JoE'S PrEdiCt  EVeRYtHing PooL
Fill out the form before 2/1/08.  You are predicting things that will happen between February 2008 and the end of the year.
Section 1: Money 
Items of financial interest 

Euro

1 Euro will = [x] US Dollars at year's end.  5 pts for closest guess.  Currently 1.47.

British Pound 

1 Pound will = [x] US Dollars at year's end.  5 pts for closest guess. Currently 1.96.

Canadian Dollar

Which country's currency will be worth more at year's end?  Currently US Dollar is ahead of Canadian Dollar 1.01023 to 1.  1 pt.

US CAN

DOW

 Closest guess for 2008 final DOW gets 5 pts.  Dow closed 2007 at 13264.82.

Oil

Closest guess for 2008 final oil gets 5 pts.  The price of a barrel of oil at the end of 2007 was $95.98.

Interest 

What will the Fed do with interest rates in 2007? 2 pts. The Fed funds rate ended 2007 at 4.25 percent.

NASDAQ 

Closest guess for 2008 final NASDAQ gets 5 pts. Final NASDAQ in 2007 was 2652.28.

Stock

Pick a stock which will increase in value for 1 pt.  The stock with the greatest % increase gets 5 bonus pts.

Gas

Gas prices will go over $3.70 in Lansing.  1 pt.

True False

Airline Merger

A major U.S. airline will buy another in 2008.  1 pt.

True False

Satellite Radio

Sirius and XM will be allowed to merge.  T=1 pt, F=2 pts.

True False

Facebook

Facebook sold.  T=2 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

Recession

The U.S. Economy will go into recession during 2008  (2 consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth). 1 pt.

True False

 

Section 2: Violence
War, terrorism, crime, natural disasters 

Terror Target

Next terror attack: USA or European Union?  1 pt

USA EU

Destroyed Landmark

 A landmark or building in USA be destroyed via terrorism, accident, or natural disaster.  T=2 pt, F=1 pt

True False

Iran

Israel, US or Britain will attack Iran. T=5 pt, F=1 pt.

True False

Iraq 100K

There will be fewer than 100,000 US troops in Iraq at any point.  1 pt.

True False

Iraq Casualties

Number of US military Iraq war casualties at end of year.  5 pts for closest guess. 2007 closed at 3904. 

School Shooting

Loner attacks classmates with shooting spree in American school. Several killed.  1 pt.

True False

Hijack

An airplane will be hijacked somewhere in the world.  T=2 pt, F=1 pt

True False

OJ

OJ Simpson found guilty of armed robbery and sentenced to a jail term.  1 pt.

True False

Mascot

A sports mascot will commit a crime. T=2 pt, F=1 pt

True False

Bin Laden

Will anyone catch Bin Laden? T=3 pt, F=1 pt.

True False

Rapper Shot

Some rapper will get shot.  1 pt.

True False

Olympic Security

It's easy to guarantee safety and hospitality in a police state... isn't it? China will have no security incidents during the Olympics.  T=1 pt, F=2 pts.

True False

Russian Attack

Russia invades Georgia.  T=3 pts, F=1 pt.
Unresolved conflict between Georgia and its breakaway regions of South Ossetia and the Black Sea region of Abkhazia lie at the heart of the current high-temperature dispute between Tbilisi and Moscow.  

True False

Paris Riots

There will be riots in Paris for some reason. T=2 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

Hurricane

Which hurricane will be the most troublesome: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gustav, Hanna, Ike, Josephine, Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paloma, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky, or Wilfred?  5 pts

 

Section 3a: Sports - Football

Iron Bowl

College football - Nov. 29, 2008: Auburn vs. Alabama (at Tuscaloosa)  1 pt.

AL AUB

Rose Bowl Preview

College football - Sep. 13, 2008: Ohio State at USC  1 pt.

OSU USC

Oklahoma

Oklahoma repeats as the Big 12 football champion.  1 pt.

True False

Missouri and Kansas

Missouri and Kansas each win at least eight football games.  1 pt.

True False

SEC

A SEC team will make the BCS Championship game.  1 pt.

True False

NFL Draft

NFL draft - More offense than defense will be selected in the 1st Round.  1 pt.

True False

Dorsey

The Miami Dolphins keep the first pick and take Glenn Dorsey of LSU.  1 pt.

True False

Favre

Brett Favre announces he'll retire. 1 pt.

True False

Super Bowl

The AFC wins Super Bowl XLII by over 7 pts. 1 pt.

True False

 

Section 3b: Sports - Baseball

Little League

USA team wins Little League World Series.  T=2 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

AL East

AL East winner: Yankees or Red Sox =1 pt, any other=15 pts.

NY/BOS Other

World Series

Name the World Series winning team.  Enter a baseball team name in the blank.
BOS/NYY/NYM=2 pt, other=5 pts.

