Trying to predict the future ... again
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Welcome to my annual rite of wrongness where I look into the future and correctly (or incorrectly) predict what will occur in the world of sports.
I've changed it up some this year as I've cut down on the number of predictions, though I did correctly predict the NBA Finals last year. This year, I'm adding just a little bit of depth to my predictions by going with just a few predictions (not really) for the calendar year.
With that said, here are my predictions for 2013.
Try to predict the future ... again
[[In-content Ad]]1. The Super Bowl XLVII winner will be …
At the start of the NFL season, I said the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers would face each other in this game, and as of this writing, they both still have an opportunity to play their way to the biggest prize in all of sports. I also wrote the Packers would win the Super Bowl, so I'm going to stick with that one.
The game I really want to see in the playoffs is Colts at Broncos in the AFC, better known as Manning vs. his former team. For that to take place, Cincinnati has to lose, and the Colts must defeat the Ravens this weekend.
My conference championship games will be New England over Denver (AFC) and Green Bay over the 49ers (NFC).
2. A repeat for King James?
I told my friends on NBA Opening Night in late October that the Miami Heat would defeat the Los Angeles Clippers in the Finals, and looking at the standings in early January, I'm on the right track to predicting the NBA Finals for the second straight season. I'll even go one further and say the Heat will top the Clippers in six games this June.
I really like what the Clippers are doing this season, and I feel they are the best team in the NBA right now, but once the playoffs begin, after what I watched last season, I can't go with any other team except the Heat.
3. Who will win the World Series?
I refuse to let the Los Angeles Angels trick me again, and I'm still on the
bandwagon of the Detroit Tigers because the AL Central is the worst division in baseball and they have a good team.
The National League is more complicated to even start predicting. There are the San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers, for starters. Then factor in a team who comes out of nowhere (you pick one) or a potential comeback (Philadelphia Phillies), and that is six teams right there. Plus, I can't not mention the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers as possible or probable playoff teams.
Back to the AL … besides the Tigers and Angels, I like what's going on in Baltimore under Buck Showalter. The Tampa Bay Rays are coming off a 90-win season, and we can't not talk about the revamped Toronto Blue Jays … oh, and the Yankees will be watching the playoffs in '13.
The AL Central, as of right now, I only can say the Tigers and for the West, it is the A's, Rangers and Angels who can compete. (I'll go more in depth for baseball predictions before the conclusion of spring training.)
With all that said, my 2013 World Series winner is the Tigers, the team I jinxed last year.
4. March Madness
This is the toughest of any sports champion to try to predict because this tournament is the biggest coin flip and blind draw in all of sports. I'll say the Kentucky Wildcats won't repeat, and I can't make myself pick Duke or Louisville. With that said, I'll go with a kind of long shot and say the team on April 8 that will hoist the NCAA championship trophy will be the Michigan Wolverines, and that's a total guess.
5. Quick predictions
You didn't think I was just going to settle for five predictions … here are more things I'll probably not pick correctly but will write anyway: Alabama will win the BCS National Title game on Jan. 7 (I hope I don't get fired), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will be the champion of the Daytona 500 (my personal favorite prediction), Japan will win the World Baseball Classic (Go USA!), Rory McIlroy will win the Masters, there will be no Stanley Cup champion (just play already), He's Had Enough will win the 2013 Kentucky Derby (just wait and see), Bill O'Brien will be '13 NFL Coach of the Year (I have a bad feeling he's leaving Penn State. Editor's Note: Look's like this one is already wrong … and I've never been so glad to be wrong.), Kyle Busch will win the Sprint Cup Championship (he's due to put an entire season together), the AL will win the MLB All-Star Game, linemen will dominate the NFL draft in the first round this year (not the best of years for skill players in the draft), the Reds will win back-to-back NL Central championships (this I am sure of), Ohio State and Michigan will play twice in football (regular season and for the Big Ten championship. How cool would this be?), Tim Tebow will become the Jacksonville Jaguars' starting quarterback (doesn't every prediction column need a Tebow reference?) and they will still be a bad football team, Kevin Durant will win the NBA MVP and my final prediction is I'll probably be wrong on most of these (I could be wrong on this, though), but it's all in good fun, right? OK, I really want to be right on the Kentucky Derby one … that's what I want most out of this list.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. Stephen can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
I've changed it up some this year as I've cut down on the number of predictions, though I did correctly predict the NBA Finals last year. This year, I'm adding just a little bit of depth to my predictions by going with just a few predictions (not really) for the calendar year.
