NFL Conference Semifinals

 (Approximate) Overall Results: 138-139 (50%)

 

NOT PREDICTIONS

I do hope that Buffalo wins, but other than that, I really do not have a strong preference as to what the other results are.

1. Texans (11-7) at Chiefs (15-2)

2. Commanders (13-5) at Lions (15-2)

 

3. Rams (11-7) at Eagles (15-3)

4. Ravens (13-5) at Bills (14-4)

2024-2025 College Football Bowl Games- Part 4

There is just one game left to pick a champion. This game will take place in the evening of a day in America in which  a lot of people appreciate the opportunity for a diversion. The incoming Vice President has joked he will attend this game instead of his own swearing-in.

I will be rooting against his alma mater and for the Chicagolandish opponent, who is only in this game because my alma mater Northern Illinois, the eventual Potato Bowl champions, shook them up and handed them their only defeat. However, I have a suspicion that the winners of the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl may wind up losing in a blowout to the winners of the Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl.

47. National Championship Game

Atlanta, GA

 

# 6 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. # 5 Notre Dame du Lac Fighting Irish

NFL Wildcard Game Results

 NOT PREDICTIONS

1. Chargers (11-6) at  Texans (10-7) L 1

2. Steelers (10-7) at Ravens (12-5) :L 2

3. Broncos (10-7) at Bills (13-4) W 1

4. Packers (11-6) at Eagles (14-3) W 2

5. Commanders (12-5) at Buccaneers (10-7) W 3

6. Vikings (14-3) vs Rams (10-7) (game moved to Glendale, AZ) L 3

Wildcard Results: 3-3 (50%)

(Approximate) Overall Results: 138-139 (50%)

 

Steelers finish 10-8

Broncos finish 10-8

Buccaneers finish 10-8

Chargers finish 11-7

Packers finish 11-7

Vikings finish 14-4

 

Just like that, the Bears are already the second best team in the NFC North

2024 Election Recap: U.S. Senate

Next, I will briefly look back at the historic and perhaps tragic 2024 election and my predictions for U.S. Senate.

 

There were just two races that I called incorrectly and that I had classified as Tossups. Both were won by Republicans, leading to a four seat pick-up for the party that is about to control the White House, Senate, and U.S. House. In spite of that, Democrats should recognize it could have been worse, and had Joe Biden stayed in the race, as he seems to wish he would have, it would have been worse. Democrats did manage to win races I had called Tossups in Michigan and Wisconsin as well as two contests that I had as Leans Democrat, but went down to the wire in Arizona and Nevada. With Biden at the top of the ticket, Donald Trump's party would have won those four races and all but assured at least a four year run controlling the Senate. Even as things stand now, I think there might not be much party turnover as it relates to the Senate in 2026.

 

As I always do, I will speak about the races that I predicted incorrectly.

 

Ohio-

 

Incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown was always going to have to win a lot of ticket splitters to hold on in what has become a pretty red state and while he got many Trump voters to split their tickets, it was not enough. Eighteen years ago, Brown joined colleagues Jon Tester and Bob Casey in defeating Republican incumbents and leading to Democrats taking over the U.S. Senate. Brown and Casey won that year in landslides. Now, they are all gone, having lost bids for fourth terms.  

Now, former Senator Brown seems to be making some noise that he may attempt a quick comeback and seek Ohio's other Senate seat in 2026, which has just been vacated by JD Vance. Perhaps, the dynamics of a midterm election for a Republican Administration may work in his favor, but this would still be an uphill climb in the Buckeye State. It is very clear that Democrats have huge systemic problems in places like Ohio and the soon to be Republican Senator appointed by Governor Mike DeWine, will likely not have the political baggage that Bernie Moreno, the candidate who beat Brown in 2024 had.

Pennsylvania-

The Keystone State has not become as red as Ohio, and in many cases, may actually be very light blue, but the problems Democrats faced nationwide carried over enough in Pennsylvania to cost Bob Casey his seat as he went down to defeat by Republican Dave McCormick. Earlier on in the cycle, I thought this race would be Leans D, but it had become apparent in the final month that it was  Tossup and there were not a whole lot of ticket splitters as Trump defeated Kamala Harris by a narrow margin.

This Senate race was even closer, and as votes from the Philadelphia area continued to be counted, Casey refused to concede, even after it had probably become clear that there would not be enough to make up the difference. This was highly remarked upon as Republicans called hypocrisy on "accepting election results." Nonetheless, Casey eventually did concede. After a landslide win in 2006 and two fairly easy reelections, he probably did not see this result coming. Now, Democrats in Pennsylvania, such as senior Senator John Fetterman, who went down to Mar-A-Lago today, are going to have to learn how to survive in the age of Trump.

I feel like I have no choice but to bring up the theory that if Kamala Harris had chosen Josh Shapiro, the relatively popular Governor of Pennsylvania for her Vice Presidential running-mate, this Senate race probably would have tipped to Casey. Perhaps three or four other House races in Pennsylvania may have as well, leading to Democrats keeping control of that body. It might be too much to assume that Harris-Shapiro would have won the election nationally, but they probably would have at least taken Pennsylvania and saved this Senate seat for their party.

2024 U.S. Senate Results: 32-2 (94%)

Past Results:

 

2006: 31-2 (94%)
2008: 34-1 (97%)
2010: 34-3 (92%)
2012: 28-5 (85%)
2014: 36-0 (100%)
2016: 31-3 (91%)

2018: 33-2 (94%) 

2020: 33-2 (94%) 

2022: 33-2 (94%) 

NFL Wildcard Games

 (Approximate) Overall Regular Season Results: 135-136 (50%)

 

1. Chargers (11-6) at  Texans (10-7)

2. Steelers (10-7) at Ravens (12-5)

3. Broncos (10-7) at Bills (13-4)

4. Packers (11-6) at Eagles (14-3)

5. Commanders (12-5) at Buccaneers (10-7)

6. Vikings (14-3) at Rams (10-7)

(tough call for which team I want to win this one. Hopefully, the game will be able to be played as scheduled in Southern California. If not, it will be moved to Arizona.. That would negate a home field advantage for the Rams, that they probably do not deserve. The Rams actually lost to the Bears this year. I will go with the Vikings- for now, because like Detroit, those Minnesota fans, unless they are in this case several years older than me, have no idea what a Super Bowl appearance even feels like)

NFL Week 18 Results

 At least, a very disappointing season for the Bears ended on a very good note!

NOT PREDICTIONS

1. Browns (3-13) at Ravens (11-5) W 1

2. Bengals (8-8) at Steelers (10-6) W 2

3. Panthers (4-12) at Falcons (8-8) W 3

4. Commanders (11-5) at Cowboys (7-9) W 4

5. Bears (4-12) at Packers (11-5) W 5

6. Jaguars (4-12) at Colts (7-9) L 1

7. Bills (13-3) at Patriots (3-13) L 2

8. Giants (3-13) at Eagles (13-3) L 3

9. Saints (5-11) at Buccaneers (9-7) L 4

10. Texans (9-7) at Titans (3-13) L 5

11. 49ers (6-10) at Cardinals (7-9) W 6

12. Chiefs (15-1) at Broncos (9-7) W 7

13. Seahawks (9-7) at Rams (10-6) W 8

14. Chargers (10-6) at Raiders (4-12) W 9

15. Dolphins (8-8) at Jets (4-12) L 6

16. Vikings (14-2) at Lions (14-2) W 10

Week 18 Results: 10-6 (63%)

(Approximate) Overall Regular Season Results: 135-136 (50%)

I feel like this has happened before. I try to be so careful with the math, but apparently not careful enough. Somehow, I am totaling 271 games when there are supposed to be 272  It is either exactly 50 percent or rounds up to 50 percent regardless. I know there was not a Tie this year either. I went back in the archives to Week 9 and cannot figure out where I first went off-track. It must have been fairly early on. This is not my "real job", where I sometimes have to solve problems like this, so that is going to have to be good enough. Whatever. I am more precise in the political prediction totals. Maybe next year, I will go old school and write it all down in a notebook. If I had 2 hours to spend figuring out the problem, I would go all the way back to Week 1 and do so, but really, who even cares? The Bears finally beat the Packers. The Bears finally beat anyone.

