Sports analyst and part-time fortune teller Zach Sabel has peered into the future and tells us what we can expect for upcoming championships.
1. The U.S Men’s national team: The USMNT will qualify for the world cup in 2022, and I predict they will make it through to the knockout round. There have been some iffy performances from the team so far through qualifiers, particularly the loss to Panama, but it seems like the team is finally finding their stride after missing the world cup back in 2018. The only hurdle for reaching that benchmark would be head coach Gregg Berhalter. Seemingly prone to an endless stream of bad decisions when it comes to lineups, tactics and subs, this team will be heavily reliant on amazing performances from Ricardo Pepi and Christian Pulisic.
2. University of Texas Never wins another national title: Like something out of an old Shakespeare play, someone cursed the University of texas to an eternity of mediocrity and average seasons. Even the media proclaiming “Texas is back!” every season will not break the curse.
3. The Carolina Hurricanes will win the Stanley Cup: Already looking like a very strong side, only a few other sides in the league can compare to how good they are. With a beast like Antti Raanta in goal and a playmaker like Andrei Svechnikov on attack, Carolina is solid in every area on the ice. I believe the only stumbling block for them on the road to the Stanley Cup would be Florida. Even with all of the turmoil Florida has faced with head coaching departures, they’ve still managed to remain a very strong team almost on par with Carolina. With their own talents in goal like Sergei Bobrovsky and bonafide goal scorers in Anthony Duclair and Aleksander Barkov they’ll surely be able to put up a fight, but at the end of the day Carolina’s sturdier defence will help them prevail.
4. CFP prediction: Barring any major upset I see the current top four teams apart from maybe Alabama making it into the College Football Playoffs. Alabama will still probably make it even if they lose to Georgia in the Conference title game, with Ohio State and Oregon almost certain lock-ins with no real tough competition left for them in the season. I believe the Cincinnati Bearcats football team will do a great rendition of “Waving Through a Window” from the musical “Dear Evan Hansen” after they are again shut out from the CFP after going undefeated due to weak wins against teams like Navy and TU. In terms of who will win it all, I don’t think anything can stop this UGA team. They have been utterly dominant in every game they’ve played and I think they’ll dispatch Alabama with ease in the conference title and have no trouble dealing with Oregon or Oklahoma State, whichever is given the fourth seed. Who they face in the finals is a little less clear to me. I don’t think Alabama will stay second in the final rankings, they might even end up playing them in the finals, but I really like this Oregon team to make it to the final against UGA. With a win already notched against another top four team in Ohio State, I think they have the tools to beat whoever they face in the semi-finals. Those tools however will not be good enough to face a dominant team like UGA barring a magical story-book ending.
