Review of Past Predictions

I think it's a good time to reflect on some of the predictions I've made in past posts....so here goes nothing....

NFL (Preseason):
With the season almost half over for most teams, there are some surprising teams that have already won more games than I thought they could in 16. Miami has 3 wins already which was what I predicted for the season. The Bengals and Lions are both 0-7 but I had them both at 7-9....woops. The Titans are the reverse, at 7-0 with me picking them for 8-8. San Diego was a team I thought would have a big year in a weak division....I said 13-3 but they're 3-5 right now. I also had the Raiders at 9-7, another pick that isn't looking too great. I had the Falcons winning 2 games on the year which they've already doubled. One last definite wrong is the Seahawks at 9-7 while they are 2-5 right now. A lot of my other picks should be close but these are the ones that look bad right now.

NCAA (Top 10):
I had USC at 1 going undefeated. That one hurts. My #2 was Oklahoma with their only loss being to Texas.....so far so good with that one. #3 is Florida with losses to Georgia and Florida State. They've already dropped a game to Ole Miss so we'll see how the Gators do in these games later in the year. #4 Georgia.....loss to Florida and Auburn. I don't see the Dawgs losing to Auburn but they very well could lose to the Gators tomorrow afternoon. I had Ohio State losing to USC and Illinois. Half way there but didn't call the Penn State victory over OSU. West Virginia was another dissapointment as I had them losing once, to USF. VA Tech has struggled at times as well. I had them losing once, to Florida State. Missouri was supposed to lose to Texas according to my preseason picks but not Okla State. I also had Oklahoma beating Mizzou in the Big XII Championship Game. I had Illinois with 3 losses and they've dissapointed as they are 4-4 right now. One prediction I am proud of is my pick of Oregon State to the Rose Bowl. This can still happen amazingly. If the Beavers run the table to finish the year, they will win the Pac-10 title over USC in a tiebreaker at worst case scenerio. We'll see if they can do it but I remember picking that as my major upset pick for the year. Out of the 10 teams I picked for BCS games, I expected probably 6-7 to actually make it. Right now, BYU won't make it, cutting my chances down to 9 of 10. West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Oregon State all need to win their conference title to have a chance. Ohio State can sneak in after Penn State as the Big Ten #2. Oklahoma and Missouri both are not going to the BCS but one could certainly make it as the conference champ qualifies automatically.

MLB:
These were made at the All-Star break with win total predictions. Here's a breakdown of how it turned out: (Predicted Total- Actual Total= Score)
Boston (-1), New York (-1), Tampa Bay (+11), Toronto (+7), Baltimore (-9)
Detroit (-14), Chicago (+3), Minnesota (+4), Cleveland (+10), Kansas City (+7)
LA Angels (-2), Texas (-7), Oakland (-7), Seattle (-2)

Philadelphia (+1), New York (+1), Atlanta (-10), Florida (+10), Washington (-6)
Chicago (+2), Milwaukee (+1), St. Louis (Correct), Houston (+1), Cincinnati (+1), Pittsburgh (-2)
Los Angeles (+1), Colorado (-4), Arizona (+6), San Francisco (+1), San Diego (-4)

Well I did pretty well with the NL Central with every record within two games including my one exact prediction (St. Louis). I should have flip flopped the Braves and Marlins. I predicted the D-Backs to struggle more than they ended up doing but overall my NL was pretty good. I had some bad picks in the AL (Cleveland, Toronto and Tampa Bay outperformed by double digits). Detroit never came around to play well. Overall I would say I did okay. I would have liked to have seen what numbers I would have made in the preseason. We'll see next year when I make my picks in March. I did call all four NL playoff teams including my switch of the Mets with the Brewers, saying they'll finish within a game of each other. That was solid. In the AL, I had the Yanks and Tigers going while it ended up being the Rays and White Sox. Oops....I also had Boston winning the division which they did not.

2008-2009 NBA Preview

I'll keep it simple this time...no predicted records, just standings and playoffs. I'll also do MVP, Most Improved, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year etc.