 

Browns finish 3-14

Titans finish 3-14

Giants finish 3-14

 

Jaguars finish 4-13

Patriots finish 4-13

Raiders finish 4-13

 

Jets finish 5-12

Panthers finish 5-12

Saints finish 5-12

Bears finish 5-12

 

49ers finish 6-11

 

Cowboys finish 7-10

 

Falcons finish 8-9

Colts finish 8-9

Dolphins finish 8-9

Cardinals finish 8-9

 

Bengals finish 9-8

2024-2025 College Football Bowl Games- Part 3

We are now on to the National Semifinals. After seeing all four home teams win their on campus games, the next week saw all four teams that had a bye go down to defeat. The Sugar Bowl was postponed until the afternoon of January 2, because of the horrific terrorist attack in New Orleans that took 14 lives.

45. Orange Bowl

Miami Gardens, FL

 

# 5 Notre Dame du Lac Fighting Irish vs.  # 4 Pennsylvania State Nittany Lions

 

 46. Cotton Bowl

Arlington, TX

# 6 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. # 3 Texas at Austin Longhorns

NFL Week 18 Games

 NOT PREDICTIONS

Overall Results: 125-130 (49%)

      

1. Browns (3-13) at Ravens (11-5)

2. Bengals (8-8) at Steelers (10-6)

3. Panthers (4-12) at Falcons (8-8)

4. Commanders (11-5) at Cowboys (7-9)

5. Bears (4-12) at Packers (11-5)

6. Jaguars (4-12) at Colts (7-9)

7. Bills (13-3) at Patriots (3-13)

8. Giants (3-13) at Eagles (13-3)

9. Saints (5-11) at Buccaneers (9-7)

10. Texans (9-7) at Titans (3-13)

11. 49ers (6-10) at Cardinals (7-9)

12. Chiefs (15-1) at Broncos (9-7)

13. Seahawks (9-7) at Rams (10-6)

14. Chargers (10-6) at Raiders (4-12)

15. Dolphins (8-8) at Jets (4-12)

16. Vikings (14-2) at Lions (14-2)

NFL Week 17 Results

 NOT PREDICTIONS

1. Chiefs (14-1) at Steelers (10-5) L 1

2. Ravens (10-5) at Texans (9-6) W 1

3. Seahawks (8-7) at Bears (4-11) L 2

4. Chargers (9-6) at Patriots (3-12) W 2

5. Broncos (9-6) at Bengals (7-8) W 3

6. Cardinals (7-8) at Rams (9-6) L 3

7. Colts (7-8) at Giants (2-13) L 4

8. Jets (4-11) at Bills (12-3) W 4

9. Titans (3-12) at Jaguars (3-12) L 5

10. Raiders (3-12) at Saints (5-10) L 6

11. Panthers (4-11) at Buccaneers (8-7) L 7

12. Cowboys (7-8) at Eagles (12-3) L 8

13. Dolphins (7-8) at Browns (3-12) W 5

14. Packers (11-4) at Vikings (13-2) W 6

15. Falcons (8-7) at Commanders (10-5) L 9

16. Lions (13-2) at 49ers (6-9) W 7

Week 17 Results: 7-9 (44%)

Overall Results: 125-130 (49%)

RIP Jimmy Carter

James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th President of the United States lived a remarkable life. I cannot claim to be a fan of his Presidency (which took place at my birth) or many of the things he said or did years ago as a former President, but he did devote his life to his country and in service of others and should be remembered for that.

I was thinking about him earlier this morning. Somehow, I think he might not have wanted Donald Trump to be the President to give his eulogy. I think we should all be grateful that will not happen and I wish good health to all former and soon to be former Presidents over the next four years for that reason. I was wondering if Mr. Carter might pass away right before the Inauguration. 

He went into hospice care nearly two years ago and held on for a long time, even as his beloved wife passed away. It occurred to me then and it is now official that the current President of the United States is now older than all his living predecessors, by almost four years. It is also the case that the second oldest living to have ever been President is about to take the office again.

Rest in Peace, Jimmy Carter.

2024 Election Recap: Governors

Well, I did it. I correctly predicted every Gubernatorial result. I did the exact same thing in 2020. These were not exactly difficult races to predict, but it would be embarrassing if I had gotten any of them wrong, even the Tossup in New Hampshire. The people of North Carolina can be grateful the losing candidate lost.

In 2025, there could be two very competitive races in New Jersey and Virginia, although history would seem to favor the Democrats.

2024 Gubernatorial Results: 11-0 (100%)

Past Results:

2006: 35-1 (97%)
2008: 10-1 (91%)
2010: 34-3 (92%)
2012: 9-2 (82%)
2014: 32-4 (89%)
2016: 9-3 (75%) 

2018: 35-1 (97%) 

2020: 11-0 (100%) 

2022:  34-2 (94%)

 

2024 Election Recap: Presidential

Never have I wanted to post something on here less, but enough time has passed and I should get it over with.

In making my pre-election prediction, in which I took Kamala Harris to win 276-262, I made it very clear that the race was a Tossup, and that I would not be surprised if Donald Trump ultimately won every won of the seven swing states. That is indeed what happened. I was wrong on Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. So were a lot of people. Some even thought he would lose more states. Everything else in the Electoral College, I predicted correctly. In the days and weeks ahead, I will also run down my relatively small number of incorrect predictions and offer some analysis on the Gubernatorial, Senate, and U.S. House races.

Should I just wrap this up right here? I have had about fifty days to think about this after all and have so many thoughts about what happened in this cycle. There is no way I can present them all here. This result is hard to come to terms with. I actually found it even more depressing than when Mitt Romney, a candidate I truly believed in and supported, lost in 2012. A lot of people feel the same way I do, but the results are what they are. Donald Trump won the election "fair and square." He even won the popular vote, which I definitely would not have anticipated. It is also true that he fell just short of an outright popular vote majority and that the national popular vote, like the results in the swing states were pretty close. This was not a textbook landslide and this is not a mandate for MAGA domination. Still, a win is a win, and this was a race that Democrats and frankly all of us who have opposed Trump and Trumpism for years, never should have allowed to happen. There is so much we need to ask of ourselves as we move towards the future politically and in a larger cultural sense. The next four years are going to be difficult and upsetting in many ways. The last month plus already has been, but I still have faith in America, though disappointment in it as well. This is all on us. We get the government we deserve. Elections are always a mirror held up to a nation. Some people like what they saw in November and many do not. I do believe we will have other elections to focus on, local, state, and federal, in 2025, even more so in 2026, and then especially so in 2028.

If I had to estimate, I would say that among Americans who bothered to cast a vote, 25 percent of them are with Donald Trump no matter what and there is literally nothing he can do to lose them. Literally nothing. No President or any American political figure has ever come into office with that strong of a devoted base. At the same time, I estimate that an even larger number of 45 percent of Americans, myself included, are against Donald Trump and cannot be won over by him personally. No President or political figure has ever entered office with that many people against them. I would say there are also about five percent of voters, a fairly small number, but people who do not deserve to be ignored, who did not vote for Trump, but are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and who might start out optimistic about what the next four years may bring. That leads to about 25 percent of the rest of the people. Clearly, these were Trump voters in November, about half of his total support. He may be able to keep them, but he may also lose them. I happen to think that so many of them voted for him and are not going to be pleased to see him focused on political retribution or somehow his new obsessions with acquiring Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal. Many of these people probably did not expect him to name some of the people he has nominated to key positions. There will be continued fights on Capitol Hill over those nominees, but he will get most everything he wanted in regards to those people. While many will be surprised, it is not as if he did not warn us what he would do and the people he would pick.  People chose to just not take him seriously about some of those things. They probably should have though and may deeply regret those votes.

