10 Bold Predictions (espn)

[Olympic Fan]

Today on ESPN, the lead story on the front page is Myron Medcalf makes "10 Bold Predictions" for the Sweet 16, starting with No. 1 Utah to upset Duke. He also picks UNC to lose by double digits and Louisville to stifle NC State.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/105883/10-bold-predictions-for-the-sweet-16-utah-upsets-duke

The web site proudly proclaims that his predictions "aren't going to go down well on Tobacco Road."

Well, I'm on Tobacco Road and I'm jumping for joy? Why? Because this is the second year in a row that Metcalf has written this article. And a year ago, he went 0-for-10! That's right 0-for-10.

http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/espns-myron-medcalf-010-sweet-16-predictions

It's going to be fun to track Medcalf's latest predictions. He's got to do better than last year, right?

[JasonEvans]

It's going to be fun to track Medcalf's latest predictions. He's got to do better than last year, right?

He can't do worse ;)

[FerryFor50]

He can't do worse ;)

Nowhere to go but up!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I know one prediction he'll have wrong! LGD GTHc

[OldPhiKap]

At the risk of asking an impertinent question -- who the hell is Myron Medcalf?

[devildeac]

At the risk of asking an impertinent question -- who the hell is Myron Medcalf?

Or, who the hell cares:rolleyes:?

[Duvall]

Of course none of these predictions is all that bold - picking a team favored by 5 to lose a close game or win by 10 or more may not be safe, but it's far from unlikely.

[ChicagoCrazy84]

He's from Minnesota. He covered Minnesota basketball a few years back for the Minneapolis Star I believe.

I wonder if they'll discontinue this column next year if he goes 0-20. I for one will be keeping score on how he does. :D

[juise]

I'd be OK if he went 1 for 10 with the one correct prediction being borderline incorrect (UNC loses by 99 :)).

[Billy Dat]

At the risk of asking an impertinent question -- who the hell is Myron Medcalf?

Regardless of what he says or does not say about Duke, Medcalf has grown on me. I am kind of indifferent to his writing, but his twitter presence during game play is pretty funny. At first, I thought he was ridiculous, almost like Stu Scott (RIP) with really corny street-style musings laundered for a more mainstream audience. Medcalf does the same kind of stuff, but his is more tongue in cheek, he knows he is being ridiculous...at least I think he does. I went from being really annoyed by him to him making me laugh quite a bit.

For example:

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 22
Kevin Pangos probably listens to Ghostface Killah tracks before every game.

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 22
Iowa band jamming right now, playing Earth, Wind & Fire's "September." ... Ya'll don't know nothin' bout no Earth, Wind & Fire.

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 22
Izzo probably wears nothing but silk when he's not coaching.

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 21
That's somebody's child, Willie Cauley-Stein!

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 20
Dexter Werner don't care.

[CameronBlue]

Regardless of what he says or does not say about Duke, Medcalf has grown on me. I am kind of indifferent to his writing, but his twitter presence during game play is pretty funny. At first, I thought he was ridiculous, almost like Stu Scott (RIP) with really corny street-style musings laundered for a more mainstream audience. Medcalf does the same kind of stuff, but his is more tongue in cheek, he knows he is being ridiculous...at least I think he does. I went from being really annoyed by him to him making me laugh quite a bit.

For example:

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 22
Kevin Pangos probably listens to Ghostface Killah tracks before every game.

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 22
Iowa band jamming right now, playing Earth, Wind & Fire's "September." ... Ya'll don't know nothin' bout no Earth, Wind & Fire.

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 22
Izzo probably wears nothing but silk when he's not coaching.

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 21
That's somebody's child, Willie Cauley-Stein!

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 20
Dexter Werner don't care.

Twitter's a great marketing tool for the mediocre seeking relevance.

[OldPhiKap]

Twitter's a great marketing tool for the mediocre seeking relevance.

Hey, man. 61,821,087 Justin Bieber followers can't be wrong.

[weezie]

Myron Medcalf @MedcalfByESPN · Mar 22
Kevin Pangos probably listens to Ghostface Killah tracks before every game.