HR Derby

Who will win the HR Derby this year?  7 pts.

30

A 30-game hit streak occurs this season. 1 pt.

True False

MLB Juicer League

Next MLB player busted for performance enhancing drugs will be from the _____. AL=1 pt, NL=1.5 pt.

AL NL

MLB Juicer Position

Next MLB player busted for performance enhancing drugs will be a ______.  1 pt.

American League Central

Who will finish third in the American League Central behind Detroit and Cleveland? CHI or MIN=1 pt, KC=7 pts.

Mets

The Mets will win the NL East Division. 1 pt.

True False

AL playoffs

All of these teams make AL playoffs: Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Angels. 1 pt.

True False

NL playoffs

All of these teams make NL playoffs: Cubs, Dodgers, Mets.  1 pt.

True False

Spring Santana

Spring training ends. Johan Santana is still a member of the Twins.  T=1 pt, F=3 pt.

True False

Summer Santana

The trade deadline passes. Johan Santana is still a member of the Twins.  1 pt.

True False

Bush's 1st  Pitch

George W. Bush throws out the first pitch at the Nationals' new ballpark.  He gets at least as many boos as cheers. T=2 pt, F=1 pt

True False

Battle of the Joes

More wins in 2008: Joe Girardi or Joe Torre?  1 pt.

Girardi Torre

Bonds

Will Barry Bonds be back at any point in 2008?  T=2 pt, F=1 pt

True False

 

Section 3c: Sports - Basketball

Oden 

How many pts does Greg Oden score in his 1st NBA game?  5 pts for closest.

Celtics

The Boston Celtics win the Eastern Conference title. 1 pt

True False

Suns

The Phoenix Suns have the best record in the Western Conference.  1 pt

True False

Cavs and Mavs

NBA: The Cavs and Mavs combine for at least 105 Wins. 1 pt

True False

Isiah

Isiah Thomas is fired.  1 pt

True False

Memphis

Memphis gets a #1 seed to March Madness.  T=1 pt, F=2 pts.

True False

North Carolina

North Carolina gets a #1 seed to March Madness.  T=1 pt, F=3 pts.

True False

UCLA

UCLA gets a #1 seed to March Madness.  1 pt

True False

Connecticut

Women's NCAA basketball champs: Connecticut vs. the field.  1 pt

Conn. Field

 

Section 3d: Misc. Sports

NASCAR

Who will win the Nextel Cup?  Named racer = 3 pts.  The field=1 pt.

Olympic Medals

Host China will win the most medals in the Olympics for the first time in history. T=3 pt, F=1 pt

True False

Olympic Golds

Handicap who gets more golds at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Bejing: USA or China?  US=1 pt, China=3 pts.
Past results of US vs China: 2000: US 38-28; 2004: US 36-32. 

US China

 

Section 4: Political

Super Repub Tuesday

Who wins the most Super Tuesday primaries for the Republicans?  2 pts.

Super Repub Quitday

At least one of the major Republican candidates (Rudy, Mitt, Huck, McCain) quits right after Super Tuesday. 1 pt.

True False

Super Both Quitday

How many candidates (both parties) quit right after Super Tuesday results come in?  5 pts.

Dem Standings

Predict the exact 1-2-3 order of the Democratic candidates by total delegates after Super Tuesday.  Just for fun I have reclassified their names as emotions.  Will the Democratic mood trend towards Anger (Edwards), Romanticism (Obama), or Desperation (Clinton)?  2 pts.

Cheney 

Dick Cheney will be hospitalized.  1 pt.

True False

Supreme Court

There will be a new Supreme Court Justice. T=2 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

Assassin

An assassination attempt will be made on a high-ranking member of the US government. T=7 pt, F=1 pt

True False

Time Person

Time Person of the Year will be some politician.  T=1 pt, F=2 pts.

True False

Prince William

Prince William of Great Britain gets engaged.  1 pt.

True False

Memoirs

An ex-Bushie will publish his memoirs and reveal something Bush didn't want us to know. 1 pt.

True False

Zapatero

Spain will hold a general election on March 9, 2008.  Socialist Jose Zapatero will return as PM.  1 pt.

True False

Impeach

President Bush will not be impeached by the House of Representatives, nor will any administration official be tried for war crimes.  T=1 pt, F=10 pts.

True False

Bloomberg Runs

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will enter the Presidential race after it becomes clear which nominees will get the nod from the major parties.  T=1 pt, F=2 pts.

True False

Bloomberg Splits Vote

If Bloomberg runs, he and the loser will split more than 50% of the votes.  1 pt.

True False

Flip Blue

Name one red state that will swing to blue (or write none if you don't think it will happen).  2 pts.

Also-Rans

Name one also-ran candidate who either will not quit, or if they all quit, name who will be the last to quit.  2 pts.