There is a distinct anti-incumbent pro-populist sentiment in democracies all across the globe these days and that helps explain what happened in the United States. It is also true that there has been an anti-incumbent party sentiment in Presidential politics here for decades now. The last time an incumbent party won a national majority along with a large electoral victory was way back in 1988. Most recently, the party out of the White House has won four out of the last five elections. I happen to think that it might have been five out of five if not for Hurricane Sandy interrupting things late in the game in 2012,

Donald Trump can never run for President again. For those who support the Republican Party he has reshaped, that is both good news and bad news. If he is an unpopular President, as the last Presidents have been, that will make it tough for his party to win again in 2028. At the same time, there are clearly voters who have been showing up to vote for Donald Trump and only Donald Trump. The incoming President is elderly. While he seems to many to be full of energy and downright indestructible in some ways, he may very well not serve out his term. JD Vance could become President sometime quickly down the road. As it is, he will be considered the frontrunner for 2028, but frankly, seems to be largely sidelined now and Trump may find a way to turn on him before the next primaries. It would be in character. As has been widely noticed, Elon Musk, the South African born businessman who is the richest person in the world, has far surpassed Vance in influence and may even already be more powerful than Trump himself. After all, Trump cannot run again. Musk is still rich and has a huge megaphone. The dynamic between the two men will be fascinating to watch in the months and years ahead.

The bottom line is that Democrats should not have lost this race to Trump, but lose they did. They lost it more than he won. Four years ago, mostly due to a deadly pandemic, the American people decided Trump should not be entrusted with four more years and he lost to Joe Biden. Four years later, we seem to have largely gotten past the medical dangers of Covid, but the economic and especially psychic scars remain. People forget the particulars but just came to the conclusion that their lives, and especially their economic well-being was better when Trump was President. So, they gave him another chance, without any real concern that he was a convicted felon or a lousy person. In 1992, James Carville, the chief strategist for Bill Clinton, another low-character lying politician, made clear that "it's the economy, stupid." and Clinton won two terms because of that. Issues like national security or the moral character of the nation and its leaders, or even ideological consistency, have receded into the background. Decades later, our politics and culture have changed, I think greatly for the worst, and it all really began with 1992.

Joe Biden was lucky to win in 2020. He had no business running for reelection at the age of 81. That should have been clear early on. After he entered office, he began to decline physically in ways that have been impossible to ignore. As I have repeatedly stated, I think his political opponents overstate the extent of his mental decline, but his defenders have greatly understated it as well and gaslight anyone who tried to raise questions about whether he should have been running for an additional four years. While Biden deserves credit for eventually ending his campaign, after he clearly had no other option, and had he not, his party would have suffered far greater losses down the ballot, it was probably already too late. Whomever encouraged Biden to seek reelection for every day that he was a candidate for reelection have contributed to a terrible result for America which could have enormous consequences. I do not feel like kicking Biden too hard on his way out, but frankly, his legacy is a shambles. I voted for him in 2020 to not be Donald Trump and not to try to be FDR. I voted for him to return to normalcy, not to pardon his son, an unprecedented step of political nepotism that he promised not to do. I guess I knew deep down that Biden was lying about that at the time, but I have known Joe Biden to be a political liar for decades. Yes, he is a better person than Trump, but that is a low bar. It should not be enough. The number one reason that Trump is turning to power is because of the failure of the Biden Presidency. Democrats really have to ask themselves why the policies of Obama and Biden both ushered in a Trump Presidency. By pardoning Hunter Biden, the outgoing President has horrifically given tremendous legal and political cover to Trump to abuse the office even worse.

I would also note that Alvin Bragg's successful conviction of Donald Trump in a New York courtroom also did so much to elect Trump this year. There are many legal cases, now a foregone memory against Trump that were valid and serious. The technicalities of what he was convicted on in New York did not rise to that level. Bragg took on Trump politically to try to politically harm him, and the exact opposite occurred. It also rendered the serious and important work of Jack Smith and also the January 6th Committee to be seen as also being political and "unfair." Those of us who have felt Trump has been a criminal for years got played, not because he is not, but because enough people in this country just do not give a damn. I think those people are very, very wrong, but that is the reality we live in, and we let ourselves down by this focus.

Sunny Hostin, a left-wing co-host of "The View" also contributed to Trump's election, though it was not really her fault. Late in the campaign, she asked Kamala Harris a perfectly fair question, and one designed to be a political softball to help the Vice President's campaign. Instead, Harris swung and missed. "How would you be different than Joe Biden?" There should have been a simple canned answer there that she could have said and repeated over and over again across the campaign trail.

Clearly, Americans have short attention spans. Harris had a strong campaign rollout, a strong convention, and in my view, easily got the best of Trump in their one debate. Yet, the late breaking voters went heavily for Trump. According to the Harris campaign, they never led at any point in their surveys. Despite all this, many in the party and in the media were convinced Harris would win because Trump was so terrible. Picking Tim Walz for Vice President instead of Josh Shapiro was a mistake. It showed a fear of the anti-Jewish voters on the left flank of the party who promised to boycott the ticket if it happened. She picked Walz instead and most of those people still boycotted and a chance to appeal to voters in the middle was lost throughout the entire narrative. Looking back, Harris probably still would have lost with Shapiro, but might have saved a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, and three House members, enough to flip the House blue, if she had him on the ticket.

The bottom line is that the policies of Joe Biden were not popular with America. Democrats will quibble and say that is unfair, but it is reality. The Biden Presidency started going downhill after the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal and never recovered. Whatever they said about how the economy was better or how crime was down was just never believed. People were against the status quo and there was probably no way for Kamala Harris, who refused to say she would do much different than Biden, was going to win the votes of the people who wanted change. Trust in our leaders and institutions are at an all time low. Trump has clearly played a part in that and frankly prefers it that way. Democrats insisting for months that Biden was capable of serving a second term as President only contributed to how much Americans would tune them out.

I get that it is difficult to throw the person who made you Vice President under the bus, but there were gentle ways Harris could have done so, especially on the issue of illegal immigration. Looking back, reasonable people can determine that the Trump policies at the border were inhumane in many ways. Biden and Harris came into office and were determined to do the opposite of all of them. That was a mistake. They were far too stubborn in just being the anti-Trumps that they missed out on the reality. The illegal crossings and incidents of "migrant crime" just played a huge part in their political demise. When an executive order was finally signed, the situation improved a bit, but it was signed too late, and at the minimum Harris could have acknowledged that. She could have found a way in every interview and in every speech to put in three sentences about being tough on the border and her desire to deport criminals in this country illegally, and she probably would have won the election.They were just too stubborn to do it. Both ideological bases on this country refuse to give an inch and thus we are forced to be as polarized as we are.

Harris was far from a perfect candidate. As mentioned, her struggles in interviews and unscripted non-debate moments were real, but she had a tough hand to play. As we know, she had taken positions as a primary candidate in 2019 that continued to haunt her and the unpopularity of the Biden record and policies was just too much to overcome. She became the nominee without any sort of primary process and a lot of Americans were troubled by that. If nothing else, she would have gotten better politically for having earned the nomination. For weeks after emerging as the Biden replacement, she declined to do interviews and it looked like she was scared. Even if she would have been bad in some early ones, she might have gotten better later on. I wrote at the time about the missed opportunities she passed up to win people over by a bad interview on Fox News and what I thought was a bad Town Hall on CNN. In spite of all of this, I think if Trump proves to be unpopular, Kamala Harris may find herself with a chance for redemption in 2028, but that is a long way off, and she would have to do major work to learn from the failures of 2024. This is certainly not an endorsement of her. After all, I am a conservative. I am just saying that I can almost envision the comeback arc.

 

To wrap this up, it is clear we are in for chaos and uncertainty starting on January 20. This country is still worth fighting for. For years I was a proud Republican who remained steadfastly loyal until Donald Trump took over the party in 2016. The years after saw me hoping that somehow this would be a temporary blip and I might get my party back. The year 2024 has taught me that is not happening. Thus I am no longer a Republican. I am also reminded, often, that I have never been a Democrat, and based on the state of that party today, am not about to become one. I think America deserves a new party, where those of us on the center-right and center-left can unite against the extremes, but for now, we are living history as it comes at us.

