Worst Sports Predictions of All-Time
While I wish LLP the best of the luck and am not trying to rag on him, his departure today reminded me of the prediction by Tim McCormick that LLP would be "the best UM pg since Rumeal Robinson". Is this the worst sports prediction you have ever heard?
I've established the following criteria to define a "sports prediction":
1. The person making the prediction must be a talking-head who is paid by a medium to analyze sports.
2. The prediction being made must be one that is unique to the person making it. While predicting Ryan Leaf would be a good NFL qb is an all time terrible decision, you can't really fault Mel Kiper for saying so because EVERYONE thought Leaf would be a good qb.
3. The person making the prediction must not suffer from dementia. I don't wan't Lou Holtz's outlandish ND predictions taking up the whole list.
4. The person making the prediction must actually believe what he is predicting and not just saying it for the sake of argument/to make compelling tv.
Off the top of my head, here are the all-time worst sports predictions I can think of (in no particular order):
1. "LLP will be the greatest UM pg since Rumeal Robinson" - Tim McCormick
2. "Ron Pawlus will fin 4 heismans" - Beano Cook
3. "Oregon State is our preseason #1 team" - SI
4. "Michigan will make the Alamo Bowl in 2008" - Brian Cook (just kidding)
What other terrible predictions would you guys put on this list?
Tom Mandarich will redefine the OL position in the NFL and drafted #2 overall
No Idea who Tom Mandarich is... but man was SI wrong... then right about Tony Mandarich
Ha, sorry, meant Tony, thanks for the SI covers
He really was a freak for a good amount of time... but it was all synthetic/drugs/roids/whatever
Some of the images i found looking for those covers were just terrifying... he was a beast
err, brian bosworth...was going to redefine the LB position...roids to riches to rags story.
On draft day Mel Kiper said that JaMarcus Russell would be a top-5 QB in the NFL shortly after being drafted. The fact that he flamed out and was cut only 3 short years after really makes this a bad prediction. Furthermore, before the draft not many analysts were high on JaMarcus. Although he was presumed to be the #1 overall pick, most analysts attributed this to the Raiders being weird drafters rather than the pick actually being solid (same analysis that led people to predict the raiders would draft Heyward-Bey before Crabtree).
that I would have something meaningful to add to this thread.....I didn't.
I was too young to think about it logically at the time, but after watching Michigan's Rose Bowl win over Wazzu (recently replayed on BTN), I have no idea why scouts thought Ryan Leaf was so good.
I know our defense was awesome that year, but Leaf could not pass the eye test in that game. And if you can't pass the eye test against a collegiate defense - how are you going to do it in the pros? He completed less than 50% of his passes in the game! #2 pick? Why not! Oh well, at least for the Chargers sake they struck gold with LDT and Rivers.
have no idea why scouts thought Ryan Leaf was so good
Because he was 6-5, 230 with a one-in-a-million arm. Physically, he was better than Peyton Manning.
I have a buddy that used to work in the scouting department of an NFL team. He said that the two best quarterback workouts his group ever watched were for Leaf and Jeff George. Every year, when they started their scouting meetings, the notebooks that they put together are divided by postion. On the insert cover of the QB section, there's a picture of Ryan Leaf. Under RBs, there's a picture of Leeland Mcelroy, under WRs, there's Hart Lee Dykes, under OL, there's Mandarich, under DL, there's Dan Wilkinson, under LBs, there's Marvin Jones, and under DBs, there's a picture of Patrick Bates.
I feel like I should campaign for an NFL GM job on the basis that:
I will never, ever pay attention to workouts. All of my due diligence will be done on game film / real scouting.
I have to think any NFL team that applies this standard would be better than average. I mean, the list of guys that blew up in workouts and ultimately failed has to be A LOT longer than the ones that blew up in workouts and succeeded - right?
when he scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time....
It was a great goal but it might not even turn out to be the moment of the summer.
Any prediction by Lou Holtz.
He had numerous knee issues, as I recall.
Lopez was a good college player. He just wasn't Basketball Jesus. Of course, there've been any number of players who had larger reps than Lopez who flopped much harder.
Tito Horford, class of 1985, was the #1 player in the country and supposed to be Guy Lewis' next great center. He ended up transferring to Miami and played overseas as a pro (and fathered Al Horford).
Both Chris Washburn and Delray Brooks were supposed to be stars from the Class of 84. Washburn certainly had the ability. Brooks was a mediocre player after transferring to Providence.
Marcus Liberty, out of MLK in the Class of 1987, never really materialized. The list goes on and on.
I'm certainly not immune from making bold, stupid declarations. I interviewed Marquette Smith after he was named the USA Today offensive player of the year. He was the #1 football recruit on most people's list. He told me how proud he was of the USA Today award, so my opening paragraph talked about how after he was polishing the trophies from his NFL career, he'd remember the award he got in high school.
Smith's mom got sick, so he had to transfer from Florida State. He got an invite to NFL traning camps, but blew out his knee and never played. Perhaps instead of glorifying a 5-8, 175 pound running back, I should have paid attention to the guy who got the defensive player of the year award and was the #2 recruit in the country....Derrick Brooks.
I live half hr north of Baltimore and I can remember everyone saying Troy Smith would have 24 tds and lead them far into the playoffs in 07.