Professional Sports Update

By: Ella Stafford

The NFL playoffs are in full swing. Afterall, it’s all that sports channels are talking about. However, not everyone is a football fan. So, for fans of other sports such as hockey, basketball, and soccer, let's take a look at some of the other sports leagues in the middle of their seasons. Note that these standings were taken on January 20th and have probably changed a bit in the following days. 

Starting with soccer, the Premier League is perhaps the most popular soccer league in the world. It’s based in England but has viewership from all over the globe. Impressively, Liverpool F.C. is the top club with 50 points, a six point lead over second place Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. However, Arsenal has a better goal differential. Surprisingly, the former league champions in Manchester City are sitting in fourth place with 38 points. In the basement of the league, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, and Southampton are all in danger of being relegated. Relegation means that they will move out of the Premier League into a worse league, in this case the EFL Championship. But, there are still a couple months remaining, so anything can happen.

The WNBA season is in the middle of the off-season, however the NBA has been playing since October. In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in first place with a record of 35-6. They are followed by last year’s champions, the Boston Celtics (29-13), as well as the New York Knicks (28-16). In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the clear frontrunners with a record of 35-7, with the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies trailing closely behind. At the bottom of the league standings are the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards. These teams are clearly looking forward to the offseason, where they will have the chance to reset and potentially draft consensus number one pick Cooper Flagg from Duke. The standings aren’t set in stone, so with multiple months remaining until playoff season, teams are still working to improve their spot in the rankings.

Finally, since it’s the middle of winter, professional hockey is at its prime. The NHL has a surprising team at the top with the Washington Capitals. This team barely made the playoffs last year and are currently in first place with 67 points. Not far behind in second is the Winnipeg Jets with 65 points, and lastly in third is the Vegas Golden Knights with 61 points. At the bottom are the San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators. The Predators were expected to be much better this year based on their rush to the playoffs last season, but have failed to live up that level.

The other hockey association playing right now is the PWHL in its second season. This women’s hockey league had an impressive start last year and is hoping to continue that this season. There are only six teams however. The Montreal Victoire and Minnesota Freeze have proven to be the best, each with over twenty points while the next closest team, which is the New York Sirens, only has 16. At the bottom of the pack is the Toronto Scepters with just 11 points.

That’s all for this update. So, even if football’s not for you, there are still plenty of sports to watch and support. Stay updated with any league you’re interested in just by looking it up online. Hopefully you’ll find a team you like!

Cites:

• “2019-20 NBA Standings | ESPN.” ESPN, 2019, www.espn.com/nba/standings/_/group/league.

• “NHL Hockey Standings | NHL.com.” Nhl.com, 2025, www.nhl.com/standings/2025-01-19/league. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

• Premier League. “Premier League Table, Form Guide & Season Archives.” Premierleague.com, 2024, www.premierleague.com/tables.

• “PWHL Standings.” TSN, 2025, www.tsn.ca/pwhl/standings.