There are a lot of people who voted for Donald Trump and I find that tragic. I have to understand why they did though. In every story, the "bad guy" is always supposed to eventually get what they have coming, and for Trump that should have been a loss this year and perhaps time locked up. That did not happen. Eternal justice is always in the hands of a higher power though. I am also deeply disturbed by many other things in America these days. One of them is how so many of my fellow countrymen, most, but not all of the people I am speaking of who did not vote for Donald Trump, have cheered or made excuses for the cold-blooded murder of a businessman on a New York street. Many have even declared folk hero status on the accused murderer and his terroristic intentions in order to send a political message. Much of this is because he is white, good looking, and privileged. Neither Donald Trump nor Luigi Mangioni should be anyone's hero, especially the latter, because at least for now, he is the only one of the two who has ever shot someone on a street in New York.

Let us hope that 2025 leads us to a place where Americans can find their souls again. All of us should do the appropriate soul-searching these times require. I will not quit on this country or hope for failure or suffering for anyone simply because I despise the President. While I am no longer a Republican, and have never been a Democrat, I have always been and will always be an American.

NFL Week 17 Games

NOT PREDICTIONS

Overall Results: 118-121 (49%)

 

1. Chiefs (14-1) at Steelers (10-5)

2. Ravens (10-5) at Texans (9-6)

3. Seahawks (8-7) at Bears (4-11)

4. Chargers (9-6) at Patriots (3-12)

5. Broncos (9-6) at Bengals (7-8)

6. Cardinals (7-8) at Rams (9-6)

7. Colts (7-8) at Giants (2-13)

8. Jets (4-11) at Bills (12-3)

9. Titans (3-12) at Jaguars (3-12)

10. Raiders (3-12) at Saints (5-10)

11. Panthers (4-11) at Buccaneers (8-7)

12. Cowboys (7-8) at Eagles (12-3)

13. Dolphins (7-8) at Browns (3-12)

14. Packers (11-4) at Vikings (13-2)

15. Falcons (8-7) at Commanders (10-5)

16. Lions (13-2) at 49ers (6-9)

NFL Week 16 Results

 NOT PREDICTIONS

Hey, at least the Chicago Bears are not the worst team in the NFL. Maybe they can find a way to win more games next season.

1. Broncos (9-5) at Chargers (8-6) L 1

2. Texans (9-5) at Chiefs (13-1) W 1

3. Steelers (10-4) at Ravens (9-5) L 2

4. Giants (2-12) at Falcons (7-7) W 2

5. Cardinals (7-7) at Panthers (3-11) W 3

6. Lions (12-2) at Bears (4-10) L 3

7. Titans (3-11) at Colts (6-8) L 4

8. Rams (8-6) at Jets (4-10) W 4

9. Eagles (12-2) at Commanders (9-5) W 5

10. Browns (3-11) at Bengals (6-8) W 6

11. Vikings (12-2) at Seahawks (8-6) L 5

12. Patriots (3-11) at Bills (11-3) W 7

13. Jaguars (3-11) at Raiders (2-12) L 6

14. 49ers (6-8) at Dolphins (6-8) W 8

15. Buccaneers (8-6) at Cowboys (6-8) L 7

 

16. Saints (5-9) at Packers (10-4) L 8

Week 16 Results: 8-8 (50%)

Overall Results: 118-121 (49%)

2024-2025 College Football Bowl Games- Part 2

The first round of the CFB playoffs are over. Pretty much, all four road teams got destroyed on the campus of their opponent. These teams can be pleased perhaps that they were good enough to make it into the first ever 12 Team Playoff, but basically, they also missed out on a Bowl game experience for their players and their fanbase. Perhaps they are ok with that. In a way though, it seems kind of unfair that these teams, which if nothing else were at least easily part of the best 25 in the country, had to go play, in three cases where it was very cold, on the home campus of an opponent. So, while it was a big deal in the moment, it was not actually a Bowl game. The players and fans did not get to go to tourist destinations and experience special events and big dinners in their honor and all of that ahead of a Bowl game against a lesser opponent they probably could have won.

 

I would hope that eventually they move to a system where there are 16 playoff teams, with no byes, and all the games incorporated into an actual neutral site Bowl game. Perhaps, you can give geographic preference to the top seeds like they do in the NCAA Basketball tournaments.  There would still be a lot of non-playoff teams available to play in other less prominent Bowl games, but it would be a bigger deal to win enough games to actually qualify for a Bowl, instead of seeing all sorts of 6-6 teams make it.

From here on out though, there are "official" Bowl games that double as playoff contests. Here is the next group of games.

33. ReliaQuest Bowl

Tampa, FL

Michigan Wolverines vs. #11 Alabama Crimson Tide

34. Sun Bowl

El Paso, TX

Washington Huskies vs. Louisville Cardinals

35. Citrus Bowl

Orlando, FL

# 15 South Carolina Gamecocks vs. #20 Illinois Urbana-Champaign Fighting Illini

36. Texas Bowl

Houston, TX

Baylor Bears vs. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Tigers

37. Fiesta Bowl

Glendale, AZ

# 4 Pennsylvania State Nittany Lions vs. # 9 Boise State Broncos

38. Peach Bowl

Atlanta, GA

# 3 Texas at Austin Longhorns vs. # 12 Arizona State Sun Devils

39. Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA

# 1 Oregon Ducks vs. # 6 Ohio State Buckeyes

 

40. Sugar Bowl

New Orleans, LA

# 5 Notre Dame du Lac Fighting Irish vs. # 2 Georgia Bulldogs

41. Gator Bowl
Jacksonville, FL

Duke Blue Devils vs. # 14 Mississippi Rebels

42. First Responder Bowl

Dallas, TX

North Texas Mean Green vs. Texas State Bobcats

43. Mayo Bowl

Charlotte, NC

Minnesota Twin Cities Golden Gophers vs. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Hokies

 

44. Bahamas Bowl

Nassau, The Bahamas

 

State University of New York at Buffalo Bulls vs. Liberty Flames

NFL Week 16 Games

 NOT PREDICTIONS

At long last, I am liberated to pick who I actually want to pick and not based on a pipedream of the Bears getting into the playoffs...

Overall Result: 110-113 (49%)

1. Broncos (9-5) at Chargers (8-6)

2. Texans (9-5) at Chiefs (13-1)

3. Steelers (10-4) at Ravens (9-5)

4. Giants (2-12) at Falcons (7-7)

5. Cardinals (7-7) at Panthers (3-11)

6. Lions (12-2) at Bears (4-10)

7. Titans (3-11) at Colts (6-8)

8. Rams (8-6) at Jets (4-10)

9. Eagles (12-2) at Commanders (9-5)

10. Browns (3-11) at Bengals (6-8)

11. Vikings (12-2) at Seahawks (8-6)

12. Patriots (3-11) at Bills (11-3)

13. Jaguars (3-11) at Raiders (2-12)

14. 49ers (6-8) at Dolphins (6-8)

15. Buccaneers (8-6) at Cowboys (6-8)

 

16. Saints (5-9) at Packers (10-4)

NFL Week 15 Results

 NOT PREDICTIONS

Ready for Baseball season

1. Rams (7-6) at 49ers (6-7) L 1

2. Cowboys (5-8) at Panthers (3-10) L 2

3. Chiefs (12-1) at Browns (3-10) W 1

4. Dolphins (6-7) at Texans (8-5) L 3

5. Jets (3-10) at Jaguars (3-10) L 4

6. Commanders (8-5) at Saints (5-8) L 5

7. Ravens (8-5) at Giants (2-11) W 2

8. Bengals (5-8) at Titans (3-10) W 3

9. Patriots (3-10) at Cardinals (6-7) L 6

10. Colts (6-7) at Broncos (8-5) W 4

11. Bills (10-3) at Lions (12-1) W 5

12. Buccaneers (7-6) at Chargers (8-5) L 7

13. Steelers (10-3) at Eagles 11-2) L 8

14. Packers (9-4) at Seahawks (8-5) (if the Bears would have been mathematically eliminated at the time of the other post, I would not have had to make this tragic choice) W 6

15. Bears (4-9) at Vikings (11-2) L 9

16. Falcons (6-7) at Raiders (2-11) L 10

Week 15 Results: 6-10 (38%)

Overall Results: 110-113 (49%)

2024-2025 College Football Bowl Games- Part 1

I do this every year, but the changed college football landscape complicates this post in some ways, There is now a 12 team playoff, instead of one just four teams. At this point, I think they might as well make it 16 teams.