Democratic VP

Who will be the Democratic VP?  5 pts.

Republican VP

Who will be the Republican VP?  5 pts.

VP Was Running

The VP of both parties be someone who was running for President in 2008.  1 pt.

True False

Republican Convention Speakers

These people will all speak at the Republican convention:
Jeb Bush, Nancy Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Elizabeth Dole.  1 pt.

True False

Democratic Convention Speakers

These people will all speak at the Democratic convention:
Ted Kennedy, Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, and Al Sharpton.  1 pt.

True False

Republican Convention Band

Name a musical act who will play at the Republican convention.  2 pts.

Democratic Convention Band

Name a musical act who will play at the Democratic convention.  2 pts.

Presidential Campaign Cost

2008 US Presidential campaign costs exceed $1billion.
The 2004 election cost $494 million, but this one looks set to cost a lot more.  1 pt.

True False

Gay Bills 1

Sixteen states have gay-bashing bills of some sort being drafted or discussed for the November ballot (no gay adoptions, marriage is btwn a man and a woman, etc.): Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia.   Will the gays prevail in any state?  T=5 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

Gay Bills 2

What state of the 16 will be the most pro-gay (by % of vote in their favor)?  5 pts.

Gay Bills 3

What state of the 16 will be the most anti-gay (by % of vote against them)?  5 pts.

 

Section 5: Entertainment
TV, movies, music 

Fans Write Episode

Some network will ask the general population to submit their own written episodes of a popular show to network producers.  T=7 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

Writers Strike Ends

When will the writers strike end?  5 pts for closest.

Idol

Will the 2008 American Idol be male or female? 1 pt.

M F

Couric

Katie Couric will keep the CBS News anchor chair.  T=1 pt, F=2 pts.

True False

Sequel

The #1 movie for 2008 will be a sequel. 1 pt.

True False

Oscar

At the 80th Academy Awards, No Country For Old Men wins Best Picture.  T=2 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

DreamWorks

The DreamWorks-Paramount marriage isn't working out. The question is, whose warm embrace will Steven Spielberg and David Geffen accept when Spielberg's contract with Paramount expires in October?  1 pt.

Hannah Montana

The Hannah Montana 3-D movie opens at No. 1.  T=1 pt, F=3 pts.
The limited number of digital 3-D-ready auditoriums is a challenge for "Hannah," but Disney expects more than 600 screens to play the 3-D release domestically, enough to parlay a stratospheric per-screen average into a win on the traditionally soft Super Bowl weekend.

True False

Weekend of August 8

Aug. 8: The talking Chihuahuas of Disney's South of the Border go up against Universal's sequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.  1  pt.

Disney Mummy

Weekend after July 4

Columbia's Will Smith movie Hancock opens unopposed July 2. The following weekend, though, has New Line's Journey 3-D with Brendan Fraser, DreamWorks' Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller and Universal's sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army with Ron Perlman.  Which one is on top after the 7/11 weekend?

J-Lo's twins

Is J-Lo having twins? She is buying two of everything. 1 pt.

True False

J-Lo's baby pics

What gossip rag or web site will get the first pics of J-Lo's baby?  5 pts for closest guess.

Kidman

Nicole Kidman's baby: boy or girl? 1 pt.

Boy  Girl

Aniston

Jennifer Aniston will start publicly dating somebody.  1 pt.

True False

Britney

What is the craziest thing Britney will do this year? Commish will determine the difficulty of your prediction and score accordingly. Up to 20 points possible.

NBC Cable News

NBC will pull the plug on one of its cable news ventures (CNBC, MSNBC). T=5 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre won't release proposed Detox album.  T=2 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses won't release proposed Chinese Democracy album.  T=2 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

iTunes NBCU

Will NBC-Universal shows return to iTunes? A pricing dispute caused the conglomerate to yank its content in December. T=2 pts, F=1 pt.

True False

iTunes Beatles

The Beatles join iTunes.  1 pt.

True False

 

Section 6: Weather

Snow

First day of snow in Lansing.  5 pts to closest guess.

Warm

2008 will be one of the top seven warmest years recorded since 1880. 1 pt.

True False

 

Your Name:
E-mail:
Your e-mail is requested so that you can be sent an updated tally sheet a few times throughout the season.  You will not be spammed.  

 

Notes:
After each question is the number of points it is worth.  Some questions are weighted depending on your answers, with more likely answers worth less points.  A wrong answer is always worth zero, so answer as many as you can handle.
No entrance fee, no prizes.  For JCFFL'ers, this counts as an event in the Couch Potato Olympics.
 Thanks, and good luck.
-- JC

TOP 87 Bad Predictions About The Future
http://www.dailycognition.com/index.php/2007/05/09/top-87-bad-predictions-about-the-future.html