Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him @JHelmuth or "like" CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
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Top 10 Sports Predictions For '14
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10 David Ortiz Will Get Busted For PEDs
And I hope I'm wrong. I absolutely love Big Papi. But let's face it, he's an aging player whose career was considered over three years ago -- then out of nowhere he single-handedly leads his team to a World Series championship? Eyebrows are being raised, especially considering Papi failed a drug test in 2003; he's been linked to PEDs ever since. My main point is that -- whether it be A-Fraud or Ryan Braun -- since the Mitchell Report came out in 2007, at least one star has been linked to PEDs each season. Someone will once again fall in '14.
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9 Tom Schaar Will Get His Own TV Show
It's only a matter of time considering he is now officially a teenager -- I can just picture all the girlies swooning now. The San Diego native is similar to Ryan Sheckler -- who had his own show on MTV years ago -- only Schaar is a much better skater. He was the youngest skateboarder to successfully land a 900 while also the youngest to win an X Games gold, and he absolutely stunned everyone last year by completing the very first 1080 in history. He'll be a total national teen dreamboat very soon. Totes.
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8 LeBron Wins Last Championship
Whether Dwyane Wade is healthy or not is probably moot. LeBron is the best player on the planet and it's not even close. With Derrick Rose out -- actually nearly the entire Bulls' starting lineup -- and the Pacers the only other semi-threat in the East, the Heat should sail into the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year. With the veteran experience on the team led by The King himself, a third straight Heat title seems inevitable. The problem after this season? Wade and Bosh are not getting younger and the West is blowing up with young talent in Portland, L.A. (the Clippers, not those other guys), Oklahoma City, and you can never count out San Antonio. I see LeBron winning his third straight, but never eclipsing more than what Jordan could do -- winning four in a row.
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7 Incarnate Word Makes Sweet 16 Run
Have you heard of Incarnate Word? Exactly my point. Most of us never heard of Florida Gulf Coast until they came out of nowhere to make the Sweet 16 last year. Of course FGCU was the first No. 15 seed to accomplish such a feat, therefore it's highly unlikely we'll see anything similar two years in a row. My point is that with last year's NCAA tournament being so out of control -- we even saw Wichita State in the Final Four -- I wouldn't be shocked to see as much parity this season. While filling out your bracket this March be sure to advance at least one school no one is talking about -- at least a No. 13 seed or lower. FYI -- Incarnate Word (San Antonio, TX) is in their first year of D-I basketball within the Southland conference and are 11-1.
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6 A Superstar QB Gets Hurt, NFL Forces Two-Hand Touch Rule
Of course this is hyperbole, but with concussions at the forefront of nearly all NFL discussions and players being fined for any hit above the clavicle, tacklers are aiming lower, meaning instead of concussions, ball carriers are now being carted off the field with season-ending knee injuries. What can the NFL do? It seems like a lose-lose situation; pick your poison -- hit high and slowly kill the player with encephalopathy or hit low and end his season now with a torn ACL. What happens when Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Cam Newton all lose an entire season to a blown out knee? People would freak. Seems to me the only solution is to play two-hand touch.
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5 Russia Hockey Doesn't Medal At Sochi
Vladimir Putin has already felt serious heat leading up to the Olympics following not only the anti-gay laws but now the terrorists bombings that have impacted the country in recent days. No doubt the Russian leaders want to give the world a great showing, that includes winning the gold for hockey. The Russian hockey team has a lot of pressure to win, but Canada, the United States and Sweden are arguably better. Get the vodka ready.
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4 Another Sports Anchor Has On-Air Gaffe
I wish this on no one, including poor A.J. Clemente, but it's only a matter of time until something like this happens again. F*****g S***.
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3 Jack Hoffman Inspires
There wasn't possibly anything more spectacular than seeing a football team -- and a community -- rally behind this youngster. Not only did little Jack score the biggest touchdown of the season, he scored the biggest one of his life in beating cancer late this past year. Whether it be in football or another sport, college or pro, I see demonstrations such as this continuing.
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2 Super Bowl XLVIII Gets Snowed Out
Or at least gets hammered with enough snow to prevent much of an offensive battle. The NFL is already taking precautionary measures in case they need to post-pone the game due to white stuff. My prediction is that people are reminded why fans don't want to watch a game in 10 degree weather with a -10 degree wind chill, officials over-react and permanently move the game to Hawaii. New York is a great city, but who wants to be outsidein the Big Apple for four hours at a time in February?
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1 Redskins Change Team Name
While Owner Daniel Snyder eventually decides on the Washington "Red Stripes," en lieu of the fact he figures everyone might as well get drunk while watching a losing team, the Washington Redskins demand to rename the team, in an effort to build a winning program, the "Steelers".