The 12 teams though leaves too many possibilities as to the matchups later on in the playoffs, so I am just going to divide this list up on different posts. I will do the next one after the "first round" of the playoffs. These games will be listed in chronological order. Additionally, the first Bowl Game (I am only going to count the Division 1 Bowl Games, so apologies to the fine folks in the Celebration Bowl) is this Saturday, which is also the same day as the annual Army-Navy game. So, I might as well throw that one in too. After all, this game between future soldiers and sailors will get a lot more attention than the "Salute to Veterans Bowl" later that evening, which I assume will air after the Heisman Trophy is awarded. At least they do not have to worry about OJ Simpson trying to show up in New York this year.

These are not predictions, but the teams highlighted in bold will simply be the teams I "want" to win. Frankly, I really do not care all that much. I would rather get the chance to view competitive games on television that go down to the final play. I will maybe toss a coin on a few of these. I used to largely root for the schools from the Red States, but in this upside down world of politics, I may now be holding that against those schools in those states. (I still plan this month to write several paragraphs about November's election results and offer some thoughts on the status of politics moving into 2025. After that, I will itemize all my predictions for other races and explain why I got the few races wrong that I did.)

Anyways, I do want my alma mater Northern Illinois to be victorious on the blue turf at the Potato Bowl. Coach Thomas Hammock deserves to have a giant bucket of french fries dumped on him. He may even eat a few. It was an amazing moment early this season when the Huskies went into the Notre Dame Stadium and shocked the highly ranked Irish. That briefly got NIU into the AP Top 25, but alas, they lost some winnable conference games and had to settle for a postseason trip to Boise. That is better than nothing though! On the other hand, Notre Dame has not lost since and are in the playoffs. I do hope that the somewhat local Notre Dame team does take the championship because it will be fun to consider that Northern Illinois would be the only team to beat them during that season.

 

I am using the official CFP rankings for the Top 25 and not the "seeding."

1. Army-Navy Game

Landover, MD

United States Naval Academy Midshipmen vs.# 22 United States Military Academy at West Point Black Knights

2. Salute to Veterans Bowl

Montgomery, AL

South Alabama Jaguars vs. Western Michigan Broncos

3. Frisco Bowl

Frisco, TX

#25 Memphis Tigers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers

4. Boca Raton Bowl

Boca Raton, FL

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. James Madison Dukes

5. LA Bowl

Inglewood, CA

California, Berkeley Golden Bears vs. # 24 Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels

6. New Orleans Bowl

New Orleans, LA

Georgia Southern Eagles vs. Sam Houston State Bearkats

7. Cure Bowl

Orlando, FL

Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs. Ohio Bobcats

8. Gasparilla Bowl

Tampa, FL

Florida Gators vs. Tulane University of Louisiana Green Wave

9. First Round Game

Notre Dame, IN

# 8 Indiana Bloomington Hoosiers at # 5 Notre Dame du Lac Fighting Irish

10. First Round Game

University Park, PA

#10 Southern Methodist Mustangs at # 4 Pennsylvania State Nittany Lions

11. First Round Game

Austin, TX

# 16 Clemson Tigers at # 3 Texas at Austin Longhorns

12. First Round Game

Columbus, OH

# 7 Tennessee, Knoxville Volunteers vs # 6 Ohio State Buckeyes

13. Myrtle Beach Bowl

Conway, SC

Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners vs. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

14. Potato Bowl

Boise, ID

Northern Illinois Huskies vs. California State, Fresno Bulldogs

15. Hawai'i Bowl

Honolulu, HI

South Florida Bulls vs. San Jose State Spartans

 

16.  Sports Bowl

Detroit, MI

Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Toledo Rockets

17. Rate Bowl

Phoenix, AZ

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Scarlet Knights vs. Kansas State Wildcats

18. 68 Ventures Bowl,

Mobile, AL

Arkansas State Red Wolves vs. Bowling Green State Falcons

19. Armed Forces Bowl,
Fort Worth, TX

Oklahoma Sooners vs. United States Naval Academy Midshipmen

 

20.  Birmingham Bowl

Birmingham, AL

 

Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jackets vs. Vanderbilt Commodores

 

21.  Liberty Bowl

Memphis, TN

Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Arkansas Razorbacks

22. Holiday Bowl

San Diego, CA

Washington State Cougars vs. # 21 Syracuse Orange

23. Las Vegas Bowl
Paradise, NV

Southern California Trojans vs. Texas A&M Aggies

24. Fenway Bowl

Boston, MA

North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels vs. Connecticut Huskies

25. Pinstripe Bowl

New York, NY

Boston College Eagles vs. Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers

26. New Mexico Bowl

Albuquerque, NM

Texas Christian Horned Frogs vs. Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns

27. Pop-Tarts Bowl

Orlando, FL

#18 Iowa State University of Science and Technology Cyclones vs. # 13 Miami Hurricanes

28. Arizona Bowl

Tuscon, AZ

Miami RedHawks vs. Colorado State Rams

29. Military Bowl

Annapolis, MD

North Carolina State Wolfpack vs. East Carolina Pirates

30. Alamo Bowl

San Antonio, TX

# 17 Brigham Young Cougars vs. # 23 Colorado Boulder Buffaloes

31. Independence Bowl

Shreveport, LA

# 22 United States Military Academy at West Point Black Knights vs. Marshall Thundering Herd Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

32. Music City Bowl

Nashville, TN

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. # 19 Missouri Tigers

NFL Week 15 Games

 NOT PREDICTIONS

Overall Results: 104-103 (50%)

1. Rams (7-6) at 49ers (6-7)

2. Cowboys (5-8) at Panthers (3-10)

3. Chiefs (12-1) at Browns (3-10)

4. Dolphins (6-7) at Texans (8-5)

5. Jets (3-10) at Jaguars (3-10)

6. Commanders (8-5) at Saints (5-8)

7. Ravens (8-5) at Giants (2-11)

8. Bengals (5-8) at Titans (3-10)

9. Patriots (3-10) at Cardinals (6-7)

10. Colts (6-7) at Broncos (8-5)

11. Bills (10-3) at Lions (12-1)

12. Buccaneers (7-6) at Chargers (8-5)

13. Steelers (10-3) at Eagles 11-2)

14. Packers (9-4) at Seahawks (8-5) (if the Bears were not mathematically eliminated, I would not have to make this tragic choice)

15. Bears (4-9) at Vikings (11-2)

16. Falcons (6-7) at Raiders (2-11)

NFL Week 14 Results

NOT PREDICTIONS 

Week 14

1. Packers (9-3) at Lions (11-1) W 1

2. Jets (3-9) at Dolphins (5-7) W 2

3. Falcons (6-6) at Vikings (10-2) W 2

4. Saints (4-8) at Giants (2-10) L 1

5. Panthers (3-9) at Eagles (10-2) W 4

6. Browns (3-9) at Steelers (9-3)W 5

7. Raiders (2-10) at Buccaneers (6-6) L 2

8. Jaguars (2-10) at Titans (3-9) L 3

9. Seahawks (7-5) at Cardinals (6-6) L 4

10. Bills (10-2) at Rams (6-6) L 5

11. Bears (4-8) at 49ers (5-7) L 6

12. Chargers (8-4) at Chiefs (11-1) W 6

13. Bengals (4-8) at Cowboys (5-7) W 7

Week 14 Results: 7-6 (54%)

Overall Results: 104-103 (50%)

 

NFL Week 14 Games

 Overall Results: 97-97 (50%) 

 NOT PREDICTIONS 

Week 14

1. Packers (9-3) at Lions (11-1)

2. Jets (3-9) at Dolphins (5-7)

3. Falcons (6-6) at Vikings (10-2)

4. Saints (4-8) at Giants (2-10)

5. Panthers (3-9) at Eagles (10-2)

6. Browns (3-9) at Steelers (9-3)

7. Raiders (2-10) at Buccaneers (6-6)

8. Jaguars (2-10) at Titans (3-9)

9. Seahawks (7-5) at Cardinals (6-6)

10. Bills (10-2) at Rams (6-6)

11. Bears (4-8) at 49ers (5-7)

12. Chargers (8-4) at Chiefs (11-1)

13. Bengals (4-8) at Cowboys (5-7)

I now have to strategically support teams the Bears are no longer able to mathematically catch against teams that they still can. Once they are officially eliminated, I will not have to worry about any of that. At least I get to hope the Packers lose.

