Recently here at the \u201cShop,\u201d we took a look at some of the predictions I made last winter to see how I did.\u00a0 Today, I look ahead to the next several months and guarantee* they come true!<\/p>\n
1) \u00a0PREDICTION:\u00a0 This fall\u2019s HS football season will be more competitive than last year\u2019s.<\/strong> I think it will be much more difficult for the football prognosticators to accurately figure out which teams will have the most success, and make for many more \u201ceven\u201d games to watch this fall.\u00a0 For more on the upcoming high school football season, make sure you tune into our \u201cSportsTalk: HS Football Preview\u201d show on RCN-TV on Thursday, August 27, at 7pm\u2014complete with coach and player interviews, insights, analysis, and predictions on many of the teams in the RCN coverage area.<\/p>\n 2)\u00a0 \u00a0PREDICTION:\u00a0 Emotions will be running at an all-time high for Eagles fans this season.<\/strong> 3)\u00a0 \u201cStone-Cold Lock\u201d PREDICTION:\u00a0 The next 12 months will be a banner year for DC sports fans.<\/strong><\/em> But the Nats\u2019 potential deep run in the playoffs won\u2019t be the only reason for optimism for Washington sports fans in the near future.\u00a0 The Redskins <\/a>will have six wins and improved play (and boast closer margins in their losses than last year).\u00a0 I also think Georgetown<\/a>\u2014in both football and basketball\u2014will have solid campaigns.\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t noticed, Mike Lonergan has transformed the George Washington<\/a> men\u2019s basketball program and shows no signs of slowing down, and American <\/a>will again be a major force in what\u2019s shaping up to be another competitive Patriot League season.<\/p>\n I also think the Wizards <\/a>and Capitals <\/a>will also continue to improve on the court and ice, respectively, all making for what I feel could be the best stretch of professional and collegiate sports action the DC area has seen in decades.<\/p>\n And even if the Nats don\u2019t get to the World Series\u2014which, granted, will be a major disappointment, they still have a boat-load of talent that will return.\u00a0 The Nats will still have work to do in the off-season picking and choosing which of their free agents they will bring back, but I think with Max Scherzer in tow, anchoring the staff, there won\u2019t be a major drop-off in 2016.<\/p>\n There you have it.\u00a0 Mark it down\u2026and we\u2019ll check back to see in a few months how these predictions fared.<\/p>\n *NOTE: \u201dguaranteed\u201d is used in the most relative-term possible.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently here at the \u201cShop,\u201d we took a look at some of the predictions I made last winter to see how I did.\u00a0 Today, I look ahead to the next several months and guarantee* they come true! 1) \u00a0PREDICTION:\u00a0 This fall\u2019s HS football season will be more competitive than last year\u2019s. Last year, it was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[590,587,176,588,201,589,570,451,546,591],"class_list":["post-77201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop","tag-american","tag-capitals","tag-eagles","tag-george-washington","tag-georgetown","tag-mets","tag-nationals","tag-redskins","tag-washington","tag-wizards"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nLast year, it was virtually Parkland and Easton as the favorites in District XI\u2019s EPC league and Northwestern and Southern Lehigh, with Saucon Valley rising to prominence in the Colonial League.\u00a0 There seemed to be a \u201cnext level\u201d of several teams right below the top squads, and then another grouping of teams below them.\u00a0 This made for a rather predictable season, with hardly any upsets or teams beating other squads not quite at the same talent-level.\u00a0 While the Trojans and Red Rovers are the early favorites once again in the EPC, I see several teams stepping up and providing tougher competition, making for a more balanced schedule this fall.\u00a0 Also, among the Colonial teams, Saucon Valley is the only one of the top three that didn\u2019t suffer a huge number of graduate losses and many of the league\u2019s teams that struggled in 2014 will be improved.\u00a0 After the Panthers?\u00a0 I could see Northern Lehigh, Northwestern, Southern Lehigh, Pen Argyl, Palmerton and maybe even Salisbury, Wilson or another team all playing competitive football.<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019ll be talking more about the Birds on this Thursday\u2019s \u201cSportsTalk\u201d show with legendary play-by-play broadcaster Merrill Reese<\/a>, complete with his thoughts on the team\u2019s offseason moves and updates from Eagles <\/a>training camp.\u00a0 But regardless of how Philadelphia does this fall, when you tear apart a team\u2014personnel-wise\u2014and move some of the region\u2019s most popular players for \u2018high-risk\u2019 returns (see Kiko Alonso\u2019s concussion injury<\/a> this weekend), fans have been stirred-up for this team well before training camp even started this summer.\u00a0 The overly passionate fan base has been building emotional steam for months and it won\u2019t take much for people to start boiling over and voicing their excitement\/anger (based on a win or loss) with Chip Kelly<\/a> early and often this fall.<\/p>\n
\nI think the Nationals <\/a>will persevere through an incredible amount of injuries.\u00a0 The Mets <\/a>did make some nice moves at the non-waiver deadline, but I still believe that quality pitching\u2014and Washington has a ton\u2014must get the edge.\u00a0 The impressive return of Stephen Strasburg<\/a> this weekend can only help, and I think the Nats will soon gain momentum and retake the NL East League.\u00a0 Even if they don\u2019t and have to settle for a Wild Card berth, with the arms the Nationals have, I think they can challenge any potential National League opponent, perhaps with the exception of the Dodgers<\/a>, the team that scares me the most.<\/p>\n