Is Monsieur Killah still relevant? Post Wu-Tang, i.e..

[Duvall]

Two games in, looks like 0-for-2 so far.

[Olympic Fan]

Got to give Medcalf credit -- after two years, he finally got one prediction right ... No. 5 -- Kentucky to win by at least 15.

But after the first night of the regional semifinals, he's 1-3 -- he missed badly on No. 2 (double-digit loss by UNC ... in fact they never trailed by double digits in the entire game); No. 7 (Notre Dame-Wichita State decided by a buzzer beater ... in fact, Notre Dame dominated and won by double digits); and No. 8 (Hollis Jefferson to have 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks ... he had five points and 2 rebounds and 1 assist).

Not going to dock him yet from the prediction that B. Koening is going to spark Wisconsin to the Final Four, even though Koenig was a minor factor in tonight's win (he fouled out with nine points on 2-of-9 shooting). He could still play a big role if Wisconsin beats Arizona Saturday. But I wouldn't count on it.

[77devil]

Got to give Medcalf credit -- after two years, he finally got one prediction right ... No. 5 -- Kentucky to win by at least 15.

But after the first night of the regional semifinals, he's 1-3.

It's debatable that KY winning by at least 15 is a bold prediction. How about 1-3 with an asterisk?

Go Duke.

[Saratoga2]

At the risk of asking an impertinent question -- who the hell is Myron Medcalf?

Is he Dickie V's lackey?

[JasonEvans]

It's debatable that KY winning by at least 15 is a bold prediction. How about 1-3 with an asterisk?

Kentucky was a 14 point favorite and he says "win by 15" is a "bold prediction?" Essentially, his "bold prediction" was "Kentucky will cover the spread."

Wow... impressive!

-Jason "yawn" Evans

[captmojo]

I'll say the Kentucky/Notre Dame contest will be decided in overtime.

That's bolder than predicting a winner!

[FerryFor50]

Yea, but could he have predicted Kennedy Meeks would have had such a quick recovery from his life threatening knee injury? He didn't just play, he STARTED! And was healthy enough to commit 4 fouls!

[Olympic Fan]

It's probably wrong of me to take such delight in Medcalf's stupidity, but here's the update after Friday night.

He's now 1-6 on his 2015 "10 Bold Predictions" -- tonight he missed on No. 1 (Utah will beat Duke); No. 3 (Gonzaga to beat UCLA by at least 20 ... the won by 12); and No. 6 (Louisville to hold NC State to 35 percent shooting ... he didn't miss this one by a lot, but State was over 38 percent).

So far, the only prediction he's gotten right was not so bold -- he picked 14-point favorite Kentucky to beat West Virginia by at least 15.

He still has a chance to win two or three more:

-- Michigan State to reach the Final Four (they have to beat Louisville Sunday)
-- Koening to lead Wisconsin to the Final Four (they have to beat Arizona Saturday, plus Koening, who was terrible Thursday night, has to turn his game around).


I need a ruling on the last one: He predicted that Sabonis would emerge as a star as Gonzaga beats Utah to earn a Final Four berth.

Is that a definite miss since Gonzaga won't be playing Utah to get to the Final Four? Or would you give him half credit if Sabonis stars against Duke to give the Zags their first Final Four berth?

Either way, his record is not looking so good ... but it is better than his Sweet 16 predictions a year ago, when he was 0-for-10.

[Troublemaker]

Is that a definite miss since Gonzaga won't be playing Utah to get to the Final Four? Or would you give him half credit if Sabonis stars against Duke to give the Zags their first Final Four berth?

I would give him full credit if Sabonis stars against Duke. Otherwise, we're punishing him twice for the Utah prediction.

Thanks for tracking this, btw. I hope this guy goes 1*-9.

* not bold

[Wander]

It's probably wrong of me to take such delight in Medcalf's stupidity, but here's the update after Friday night.

