Best/Worst Sports Predictions You Recall or Made

[scooter13]

I predicted the Ducks would win the Cup in the 2006/2007 season. My friends thought I was off. They figured Anaheim would get into the playoffs, but not to the Finals. Pretty good season for me.

I had the Ducks for the Cup that season too, before it started. As well as the Avalanche in 1996. Sure I wasn't the only one, but like you said, to your friends you look like a genius.

[TFoA]

Don't really have a best, but I definitely have a worst: The year Vick went to jail, I predicted that the Falcons would finish 7-9...with Joey Harrington as QB & Bobby Petrino staying there for a long time. That was hilarious.

The worst prediction of all time, at least in Atlanta? The Atlanta Hawks 2002-03 Playoff Guarantee.

Recognizing the level of commitment shown by those customers through several tough campaigns, the organization?s playoff guarantee will provide them with the advantage of renewing their tickets at last season?s prices, and as a bonus, offer each full season ticket holder a ticket or tickets (depending on their purchase) - free of charge - to the Hawks? first 2003 home playoff game. Should the team fail on its pledge to participate in the playoffs, full season ticket holders will receive a check for $125 for each full season ticket seat location on their account. Regardless of the outcome, the season ticket holder benefits.

I mean, they went all out with it. Most of the Hawks advertising around town had "Your Playoff-Bound Atlanta Hawks" on it, people who worked the phones answered with the same slogan, and they were introduced in pre-game with the same slogan. It was all over the place. Too bad they were out of the playoff hunt by New Year's & fired their coach around the same time. They still introduced them as the Playoff-Bound Atlanta Hawks when they were mathematically eliminated. Just a hot mess.

[NEW.ERA]

I said in my predictions over the boards that Carolina would challenge for a wild card spot and Jimmy Clausen would win the OROY.

[Korkie]

I actually predicted that the Mariners would make the World Series this past season. Yikes.

[TopCat]

I've called at least 5 Justin Morneau homers. It only works with him, I just get this weird deja vu-ish feeling when the camera angle changes to the view of behind the pitcher.

[charger77]

I predicted the Ducks would win the Cup in the 2006/2007 season. My friends thought I was off. They figured Anaheim would get into the playoffs, but not to the Finals. Pretty good season for me.

I called that one the day they traded for Pronger. Wasn't much of a strech that team was loaded!

[infrared41]

I don't know if this counts as a prediction but when I was doing my sports radio show back in 1996, I did an entire show on steroids in baseball. I had read a little story in The Sporting News where the writer said that an unnamed source had told him at least 60% of all major leaguers were taking steroids and that it was a big reason for the increase in home runs since the strike.

The story was all of two paragraphs. At the time I really thought that it would cause a big stir. It didn't. I expected everyone to jump on it. Locally, my show was the only place it was even mentioned. We were an ESPN Radio affiliate and we also carried a show called Sports By-Line USA at night. None of them said a word about it.

Anyway, my partner and I spent the entire show talking about that little story and players that we "could see" being on steroids. I was very careful to make sure we didn't come right out and accuse anyone. Some of the names we brought up were Albert Belle, Canseco and McGwire, Brady Anderson, Ken Caminiti, and a few others I can't remember. We really focused on three players, McGwire, Belle, and Anderson. With McGwire we talked about how different he looked from when he first started. With Belle it was his anger issues. With Anderson it was the fact that he hit 50 out of nowhere. Most of the callers agreed that something was going on.

Here's where I think it gets good. The player we used as an example of someone who wasn't on steroids? Barry Bonds. Funny how things change. Anyway, that night was pretty much the last time steroids and baseball were brought up on the show. Even though it happened more or less by accident, we were years ahead of the curve on that one.

[Lights Out]

That's awesome. If that were me, I would have dug up clips from that show around the time that the steroid :censored:storm first began to swirl around the MLB and spent the whole show bragging about how right I was, so I admire your restraint on that.

[infrared41]

That's awesome. If that were me, I would have dug up clips from that show around the time that the steroid :censored:storm first began to swirl around the MLB and spent the whole show bragging about how right I was, so I admire your restraint on that.

Thanks for that but I have to be honest... I spent every show bragging about how right I was about EVERYTHING. The truth is that the steroid show was one of the few "serious journalism" (for lack of a better term) shows we ever did. Normally the show was just a bunch of goofing off and having fun. I never took things too seriously. Damn I miss doing that show.

