It is that time of year when I am prepared to put my neck on the line and make some outrageous sporting predictions for 2012. I think I did it a month earlier last year – but it has been a hectic start to the year with the launch of a new project that I am working on. And that new project is related to the subject of this blog and making predictions, and collecting and analysing data and events in sport (largely football). The company is called Onside Analysis (www.onsideanalysis.com) and I am working with a former Smartodds colleague, Dave Hastie…..exciting times but plenty of hard work ahead. A small part of the website and work is blogging, so I will be splitting my time between blogging for the Onside Analysis website, and Random Writing, but fear not, I shall continue to blog on here for all two of my loyal readers.
So without further ado, here goes with my thoughts and predictions for the year ahead.
Euro 2012 – I am not particularly throwing a huge outsider into the mix with this one, but I strongly like Germany to win the Euro this time round. At 100% fitness and form, I would go with Spain every time, but that is not going to happen. I cannot help but feel that Barca’s success in recent seasons is taking its toll on them and in turn on the national team. David Villa is already ruled out, and there are serious concerns over Xavi. He will be used sparingly between now and then with Guardiola preserving him for Champions League games now that the league race is pretty much over. Form is another issue – Fernando Torres. Don’t think I need to say much more. I could throw discipline and Gerard Pique out there right now, but that will resolve itself. The number of Clasicos could also bite them in the butt. On the flipside, the Germans are a hungry young team with plenty to prove, and for the first time in a long time, possessing some serious flair in the side.
Boxing – The world awaits for Floyd and Manny to get it on. I thought we were close for this May, but dreams were dashed once again. Well, Floyd is going to prison that is one thing that is certain. Beforehand, he faces Miguel Cotto in May and I think he will outclass him easily enough. Manny is up against Timothy Bradley and I have a feeling that Bradley is going to surprise him and dash any hopes of the dream fight somewhere down the line. Mayweather will continue to fight, continue to get $20m+ per fight even when he gets out of the nick, and will eventually retire unbeaten.
Stanley Cup – I would love nothing more than to see a NY Rangers or a San Jose get to the Stanley Cup Finals but I am going with the tried and trusted. This is something of a filthy prediction but this is going Boston/Detroit in my mind. I am hoping the Sens or the Leafs can keep hold of their playoff spots – and then I’ll be betting against both of them when they get there!
Premier League – I think this is going to go all the way to the wire, or at least the third to last game of the season when City host United. I think Man Utd have won the league in the last couple of seasons by being the best of the worst – I think this time they fall just short to City. The fixtures possibly just favour Man Utd, but I think it comes down to that one game, and I can see City edging it. I think Utd take the Europa League.
London 2012 – No specific predictions here apart from I recall from Vancouver how much pressure the Canadian athletes felt particularly at the start of the competition. Expectations were high, and media attention was huge – an early medal will calm everybody and the sooner it happens for a British athlete in London, the better it will be for all. I am not confident expectations will be met however.
Champions League – The Special One has imprinted his style on Real Madrid and he has the squad and lead in the league to focus on their bid for their 10th Champions League trophy. This could be quite an open UCL season and it would not surprise me if one of the Italian teams went far this season. I do however just see Barca falling short this time. Bayern may also come close for this one, but I’m edging Real as they are finally playing the way Jose wants them to and they are looking strong.
FA Cup – It pains me to say this and this is filthier than my Stanley Cup prediction but I can see a Cup double for the team that plays in Red on Merseyside. I am super excited about my team’s chances, but losing Landon Donovan and with Steven Pienaar being cup-tied, we lose a huge amount of creativity, and I think we will find it tough against Sunderland. I hope and pray that I am wrong, but I can see ‘them’ winning it this year.
UFC – Not easy making predictions too far in advance for the UFC such is the nature of the sport, but the fight I am most looking forward to is Anderson Silva v Chael Sonnen which is scheduled for June 16th in Brazil. I think Anderson finishes him early this time round. UFC 146 at the end of May also has a peach of a fight – Alistair Overeem v Junior dos Santos…..it will be immense. I give Junior the edge here as I question Overeem’s character in and outside the Octagon.
I think I need a shower after some of those picks.
Showing posts with label stanleycup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stanleycup. Show all posts
Monday, February 20, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Sporting Roots
Anybody who vaguely knows me, knows that I am particularly passionate about sport. Since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I have been a staunch Everton fan and most folks who cross my path are aware of this. Whether you went to school with me and no doubt abused me frequently, somebody I worked with and no doubt abused me, or you’re a family member or friend and have no doubt abused me, you’ll know who my team is and you will know how passionate I am about them despite all the abuse and poor performances. Randomly, two people recently called me a glory supporter – not many Evertonians can be accused of that, but it is true. I started supporting them in the mid-eighties when they were at the peak of European football. It’s been downhill ever since.
Among my first memories was Diego Maradona in 1986 and I was instantly fixated with him and the game. The truth is that it was always inevitable that I would work in sport, study sport, love watching sport, read about sport, live sport. From as early as I can remember, sport was on our television. It could have been tennis, it could have been NFL, you name it, we watched it. It was the same 25 years ago, and it is just as prevalent now if you show up at my parents’ house. Dad worked evenings and weekends, so we spent a lot of time growing up under the auspices of my mum – thankfully for Junior Bobby, Kath loved watching sports and it all grew from there.
