Predictions, Predictions...

"Me Love Steelers, nom, nom, nom!!!"

Not much bs-ing today, folks. Got my take on round 8 in tonight's CONCACAF hexagonal, as well as what my Magic 8-Ball told me about this year's NFL season. Let's start with the main forum for this site; soccer.

U.S. - Trinidad & Tobago - I'll be honest; I didn't watch a single minute of the U.S./El Salvador game Saturday night, so i only have people's opinions about what they saw. From the sounds of it, the U.S. wasn't great, but they weren't lousy either. That gives me some worry heading into tonight's road contest against a team that, even though they've essentially been eliminated from qualifying, would love to play the role of spoiler. For the Americans, Onyewu is back and should pair with Bocanegra in the middle to shore up the defense. That's the good news. The bad news? Michael Bradley will also start, and will continue to show his recent piss-poor form. I'd rather see Ricardo Clark and Benny Feilhaber in the central midfield, but one of them will sit as Sideshow Bob's son will never come off the field. What's going to happen next month when Jermaine Jones and Maurice Edu, both of whom play the same position as Bradley but are in better form, are available? Yep, I think so too... Still, the Yanks find a way to squeak this one out, meaning they really only need 1 point in their last 2 games to go to South Africa.

Prediction - U.S. 2 - T&T 1 - Goals by Donovan and Davies

Costa Rica at El Salvador - The wheels have come off the bus for CR, losing their past 2 games by a combined score of 7-0. They're probably better than than their opponent tonight, but El Salvador has played very well in this tournament, even though they have also pretty much been eliminated. i think the home side gets the win, which will tremendously help the U.S. Thanks, guys! Prediction - El Salvador 2 - Costa Rica 0

Honduras at Mexico - This has got all the makings of a classic, as the 2 hottest teams in the region face off in the Azteca. Fortunately, Honduras will not have to contend with the daytime heat and humidity the U.S. had to play in last month. However, Honduras has never won in Mexico, which is no shame, because Costa Rica is the only team to do it, back in 2001. Giovanni dos Santos has been an absolute terror for Mexico these past few games, and might be playing better than anybody else in CONCACAF right now. Mexico's depth will be tested as Team Captain Gerrado Torrado and Guillermo Franco will both sit due to yellow card accumulations. The Honduran offense is rolling on all cylinders right now, but will they attack Mexico or bunker in and slow it down? I think their best bet is to attack, which is why they won't do it...

Prediction - Mexico 1 - Honduras 1

After round 8, there's still going to be 4 teams fighting for the 3 automatic spots, while the 4th place team plays the 5th place South American team, which could be Argentina, Colombia, or Venezuela. None of them would be a walk in the park.

Pro Football

I said Pat and I were going to do more than soccer on this site, so now I'm going to take a stab (no pun intended, OJ) at the NFL season for 2009. Teams are placed in order of where I think they'll finish in each division.

AFC East

New England - The defense might be shaky, but the offense will score 35 points a game.

Miami - A semi-Sophomore slump for Tony Sporano, but they'll still contend for a playoff spot.

Buffalo - I think T.O. throws Trent Edwards under the bus around week 6.

NY Jets - Rex Ryan won't work miracles this year, but the foundation will be laid for the next 5.

AFC South

Indianapolis - Joseph Addai needs to stay healthy, as I have him in both of my fantasy leagues.

Tennessee - Fisher is a great coach, but I don't think they have enough talent to be a threat.

Houston - Could be the surprise team of 2009. They have Pro-Bowlers on both sides of the ball.

Jacksonville - The swan song for Head Coach Jack Del Rio. It comes a year too late for the fans.

AFC North

Pittsburgh - No team in recent memory has been better prepared to defend their Title.

Baltimore - The defense is getting older, and the offense still has trouble clicking every week.

Cincinnati - Good offense, terrible defense, which is such a shocker under Marvin Lewis.

Cleveland - Mangini's team has too many issues to address before the team can move forward.

AFC West

San Diego - Lots of talent, mediocre coaching; the benefits of playing in the NFL's worst division.

Denver - Before Josh McDaniel can act like Belichick, he needs to win like Belichick.

Kansas City - One of the bottom 5 teams in the league still isn't the worst in their own division.

Oakland - The Head Coach sucker-punched an assistant; somewhere, Al Davis was smiling.

NFC East

Philadelphia - Trust me, Michael Vick will have NO impact on this team this year.

NY Giants - League's best pass rush, but I don't believe Eli will find a WR he trusts like Plaxico.

Dallas - Have most of the pieces in place, but not enough playmakers on either side of the ball.

Washington - Vinny and Dan are already looking to replace Campbell and Zorn after this year.

NFC South

New Orleans - Their offense won't lag too far behind New England's when all is said and done.

Atlanta - Won't sneak up on teams this year, but they'll still be really good.

Carolina - They have players who don't want to be there, and Jake Delhomme's arm is shot.

Tampa Bay - Don't have a good QB or RB, and the defense is old. Other than that, they're fine.

NFC North

Green Bay - Aaron Rodgers already has fans forgetting about that guy who's now in Minnesota.

Minnesota - Speaking of that guy, He Who Shall Not Be Named will greatly add to his NFL Interception Record.

Chicago - I don't care what they gave up for him, Cutler still hasn't won a thing in the NFL yet.

Detroit - Nowhere to go but up, right? I say they get 3 wins this year.

NFC West

Arizona - Will be the best team in the NFC West, which isn't really saying much.

Seattle - Have some decent playmakers, but health could be the big factor for this team.

St. Louis - Stephen Jackson must stay healthy because (see Joseph Addai above).

San Francisco - When your 1st round pick would rather take a year off than play for you, you're in some serious trouble.

And now to jinx both teams with my Super Bowl forecast:

New England over Philadelphia

As always, feel free to chime in with your thoughts.