Forecasting 2013

I'm a few weeks late on this, but you're still going to read it.

13 Bold Predictions for 2013

1.) The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will both miss the MLB playoffs for the first time since 1993- Pretty remarkable that it will be two full decades since they both missed the playoffs (by the way, 1994 was a strike shortened season, so that doesn’t count). Yes, this means that I think my beloved Toronto Blue Jays will return to the playoffs for the first time since winning back to back world series titles in 1992 and 1993.

2.) The New York Knicks will not get out of the first round of the NBA playoffs- If the playoffs started today the Knicks would be the 2 seed in the East and take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. In my estimation they’d beat the Bucks, but the playoffs don’t start today. Looming in the 8th spot in the East right now is the Boston Celtics. I think the Celtics and Knicks will square off in the first round (as the 2 vs. 7 or 3 vs. 6 matchup) and the Celtics will prevail.

3.) Tiger Woods will win the U.S. Open- I’m on record saying that Tiger will win The Masters at least one more time in his career (just like how Federer won Wimbledon this year), but I don’t think that it will be in 2013. After coming close at Augusta in April Eldrick will get the monkey off his back and win at the Merion Golf Club outside of Philadelphia.

4.) The Miami Heat will win their 2nd straight NBA title- Not really that bold, I know.

5.) The Syracuse men’s basketball team will not make it to the Sweet 16- I originally put this thought down before the Orange went into the KFC Yum Center and beat the #1 team in the land. I didn’t think this team had much grit and fight (and much of a half court offense for that matter), but they’ve showed me a lot in the past week. Obviously I hope I’m off by a mile (and am only doing this as a reverse jinx), but I’ll stand by this one if only for the sake of being bold.

6.) I will not complete 50% of my 50 things to do in 2013- I’m well on my way to about 10-12 already, but I think 25 might be a little ambitious.

7.) Argo will not win Best Picture at the Academy Awards- It won the Golden Globe, so it’s certainly in the discussion as a potential favorite now, but I think Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty (I saw the movie and still don’t understand the title), or Silver Linings Playbook will take home the hardware.

8.) Mad Men, the best show on television, will jump the shark in Season 6 and flame out in Season 7- I thought Seasons 1-4 were excellent, so the bar has been set pretty high. I wasn’t particularly enamored with the direction of the show in Season 5, but people (in this case characters) change and that’s part of what makes the show great. Did you know that the term “jump the shark” is literally used to is used to “describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery.”?

9.) Japan will win the World Baseball Classic for the 3rd straight time- Even though we claim the sport as our “pastime” we’re probably only the 4th or 5th best country competing in this event. Seriously, Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia made the US Team and he’s a career .222 hitter.

10.) The Supreme Court will uphold gay marriage- They might strike down the Marriage Equality Act, but they’ll uphold the right for two persons to get married. If the highest court didn’t overturn Obamacare they aren’t going to strike down gay marriage.

11.) The Lakers will make the NBA playoffs- They’ve lost 3 in a row and 8 of their last 10 and everyone is burying them. I still think that the talent will eventually play itself out. They’re currently only 4 games back of the 8 seed in the West.

12.) One of my siblings will get engaged- My oldest brother is already married, but my other two older brothers are in serious relationships, as is one of my sisters.

13.) We will finally meet The Mother in How I Met Your Mother- There’s going to be a major cliff hanger at the end of this current season (don’t be surprised) and when CBS decides to sign the show for only more season due to floundering ratings (thanks to a decreasing product) the writers will have to tie up some loose ends and let us meet the bitch in the last episode. Let the record state that How I Met Your Mother seasons currently span (seemingly 3 years) from about November to April, so this big reveal probably won’t actually take place until 2014, but we’ll know that it’s coming in 2013.