Happy New Year everyone and to celebrate the arrival of a new year and as a special gift to you, at absolutely no charge, here’s what’s going to happen in the world of sports during 2018. After several days of heavy duty thinking, making many comparisons and using complicated computations, the following predictions should definitely be seriously considered and your hard earned money wagered. I also at this time must humbly apologize for dashing your hopes and dreams if your favourite team doesn’t appear on my list but that doesn’t mean you should stop cheering them on as my crystal ball has been known to become a little foggy at times.
The World Junior Championships wrap up tonight in Buffalo and in a very tense back and forth battle, you will see host Team USA winning it all in their back yard over a persistent but defensively inferior Team Canada. The Yankees have made great strides in improving all of their national teams, especially at the junior and professional level, and this prestigious event will showcase just how much that improvement has been.
Most football fans probably want to see new, different teams play in the Super Bowl but unfortunately SB LII will once again see New England on the field, thanks mainly to you know who, one Tom Brady. He’s been to seven of these dances before, winning it five times, not to mention being named "Prom King" (MVP) a record four times. Although the Patriots will be there, look for the Minnesota Vikings, thanks to their tenacious defence, to capture the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy and become the first ever actual "home" team to win the top prize. Thor will be proud!
Team Canada's curling prowess will continue as both the women's (Rachel Homan) and men's team (Kevin Koe) will bring home the gold medal from the Pyeonchang, South Korea, Winter Olympic Games. Also, look for a gold medal coming from our men's hockey team after they beat their rivals from Russia while sadly, our ladies will have to settle for silver as they will lose to the Americans in overtime.
Little has been said about the newest event at the Winter Games, that being mixed doubles in curling. Canada's reps will be determined this weekend in Portage la Prairie as 18 teams will fight for the right to represent and wear the Maple Leaf. There are many well known names in this competition (Jones/Nichols, Sweating/Gushue, Lawes/Morris) but also many names you never heard of. Needless to say, whoever wins will surely bring home gold from Asia. Look for Jones/Nichols to win it all, joining her husband Brent Laing who plays for Kevin Koe, who has already qualified for the Games. Due note that there are a lot of differences and rule changes between regular and mixed curling (Google it) but curling fans should enjoy the different approach.
The Stanley Cup will find a new home down in south Florida come June as the Tampa Bay Lightning will cap off their remarkable season with a win over, believe it or not, our Winnipeg Jets. At the local junior level, our Oil Capitals will have their best season ever as they'll make it all the way to the finals before succumbing to the powerful Steinbach Pistons in 6 games. The upstart Virden Oil Kings with all their young talent will have their best season in decades and will push the established and elite teams to the limit but alas, will fall short of their goal of a NCHL championship.
June will also see the Golden State Warriors win their third NBA title in four years, knocking off the mighty King (Lebron) James and his Cavaliers. You will then see James pack up and take his act to Hollywood and become a member of the LA Lakers. July will see the Virden Oilers win their second league title thanks to the tremendous pitching of Zane Sawyer, Jeff Peel and Curtis Plett. No team in the league can match that talent and depth on the hill.
The Blue Jays will improve in 2018 but they'll be nowhere to be seen come October when the World Series playoffs begin. The WS will be won by the Los Angeles Dodgers as they'll have too much pitching for the NY Yankees to handle. Come late November, after blowing the last two Grey Cups, the Calgary Stampeders will redeem themselves, get the monkey off their backs and finally win it all, beating the Ottawa Redblacks easily in a cakewalk.
Now that you are loaded up with all this vital information, go break the piggy bank and enjoy. Until next time....
