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| Andrew Luck and the #Chuckstrong Colts might provide us with the surprise of the 2013 sports year. |
As we just gave you the review to our 2012 bold predictions, something of an utter failue, we'll try to give you a better round here for 2013. Unfortunately one of the bold predictions does not include the National Hockey League playing any games as there isn't a chance they play big money hockey this year. So here's our attempt at doing better than 20-percent of the truth like we did in last year's rendition.
The Los Angeles Clippers will not make it out of the Western Conference Semis
Here we are amidst one of the best winning streaks in the history of basketball and I'm here doubting L.A.'s pathetic younger brother. I won't doubt that they boast the league's deepest bench, but in the playoffs your rotation tightens down to eight or nine and it rarely extends out of that. While their depth is certainly a plus, I still can't trust the big man combo of DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin. Something tells me that down the line when they have to face bruisers like Kendrick Perkins or Tiago Splitter or Javale McGee and Kenneth Faried, these guys will fold like a plastic chair. Chris Paul is the best point guard in the game, but I see some shoddy consistency up front as the team's downfall.
The Yankees won't make the playoffs
C.C. Sabathia is a monster, not going to doubt that in anyway. But outside of that who is the Yankees rotation? Veterans Kuroda and Pettite were wonderful additions to the rotation, but can you really rely on these guys as your #2 and #3 starter when they're a combined age of 77? The only thing we're sure of is that we're still not sure of anything with Phil Hughes, and Nova's sophomore campaign didn't wow anyone. With the Yankees cash strapping GM Brian Cashman, I'm not really sure what the Yankees are going to do in order to improve this aging warship. Now is the time the Yankees are going to regret owing Alex Rodriguez $29 million dollars next year. Oh and about that Youkilis signing...
Michael Vick will be the starting quarterback of the Buffalo Bills
My belief is this, most of the NFL realizes that Vick is a liability, but the Bills don't care. They will think he'll undergo some rebirth here in Buffalo just like they thought with Terrell Owens. All these moves about "reinvigorating" the franchise continue to fail, and unless they find a miracle worker as a coach, a Mike Vick signing will be an utter disaster. With the buyout clause in Ryan Fitzpatrick's monster contract and the fact that they didn't extend Fred Jackson's contract, they'll have enough money to bring an overpaid Vick in and they'll do it with relative excitement. Hey, maybe they'll be 3-0 going into Week 4 and Vick will be playing like a monster, but then he'll get hurt and the Bills will be back to their 6-10 ways.
Kentucky will make the Final Four
Yes, the Wildcats are 8-4, are struggling mightily on the court and are having a tough time getting their freshmen to play (and act) like real men. But things will turn around. Calipari has a decently tough task ahead of him, especially looking back at last year's sensational squad, but he'll get it done. There is too much talent on this team for him not too. Alex Poythress will come around, he has the skills to do it, it just comes with time. But most importantly, Archie Goodwin will stopping turning the ball over and eventually grasp the college game. Yeah, they might not come into the tournament as a #1 seed, but I could see them turning in an exciting tournament run that ends in the National Semi-Finals. Betting against Calipari now is sort of like betting against LeBron now, he's just a coaching genius.
The Toronto Blue Jays will also not make the playoffs
Two teams in the AL East aren't going to make the playoffs!!!!!! Weird that the Orioles and Rays are going to be the teams representing the division in the playoffs next year, right? But this Jays team has created a recipe for disaster bringing in underachieving guys with monster contracts like Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson. When the Marlins pulled off this trade last year, they looked like the toast of the NL East, instead they finished dead last. There's something about the mojo that Jose Reyes has that works against teams he plays for. Yeah, they might have star studded their roster with the addition of Dickey and PED-user Melky Cabrera as well as the names before, but are they really that much better? These are a lot of guys who haven't thrived with major expectations in the past, except for Buehrle, who was a major part of that 2005 World Series winning White Sox squad. To me, this just looks like the Marlins of the North, all flash for a lotta cash, but zero dash.
The Celtics won't turn it around like everyone believes they should
I was the first one to endorse these 2012-13 Celtics, and I'll be the first to call them out. This team doesn't play the way they did in the past. They're two games under .500, but their two big money vets are playing old, real old. Garnett really refuses to bang down low like he used to and Paul Pierce just looks ragged on both ends of the floor, shooting only 43.1% from the field. The Kendrick Perkins-Jeff Green trade hasn't worked out for the Celtics due to Green's condition, but his play so far this year hasn't really warranted the trade either. The Jason Terry, Courtney Lee combo hasn't worked out like I thought it did and when Doc Rivers called his team, "Soft" he meant it. This team could get by this season on pure wisdom, but getting out of the first round with this type of effort and age will be tough.
Kevin Durant, not LeBron James, will win MVP
It's always easy to crown this new LeBron MVP. The guy is basically a walking triple-double, but this year he'll be outdone. I'm not saying the Thunder will beat the Heat, but the way Durant is playing on both ends of the court, he really is matching LeBron's production in his own way. Yes, he's not going to shutdown his best opponent like LeBron can and he can't run an offense the way LeBron can, but KD is playing the best basketball he's ever played. This Thunder team is playing so driven, and playing to prove to everyone that James Harden wasn't necessary for this team's success. The main reason? Kevin Durant. LeBron will play to the numbers we know he can, but Durant's all-around over achievement will give him the league's MVP award.
Pau Gasol will be a member of another team by season's end
This prediction is not because of merit. Pau Gasol is playing some of the best basketball of his career, and because of D'Antoni's inability to adjust to his personnel, he'll be gone by the trade deadline. This D'Antoni-led Lakers squad needs a deadly three point shooter and Gasol will be the bait for any big trade. D'Antoni doesn't really need a big man that can shoot the 18-footer. He's already got his pick-and-roll guy in Dwight Howard (though we'll see if he remains a Laker for multiple years), so a big time three pointer shooter like Ryan Anderson will be in his cards if D'Antoni doesn't want to adjust to Gasol's game. If and when they trade him it'll be a damn travesty.
The Colts will make the AFC Championship Game
#Chuckstrong is a damn powerful thing. The Colts don't really do anything that well other than throw the football. They rank 22nd in rushing, 29th in opposing rushing and 21st in opposing passing, but they've won 11 games. With the coach finally back and Andrew Luck playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the league, this team will create some unbelievable memories. Brady and Manning might be the best quarterbacks in the AFC as well as leading the best teams in the conference, but Luck and Pagano have some magic that will extend itself longer than we think.
All the QBs taken in the 1st round of the NFL Draft will be busts
Yes I'm looking at you, Matt Barkley and Geno Smith, this year is not for you. Not only do I think Smith and Barkley are overrated, but I think the magically gifted 2012 class that included Luck, RGIII and Russ Wilson will provide this year's QB class with some bad mojo. While Barkley might have been first round pick material last year, he no longer is, despite many still believing so. Smith is a system quarterback who benefited from Zach Cooper's air raid offense. North Carolina State's Mike Glennon might be the best prospect, because of sheer lack of pressure for the kid. It just stinks like a bad QB class this year.
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