On the steroid show, to this day I'm amazed that the article I read in The Sporting News never went anywhere. I'd read it on a Friday. We spent the weekend figuring out how we were going to approach it. (we really thought it would be the topic everywhere by Monday) We decided that we would go with the "well, I suppose you could argue that maybe so and so could be using" in order to play it safe. Our GM was always nervous about lawsuits etc. (I was almost fired once for saying that after I saw his new girlfriend, I really couldn't blame Jim Boeheim for splitting up with his wife.) So we approached the steroids show very cautiously. And that was the last anyone heard about steroids in baseball for a while. Weird.

[DnBronc]

Best Prediction: Saying that Dallas would be in the following Super Bowl in early 1992.

Worst: Saying that Miami would run all over Ohio State in the 2002 National Title game.

[GO2HELL]

Worst: 2010 Stanley cup finals: the Vancouver canucks bs the buffalo sabres.

Best: Carolina hurricanes taking the cup in 7 in '06

[GO2HELL]

Worst: 2010 Stanley cup finals: the Vancouver canucks bs the buffalo sabres.

Best: Carolina hurricanes taking the cup in 7 in '06

[MattF]

Best: That year I picked some team to overachieve and they ended up winning the championship.

Worst: That year I picked some middle of the pack team to come out of nowhere to win it all and they didn't make the playoffs.

[AnythingChicago]

Best: 2008 NCAA Tournament. I correctly had Davidson in the Elite 8 and Kansas winning it all.

Worst: 2007 MLB World Series. I had Pittsburgh over Seattle. Don't ask.

[GriffinM6]

I watched the cardinals play the reds on opening on ESPN last year.When Albert Pujols got up,I said this one's out.Sure enough it was.Then I predicted that he'd hit another one out,sure enough he did.That's how it goes.

[Lights Out]

These were some terrible predictions:

Eastern Conference:

1. Orlando Magic

2. Miami Heat

3. Chicago Bulls

4. Boston Celtics

5. Atlanta Hawks

6. Milwaukee Bucks

7. Charlotte Bobcats

8. New York Knicks

Western Conference:

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

2. Los Angeles Lakers

3. Houston Rockets

4. Portland Blazers

5. Utah Jazz

6. Phoenix Suns

7. New Orleans Hornets

8. Los Angeles Clippers

Looks like I was on to something with the Knicks in the 8th seed, though.

[Saintsfan]

These were some terrible predictions:

Eastern Conference:

1. Orlando Magic

2. Miami Heat

3. Chicago Bulls

4. Boston Celtics

5. Atlanta Hawks

6. Milwaukee Bucks

7. Charlotte Bobcats

8. New York Knicks

Western Conference:

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

2. Los Angeles Lakers

3. Houston Rockets

4. Portland Blazers

5. Utah Jazz

6. Phoenix Suns

7. New Orleans Hornets

8. Los Angeles Clippers

Looks like I was on to something with the Knicks in the 8th seed, though.

Missed the Spurs and Mavs completely as well.

[BlueSky]

In the 2009 NFL Preview thread I picked the Falcons and Pats to meet in the Super Bowl, good chance I'll just end up being a year off.

Make it at least two.

A few years back, when the Saints were playing Jacksonville, at the end of the game the famous "River City Relay" occurred. The most amazing NFL play that year. As the team lined up for the extra point (to tie the game and send it to overtime), I said to the gathered crowd at my in-laws' house, "Watch him miss the extra point". And sure enough, John Carney missed it.

I didn't predict that, but wasn't shocked by it either given the Saints' soul-crushing history.

One time though, they were playing the Giants and I was talking to a friend on the phone. The Giants lined up for a FG and I said - half-joking, I'll admit - "The Saints are going to block this and run it back for a TD." Damn if they didn't do just that.

The best/worst media predictions I recall are:

Best - some celebrity - can't recall exactly who - called SB XXVII as 59-17 Cowboys. The score of course was 52-17, which is impressively close to the prediction, but he would have been exactly right had Don Beebe not hustled down and stripped Leon Lett at the one-yard-line.

Worst - Peter King predicting the Saints would finish 2009 at #24 in the Power Rankings. When Sean Payton saw King following the SB, he said "Not bad for number twenty-four."

[jrh31584]

2005 NCAA Tournament: Predicted championship game participants, not especially impressive, but I predicted the exact score of the game itself.

This year I had Ohio State over Pittsburgh.

[Drew22]

I finished in the top 1,000 worldwide on Yahoo with my 2005 NCAA Tournament bracket. I had at least 3 of the final four, and I picked the NC game.