The curtain is closing on another year of sports and the time has to come to remember everything we have seen and everything that awaits us over the next 12 months.
DailyMail.com columnist TIM HOWARD has selected some of his highs and lows of 2024.
The former Manchester United, Everton and USA goalkeeper has also looked into his crystal ball to make some predictions for 2025…
TIME OF THE YEAR
Freddie Freeman wins World Series MVP
Just look at the Dodgers and Yankees: two big-spending teams, with so many big names, including Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
Freeman would have been the last name on the betting sheet to win the MVP. For him to leave in Game 1 and then hit a home run in four straight games? Incredible.
That moment to win Game 1 was pretty surprising, but then he sustained it. All at the end of a year in which his son was temporarily paralyzed by a rare neurological disorder before Freeman battled an ankle injury before the World Series. Awesome.
DailyMail.com columnist TIM HOWARD has selected some of his highs and lows of 2024
Freddie Freeman inspired the Los Angeles Dodgers to victory over the New York Yankees
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Caitlin Clark
What she has done for women's sports and the WNBA is remarkable. The trajectory of the league has changed. Not by itself, obviously. That's condescending to the women who came before her and built that league.
Clark stands on the shoulders of giants. But sometimes in sports a seismic change occurs from a single moment.
Look how Michael Jordan transformed the NBA: the league was reeling, no one was in the stands, Nike was ready to give up on basketball. MJ took the NBA to another level and Clark is doing the same with women's basketball.
Women's basketball star Caitlin Clark has become one of the biggest names in the sport.
GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENT
New York Jets
I know what you're thinking: what about my old team, Manchester United? They are certainly among the nominations. But it has to be the Jets.
Many things have gone wrong. It's like Murphy's Law at MetLife. First they bring in Aaron Rodgers, then he ruptures his Achilles tendon in his first game and suddenly that season is a failure.
You really only have two years with an aging quarterback. So this season was the one. And it has been an absolute disaster. Nobody is on the same page. Coach Robert Saleh was fired. General manager Joe Douglas was fired. They stink. They are the same Jets as always. And that's coming from a Giants fan who knows: we suck too.
Even with Aaron Rodgers under center, the New York Jets have endured a terrible season.
MOMENT I WISH I HAD SEE IN PERSON
Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul
Maybe it's a strange choice. But you have to be amazed by the spectacle. Jake Paul is an easy guy to hate. He's a YouTuber, he's a newbie to boxing. But the numbers, the looks and the interest it generates? It's amazing.
There's another selfish reason I would have loved to be in Texas: I grew up watching Mike Tyson in all his glory, all his fall, and all his resurrection.
Seeing him step into the ring once again, even as an older man, would have been a surreal moment. Instead, I tuned into Netflix and watched between glitches.
Mike Tyson, 58, returned to the ring to face YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in Texas
BIGGEST SHOCK
city of manchester
If you're not completely and utterly shocked by this recent meltdown, then you're lying. There are people who say they saw it coming. It's not a possibility.
It's one thing to have a slow season or be slightly off the boil. But, for this City team, that could mean being overtaken at the goal line by Arsenal or Liverpool.
That would represent a bad season. But this? It's catastrophic.
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City has suffered a dramatic collapse in recent months
UNSONG HERO
Travis Kelce
I am stunned every time I hear that the Chiefs star is on the decline. It's amazing. Maybe your numbers aren't what they were before; That's natural as you get older.
But in every big play and every big moment, on a Chiefs team seeking a historic three-peat, Kelce is there. He is innovative in the position. He constantly has tricks up his sleeve.
And yet people want to destroy it. Just because he's dating Taylor Swift. It's ridiculous. Watch the NFL. Look how important he is to that Chiefs team. Look at his work. Among tight ends, he's on Mount Rushmore alongside Rob Gronkowski and Tony Gonzalez.
Travis Kelce's relationship with Taylor Swift has put their performances in the spotlight
TWO SPORTS PREDICTIONS FOR 2025:
Cole Palmer He could be the best player in the Premier League for next Christmas. It doesn't matter if Mohamed Salah stays at Liverpool or if Erling Haaland rediscovers his best form.
Chelsea will go into next season with real title ambitions and, over the last 18 months, Palmer has grown as a player. That is clear through its coherence.
In some ways, it's easy to have a spectacular year: no one expects anything. Palmer has returned with a hangover from the Euro Cup and has started to work.
Chelsea's Cole Palmer has become one of the most influential players in the Premier League
He is as important as last season and his performance remains the same. That's the difficult thing.
manchester united, In the meantime, he will undergo a complete roster overhaul.
At this point, I'm almost certain that Ruben Amorim, if given the option, would replace at least eight of his top 11 starters.
As he looks to take United back to the top, or at least to the Champions League, there may only be a few survivors left.
Bruno Fernandes, even though he is letting the coach down with all these red cards.
The other two? Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo. I don't think anyone else will get a pass.