Eastern Conference
Atlantic
Boston (#2 Seed)
Toronto (#5 seed)
Philadelphia (#6 seed)
New York
New Jersey

Central
Detroit (#1 seed)
Cleveland (#4 seed)
Indiana
Chicago
Milwaukee

Southeast
Orlando (#3 seed)
Washington (#7 seed)
Miami (#8 seed)
Atlanta
Charlotte

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest
Utah (#1 seed)
Denver (#7 seed)
Portland
Minnesota
Oklahoma City

Pacific
Los Angeles Lakers (#2 seed)
Golden State (#5 seed)
Phoenix (#8 seed)
Sacramento
Los Angeles Clippers

Southwest
San Antonio (#3 seed)
New Orleans (#4 seed)
Houston (#6 seed)
Dallas
Memphis

Eastern Conference Playoffs
1-Detroit over 8-Miami
4-Cleveland over 5-Toronto
6-Philadelphia over 3-Orlando
2-Boston over 7-Washington

4-Cleveland over 1-Detroit
2-Boston over 6-Philadelphia

4-Cleveland over 2-Boston

Western Conference Playoffs
1-Utah over 8-Phoenix
4-New Orleans over 5-Golden State
6-Houston over 3-San Antonio
2-LA Lakers over 7-Denver

1-Utah over 4-New Orleans
2-LA Lakers over 6-Houston

1-Utah over 2-LA Lakers

NBA FINALS
1-Utah over 4- Cleveland in 6 games

NBA MVP: Deron Williams, Utah PG (23 PPG and 11 APG)
Coach of the Year: George Karl, Denver
Rookie of the Year: Derrick Rose, Chicago PG (13 PPG and 7.5 APG)
Most Improved Player: Corey Maggette, Golden State SF (26 PPG avg)

Sunday Oct. 19 Rant

where do i start tonight.....Well here's a short list of things we've found out in the past few days:
1) Jon Lester can beat cancer but he can't beat Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the ALCS. "No cent month" continues.
2) Carl Crawford's leg looks fine now running in from LF but he couldn't go in July when I was in my fantasy baseball playoffs for 10K. Heartless.
3) If you have 10 top 5 picks in a row, you are going to have a good team eventually. Except if your the Browns.
4) I could make 10 notes about the Browns but I'll leave it like this....Anderson= Forever Inconsistent....Dawson= Not Clutch, Running game= terrible and lacking creativity.
5) Fox is showing the World Series. Toledo decides not to have Fox on anymore due to money. Ok thanks because I watched hundreds of games all year to miss the NLCS and World Series.
6) Red Sox: 9 straight elimination game wins vs Worst Team Ever through 10 seasons. Which one wins? I still hate Boston but still....no cent.
7) No more Boston hats around campus right? Thank god....only a week until the Celtics jerseys reappear.
8) Despised Team Plane Crash Theory. IM DaRcEeW1 for further explanation. Let's just say it started with the Tennesse Titans after Week 17 last season.
9) NFL Season through Week 7.....lots of things still to learn but here's something I can tell you....SD, Indy and NE will not win the AFC. That's a good thing right...unless it opens the door for the Steelers

I'm done for now, I could go on forever.....worst mood ever.....oh well. Go Arizona Cardinals....because most importantly, we've learned any team (I'm talking to you Lions, Browns, Bengals, Clippers, Insert bad team name here) can win it all.....or at least come close enough to sell a few more hats.

MLB Playoff Predictions

The time for new October legends to be born is here....who will win the 2008 World Series? Here's my take on the first round series:

Philadelphia vs Milwaukee
My preseason NL Champion pick, the Phillies, will come through in this series. Milwaukee hasn't been playing that well of late but snuck in when the Mets collapsed. The Brewers will find a way to win a game (most likely Game 2 with C.C. pitching). Otherwise, the Phillies will roll as they have a superior offense in a hitter's park for the first two games.
Prediction: Phillies 3-1

Chicago (NL) vs Los Angeles
An interesting series in that I can see it going a million different ways. Cubs sweep? No, LA is playing too good. I like the Dodgers chances if they can get one of the first two in Wrigley. This is the playoffs, a place the Cubs traditionally don't perform well in. It will continue as the Dodgers shock the world in 5 games to leave Wrigley a silent place. Names to keep an eye on: Andre Ethier, poised to break onto the national stage here.
Prediction: Dodgers 3-2

Anaheim vs Boston
The best of the four first round series. The winner is the odds on favorite to win the A.L. pennant but it will be a grueling series. 5 games is definite as both bullpens will keep solid offenses down late in games. The Angels were my preseason World Series pick and they have the home-field in this series.
Prediction: Angels 3-2

Tampa Bay vs Chicago (AL)
The dream will end at some point here for the Rays. A great season for a good up and coming team. They have the home-field but it will be relegated to nothing as the White Sox postseason experience will loom large. The Sox come in on a bit of a roll and they are a superior team if you look at all positions. Older teams tend to beat younger teams in the playoffs and I see it happening here.
Prediction: White Sox 3-1

Rest of the Playoff Predictions:
Phillies over Dodgers 4-1
Angels over White Sox 4-2

World Series:
Angels over Phillies 4-1 (my preseason prediction stays for now)