As an eight-year-old, I can vividly recall getting a book for my birthday on the rules of NFL, which I recited and learned as I watched the game. Watching was not always possible – bed times as a child can be terribly restrictive especially when you’ve never been a great sleeper and I would listen to the radio coverage of the NFL quietly in my room – half listening to the radio and half listening for the creeks of the staircase. Of course, that was assuming my sister didn’t grass me up.
Dad has always enjoyed watching sports but for a slightly different reason. If he has a bet on a snail race and it is televised, he’ll be flicking the channels trying to find coverage. That is no doubt why I always had an attraction to data and betting, even if I fell into my role with Smartodds.
When HJ lived in Calgary and I spent a lot of time over there, I heard about this new device which allowed you to watch television over the internet if you had it connected to a cable/sky box and the internet. The Slingbox was to become a lifesaver on my travels. I picked one up in Calgary, took it back to the UK and connected it to mum and dad’s television. I had hit the jackpot. The issue with the Canadian box in the UK was that one feature did not work – the remote control – so for a good few years, if I wanted to watch something, I would call or text my folks asking them to change channel. They bought me a UK one last year and I can now change it myself – I can only apologise to them and my niece and nephew who are frequently disturbed by Scooby Doo being interrupted by Uncle Rob who wants to watch a random cricket game even though I am a ninety minute flight away. No wonder kids believe in magic.
I love my parents for many reasons and in many ways, but their love of sport and how it rubbed off on to me, along with a number of other characteristics goes a long way to explaining me. A good friend of ours often reminds me of how he watched the Stanley Cup Final with my mum from a hotel in Cologne as I drifted asleep for a period and Mum, watching at home, and him watching on my laptop via the slingbox, stayed the course at 4am. How many parents stay up til 4am to watch a Hockey match? HJ is in Innsbruck this week and I have stayed up til 3.30-4am every night watching Hockey or NFL. So if you wonder why I may be a little abnormal in doing so, look no further than my Mum.
It is funny how those kind of Stanley Cup moments stay with you and always will. In the last few years, I’ve attended a considerable number of sporting events, and I have tried wherever possible to take my parents to them. Christmas and Birthday presents are never easy these days – it’s fair to say that the culture nowadays is that we buy something if we need it. Given that they are sport fans, I like to give them ‘moments’ and ‘memories’ as gifts. Maybe it is an excuse for me to go also, I won’t lie! But more than anything, it’s my way of thanking them for instilling my passion for sport. I’m banking on neither of them reading this blog, but I’m looking forward to the next one I have lined up if I can somehow pull it off.
Among my first memories was Diego Maradona in 1986 and I was instantly fixated with him and the game. The truth is that it was always inevitable that I would work in sport, study sport, love watching sport, read about sport, live sport. From as early as I can remember, sport was on our television. It could have been tennis, it could have been NFL, you name it, we watched it. It was the same 25 years ago, and it is just as prevalent now if you show up at my parents’ house. Dad worked evenings and weekends, so we spent a lot of time growing up under the auspices of my mum – thankfully for Junior Bobby, Kath loved watching sports and it all grew from there.
As an eight-year-old, I can vividly recall getting a book for my birthday on the rules of NFL, which I recited and learned as I watched the game. Watching was not always possible – bed times as a child can be terribly restrictive especially when you’ve never been a great sleeper and I would listen to the radio coverage of the NFL quietly in my room – half listening to the radio and half listening for the creeks of the staircase. Of course, that was assuming my sister didn’t grass me up.
Dad has always enjoyed watching sports but for a slightly different reason. If he has a bet on a snail race and it is televised, he’ll be flicking the channels trying to find coverage. That is no doubt why I always had an attraction to data and betting, even if I fell into my role with Smartodds.
When HJ lived in Calgary and I spent a lot of time over there, I heard about this new device which allowed you to watch television over the internet if you had it connected to a cable/sky box and the internet. The Slingbox was to become a lifesaver on my travels. I picked one up in Calgary, took it back to the UK and connected it to mum and dad’s television. I had hit the jackpot. The issue with the Canadian box in the UK was that one feature did not work – the remote control – so for a good few years, if I wanted to watch something, I would call or text my folks asking them to change channel. They bought me a UK one last year and I can now change it myself – I can only apologise to them and my niece and nephew who are frequently disturbed by Scooby Doo being interrupted by Uncle Rob who wants to watch a random cricket game even though I am a ninety minute flight away. No wonder kids believe in magic.
I love my parents for many reasons and in many ways, but their love of sport and how it rubbed off on to me, along with a number of other characteristics goes a long way to explaining me. A good friend of ours often reminds me of how he watched the Stanley Cup Final with my mum from a hotel in Cologne as I drifted asleep for a period and Mum, watching at home, and him watching on my laptop via the slingbox, stayed the course at 4am. How many parents stay up til 4am to watch a Hockey match? HJ is in Innsbruck this week and I have stayed up til 3.30-4am every night watching Hockey or NFL. So if you wonder why I may be a little abnormal in doing so, look no further than my Mum.
It is funny how those kind of Stanley Cup moments stay with you and always will. In the last few years, I’ve attended a considerable number of sporting events, and I have tried wherever possible to take my parents to them. Christmas and Birthday presents are never easy these days – it’s fair to say that the culture nowadays is that we buy something if we need it. Given that they are sport fans, I like to give them ‘moments’ and ‘memories’ as gifts. Maybe it is an excuse for me to go also, I won’t lie! But more than anything, it’s my way of thanking them for instilling my passion for sport. I’m banking on neither of them reading this blog, but I’m looking forward to the next one I have lined up if I can somehow pull it off.
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