My Oscar Snacks & Predictions

For as long as I can remember, my friends Kyle and Julie have been watching the Oscars together even though we live hundreds of miles apart. This would be the first year in awhile we won't be able to- I blame many things, but mostly my busy work schedule. But we're definitely keeping another one of our mini-traditions going, getting snacks themed after the Best Picture nominees. Who can forget the goodness that was Frosty Flakes cereal ('Frost/Nixon') with Milk ('Milk') or the shrimp cocktail ('District 9') with some Taco Bell ('The Blind Side')?

So we've distributed our nominees to year and I've been assigned 'Black Swan', 'The Fighter' and 'Winter's Bone'. Here's what I came up with:

Black and white cookies for our black and white swan.

A shot of Irish Monkey for our Irish Mickey.

A pile of wither chicken bones for our Winter's Bone. A huge stretch.

As for my Oscar predictions. I'm confident in all these except for Best Picture. I'm going with 'The King's Speech' for now but I'm feeling less and less secure about that with every moment. There could be a last minute switch to 'The Social Network' on my part:

Best Picture: The King's Speech

Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network

Best Lead Actor: Colin Firth, The King's Speech

Best Lead Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network

Best Original Screenplay: The King's Speech

Best Cinematography: True Grit

Best Film Editing: The Social Network

Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Language Film: Denmark

Best Documentary Feature: Inside Job

Best Art Direction: The King's Speech

Best Costume Design: The King's Speech

Best Make-Up Design: The Wolfman

Best Visual Effects: Inception

Best Sound Mixing: Inception

Best Sound Editing: Inception

Best Original Score: The Social Network

Best Original Song: 127 Hours

Best Short Live Action Film: Na Wewe

Best Short Animated Film: Madagascar, A Journey Diary

Best Short Documentary: Strangers No More

Happy Feasting!

My 2010 Baseball Predictions

Ah. It's that time again. Spring training is almost over and another long baseball season is about to start. So of course, that means I'll be making my season predictions. I got 6 out of the 8 playoff teams correct last season and missing the eventual champions. As usual, so many questions are going to be answered in six months. Will the Mets have another colossal collapse? Will the Angels continue to run the table in the weak AL West division? And of course, can the Yankees repeat as championship or the will be Red Sox's off season moves be enough? Here we go.

American League:

1. New York Yankees (AL East Champions)

2. Los Angeles Angels (AL West Champions)

3. Detroit Tigers (AL Central Champions)

4. Boston Red Sox (AL Wild Card)

ALDS: Yankees over Tigers, Angels over Red Sox

ALCS: Angels over Yankees

The biggest question mark for me is the AL Central. Which scrappy team will have enough to make it to the division series just to lose in the first round? Since the Twin's Joe Nathan is gone for the season, I'm going to go with the Tigers.

National League:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (NL West)

2. St. Louis Cardinals (NL Central)

3. Philadelphia Phillies (NL East)

4. Atlanta Braves (NL Wild Card)

NLDS: Dodgers over Braves, Phillies over Cardinals

NLCS: Phillies over Dodgers

I have the Phillies going to their third straight World Series. And in a surprise move, I think the Braves will return to the postseason courtesy of the Mets imploding again late in the game. Dodgers and Cardinals should be shoo-ins by June.

World Series: Phillies over Angels

For the second straight year, I'm going to predict the Phillies as the eventual champions. On paper, this team seems very strong and after taking a beating in a tough NL East, I think they should coast in October.

My March Madness Predictions

Yes, I realize I'm about four hours too late but hey... better get these in before I take at peek a the winners thus far.

East Region (Syracuse)- While almost everyone has Kentucky getting out of this region alive, I'm going to go with the pesky West Virginia Mountaineers who got shafted out of a #1 seed in favor of Duke. I like their style of play and also, unlike most of the pundits out there, I'm not buying Cornell as this year's sleeper. I see them getting ousted in the first round. Let's not good looking for hidden treasures now, folks.