NFL Week 13 Results

 NOT PREDICTIONS

1. Bears (4-7) at Lions (10-1) L 1

2  Giants (2-9) at Cowboys (4-7) L 2

3. Dolphins (5-6) at Packers (8-3) L 3

4. Raiders (2-9) at Chiefs (10-1) W 1

5. Chargers (7-4) at Falcons (6-5) W 2

6. Steelers (8-3) at Bengals (4-7) L 4

7. Texans (7-5) at Jaguars (2-9) L 5

8. Cardinals (6-5) at Vikings (9-2) L 6

9. Colts (5-7) at Patriots (3-9) W 3

10. Seahawks (6-5) at Jets (3-8) L 7

11. Titans (3-8) at Commanders (7-5) L 8

12. Buccaneers (5-6) at Panthers (3-8) L 9

13. Rams (5-6) at Saints (4-7) L 10

14. Eagles (9-2) at Ravens (8-4) L 11

15. 49ers (5-6) at Bills (9-2) W 4

16. Browns (3-8) at Broncos (7-5) W 5

To offer some brief commentary: In many ways, October 13 feels like a decade ago. I wish I had a time machine. I woke up early that morning and watched the Bears easily defeat the Jaguars in London to move to 4-2. The talk at the time was whether the head coach of the Jags would have a job back in the United States after that game. Indeed, he still does, at least until the end of this season, and it is the Chicago Bears who have fired their Head Coach after a hard to believe six game losing streak. This might have been the worse "Brexit" ever.

Clearly, this was a move for the Bears that had to be made. The team has talent and promise and has been competing strongly in the last few weeks, but Matt Eberflus was in way over his head as the Head Coach and his horrible clock management and other aspects of in-game leadership has cost them a ton of games, both this year and over the last three seasons. To think, he and the organization looked so competent and together during HBO's "Hard Knocks" documentation of training camp. It reminds me of how Kamala Harris and the Democrats at time this summer and fall looked like they were poised for victory too.

The Bears will not have to wait four years though, just another season. Hopefully, they can find a way to entertain their fans and maybe win another game or two before the season ends and a new coach is brought in (or confirmed) and that Caleb Williams will continue to progress into what he is capable of being.

Week 13 Results: 5-11 (31%)

Overall Results: 97-97 (50%)

NFL Week 13 Games

 NOT PREDICTIONS

The Chicago Bears have put up competitive efforts the last two weeks but ultimately fell short against divisional rivals. Looking ahead to tomorrow's first Thanksgiving game, the Bears will either have a miraculous upset victory against the Lions that NFL pundits will chalk up to being a fluke, or they will absolutely be blown out. I fear it will probably be the latter.

Overall Results: 92-86 (52%)

1. Bears (4-7) at Lions (10-1)

2  Giants (2-9) at Cowboys (4-7)

3. Dolphins (5-6) at Packers (8-3)

4. Raiders (2-9) at Chiefs (10-1)

5. Chargers (7-4) at Falcons (6-5)

6. Steelers (8-3) at Bengals (4-7)

7. Texans (7-5) at Jaguars (2-9)

8. Cardinals (6-5) at Vikings (9-2)

9. Colts (5-7) at Patriots (3-9)

10. Seahawks (6-5) at Jets (3-8)

11. Titans (3-8) at Commanders (7-5)

12. Buccaneers (5-6) at Panthers (3-8)

13. Rams (5-6) at Saints (4-7)

14. Eagles (9-2) at Ravens (8-4)

15. 49ers (5-6) at Bills (9-2)

16. Browns (3-8) at Broncos (7-5)

NFL Week 12 Results

 NOT PREDICTIONS

The Bears continue to lose in heartbreaking ways, but at least they had a pretty miraculous comeback to send the gave to Overtime first. One just has to believe that even if this season is lost, next year will haev to be better..right?

1. Steelers (8-2) at Browns (2-8) L 1

2. Chiefs (9-1) at Panthers (3-7) W 1

3. Vikings (8-2) at Bears (4-6) L 2

4. Titans (2-8) at Texans (7-4) W 2

5. Lions (9-1) at Colts (5-6) L 3

6. Patriots (3-8) at Dolphins (4-6) W 3

7. Buccaneers (4-6) at Giants (2-8) L 4

8. Cowboys (3-7) at Commanders (7-4) W 4

9. Broncos (6-5) at Raiders (2-8) W 5

10. 49ers (5-5) at Packers (7-3) L 5

11. Cardinals (6-4) at Seahawks (5-5) W 6

12. Eagles (8-2) at Rams (5-5) L 6

13. Ravens (7-4) at Chargers (7-3) W 7

Week 12 Results: 7-6 (54%)

Overall Results: 92-86 (52%)

NFL Week 12

 NOT PREDICTIONS

Overall Results: 85-80 (52%) 

 

1. Steelers (8-2) at Browns (2-8)

2. Chiefs (9-1) at Panthers (3-7)

3. Vikings (8-2) at Bears (4-6)

4. Titans (2-8) at Texans (7-4)

5. Lions (9-1) at Colts (5-6)

6. Patriots (3-8) at Dolphins (4-6)

7. Buccaneers (4-6) at Giants (2-8)

8. Cowboys (3-7) at Commanders (7-4)

9. Broncos (6-5) at Raiders (2-8)

10. 49ers (5-5) at Packers (7-3)

11. Cardinals (6-4) at Seahawks (5-5)

12. Eagles (8-2) at Rams (5-5)

13. Ravens (7-4) at Chargers (7-3)

NFL Week 11 Results

These were not predictions because if they were, they would not have been very good. However, my 2024 race by race election predictions were really very good again. I will itemize them all, once all results are completely final. This will probably be posted in December or early January. I have a lot of thoughts on the Presidential race result and aftermath but am not going to force myself to write about those now.

I am however very disappointed that the Chicago Bears have lost as many games thus far as they have and probably will lose a bunch more with a very difficult schedule. A change in Head Coach will almost certainly be needed.

1. Commanders (7-3) at Eagles (7-2) L 1

2. Packers (6-3) at Bears (4-5) L 2

3. Jaguars (2-8) at Lions (8-1) L 3

4. Raiders (2-7) at Dolphins (3-6) W 1

5. Rams (4-5) at Patriots (3-7) L 4

6. Browns (2-7) at Saints (3-7) L 5

7. Ravens (7-3) at Steelers (7-2) W 2

8. Vikings (7-2) at Titans (2-7) L 6

9. Colts (4-6) at Jets (3-7) W 3

10. Falcons (6-4) at Broncos (5-5) W 4

11. Seahawks (4-5) at 49ers (5-4) W 5

12. Chiefs (9-0) at Bills (8-2) W 6

13. Bengals (4-6) at Chargers (6-3) L 7

 

14. Texans (6-4) at Cowboys (3-6) W 7

Week 11 Results: 7-7 (50%)

Overall Results: 85-80 (52%)

NFL Week 11 Games

 Do we have to?

NOT PREDICTIONS

Overall Results: 78-73 (52%)

 

1. Commanders (7-3) at Eagles (7-2)

2. Packers (6-3) at Bears (4-5)

3. Jaguars (2-8) at Lions (8-1)

4. Raiders (2-7) at Dolphins (3-6)

5. Rams (4-5) at Patriots (3-7)

6. Browns (2-7) at Saints (3-7)

7. Ravens (7-3) at Steelers (7-2)

8. Vikings (7-2) at Titans (2-7)

9. Colts (4-6) at Jets (3-7)

10. Falcons (6-4) at Broncos (5-5)

11. Seahawks (4-5) at 49ers (5-4)

12. Chiefs (9-0) at Bills (8-2)

13. Bengals (4-6) at Chargers (6-3)

 

14. Texans (6-4) at Cowboys (3-6)

 

 

NFL Week 10 Results

Why do I even bother? This NFL season has gone to hell pretty fast for me. Maybe there will be some latter season redemption for the Chicago Bears but they sure did not do much this week to make me feel better about life.

