Monday, January 3, 2011

Bold Predictions for 2011

Before I drop my prophecies, based solely on my gut feeling and extreme bias, I want to point out how most “bold predictions” made by the sports media are weak at best.  
During NCAA March Madness, the ESPN “experts” report their brackets for who will win ever game. And it’s always the same with the huge upset being a 10 over a 7.  Cop-out!  Then the final 4 is packed with #1 and #2 seeds.  Way to go out on a limb.
Then look at fantasy football start ‘em sit ‘em sections.  I saw one that said to start Tom Brady and sit Jay Cutler.  Wow! Thank you for that pearl of wisdom.  You mean I should start the league MVP with 30+ TDs and the best TD to INT ratio EVER?!  And I shouldn’t play the human turnover that ate Chicago?  What would I do without that nugget of genius?
If anyone says they are going to make a bold prediction GO BIG OR GO HOME!
Bold Prediction #1:  Tiger Woods will win all 4 majors in 2011.
Think about it.  He is still Tiger Woods.  He’s desperate to regain his place at the top. He’s shown massive improvement since him comeback, and he has nothing else in his life than golf.  He’ll practice like he did when he was 25.  He’ll play in more events than ever. And he’ll have a grudge against everyone who bashed him (or for that matter didn’t support him) during his struggles.  He will win often and there will be no let up.
Side Note:  I’m going to make a comparison here that many seem to overlook. Remember Tom Brady in 2009.  He was good, but not great.  He was competitive but not dominant.  Well, everyone sat back and said “He’s coming off a huge injury in 2008.  It will take him a while to get back to form”.  Then he did get back to form and is the runaway MVP this season.  Tiger had the same injury!  Yes it’s easier to blame the slump on his “transgressions” but once he’s healthy again, watch out.  2011 Tiger will win the Grand Slam
Bold Prediction #2:   None of the 4 2010 AL playoff teams will be in the playoffs for 2011.  No Rangers or Rays is a layup…(or a can-of-corn if we want to be accurate to baseball). Wait, No Yankees?! No Twins?!   
The Yankees did nothing this offseason.  Plus the captain is angry.  If the senior leader and captain is unhappy I fully expect Jaba to have a meltdown when he’s stuck in the bullpen again and ARod will threaten to quit when someone steals his make-up from his locker.  The clubhouse will implode and there will be no one to right the ship.  Look for Baltimore to steal the wild card from them late in the season. (Red Sox take the pennant).
Then, in the Central, Detroit will finally put a full season together and upset the Twins.  The Twins put too much into last year and will come out flat. The team is soft out of the bullpen and if one major player goes down they will struggle to win close games.   Plus, they won’t pay Jim Thome what he needs so he’ll go to Seattle or Oakland and all of a sudden the Twins have lost their power bat.  No one in the lineup will hit over 20 homers and they will finish out of the playoffs.
Red Sox, Orioles, Tigers and A’s make up the 2011 playoffs.
Final Bold Prediction:   Lebron James will be arrested by the end of 2011.
He’s gone from the small town hero to a despised traitor.  Worst of all, he’s embracing the new “bad guy” role.  He is now out for himself; an army of one.   He brushes off the hate and acts as if he is untouchable.  But remember this.  He’s only a kid. He just turned 26.  He’s been under the spotlight since he was in high school.  Everyone treated him special and he got away with everything (see: Mom’s Hummer).  It’s only a matter of time until he does something that can’t be overlooked under the assumption that he’s invincible (i.e. Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Ben Roethlisberger, etc.)
Lebron is a huge accident waiting to happen and Miami is the worst place for him to be at this critical point in his life.  The only silver lining may be that when the poop hits the proverbial fan people won’t look at “The Decision” as his worst moment.
Those are just a few of the things to look forward to in 2011.

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