Only halfway through the summer

Having patted myself on the back for the success of my bold prediction that three of the best teams on the planet would do quite well in the World Cup, I guess I should acknowledge that another of my sporting forecasts – that San Francisco would win the World Series – is looking rather less accurate.

I’ll admit that my confidence in the Giants’ shot at glory was based more on sentiment than cold calculation, but I was expecting that the All-Star break would see them still in contention for the playoffs, rather than sitting with the fifth-worst record in the big leagues.

Fortunately, baseball has the attractive feature of lots of games in a season, so even a terrible team will win once or twice most weeks, and there are certain to be some highlights for fans to cheer, like rounding off an unlikely late-inning comeback with a walk-off grand slam.

So I’ll keep on tuning in late at night, in the hope that the Giants will rally for a thrilling run to the postseason, or, failing that, at least beat the Dodgers a few more times…

World Cup 2026 prediction update

So we’re at the semifinal stage, and 3 out of my 4 picks are still standing, which is actually the best possible outcome for my forecast, since I had misread the bracket and missed that France and Germany couldn’t both make it this far.

The surprise package are England, but I can’t see them getting past Argentina. France versus Spain looks likely to be close, but I’ll stick with my prediction that the French will make the final, and lift the trophy.

World Cup 2026 prediction

I’ve been out of the country for the last few weeks; not so remote that I was completely unaware of developments at home, alas, but sufficiently distant that the news I did catch didn’t impinge on my sense of wellbeing too much.

I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to maintain that contented detachment now that I’ve returned, but I’ve been trying to ease myself back into the alarming reality of contemporary life by contemplating the possible outcomes of the World Cup.

Of course I can’t be bothered doing the research into the recent form of the 48 teams in the tournament that would be required for any sort of informed forecast for the 72 group stage games, and I don’t really understand how the seeding works for the knockout rounds, so I have no clue when the favourites are likely to meet up.

Nevertheless I’ll confidently go for a last four of France, Spain, Germany and Argentina, and France to win.

For the birds

Today is World Migratory Bird Day, which seems like a good time to check in on how my feather-based sports betting strategy is working out.

I had more or less written off New Orleans and Atlanta in the NBA, and sure enough the Pelicans missed the playoffs, while the Hawks fell in the first round.

I had higher hopes for Anaheim and Pittsburg in the NHL, which has turned out to be about half-right; the Ducks are still in the postseason mix, though they’ll have to pick up a bit to make it to the Conference Final.

It’s still early season in the MLB, so I guess I should reserve judgement, but it’s not looking good, with the Orioles and the Blue Jays struggling, and only the Cardinals over .500.

So overall fairly disappointing. Maybe it only works for the NFL…

Early geese

So, how did the San Francisco Giants, my pick for the 2026 World Series, fare in their opening home stand? Swept 3-0 by the Yankees you say? Out-scored 13-1? Failed to register a run in the opening two games of a season for the first time in franchise history? Hmm…

Still plenty of games to go I guess…

Saved by the ballgame

I was beginning to worry that, with the Oscars past, I was going to have to start watching the news again, but luckily baseball season starts later this week, just in time to provide another welcome distraction.

In the opening game my adopted team San Francisco take on the New York Yankees, so there might be some early indication of whether their 2026 campaign will be more inspiring than last year’s ultimately disappointing mediocrity. Before my pre-season optimism is inevitably deflated I’ll hazard another sporting prediction; Giants for the World Series.

Go Birds (again)

Seattle’s triumph in Super Bowl LX, along with Philadelphia’s victory in the same competition last year, has made me think that in future I should follow an avian theme when making US sports predictions.

For the NBA Championship we’re looking at the Atlanta Hawks or the New Orleans Pelicans, currently ranked 9th in the East and 14th in the West respectively, so perhaps not.

In the NHL there are the Anaheim Ducks and the Pittsburgh Penguins, both of whom are going pretty well this season, and either might be worth a wager for the Stanley Cup.

Most promising though is the MLB; we have the Baltimore Orioles, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Toronto Blue Jays. The first two were nowhere last year, but of course the Jays came within a couple of outs of winning the World Series, so they must be a pretty good bet for this season too.

Super Bowl LX prediction

Since neither of the teams I tipped for the final have made it to Santa Clara, I need to come up with a new forecast, so I’m going with Seattle.

The less said about my AFCON prediction the better…

Welcome to 2026: Sports edition

Since politics is too hard, I’ll stick to the safer ground of predicting the outcome of major sporting events.

First up, with the playoffs starting today, Super Bowl LX. I think Denver will get through to the final, where they will lose to whoever wins the San Francisco-Philadelphia game tomorrow; my money in that contest is on the 49ers.

The Africa Cup of Nations is coming to a climax too; my tip for the final next weekend is Ivory Coast.