He's now 1-6 on his 2015 "10 Bold Predictions" -- tonight he missed on No. 1 (Utah will beat Duke); No. 3 (Gonzaga to beat UCLA by at least 20 ... the won by 12); and No. 6 (Louisville to hold NC State to 35 percent shooting ... he didn't miss this one by a lot, but State was over 38 percent).

So far, the only prediction he's gotten right was not so bold -- he picked 14-point favorite Kentucky to beat West Virginia by at least 15.

He still has a chance to win two or three more:

-- Michigan State to reach the Final Four (they have to beat Louisville Sunday)
-- Koening to lead Wisconsin to the Final Four (they have to beat Arizona Saturday, plus Koening, who was terrible Thursday night, has to turn his game around).


I need a ruling on the last one: He predicted that Sabonis would emerge as a star as Gonzaga beats Utah to earn a Final Four berth.

Is that a definite miss since Gonzaga won't be playing Utah to get to the Final Four? Or would you give him half credit if Sabonis stars against Duke to give the Zags their first Final Four berth?

Either way, his record is not looking so good ... but it is better than his Sweet 16 predictions a year ago, when he was 0-for-10.

Honestly, I think you're being kind by even giving him the one. The spirit of his prediction was that West Virginia would put up a good fight, but Kentucky would win by a decent-but-not-blowout margin. He said "And yes, West Virginia will pressure Kentucky and force a dozen turnovers, maybe more." Well, Kentucky only had 10 turnovers. He seems to be saying that Kentucky will win by about 15, not at least 15. And of course, they won by a million. I'd give him half-credit at best, and be comfortable with no credit.

[captmojo]

I'll say the Kentucky/Notre Dame contest will be decided in overtime.

Close. Almost. Nearly. Dadgummit! :D

[Olympic Fan]

Just an update ... going into Sunday's games, Medcalf is now 1-7 on his 10 Bold Predictions

Got to count No. 9 as a loss. Yes, Wisconsin did reach the Final Four (like picking the No. 1 seed to win a regional was a big surprise), but his prediction was the Bronson Koening would spark them there. If he had said, Sam Dekker, I'd give him fill credit. But Koening was a nonentity in Los Angeles. He was terrible against UNC and did little (six points, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls) in the win over Arizona.

Still got two chances:

-- He picked Michigan State to the Final Four -- with no qualifiers. If they beat Louisville today, he gets his second win.

-- I'm also leaning towards giving him a win if Sabonis emerges as a major star in a win over Duke ... even though he said it would be over Utah.

[devildeac]

Just an update ... going into Sunday's games, Medcalf is now 1-7 on his 10 Bold Predictions

Got to count No. 9 as a loss. Yes, Wisconsin did reach the Final Four (like picking the No. 1 seed to win a regional was a big surprise), but his prediction was the Bronson Koening would spark them there. If he had said, Sam Dekker, I'd give him fill credit. But Koening was a nonentity in Los Angeles. He was terrible against UNC and did little (six points, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls) in the win over Arizona.

Still got two chances:

-- He picked Michigan State to the Final Four -- with no qualifiers. If they beat Louisville today, he gets his second win.

-- I'm also leaning towards giving him a win if Sabonis emerges as a major star in a win over Duke ... even though he said it would be over Utah.

At least he's getting better. :rolleyes:

[FerryFor50]

Just an update ... going into Sunday's games, Medcalf is now 1-7 on his 10 Bold Predictions

Got to count No. 9 as a loss. Yes, Wisconsin did reach the Final Four (like picking the No. 1 seed to win a regional was a big surprise), but his prediction was the Bronson Koening would spark them there. If he had said, Sam Dekker, I'd give him fill credit. But Koening was a nonentity in Los Angeles. He was terrible against UNC and did little (six points, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls) in the win over Arizona.

Still got two chances:

-- He picked Michigan State to the Final Four -- with no qualifiers. If they beat Louisville today, he gets his second win.

-- I'm also leaning towards giving him a win if Sabonis emerges as a major star in a win over Duke ... even though he said it would be over Utah.

Well, the MSU prediction is a win.

But the Sabonis one I'd call a loss. He was good for them, but Wiltjer was their best player yesterday.

So, 2-8!