to get them to the top, including THE GREAT PETER ALONZO! Can Baltimore finally reach their promised land after a huge setback in 2025? BOSTON RED SOX Another off-season, another flurry of moves to help the BoSox find an identity. Are they a playoff contender or are they a middle-of-the-pack squad? 2026 could determine where the BoSox are headed for their future. NEW YOR

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: NIKOLA JOKIC, NUGGETS I was going to go outside of the box, but the Joker continues to carry his team and possibly, the NBA with a triple-double average (28.7 pts, 12.3 reb, 10.7 ast, 59.0 fg%). Dude is dominating, deal with it. ROOKIE OF THE MID-YEAR: COOPER FLAGG, MAVERICKS It's him over former Duke teammate Kon Kneuppel, Coop has captured the minds of basketball fans and heartbroken Dallas fans who are trying to move on from that trade. Pencil him in

(Photo by the Daily Herald) On January 3, 2001, 25 years to the day of this writing, the Oklahoma Sooners executed a defensive performance for the ages as they held the Florida State Seminoles, one of the highest scoring teams in the nation, to a safety. The Sooners captured the BCS National Championship with a 13-2 drubbing of FSU. In his second season, coach Bob Stoops was the architect of dynasty in the making. The Oklahoma Sooners were going to rule college football for y