With that said, here are my predictions for 2013.
Try to predict the future ... again
[[In-content Ad]]1. The Super Bowl XLVII winner will be …
At the start of the NFL season, I said the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers would face each other in this game, and as of this writing, they both still have an opportunity to play their way to the biggest prize in all of sports. I also wrote the Packers would win the Super Bowl, so I'm going to stick with that one.
The game I really want to see in the playoffs is Colts at Broncos in the AFC, better known as Manning vs. his former team. For that to take place, Cincinnati has to lose, and the Colts must defeat the Ravens this weekend.
My conference championship games will be New England over Denver (AFC) and Green Bay over the 49ers (NFC).
2. A repeat for King James?
I told my friends on NBA Opening Night in late October that the Miami Heat would defeat the Los Angeles Clippers in the Finals, and looking at the standings in early January, I'm on the right track to predicting the NBA Finals for the second straight season. I'll even go one further and say the Heat will top the Clippers in six games this June.
I really like what the Clippers are doing this season, and I feel they are the best team in the NBA right now, but once the playoffs begin, after what I watched last season, I can't go with any other team except the Heat.
3. Who will win the World Series?
I refuse to let the Los Angeles Angels trick me again, and I'm still on the
bandwagon of the Detroit Tigers because the AL Central is the worst division in baseball and they have a good team.
The National League is more complicated to even start predicting. There are the San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers, for starters. Then factor in a team who comes out of nowhere (you pick one) or a potential comeback (Philadelphia Phillies), and that is six teams right there. Plus, I can't not mention the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers as possible or probable playoff teams.
Back to the AL … besides the Tigers and Angels, I like what's going on in Baltimore under Buck Showalter. The Tampa Bay Rays are coming off a 90-win season, and we can't not talk about the revamped Toronto Blue Jays … oh, and the Yankees will be watching the playoffs in '13.
The AL Central, as of right now, I only can say the Tigers and for the West, it is the A's, Rangers and Angels who can compete. (I'll go more in depth for baseball predictions before the conclusion of spring training.)
With all that said, my 2013 World Series winner is the Tigers, the team I jinxed last year.
4. March Madness
This is the toughest of any sports champion to try to predict because this tournament is the biggest coin flip and blind draw in all of sports. I'll say the Kentucky Wildcats won't repeat, and I can't make myself pick Duke or Louisville. With that said, I'll go with a kind of long shot and say the team on April 8 that will hoist the NCAA championship trophy will be the Michigan Wolverines, and that's a total guess.
5. Quick predictions
You didn't think I was just going to settle for five predictions … here are more things I'll probably not pick correctly but will write anyway: Alabama will win the BCS National Title game on Jan. 7 (I hope I don't get fired), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will be the champion of the Daytona 500 (my personal favorite prediction), Japan will win the World Baseball Classic (Go USA!), Rory McIlroy will win the Masters, there will be no Stanley Cup champion (just play already), He's Had Enough will win the 2013 Kentucky Derby (just wait and see), Bill O'Brien will be '13 NFL Coach of the Year (I have a bad feeling he's leaving Penn State. Editor's Note: Look's like this one is already wrong … and I've never been so glad to be wrong.), Kyle Busch will win the Sprint Cup Championship (he's due to put an entire season together), the AL will win the MLB All-Star Game, linemen will dominate the NFL draft in the first round this year (not the best of years for skill players in the draft), the Reds will win back-to-back NL Central championships (this I am sure of), Ohio State and Michigan will play twice in football (regular season and for the Big Ten championship. How cool would this be?), Tim Tebow will become the Jacksonville Jaguars' starting quarterback (doesn't every prediction column need a Tebow reference?) and they will still be a bad football team, Kevin Durant will win the NBA MVP and my final prediction is I'll probably be wrong on most of these (I could be wrong on this, though), but it's all in good fun, right? OK, I really want to be right on the Kentucky Derby one … that's what I want most out of this list.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. Stephen can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.