South Region (Houston)- Perhaps it's due to my hatred towards Duke, but I'm banking on another Big East team advance to the final four in the form of Villanova. Their guards are speedy- even Obama says so. Sleeper hit in the region includes Old Dominion and Siena.

Midwest Region (St. Louis)- You might as well hand this one over to the overall #1 seed Kansas. I don't see any team in this region giving them problem maybe besides Georgetown, but they would have to get through Ohio State first before doing so. Upset special: Georgia Tech over Oklahoma State.

West Region (Salt Lake City)- It's a tossup between Kansas State and Syracuse, but I'm going to give in pick the Orangemen even when they're on a decline. I just think they have a tougher road to the Elite Eight with the possibility of playing Gonzaga, Vanderbilt and Butler and will catch Kansas State offguard.

National Champions: Yes, the best team in the nation will prevail this year again. Kansas Jayhawks it is.

My 2009 Baseball Predictions

With another baseball season starting this weekend, I figured it's time to throw in my two cents as usual with some predictions. Last year, I was a little off. Although I did have both the Red Sox and Phillies in the League Championship Series. So many questions are going to answered. Will the Mets have another colossal collapse for the third straight season? Can the Rays take their best season and run with it? Can the Yanks overcome last year's woes and this year's off-field distractions? Which team will come out of the dreadful NL Central and West alive? I guess we'll all just have to wait and see. Anyway, here are my quick picks:

American League:

1. Boston Red Sox (AL East Champions)

2. Los Angeles Angels (AL West Champions)

3. Minnesota Twins (AL Central Champions)

4. New York Yankees (AL Wild Card)

ALDS: Boston over Minnesota, Los Angeles over New York

ALCS: Los Angeles over Boston

I don't see the Rays getting back to the playoffs (ESPN Mag has them winning it all!) and the Yanks will do well under Girardi's second season but not well enough. The Angels are as dominant as they can be in another weak division.

National League:

1. Philadelphia Phillies (NL East Champions)

2. Chicago Cubs (NL Central Champions)

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (NL West Champions)

4. New York Mets (NL Wild Card)

ALDS: Philadelphia over Los Angeles, New York over Chicago

ALCS: Philadelphia over New York

I don't see how the Mets' offseason moves for their bullpen will result in another collapse- I was wrong last year as well. The only that'd give the Dodgers problems should be the Diamondbacks- other than that, Philadelphia should roll on.

World Series: Philadelphia over Los Angeles

Going out on a limb and calling for the first repeat World Series Champions since the '98-'00 Yanks.

My 2008 Baseball Predictions

I bleed baseball... along with films, boardgames, tennis, awards... and so on. So as the new baseball season is upon us, I'm obligated once again to give my 2 cents. And once again, many stories emerged before the season even begins. Can the Red Sox repeat as champions despite their early injuries? Can the Mets come back from last year's disastrous late season collapse? Can the Yankee play a graceful final season at Yankee Stadium despite all the steroids controversies? We'll find out, but until then... here is my outlook. 

American League:

1. Boston Red Sox (AL East Champions)

2. Detroit Tigers (AL Central Champions)

3. Los Angeles Angels (AL West Champions)

4. New York Yankees (AL Wild Card)

ALDS: Boston over Los Angeles, New York over Detroit

ALCS: Boston over New York

- Joe Girardi will give a new jolt to the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry, but I think Boston will ultimately power over the Yanks.

National League:

1. New York Mets (NL East Champions)

2. St. Louis Cardinals (NL Central Champions)

3. Arizona Diamondbacks (NL West Champions)

4. Philadelphia Phillies (NL Wild Card)

NLDS: New York over Arizona, Philadelphia over St. Louis

NLCS: New York over Philadelphia

- The Mets made the best off-season moves. They should handle it easy, if they don't collapse again.

World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox