My Predictions
First off, I’d like to apologize for not posting my predictions earlier. I’ve been incredibly busy with my German spring class (I have German four hours a day). In my free time over the past few days, I’ve been reading everything I could about the Wings-Avs fight from March 26, 1997. I actually went to an NPR studio in Ann Arbor earlier today to talk about the game with a Colorado Avs’ fan for 45 minutes. They’ll cut it down to a four minute segment and play it on Weekend America during the Stanley Cup Finals.
Here are my predictions for the Conference Finals:
(1) Buffalo Sabres vs. (4) Ottawa Senators - Senators in 6
This prediction was made before last night’s game otherwise I probably would have picked the Sens in 5. After Round 1, I would’ve picked the Sabres to take the East. However, I wasn’t too impressed with some of their play during the second round against the NYR. Personally, I’d prefer that the Sabres win because I see a city so excited for a trip to the SCF. However, I think the Senators will finally conquer their demons and win the series.
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (2) Anaheim Ducks - Wings in 7
I believe the Wings can win this series. Will it be hard? You betcha. Am I cocky? Heck no. The Ducks are a great team. It’s going to be a fantastic series. I think the series will end in six or seven games and it really could be either team to head to the SCF. If Schneider wasn’t injured, I probably would be a bit more confident in my team. Even with his injury, I think this team can do it. I think Dominik Hasek needs to remain at the top of his game and Todd Bertuzzi needs to play smart and physical. I feel more confident in the team because of who we have beaten to reach the WCF. We beat a physical Calgary and a strong San Jose team. We deserve to be here and I want nothing more than to see the Wings reach the SCF.
How have I done on my predictions so far?
In Round 1, I was 7/8 in correctly predicting the winning team. I was only 2/8 in correctly predicting the number of games it would take each series.
In Round 2, I was 4/4 in correctly predicting the winning team. I was 3/4 in correctly predicting the number of games each series would take.
Tonight’s Game
Due to the Whalers having Game 5 of the OHL Finals tonight at 7pm, I will be unable to watch the Wings game as I’ll be working the Whalers’ game. I am recording the game so if the Wings win, I plan on watching it tonight. If the Wings lose, I don’t plan on watching it. Go Wings!
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4 Responses to “My Predictions”
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May 11th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Viel gluck mit deine Deutsche Klasse - OK, enough of the lousy German, but I do have a relevant anecdote to share.
Back in 1998 I was finishing up my U-M degree with 3rd and 4th semester German during the Spring and Summer terms. Most of the class was in a similar situation - taking it for requirements purposes, not for any love of learning foreign languages for hours at a time during what would otherwise be a summer break.
Anyway, in my Spring term class was football player Ian Gold, who’s made himself a fine NFL career, and while he wasn’t the greatest German student in the world, none of us really were. Our instructor was an Austrian graduate student who had warned us up front about his diabetic condition, and that if he started nodding off or getting irritable, we were to remind him to take his meds and not worry.
One day, our assignment was to translate and discuss a bit of poetry that had to do with someone at a zoo, admiring a tiger in a cage and empathizing with how this mighty beast had been diminished by captivity. Our instructor asked Ian to read his response to one of the homework questions, and his answer wasn’t even an intelligible sentence - it was early in the morning, we hadn’t had our coffee break yet, and Gold had obviously slacked off on his homework.
Our instructor went nuts. He screamed at Gold, yelling “No! That’s terrible! How can you do this! That doesn’t even make sense!” He stomped back and forth, agonizing over Ian’s answer, and eventually grabbed his chalk and threw it straight at Gold. When that was gone, he grabbed his notebook and did the same thing. Our class was stunned, and silent - here was a graduate student who weighed about 90 pounds soaking wet, lashing out violently at a starting linebacker for the University of Michigan. It was as if a snotty kid had taunted the poetic tiger in his cage, only to have the door swing wide open as the tiger licked his chops.
Gold paused for a moment, closed his books, and said softly, “I’m just going to leave now.” He got up and walked casually out of the room, while a couple people tried to calm the instructor down unsuccessfully. He refused to believe this had anything to do with his condition, and just didn’t seem to understand the line he’d crossed.
After that day, I never saw the instructor again - I understand he was sanctioned and removed from teaching. Gold, obviously, went on to bigger and better things, in part due to the steady demeanor and good judgement he showed that day. Lesser people would have escalated the conflict, unable to tolerate someone getting in their face. I won’t ask Gold to translate any German for me anytime soon, but if you need someone to handle a pressure situation, he’s obviously one to lean on.
Outside of those few minutes, Spring & Summer German was a haze of tedium. Just remember, each class day is twice as long, but at least that makes the term twice as short…
May 11th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
My turn to share memories of German class at U-M. I took my fourth and final semester of German during my last term senior year (*bad* idea). I already had a job offer and travel plans. I was taking the German pass/fail, and I was right on the edge because of all the other classes I was taking for my major. I basically spent zero time studying it and just went to class and winged (heh!) it. I did poorly on the final but somehow I got the P. But for *years* afterwards I had a recuring “nightmare” that I’d failed and didn’t graduate and had to give up my job and move back to AA to finish that damn German.
May 12th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Our predicting skills are about the same. However, your streak is now over. The Ducks will take this series in 6 and the Sabres take out the Sens in 7. (Oh dear)
I like Ottawa, but I’m doing the stubborn Dutch thing because before the playoffs started I called a Ducks-Sabres Final.
April 8th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
[…] postseason, I correctly predicted 12 of the 15 winning teams during the playoffs. I’m not so sure I’ll do as well this […]