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Well, we've reached that annual point where I return to trying to post a blog entry here after several months off and it's, of course, another series of pre-season predictions about what I expect to occur in the forthcoming NFL season. Just last year I debated ceasing these predictions (NBA and NHL seasons will begin shortly hereafter as well), and I guess I've finally arrived at the point at which I will do just that.
We're leaving for Disney World tomorrow night (*groan* Orlando *groan*) and will be gone for an entire week, meaning I likely will not be in front of a computer again before the football season kicks off next Thursday. Rest assured that I will not have enough time to fully, um, "research" and lay out another year of predicted football finishes.
While I'm convinced that I've only continued to post sports predictions every year as part of some grand plan to one day reflect on my overall record when I'm old, gray, and retired with nothing to do other than compile meaningless statistics for my own amusement, I'm going to take my chances of ruining that all and not laying out all the little helmets and predicted finishes this year. I will say that my predicted division winners will be, oh, the Patriots (of course), Steelers, Jaguars (!!!), Chiefs, Cowboys, Packers, Panthers, and Cardinals. I suppose the Wild Card teams will be ... the Jets, Bengals, Giants, and Seahawks. I will go with New England beating Pittsburgh and Green Bay beating Arizona in the two championship games before we get the Patriots (I think Martellus Bennett and Rob Gronkowski are going to be a lethal combo) topping the Packers in Super Bowl LI. The nation then mourns another year of annoying Boston fans being annoying Boston fans.
I reserve the right to revise and add the helmets and full set of predictions later on, but I wouldn't count on it. For the most part, I really do need a vacation—even though my "blogging" here would lead the average reader to believe I've been on vacation.
To the surprise of very few people, we have ended up with a rematch of last year's NBA Finals. Cleveland was expected before the year even began to come out of the East and Golden State has been the assumed favorite to repeat after a regular season campaign that saw the team win a record 73 games.
I remember how when Oklahoma City met Miami in the Finals a few years I speculated that the series could mark the beginning of a rivalry that could last several years. Instead, it was the only time the two teams met in the Finals.
Dare I say the same thing now about the Cavs and the Dubs? By having a second meeting, the series is already one more than the Heat-Thunder matchup. What we do know is that there's no shortage of compelling interests in this Finals matchup.
While I initially thought that most people would be pulling for the long-deprived city of Cleveland in this series, sentiments expressed on sports radio and have proven that there is still no shortage of hate for LeBron James. I found that somewhat shocking, although I really shouldn't be surprised if a number of people now identify themselves as Warriors fans.
Getting both games right last round brought me to 11-3 in these playoffs. Unlike the playoffs in the NHL, there are very rarely surprises in the NBA Playoffs. That said, the last round marked another increase in my personal viewing as the Western Conference Finals largely proved to be the most must-see stuff we've gotten in these playoffs. I'm guessing that I'll be making it a point to try and take in most of the remaining games in this basketball season.
Got one series exactly right last round and erred on the other, leaving us with a Cup Final that's quite intriguing. Both of these teams have been picked by experts (and even non-experts like yours truly) in years past to hoist Lord Stanley, only to end up (2009 aside for Pittsburgh) coming up short.
I can find reasons to be happy for either team here, but I'm largely rooting for the Sharks because that's the team without a single Cup win and numerous players deserving of having their names etched on it. For San Jose, this could very well likely be the last chance for many of the the team's players while I've got every reason to believe many Penguins will be back and contend again next year.
Both goaltenders have been good, but I wouldn't call either unbeatable. Pittsburgh's forwards have been aggressive on the forecheck, but the Sharks have sparkled on the power play. I'm going back and forth as I type this, debating whether I side with what I believe is the probable favorite (the Penguins) or going with the team I'll actually be rooting for (San Jose).
At 8-6 so far in these playoffs, it's not like I've got a perfect predictions mark on the line. So ...
Guess I can't blame any injuries on my incorrect guesses last round, as I only got two of the four series right. That brings me to 9-3 thus far in the playoffs with four of the series predicted in the right number of games.
I did watch more of the second round than I did the first, and it seems likely that I'll probably find reason to watch even more in the conference finals. Well, in the West, at least.
While the first round was something of a formality with a few competitive (but still pretty bad) series sprinkled in, the second round finally gave us the first compelling series with the otherwise favored Spurs being knocked off by the much more dangerous Thunder. We'll get what could possibly be another close series in the Western Conference, but the year indeed seems to be shaping up to live up to the subtitle of my pre-season NBA predictions post.
Maybe we'll get some surprises this round, but my guess is that the best will not come until the last series of the year. And maybe that's exactly as it should be, seeing as I (and many others) had been thinking that a Golden State-San Antonio series this round (which obviously isn't happening) should have been the Finals.
I got three of my four second round predictions right, bringing my total for the playoffs to 7-5 with two series finally called in the correct number of games. So I'm above .500.
While the Eastern Conference features the defending conference champion taking on a team that won a Stanley Cup seven years ago, the Western Conference features two perennially underachieving clubs that have routinely disappointed their fans. One team will finally break through and reach the Cup Final.
Aside from maybe the Penguins, I don't think league executives are particularly excited about what any of these teams are going to do as far as bringing eyes to television sets. While people inclined to watch any kind of postseason hockey regardless of whom is involved (such as, you know, myself) can find reasons to be intrigued by the possibilities, I doubt the same can be said for most casual observers around the country.