NOT PREDICTIONS

 

1. Bengals (4-5) at Ravens (6-3) L 1

2. Giants (2-7) vs. Panthers (2-7) in Munich, Germany W 1

3. Patriots (2-7) at Bears (4-4) L 2

4. Bills (7-2) at Colts (4-5) W 2

5. Vikings (6-2) at Jaguars (2-7) L 3

6. Broncos (5-4) at Chiefs (8-0) L 4

7. Falcons (6-3) at Saints (2-7) W 3

8. 49ers (4-4) at Buccaneers (4-5) L 5

9. Steelers (6-2) at Commanders (7-2) W 4

10. Titans (2-6) at Chargers (5-3) L 6

11. Jets (3-6) at Cardinals (5-4) L 7

12. Eagles (6-2) at Cowboys (3-5) L 8

13. Lions (7-1) at Texans (6-3) L 9

14. Dolphins (2-6) at Rams (4-4) W 5

Week 10 Results: 5-9 (36%)

Overall Results: 78-73 (52%)

Kari Lake Loses Again!

I will have a lot more to say about the political situation in America in the weeks ahead. I will also total up my race by race predictions once all results are final. Needless to say though, I did extremely well on those.

NFL Week 9 Results and Week 10 Games

 ELECTION DAY

Week 9

NOT PREDICTIONS

 

1. Texans (6-2) at Jets (2-6) L 1

 

 

 

2. Cowboys (3-4) at Falcons (5-3) L 2

3. Broncos (5-3) at Ravens (5-3) L 3

4. Dolphins (2-5) at Bills (6-2) W 1

5. Saints (2-6) at Panthers (1-7) W 2

6. Raiders (2-6) at Bengals (3-5) W 3

7. Chargers (4-3) at Browns (2-6) L 4

8. Commanders (6-2) at Giants (2-6) L 5

9. Patriots (2-6) at Titans (1-6) W 4

10. Bears (4-3) at Cardinals (4-4) L 6

11. Jaguars (2-6) at Eagles (5-2) L 7

12.  Lions (6-1) at Packers (6-2)  L 8

13.  Rams (3-4) at Seahawks (4-4) W 5

14. Colts (4-4) at Vikings (5-2) L 9

15. Buccaneers (4-4) at Chiefs (7-0) W 6

(Winning Score in Overtime by K.H.)

Week 9 Results: 6-9 (40%)

Overall Results: 73-64 (53%)

___________________________________________________________

Week 10

NOT PREDICTIONS

1. Bengals (4-5) at Ravens (6-3)

2. Giants (2-7) vs. Panthers (2-7) in Munich, Germany

3. Patriots (2-7) at Bears (4-4)

4. Bills (7-2) at Colts (4-5)

5. Vikings (6-2) at Jaguars (2-7)

6. Broncos (5-4) at Chiefs (8-0)

7. Falcons (6-3) at Saints (2-7)

8. 49ers (4-4) at Buccaneers (4-5)

9. Steelers (6-2) at Commanders (7-2)

10. Titans (2-6) at Chargers (5-3)

11. Jets (3-6) at Cardinals (5-4)

12. Eagles (6-2) at Cowboys (3-5)

13. Lions (7-1) at Texans (6-3)

14. Dolphins (2-6) at Rams (4-4)

Final Election 2024 Predictions

 1 Day Until Election Day

Perhaps I am being lazy, but I am just an amateur at this and am going to hold on what I have already posted. This Presidential race looks so close that I have continued to be mostly focused on the polls regarding that contest. The Gubernatorial races all seem status quo and I do not really feel like changing anything on my Senate picks. Once again though, I am being very stubborn in saying that Sherrod Brown holds on in Ohio. I think he may do so barely, and it could take weeks there until we know. If I am wrong about any Senate race, it is most likely to be Brown vs. Moreno in the Buckeye State.

I have not really bothered to try to research the House races I have called Tossups. Perhaps, I could have changed my Alaska prediction to favor a Republican pickup or found a couple additional Democrat pickups in California, but I am just going to roll with what I have and let the political chips fall where they may...

Presidency

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (D)- 276 Electoral Votes

Donald Trump and JD Vance (R)-  262 Electoral Votes

 

Governors

 

23 Democrats  (20 Holdover, 2 Likely, 1 Leans)

27 Republicans (19 Holdover, 2 Safe, 4 Likely, 1 Leans, 1 Tossup)

 

NO NET CHANGE

__________________________________________________________________

U.S. Senate

 

49 Democrats (28 Holdover, 10 Safe, 4 Likely, 3 Leans, 4 Tossup)

51 Republicans (38 Holdover, 7 Safe, 2 Likely, 3 Leans, 1 Tossup)

 

REPUBLICAN NET GAIN OF TWO SEATS

___________________________________________________________________

 

U.S. House

 

220 D (131 Safe, 44 Likely, 29 Leans, 16 Tossup)

215 R (121 Safe, 57 Likely, 22 Leans, 15 Tossup)

 

DEMOCRAT NET GAIN OF SIX SEATS

 __________________________________________________________________

 

Cumulative Result History:

2006: 482-22 (96%)
2008: 462-19 (96%)
2010: 482-27 (95%)
2012: 452-27 (94%)
2014: 494-13 (97%)
2016: 469-12 (98%) 

2018: 487-18 (96%)  

2020: 459-22 (95%) 

2022: 487-19 (96%)

 

 

White House Race- November 3, 2024

 2 Days Until Election Day

The Final Edition

We about there. Finally. The Campaign of 2024 has in many ways been predictable in many ways but also extremely historic in many regards with some wild twists and turns. It also appears, at least on the surface, to be the closest election in recent history. We all know that the 2000 and 2016 votes wound up being extremely close, but going into Election Day, there was a clear favorite, that did and did not win in the end, respectively. One might have to go back to 1976 or perhaps 1960 to have an outcome that will be considered this in doubt, with hours to go. I was not born yet.

In a few days, the final votes will be cast and by the time the sun comes up on Wednesday morning, we might have an idea if  things look promising for either Kamala Devi Harris (Emhoff) the 49th Vice President of the United States or Donald John Trump Sr., the 45th President of the United States. One of them will become the 47th President of the United States. I very much wish there was a better option. However, the future of America is connected to the worse man losing. Will that happen? We will know soon enough, but it may take weeks of recounts and lawsuits before we truly know. One way or another, Trump will declare victory on Tuesday night and will never concede defeat, if he is defeated. So much of this is on us as Americans. We will get the President we deserve but that at least half the country will not want. There are some anxious times ahead for America in the time before the final polls close and in the time that will come after. Someone will be sworn in on January 20th, 2025 and I still believe we will have a free and fair election four years from now.

So much has happened since I last wrote about this race eight days ago. I cannot possibly recap it all. In many ways, it is irrelevant. People have made up their minds about who Donald Trump is. Many will proudly vote for him. It is hard to believe that, but those people are our fellow Americans. Many will also reluctantly vote for him, if nothing else than to keep his opponent and her party out of office. Those who do not know at this point, will either vote for Harris or will vote for neither.

Will anything at this late date truly matter?

A raucous and offensive Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden where a campaign approved insult comic said all sorts of nasty things but received most notice for calling Puerto Rico an "island of garbage." The current President of the United States an elderly and gaffe prone man, speaking on a Zoom call, calling that comedian "garbage" but in such a mangled way to allow Republicans to insist he was labeling all Trump supporter with that insult. To me, it seems clear what Joe Biden was saying, but in politics "if you are explaining you are losing", and this was not what the Harris campaign wanted, especially as it got in the way of her big speech at the Ellipse, the sight of Donald Trump's call to his supporters to "fight like hell" moments before the January 6 riots. History will have much to say about President Biden and his role in this campaign, and how he affected the final outcome,but clearly for those who want to keep Trump from winning, he should stay away from cameras or microphones. At a Halloween event, the President also playfully "bit" several costumed babies. Why should Commander and Major have gotten all the Administration Biting fun?

