Volume 12

Vol. 12 May 17, 2025 

This volume of ‘The Cole Times’ is generously sponsored by: 

Cole’s Savta, Pam Barnett. 

For information on how you can sponsor a volume, reach out via email!

NFL Schedule Release 

The NFL schedule is out! Now we know who has the grueling three-game road trip in December, who is playing across the pond, and when will be the big time Bills-Chiefs game. Week 1 starts as the Philadelphia Eagles kick o their title defense versus their rival Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, 9/4. The next day, the Los Angeles Chargers host the Kansas City Chiefs in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Bualo Bills and Baltimore Ravens have an important game on the first SNF of the season. In Week 2, it’s a Super Bowl rematch as the Eagles travel to Kansas City for a Sunday afternoon game. Baltimore and Detroit have a possible Super Bowl preview on Week 3’s MNF game. Baltimore has another formidable foe. They will play Kansas City in Week 4. Baltimore has the Houston Texans in Week 5. By the time they reach their week seven bye, they will have played five teams that made last season's playos. In Week 6, the Lions and Chiefs play on SNF. In Week 8, Washington and Kansas City play on MNF. In Week 9, the Vikings travel to Detroit, and the Chiefs play at Highmark Stadium versus the Bills. In Week 4, the Steelers and Vikings play in Dublin, Ireland, and in Week 5, the Vikings meet the Browns in London. Then the next week, London hosts the Jets versus Broncos. Continuing a trend from the last few seasons, in Week 7 the Jaguars will play in London, as they will be the home team against the Rams. In Week 10, the NFL goes back to Europe as the Colts and Falcons play in Berlin, Germany. In Week 11, the Dolphins and Commanders will round out the International games with a game in Madrid, Spain. In Week 13, the Thanksgiving triple-header sees the Lions host the Packers, Cowboys host the Chiefs, and the Bengals will travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens for TNF. On Black Friday, the Eagles host the Bears. The Saturday games start on Week 16, with the Bears hosting the Packers and Commanders hosting the Eagles. Christmas is also on a Thursday this year, which means another day of holiday triple headers. On Christmas the Commanders host the Cowboys, Vikings host the Lions, and Chiefs host the Broncos. For Week 18, everyone plays division rivals all 16 Week 18 games and 5 Week 17 games are flex games. 

NBA Draft Lottery 

The NBA Draft lottery was wild this year. The Dallas Mavericks won the first overall pick with 1.8% odds. The San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, and Charlotte Hornets round out the top four picks. The Hornets had the best odds to land the top pick, along with the Utah Jazz (Pick 5) and Washington Wizards (Pick 6). The New Orleans Pelicans hold the 7th pick. The Brooklyn Nets will pick 8th, Toronto Raptors 9th, Houston Rockets 10th, Portland Trail Blazers 11th, Chicago Bulls 12th, Atlanta Hawks 13th, and the San Antonio Spurs hold the 14th pick. The Mavericks won the Draft Lottery for the first time in franchise history. The San Antonio Spurs are the only team with two lottery picks this year. 

Aaron Judge 

Aaron Judge is showing why he is one of the best players in baseball. Judge is having an incredible start to the season, leading the AL triple crown categories through half of May. Judge is batting .414, with 15 homeruns and 41 RBI’s. Judge’s 70 hits are 12 more hits than the next best player. Currently, Judge and the New York Yankees are in the middle of the Subway Series versus the New York Mets. 

WNBA Opening Night 

The WNBA opened the 2025 season with a Friday Night triple-header. The Washington Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream 94-90 behind a 23-point 4th quarter. Paige Bueckers scored 10 in her WNBA debut, but the Dallas Wings lost to the Minnesota Lynx 99-84. The Golden State Valkyries lost their first WNBA game 84-67 versus the Los Angeles Sparks. 

European Soccer 

With the soccer season winding down in Europe, who is in control in the biggest leagues? In the Premier League, Liverpool has won the title; they are 15 points ahead of second place Arsenal, as every team has 1-2 remaining games. Barcelona has won La Liga. With two games left Barcelona is ahead of Real Madrid by 7 points. Bayern Munich has won the German Bundesliga; they are 11 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen with 1 match to go.

NBA Playoffs 

The NBA playoffs are wrapping up the second-round. In Round 2, Tyrese Haliburton showed up for the Indiana Pacers. Haliburton hit clutch shots late to win the Pacers Games 1 & 2. The Cleveland Cavaliers won Game 3, but the Cavs could not keep up and Indiana won the series 4-1. The New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics in Games 1 & 2 behind clutch Mikal Bridges steals. The Celtics won Games 3 & 5 but ultimately lost to the Knicks in 6. The Golden State Warriors won Game 1 versus the Minnesota Timberwolves 99-88. The Timberwolves did not like losing Game 1, and proceeded to win 4 straight games, beating the Warriors 4-1. The Oklahoma City Thunder and their MVP candidate, Shai Gilgeous Alexander, and The Denver Nuggets and their MVP candidate, Nikola Jokic, are tied 3-3 in their 2nd round series. In Game 1, Jokic scored 42, as Aaron Gordon’s late 3 secured a 121-119 win. The Thunder tied the series at 1 after a 149-106 blowout Game 2 win. SGA led OKC with 34 points in Game 2. The Nuggets bounced back, winning Game 3 113-104 in OT. The Thunder then won 2 straight games, 92-87 and 112-105. The Thunder won games 4 & 5 despite Jokic being the leading scorer in both games with 27 in Game 4 and 44 in Game 5. The Nuggets bounced back to win 119-107 in Game 6, tying the series 3-3. 

NHL Playoffs 

The NHL playoffs second round is going strong. The Edmonton Oilers are trying to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals, after losing it to the Florida Panthers last year. The Oilers beat the Vegas Golden Knights behind a big series from goalie Stuart Skinner, helping Edmonton to two shutout wins. Skinner had 23 saves in Game 4 for the 3-0 win. Skinner made 24 saves in Game 5 and the Oilers had a second straight clean sheet. The Oilers won the Series on a Kasperi Kapanen OT goal to win Game 5 1-0, and the series 4-1. The Carolina Hurricanes also advanced to the Conference Finals, beating the top-seed Washington Capitals 4-1. After the series started 1-1 with each team winning a game in Washington, the Hurricanes were on fire, winning Game 3, 4-0, Game 4, 5-2, and Game 5, 3-1 to end the Capitals’ season. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers face a Game 7 tied at 3-3. The Maple Leafs took a commanding 2-0 lead with two wins in Toronto. The Maple Leafs might have let up a little bit too soon though. Florida won games 3, 4, and 5, taking a 3-2 lead. The Maple Leafs won Game 6, 2-0 to force Game 7 in Toronto. The Dallas Stars lead the Winnipeg Jets 3-2. The Series started with Mikko Rantanen scoring a natural hat trick to win Game 1, 3-2. Connor Hellebuyck shutout the Stars in both games 2 & 5. The Stars and Jets will play Game 6 on 5/17 in Dallas.