Both series this round have clear potential to be tightly fought contests that go the full maximum number of games, so perhaps there's a chance that highly-entertaining games lead to increased interest from the general public. Somehow, I doubt it though. Not when you've got a record-breaking NBA team and LeBron possibly about to meet over in the other league.
Well, I've gotten all five of the series completed thus far from the last round correct, but I'm not too optimistic about getting all eight right again this year. Injuries have essentially decimated the Clippers (that and the Steph Curry injury being the inspiration for the subtitle here, which was used three years ago) and the Heat are currently one game away from elimination. And Toronto will always be Toronto, so all bets are off there. This is what I get for playing the favorites though.
All of that said, there's little reason not to continue playing the favorites. I've caught occasional moments of the NBA Playoffs thus far, as the first round was deemed as rarely being worth my time. Things are bound to get more competitive now (in some of the series in this round).
The second round will begin this weekend although only two of the four series have been determined. So much like my recent NHL picks, I'm going to have to update my picks later. In one series, I'm going to have to wait until we know any of the four possible participants.
Again, I really don't see myself taking in a full basketball game until the Western Conference Finals, but the Spurs-Thunder series certainly has potential to be the first really great one of these playoffs.
It is, of course, sad times around these parts as I've been forced to convert the image of Jonathan Toews to the film grain black and white tone after the elimination of the defending champion Blackhawks. First-round exits aren't exactly unprecedented for this team, but we fans have come to expect having rooting interests in games well into May and usually June. And Lord knows everybody has come to expect the Blues to choke away series leads.
Instead, the season has ended in April. And my predicted champion this year was also eliminated. As it currently stands, I've gotten half of my picks in the last round right. The total might increase to five if Anaheim does not piss away a Game 7 at home for once.
It seems that in years past, the second round did not begin until the first was completely over. Yet the first series of the conference semifinals will begin even before the puck drops on the final game of the opening round tonight. So I'll have to revise this graphic later on.
For the time being, I'm still adjusting to the possibility that a team other than Chicago or Los Angeles will be hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup this June. Part of me is inclined to believe that an Eastern Conference team is going to once again take advantage and emerge victorious in the Final, but another part of me is legitimately fearful that maybe the Blues really have finally put it all together this year.
And then another part of me is simply rooting for the Sharks. Because that would be hysterical.
My NBA pre-season predictions were once again more accurate than my NHL ones, as I got 11 of the 30 teams in their correct final spots in the standings for the second straight year. I also correctly identified 11 of the 16 playoff teams (five in the East and six in the West). My predicted Finals is still alive, and I'm feeling pretty confident that I was right about which four teams in the Western Conference will be advancing in this round.
As is what always seems to be the case with the NBA Playoffs predictions, I see no point in not playing it safe as there is usually very little in the way of surprises in basketball. Hell, after a 73-9 season, I've seen only one observer thus far who isn't picking the Warriors to repeat as champions in June.
Like many others, I clearly overestimated the Bulls this year—but I'm fairly relieved that I will not have to endure any further embarrassing displays from that garbage fire this season, In all likelihood, there's maybe two suspenseful series in this round (involving four teams in the Eastern Conference that all finished with the same record).
Last year was the first year I can remember ever going a perfect eight for eight in opening round predictions (NBA or NHL), and I kind of like my chances of doing that again this year. However, my pick of the Clippers over the Spurs last season was something of an upset that came to pass and I'm not really about to pick anything outside of popular opinion this time around.
As is so often the case when the Stanley Sup Playoffs begin, I get to look back on my preseason predictions and basically make everything red. For the second straight year, a mere five of the teams in their correct spots in the final standings—although I has the top three teams in the Central and the Metropolitan right, just in the wrong order.
I correctly guessed seven of the eight Western Conference playoff teams, but only five of the eight Eastern Conference playoff teams. (FULL DISCLOSURE: I originally entered that predicted Lightning opponent as "Red Blue Jackets," which I'm assuming was intended to be Columbus and not Detroit—even though the Wings would've counted as another correct guess.) At least both of my final two teams are still alive this year—although both seem rather vulnerable from the outset.
While I'll certainly be rooting for the Blackhawks to repeat and win a fourth Cup in seven seasons, the team's defense is still somewhat of a concern. Of course, the most pressing issue this year may be how much hockey I get to watch. The hope is that holding a sleeping child while watching late-night playoff games goes over well with the wife, but the child's newfound love of the kid's apps on my phone could pose problems if I'm forced to rely on the NBC Sports app.
I'm fairly confident I'll find one way or another to watch as much hockey as I can consume, and I'm expecting surprises along the way.
Let me just begin by saying that I really have no idea. I didn't do so well on my baseball picks last year, and probably haven't done well since I don't know, 2004. So there's nothing this year that makes me feel especially confident about what I'm about to forecast.
I'm immediately skeptical because of the number of people picking the Cubs to win the World Series this year—a bad sign if there ever was one. Still, the Cubs are deserving favorites in the National League, although there's certainly any number of possible contenders.
The American League, on the other hand, strikes me as being fairly wide open. I don't particularly like any of the teams to win their respective divisions, so I'm sort of of holding my nose as I post those picks.
Anyway, as is so often the case with these beginning of the year predictions, I'm pressed for time and will be forgoing commentary for each division. Not that I would have offered anything terribly insightful.