While many people, especially Latinos might have been genuinely offended by Tony Hichcliffe's style of roast comedy, the Trump campaign probably only appealed to their "very online" base by screaming bloody murder about the Biden comments. Trump showed up at a rally on a garbage trunk, after struggling to open its door, and then gave a speech wearing an orange vest. He looked like the Crossing Guard from the Village People and and got to dance to his favorite YMCA song in that Halloween costume. Later on in the week, Trump seemed to manifest some other latent desires at a microphone. Trump supporters have taken to wearing garbage bags the last few days. I do not think any swing voter will really care.

Trump said a lot of weird and frankly horrible things at his rallies this week. It seems like the pressure of the closing days of this campaign might be getting to him. Will it sway any voters? I think if someone is genuinely torn whether to stay at home or vote against him, it might. He said he would "protect women" if they "liked it or not."  Quite a thing for an adjudicated sexual assaulter to say. He despicably and (quite illogically) called Republican stalwart turned Harris supporter Liz Cheney a "radical warhawk" and spoke of an ugly scenario in which nine rifles were trained at her face. The bone spur deferment recipient said he was only saying she would not support Americans in combat if she also had to face combat, as if 58 year old women are placed in combat. The way he talked about it though sounded far more like an execution scenario. Considering the violent climate we live in, one would have hoped that Trump,who has been shot at himself, would not have said something so horrible. He is every bit that horrible of a person though. Today, he seemed to suggest he would be ok if a would be assailant shot the members of the media at his rally. As for the Cheney remark, it really is ridiculous. For one thing, she is not her father Dick Cheney, and Dick Cheney, as Vice President, was not President George W. Bush,whom despite his critics, worked every day to keep Americans safe, especially after we were attacked by terrorists on 9/11/01. What Trump said has been said before, but always by the radical left-wing fringe of Democrats. How can Republicans defend him? Nearly every Republican on Capitol Hill disagrees with Trump on foreign policy, and would side with their ex-colleague Liz Cheney, but yet they are forced to defend him. Also, nobody has advocated more bombings of more countries, including military action in Mexico, than Trump. Liz Cheney has nothing on Trump as a "warmonger" but Reagan conservatives should take a very hard look at how Trump approaches national security matters and the United States Armed Forces.

Both sides have been and are continuing to push anything they can, perhaps even to distorted lengths, to get their base riled up at the other side, and their allies in the media, on both sides, are going along with it. One way or another, a whole lot of Americans are going to be shocked, dismayed, and disillusioned by the results of this election. I can take some solace, though it is one I probably should not, in the fact that the some deserving people are going to be very upset emotionally in the near future.

There was so much more this week, but I cannot get into it all. Who will turn out to vote? That is what we are waiting to find out. Will Trump succeed in turning out low propensity young males who love his professional wrestling persona and get their news on podcasts? Or will the Call of Duty bros stay home on Tuesday to play video games instead? Will Harris succeed in getting a lot of older independent women to vote for her because they are either upset over the abortion issue or just genuinely sick and tired of Trump? Are there a lot of Republicans who were Nikki Haley voters or who did not even bother to vote in the primaries this year, who also just want to be rid of Trump? It is very noteworthy that Trump never had Nikki Haley do anything for him in this general election, besides her convention speech. She has said she has been "on standby" but has not spoken to Trump since June. This could wind up being a huge source of regret for MAGA just like picking Tim Walz for Vice President instead of Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania could potentially wind up being a huge bit of regret for Democrats. If either of these things come to pass, Haley and Shapiro may move quickly to gain political advantage with an eye on 2028.

The polls still look very close, both nationally and in the swing states. All of the swing states. Yesterday, the highly anticipated Des Moines Register poll for Iowa was released, conducted by a highly respected professional Ann Selzer, who has a reputation of nearly always calling Iowa races on the money. Everyone was expecting Trump to be ahead in this Iowa poll, as was considered a very red state, but that the margin might reflect the national trend, or especially the status in battleground neighbors Michigan and Wisconsin. Lo and behold, the Selzer poll showed Harris up by 4 points in Iowa. Nobody at all was expecting that. The Trump crowd of course dismissed the results, and indeed I will be very surprised if Harris actually wins Iowa, but could this poll be on to a phenomenon in Iowa and other parts of the Midwest where women are moving towards Democrats in unanticipated numbers? These results definitely shook up the online political betting sights, which MAGA had been so fond of pointing to, as proof that Trump was headed to a big win.

One big question I have is how the national polls can be so close, yet Harris is also close or perhaps narrowly ahead in the swing states? Based on the last two cycles, the conventional wisdom has been that Democrats have an advantage in the national popular vote that might not automatically transfer to the Electoral College. I have definitely believed that myself. Others are speculating that our politics nationally have become so polarized that Trump might be gaining ground in high population states he will lose like California and New York as well as ones he is expected to win like Florida and Texas, and yet the seven battleground states will be relatively unaffected and will just vote more similarly to the national total. There are so many unanswered questions on this Sunday night especially as it relates to polling and all the tea leaves regarding the early votes that have already been cast. Also, what about the fact that Jill Stein and Cornel West are on some state ballots and might hurt the Democrat, despite her being female and black, and the fact that Trump endorser and potential "Health Czar" Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remains on the ballot in some places including Michigan, and might hurt the person who tells America he will listen to on vaccines and fluoride?

Of course I must now make my Electoral College predictions. As a matter of blog history, the first one I covered on here was in 2008 when unfortunately I correctly predicted the winner. Four years later, I went with my heart over my head perhaps and was wrong. In 2016, I also was wrong, as was nearly everyone else. In 2020, I got it right and was happy to see America fire Donald Trump.

I will start with the contests that I consider "Safe."

AL-Trump

AR- Trump

CA- Harris

CT- Harris

DE- Harris

DC- Harris

HI- Harris

ID- Trump

IL- Harris

KY- Trump

LA- Trump

ME CD 1- Harris

MD- Harris

MA- Harris

MS- Trump

MO- Trump

MT- Trump

NE CD 3- Trump

NJ- Harris

NY- Harris

ND- Trump

OK- Trump

OR- Harris

RI- Harris

SC- Trump

SD- Trump

TN- Trump

UT- Trump

VT- Harris

WA- Harris

WV- Trump

WY- Trump

 

Total thus far for "Safe"- 181 D, 102 R

 

Likely:

 

AK- Trump

CO- Harris

IN- Trump

KS- Trump

ME statewide- Harris

NE statewide- Trump

NE CD 1- Trump

NM- Harris

 

198 D, 125 R

Leans: 

 

FL- Trump

IA- Trump

ME CD 2- Trump

MN- Harris

NE CD 2- Harris

NH- Harris

OH- Trump

TX- Trump

VA- Harris

 

226 D, 219 R

 

Finally, we get to the Tossups:

 

As I talked about last week, if the polling is off just a little, do not be surprised to see one candidate win all seven or perhaps six of these states. For now though, I see a more even distribution. Frankly, it makes things more 'fun" when we have to rely on polling data.

 

AZ- Trump

GA- Trump

MI- Harris 

NV- Harris

NC- Trump

PA- Harris

WI- Harris

Prediction:

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (D)- 276 Electoral Votes

Donald Trump and JD Vance (R)-  262 Electoral Votes

I hope I am right, but there is nothing more I can do. This is mostly on Democrats to bring this victory home for their ticket. I did my part, even as I recognize the danger of the policies that might result.

 

In the words of Alexander Hamilton, and famously quoted by Ronald Reagan:

"A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one."

 

So much is on the line for the United States of America and the whole world. We cannot allow Donald J. Trump or any wannabe despot that follows to bring us disgrace and so help us G-d, he will never be the Master of this nation or its people.