In honour of a brand new year full of possibility, we present five overly confident predictions for the world of sports in 2017.
The Patriots will lose Super Bowl LI—to the Giants
Sure, the Giants have to get through the Packers in Green Bay first. But if they can pull off a win at Lambeau Field this weekend, why not make it all the way just to cost Tom Brady a championship for the third time?
There’s something delightfully entertaining—assuming you’re not a New England fan—about Brady, Belichick and Co. losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl yet again.
Pittsburgh will win the Stanley Cup, again
The good news here is that Canadian teams won’t be shut out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. The bad news is that a Canadian team won’t hoist the Cup, because the Penguins will repeat as champs, and Sidney Crosby will win his third Hart Trophy.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will make the playoffs
There will be no parade—the Leafs will lose in the first round—but it’s a start. Auston Matthews will win the Calder Trophy, of course.
There will be tears in Cleveland
The Cleveland Cavaliers will once again beat the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals (though it’ll take them seven games this time around), and once again they’ll face the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. This time, though, the Warriors will take the crown and Kevin Durant will be named Finals MVP.
Encarnacion will get his ring
The tears won’t last forever in Cleveland, though. The city will celebrate a World Series win and former Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion will hit the walk-off homer to seal the deal, inspiring whatever the opposite of schadenfreude is in Toronto fans.