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Like many football fans, LA Angels shortstop Zach Neto had his eyes in front of the television on Sunday Night Football watching the Detroit Lions take on the Minnesota Vikings for the top seed in the NFC. Both were 14-2 coming into the contest, so the winner in this regular-season finale would earn themselves a right to a first-round bye, while others risk elimination.
That right now goes to Jared Goff's Lions, who crushed the Sam Darnold-led Vikings 31-9. The loss had the Vikings earning the fifth seed in the NFC, meaning they will play NFC West champion LA Rams in the wild-card round in the playoffs.
As the Detroit Lions secured their position as the top team in the NFC North, Neto couldn’t hold back his excitement. The shortstop took to Instagram to share a post-game celebration, captioning it with a simple but powerful phrase:
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“KINGS OF THE NORTH,” a nod to the hit series Game of Thrones.
The phrase has become a rallying cry for sports teams, perfectly capturing the Lions’ triumph in a competitive NFC North division. Alongside the text, Neto included a photo of Lions linebacker #34 Alex Anzalone celebrating after a critical play, surrounded by teammates in their sleek black-and-blue uniforms.
Zach Neto to miss early chunk of 2025 season
The LA Angels will be without their everyday starter Zach Neto in middle infield for at least the first few months of the 2025 season, as Neto underwent a shoulder surgery in Nov.
The Angels added positional depth by adding former Top 100 prospect Scott Kingery from the Philadelphia Phillies via trade and signing Kevin Newman to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.
General manager Perry Minasian has left it on manager Ron Washington to decide on whom to start between Newman and Kingery in place of Neto.
“We'll see during Spring Training, and Wash will make that decision,” Minasian said.
“But (Newman) has the ability to do that, obviously. He plays short, he can play second. And one of the things we've looked at was durability and finding some durable players that can play in the middle of the field. And he's been very durable throughout his career. So, we'll see how all that plays out.”
Meanwhile, Zach Neto, who played 155 games last season, batted .249 along with 23 home runs and 30 stolen bases.
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