Dear Fantasy Doctor X.

Crystal Ball: 2008 the year that was?

By Nostradamus. Ring in the New Year. 2008. Another year of new beginnings and old habits as well. A year that will go down in.........infamy?

Alright, it won't be that spectacular. But this is how my tiny crystal ball views it.

NFL:  We are fast approaching the Super Bowl. Down to the the Final Four. (Forgive me for alluding to College Basketball in comparison to the NFL.). But that is simply what we have. Right now we are 'limited' to the Pats, Packers, Chargers, and Giants. I'm not going out on a big limb, but I have to side with the Pats here as they take down the sweetheart team from the 'Bay' led by the All-American 'boy'; Brett Favre. My gut says, lay the 12 1/2 and take the Patsies. A big congrats to New England Patriots as they are the 1st team to go 19 - 0, and cement themselves as possibly "The Greatest Team of All-Time". (In pre-retrospect, I honestly hope I am wrong on this one, as I AM a Dolphins fan at heart.)

NCAA BB:  Looks like College Basketball is off to a great start. 3 teams seem to have separated themselves from the pack in North Carolina, Memphis, and Kansas. The only 3 undefeated thus far in this short, but young, College Basketball season. As always, every team has a weakness in College Basketball.  There may not be a tougher job in all of sports than to coach College Basketball. A single player can dominate you, and a single player can restrict you. But when it comes down to it; it is very tough to beat March Madness for a sports spectacle. My early favorite is Memphis. But I have that gut feeling that UCLA wins it all, when UCLA, Memphis, Kansas, and  Indiana clash heads in the Final Four. Indiana looks like a great 'sleeper' team thus far, and Eric Gordon is the real deal. But I truly believe that Kevin Love is the best freshman player in the country. I fully expect that Love, Collison, Shipp, and M'bah a Moute guide UCLA to another title in NCAA hoops. Too well-coached, too talented, and they have all the parts that you need.

NBA: Funny how everyone thought the Boston Celtics' trade was a joke when they put Garnett, Allen, and Pierce together. Put 3 "never-has" players together and you are going to fail. Right now the Celts are on pace to possibly break the Bulls single season record for victories. Problem is, the West is still VERY much the better. The best East teams still have 'matchup' problems outside of the Celtics when they play the West.Celts will struggle to get out of the East. LeBron is on a rampage, and the Pistons are a tough engine to crack.....period. When it really comes down to it, the West has 8 or 9 teams that can seriously compete with the East champion. However, the eventual East champ CAN and WILL cause problems for the West champ as well. Especially the Celtics. The Celtics are currently 11-0 vs. the West. Is this a sign of the change of power? Nostradamus says yes. The Celtics bring home a title in 2008, as Ray Allen piles up the points against his old mates from the West like never before with the added assistance of Pierce and............., more importantly Garnett leading the way.

Golf: Not a big shock, but Tiger wins 2 more majors. He starts off with a 2 stroke victory in the Masters in May. He follows it up with a 5 shot victory in the US Open at Torrey Pines over Phil Mickelson and company as well. He may also win a 3rd major in 2008 with a victory at either Royal Birkdale in the British Open (most unlikely venue), or a victory in the PGA at Oakland Hills. Those are two tough sites for Tiger to win at. Birkdale definitely being the toughest as it would open up almost the entire field. But......... if there is a venue he needs to win at, Oakland Hills is calling his name. Outside of Royal Birkdale, this is a 'name' course year for Tiger to get very enthused about. 

College Football: My true heart and soul. My prediction? Pre-season rankings will be chastised. The BCS formula will get beat up, and we will all (outside of myself) cry for a playoff system.  LSU and USC will be overrated, and Florida will join that club as well. In the end?  I'll call for Florida and USC to meet in the National Championship game. LSU will be decimated by their Senior defections, as well as their Juniors opting out as well. Florida will 'likely' be the SEC champ, but Georgia will have a few comments about that one. Look for a Florida RB, by the name of a transfer from USC in Emmanuel Moody, or in a likely true freshman name of a possible pickup in Darrell Scott out of California to create some serious waves if he dons a Gator uniform. Oklahoma and Texas out of the Big 12 may create some noise as well, but it will really come down to if  USC runs the table, and can OSU do the same?, or will the OU/Texas clash winner go undefeated? What about the Georgia/Florida winner? I'm calling for USC to go undefeated, and a plethora of 1 loss teams. The winner of the 1 loss team escapade? You can't be serious can you?  It will go to the SEC Champ in Florida, over 2 other 1 loss teams. But when push comes to shove, Florida, and Urban Meyer.................oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh sorry, that is 2009, isn't it?

MLB Baseball: Who cares? The Red Sox and Yankees will argue about who is the best team all year. What will happen is an undervalued team will win it all again. The Twins just traded away Santana right? A very likely candidate along with the RedBirds from St. Louis. In the end, the Steroid scandal hits baseball, hard. And I mean HARD.  Roger Clemens steroid abuse clouds baseball all year. Many other players get named, and when it comes down to it........ baseball just doesn't matter anymore. Say it so Joe, say it so?

NFL 2008: Favre retires before the season. Cites the experience of playing with 'guys' who want to win again as a cap to his incredible career. We all shed a tear on one of the greatest careers in NFL history. 10 years later, Favre is inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Dolphins select.............. nobody. They ACTUALLY trade away their 1st pick to an up and coming franchise in the Cleveland Browns. The Browns......select.....Glenn Dorsey as the overall #1 pick of the draft. The Dolphins get a 1st and, 2 2nd round picks, along with a 4th round pick and a player to be named later.  Nobody notices, but the Phins select Jonathan Stewart in the 1st round, followed by Mario Manningham, and Xavier Adibi in the 2nd round.  The NFL champs in 2008 are..............

Well, I'll end it there.  My crystal ball can only go so far.

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