The Inner Eye does not see upon command!

It's 2008, and time for my annual predictions. Before seeing what my 2008 predictions are, let's see how I did in 2007 (click here for the post on my 2007 predictions).

1. Martin Scorsese will win the Oscar for Best Director. CORRECT.

2. Chelsea will win the European Champions League. INCORRECT.

3. Red Sox will win the American League Pennant. CORRECT. And World Series Champions again!

4. Lady Bird Johnson will die. CORRECT.

5. The Pettengill Tree Farm will sell at least 10 trees in 2007. INCORRECT. I understand they only sold 4 this year. Seems shady to me.

6. Helen Mirren will win Best Actress Oscar. CORRECT.

7. San Diego Chargers will win Super Bowl. INCORRECT.

8. San Jose Sharks will win Stanley Cup. INCORRECT.

9. Sidney Crosby will win the NHL's Points Scoring title. CORRECT.

10. Dice-K Matsuzaka will win at least 15 games for the Red Sox. CORRECT. Dice-K came in right at 15, though he should have easily had 3 more wins, if the team could have scored a few runs for him.

11. Roger Clemens will pitch for the Red Sox. INCORRECT. And thankfully so!

12. Doug and partner will win The Amazing Race-Concord. INCORRECT.

13. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Snape will die but Harry, Ron & Hermione will all live. CORRECT.

14. Virginia Tech's Men's basketball team will make the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. INCORRECT.

15. Tiger Woods will win the Masters and US Open. INCORRECT.

So I ended up 7 out of 15, just below 50%. Let's see if I can improve on that this year. My predictions are really in only 3 categories: Sports, Movies, and Politics/Deaths. Yep, I'm pretty much the most boring person in the world. Without further ado, my official 2008 predictions.


1. The Patriots will win the Super Bowl and finish 19-0.
Not a huge stretch here, but they could have some dangerous games in the playoffs, including games against Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and either the Cowboys or Packers.

2. Arsenal will win the Premiership.
Starting 2008, Arsenal is at the top of the table, but only by 2 points over Manchester United. This is going to be a hard-fought title race, but I believe the Gunners will pull it out for their first title since 2004.

3. Fidel Castro will die.
I always have 1 death prediction, and I think Papa Fidel has had his time. Hopefully this would lead to normalized relations with Cuba as well.

4. Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic Nomination for President.
There are 2 big reasons why Hillary will win: Name recognition and money. When it comes to electing presidents in this country, that's what most people care about.

5. Jim Rice will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
We'll find this out soon, as it will be announced in mid January. The new class that's eligible for the first time is very weak, and in last year's voting Goose Gossage and Jim Ed Rice were not far from getting enough votes. Also, along with the steroid and HGH scandals this year, voters will realize that Rice's numbers hold up better since they were done in the non-juiced era.

6. Javier Bardem will win Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Personally I think Tommy Lee Jone's performance in No Country for Old Men was better than Bardem's, but his portrait of evil Anton Chigurh is the type of role that voters like to reward.

7. Julie Christie will win Best Actress Oscar.
I'm not sure how many people saw Away From Her, Sarah Polley's movie of a woman coming to grips (or losing her grip) with Alzheimer's disease. She's getting a lot of buzz, and the Academy likes to reward actresses "of a certain age".

8. Daniel Day-Lewis will win Best Actor Oscar.
Day-Lewis is probably the best actor of the past 15 years; it's a shame he only does about one movie every 5 years. I haven't seen There Will Be Blood, the story of early American oil strikes, but it sounds like a sweeping epic with Day-Lewis at the center.

9. Cate Blanchett will win Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
I'm Not There is the story of Bob Dylan, told through the eyes of 6 different actors, including Cate Blanchett. Her performance has been given raves, and it wouldn't be the first time the Academy has given an Oscar to a woman for playing a man. (Linda Hunt in The Year of Living Dangerously.)

10. The Red Sox will win the World Series again in 2008.
If the Sox had gotten the trade done for Johan Santana before the New Year, this would have been a top 5 prediction. Winning in baseball is never easy, but the Sox have plenty of talent and a really strong pitching staff.

11. The Red Sox will have 2 20-game winners on their pitching staff.
Beckett for sure, and either Santana or Dice-K.

12. Manchester United will win the Champions League.
I'd love to predict Arsenal to win the biggest prize in European Football, but they have a very tough draw in the first round against AC Milan. Man Utd has an easier draw, and I think they'll be hitting their peak come April and May.

13. China will win the most medals at the Beijing Olympics.
This would be a bit of a surprise, as China was well behind the US and Russia in 2004. But the Chinese government has stated their goal of winning the most medals at their home Olympics, and they have spent a lot of money on their sports infrastructure and training to achieve this goal. On top of that, the host country always has a jump in medals, due to home-field advantage I suppose.

14. John McCain will win the NH primary.
The Republican race for President is going to be a real interesting one. It seems that Huckabee is doing well in Iowa, but Romney and McCain seem to be the choice in New Hampshire. Throw in the more "national" names of Guiliani and Thompson, and I have no idea who is going to come out on top. But McCain seems to be the choice for NH, where people like his moderate-conservative style, and down-to-earth personality.

15. Tiger Woods will win 2 majors.
If I was made to guess, I'd say The Masters and the British Open. But that's not official. I think he'll have another superb year and wind up Player of the Year. Again.

I'll try to remember to update the predictions throughout the year. Happy New Year Everyone!