The Super Bowl may have passed, but 2017 is still early. Baseball season will begin soon, Hockey, Soccer, and Basketball are heating up, the Football off season should be interesting, and other sports offer intrigue as well. Here are some interesting storylines as we venture further into the year

Can Anyone Stop the Warriors and Cavs?

The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers have meet in the previous 2 NBA Finals, and they still appear to be very strong. Few teams seem to pose a threat to them in a seven game series. The likes of the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics,and Toronto Raptors appear to be the most likely candidates to break up this duopoly.

Is LeBron James’s Legacy Determined by this Season?

For most millennials or 90s babies who grew up watching basketball, it seems LeBron James has been around forever. That may have been the case, but everyone has their final game eventually. As his age goes higher into the 30s, especially coming off of the retirement of Kobe Bryant, many fans wonder where he will fit in in the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) conversation. That being said, is it crucial he wins another title this season?

Which quarterbacks will reach greater heights in their 30s?

Peyton Manning retiring after last year’s Super Bowl reminded us that other great quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Phillip Rivers are running out of time as well. Or are they? Considering how long these all stars have been in the NFL and performing at this level, they will surely delay father time. But for how long?

Can Leicester City avoid relegation as defending champions?

Leicester City had the longest odds to win the Premier League out of any English Premier League champion, but in the 2016/17 season they reverted back to fighting off relegation. Despite keeping most of the core of their team, they haven’t played nearly as well as they did their title winning season. They are still in the Champions League, but they also need to avoid being the first defending champions to be relegated to the second division.

What will we learn from the Confederations Cup?

Most people are aware that the World Cup happens every four years, and that the next one is in Russia in 2018. What most people don’t know is that a smaller but still interesting tournament is held in the World Cup host nation a year prior: The Confederations Cup. 8 teams participate: the host, the defending World Cup champion, and the winners of each of the 6 Confederations representing the six continental zones of FIFA. Usually it does not mean much, but sometimes we do get a preview of what’s to come next year. Additionally, the Confederations Cup winner never goes on to win the next World Cup so it’s a catch 22.

Will familiar faces reach the baseball postseason?

Baseball is the toughest sport to reach the playoffs in out of the major North American leagues. That provides a built in heap of pressure for the teams that succeeded last year to stay consistent and on top this year. Although the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Bears reached the World Series in 2016, their divisions contain other teams that have made it to the World Series in recent years as well. And now that the San Francisco Giants have run out of “even year magic”, could they bounce back in 2017?

Who will reign supreme from the Big Four?

In tennis, four players stand above the rest: Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer. This quartet have been battling it out and winning almost every trophy in Men’s Tennis for over a decade. Most recently, Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open. But it’s still early, and Federer will have to keep up his game to win the competitions that follow.

Which sport will rise in popularity the most?

Football and baseball appear to be the classic American sports, but as the sports industry becomes bigger and thus the sports world increases in scope, there are more and more options to both play and watch. Basketball continues to grow its brand outside of North America, while soccer leagues outside of Europe like Major League Soccer, Liga MX, and the Chinese Super League continue to warrant attention. More high school and college students are playing rugby, lacrosse, and water polo as well.

Will female athletes be respected more?

At the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, female athletes were subject to a lot of sexism and inappropriate comments. Since 2017 is not an olympic year, people will pay less attention to the feats of women and then when either the next Winter or Summer Olympics come, male journalists and sports fans will make similarly atrocious tweets like the one made about trap-shooter Corey Cogdell. I sincerely hope the answer to this question is yes. It is 2017, and regardless of who that person is they deserve to be respected for their accomplishments. And that means doing so without comparing female athletes to men and citing their success to their husbands.

Will another title drought end?

Although the San Jose Sharks failed to win their first ever Stanley Cup last year, other teams did win trophies for the first time in ages. From the Cleveland Cavaliers ending their city wide title curse to the Chicago Cubs ending an 108 year title drought, it just goes to show that every team has its year. But whose will it be this year? Anything is possible. Across all sports, there are a number of teams at the peak of their power now that haven’t been successful for a long time. There are no easy paths to winning championships, but that won’t stop any athlete in the world from giving their all for this quest.