2011 Sports Predictions

     Similar to my previous post, these were my predictions for 2011 in the world of sports. I made these predictions on New Year's Day 2011 and opened them on New Year's Day 2012. This was originally published on Facebook, but I decided to put in on here, too, so you can compare my 2011 predictions to my 2012 predictions. Again, these are scored out of five points based on accuracy of the prediction.

1. UConn women will lose two more games during the 2010-11 season.

When I made these predictions, the UConn women’s basketball team was coming off their first loss in 90 games. However, they didn’t lose two more games. They did, though, lose one more: against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the tournament. I will give myself two points for this prediction. (2/5)

2. Ryan Mallett and Cam Newton will both return for their senior seasons, leading to a top 5, undefeated matchup between Arkansas and Auburn in Fayetteville, bringing College Game Day to town.

I wasn’t even close here. Newton was the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Panthers and broke Peyton Manning’s rookie record for passing yards. Ryan Mallett was drafted in the third round by the Patriots, backing up Tom Brady this season. Also, both Arkansas and Auburn were 4-1 when they played in Week 5 of the college football season. College Game Day’s only visit to Fayetteville is still the 2006 game against Tennessee. I will give myself zero points for this prediction. (0/5)

3. The Arkansas baseball team will make the College World Series.

The Arkansas baseball team was consistently ranked in the top 25 during the season, earning a 2-seed in the Arizona St. Regional. Unfortunately, they went 2-2 in the Regional, failing to advance to even the Super Regionals. I will give myself zero points for this prediction. (0/5)

4. Tiger Woods will win two majors.

When Tiger began the year by tying for 4th at The Masters, I thought I had a chance to get this prediction right. But by not playing in the U.S. Open or The Open Championship (British Open), it went out the door. By missing the cut in the PGA Championship, he made this prediction look even worse. He finally got back in the win column with a first place finish in the Chevron World Challenge. Again, zero points. (0/5)

5. A 16 seed will finally beat a 1 seed.

Ohio State beat Texas-San Antonio 75-46, Duke beat Hampton 87-45, Kansas beat Boston University 72-53, and Pitt beat UNC-Asheville 74-51. The closest game was Kansas’ 19 point victory, so I wasn’t very close on this prediction. I will give myself zero points for this prediction. (0/5)

6. There WILL be an NFL season.

It seems like I didn’t really step out on this prediction, but remember, when I predicted this, the lockout was imminent and the two sides (owners and players) weren’t anywhere close to a deal. I was a perfect five out of five for this prediction. (5/5)

7. The Miami Heat will start the 2011-12 season 16-0.

Due to the lockout, the Heat only played four games before the end of the calendar year, winning all four of them. They reached 5-0 before losing to the Hawks and ended up having an 11-5 record after the first 16 games. This earns me another goose egg. (0/5)

8. The surprise non-BCS team will come out of the C-USA.

This prediction was looking really good until the last week of the college football season. Houston went 12-0 and won their division in Conference USA, all but clinching a spot in the BCS. However, they had to play Southern Miss in the C-USA Championship Game and they got smoked, costing their conference a spot in the BCS. I will give myself two points for being so close with this prediction. (2/5)

9. Blake Griffin will lead the Clippers to a surprise start in the 2011-12 season.

Again, due to the lockout, the Clippers only played three games before the end of the calendar year, going 1-2. Griffin averaged a double-double, with 20.7 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game. The biggest surprise, though, was the Clippers trading for Chris Paul, leading many to believe they are the best team in Los Angeles. The Clippers finished the regular season 40-26 and earned a playoff spot for the first time since 2006. They actually defeated the Grizzlies four games to three before losing to the Spurs in a four-game sweep in the second round. This is another perfect five out of five prediction. (5/5)

10. The Cowboys and Browns will rebound with 10+ win seasons.

The Cowboys went 8-8 and the Browns went 4-12, so both of them fell short of the 10 wins I predicted. This is good for zero points. (0/5)

11.  The NFL will announce an LA team.

Rumors have been flying all year about the Jaguars, Rams, 49ers, Raiders, Bills, Vikings, and Chargers possibly moving to Los Angeles, but nothing has actually happened yet. However, plans for a stadium are underway. Although it seems imminent, I will give myself zero points for this prediction. (0/0)

12.  There will be a freshman Heisman finalist.

Andrew Luck (Jr.-Stanford), Robert Griffin III (Jr.-Baylor), Montee Ball (Jr.-Wisconsin), Trent Richardson (Jr.-Alabama), and Tyrann Mathieu (So.-LSU) were the Heisman finalists this year. RGIII won the trophy, but the closest my prediction was to coming true was with the Honey Badger, who was a sophomore finalist. I will give myself zero points for this prediction. (0/0)

**Note: I was just ONE year off in this prediction! Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the award in 2012.**

13. The Colts will rebound and start the season 14-0.

…Well…we’re not all perfect. The Colts went 2-14, earning the number one overall draft pick. Again, zero points for this prediction. (0/0)

14. T.O. will end up with the Jets.

Much to my surprise, Terrell Owens hasn’t played at all this year. No team has taken a chance with him, even the New York Jets. I will give myself zero points for this prediction. (0/0)

15. The Cardinals will have the best record in baseball.

The Phillies had the best record in baseball, at 102-60, but they didn’t win the World Series. While the Cardinals only won 90 games in the regular season, they did catch fire at the end of the year, clinching the wild card with one of the largest comebacks in history, and eventually winning the World Series in seven games.  I will give myself three points for this prediction. (3/5)

     My 2011 sports predictions earned me 17 out of 75 total possible points. I vastly improved with my 2012 sports predictions, when I earned 42 points.