2012 Time Capsule - OPEN PREDICTION THREAD
by GopherNation on Jan 3, 2012 10:33 AM CST
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PrintFortunately 2011 is behind us and we are beginning a new year. Now is your chance to go on record with some of your 2012 predictions. There are very few rules, just put your predictions for 2012 in the comments. Next year about this time I will revisit this little post and give props to the clairvoyant among us (and make fun of the crackpots).
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Gophers sports predictions:
- The basketball team puts themselves in bubble contention but loses some close but winnable games down the stretch to fall to the NIT (where they lose their first or second game).
- The hockey team loses in the finals of the WCHA Final Five, makes the NCAA tourney, and is eliminated in the West Regional (not sure on first round/second round).
- The football team goes 5-7, wins one shocker but also drops one that they shouldn’t.
- Joel Maturi retires and a the new AD is not someone we’ve heard of.
That’s what I’ve got off the top of my head. I know, I know…stepping way out on a ledge with these.
Here are five predictions for 2012:
(1) The Timberwolves will make the NBA playoffs and finish above .500.
(2) Michigan and Wisconsin will play for the B1G football conference championship.
(3) LSU and USC will play for the national title.
(4) The Gophers will win 5 games.
(5) The mens’ hockey team will return to the Frozen Four, and the ladies’ team will win the NCAA title.
#5 would make me very happy.
I’ve even pondered going down there if they did make it. But the stupid penalty issues have me tempering my enthusiasm somewhat for sanity’s sake. =)
My turn...
1 – Gopher football gets 5 wins, narrowly misses a bowl game
2 – Gopher basketball finishes with 7 Big Ten wins
3 – Gopher hockey makes Frozen Four (why not?)
4 – Wisconsin gets to B1G Title game with 3 conference losses
5 – Big Ten Title game is Michigan St vs. Wisconsin (again), Michigan State wins big
6 – Gopher baseball wins Big Ten Tournament
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
Predictions
1- Twins finish last in their division with 72 W’s. Gardy gets fired.
2- Vikings leave town.
3-Wolves improve but finish 10th in the West.
4-Gopher football has 4 W’s.
5-Gopher hockey is in the final four but doesn’t win the first game.
6-NIT for Gopher hoops. Losing first game.
7-Wild make playoffs and advance to second round before losing in 5 games.
I am not painting a good picture except for Gopher hockey.
One Prediction
With the strength of the Legends division and the PSU disaster growing in severity, there is a strong push to realign the B1G.
by InflectionPoint on Jan 3, 2012 12:34 PM CST reply actions
Prediction
1. Gopher B-ball makes NCAA tourney,wins 1 game.
2. Gopher hockey wins NCAA title
3. Gopher F-Ball wins 4 games, but doesn’t get blown out in any Big Ten games
4. Twins win the Central and ALDS, but lose to the Angels in the ALCS
5. K-Love makes a strong case for NBA MVP.
6. New U President helps Tubby get a practice facility, eventually they suceed in the fall.
OK - I see another bleak year...
1. Gopher basketball only makes the NIT winning two games.
2. The Gopher football team does better than anyone expects with 6 wins and a bowl berth which they lose.
3. The Gopher icemen go flat and miss the NCAA finals.
4. The Twins only get 75 wins and miss playoffs.
5. The Vikings leave for greener pastures
6. Wild barely make the playoffs
7. The Lynx place 2nd in the WNBA
8. The Timberwolves are the surprise and make the playoffs and win the first round. Then lose.
Nothing else matters except ...
Gopher football. We go 6-6, get a bowl bid and win it. Final record 7-6. Tubby makes the tournament with 22 wins. We lose in the first round.
Bleak hoops end, but football optimism arises!
No post season play for gophers basketball. There is drama about Tubby leaving (for the 3rd or 4th consecutive year, and we read about Flip Saunders potential…only to have it fizzle within a few weeks’ time), which ends with Tubby staying (which I’m fine with).
Momentum builds for practice facility and a formal plan is in place to start building, ready for 2014 season. Once again, we are all excited about the following basketball season as all these young guys get older, big Mo comes back, we never have to see RSIII play again, etc. Slight flirtation by Mbakwe but he decides to leave the school and not even try for a special medical red shirt.
Football team wins 6 games and loses in a bowl game. This is my most aggressive prediction by far. I’d give it a 15% chance. But I want to will this damn team to success. Gray has a coming out year which further makes us want to find Brewster and kill him for wasting a redshirt season. Some Jucos step up and it’s a pretty good season.
Erik T and I break an internet record for wishing death upon an incredibly significant number of people, individually.
Gopherfan's picks
-The M&G win 8 games due to their stylish uniforms and matte helmets
- Gray is a Heisman contender
-we miss out on B1G championship due to a loss to Miiiiiiiiiichigan
-We beat Iowa
-and possibly most important…we don’t lose our @#*%ing non conference games!!!!
by gopherfan001 on Jan 3, 2012 2:20 PM CST via mobile reply actions
love it
but you forgot to put (x3) behind “We beat Iowa”
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
Through the eyes of the Llama
1- Gopher football goes 6-6 and wins bowl game
2 – Gopher hoops gets 7 B1G wins and goes to the NIT (wish Mbakwe was still playing!)
3 – Gopher Hockey doesn’t win the Frozen 5 but wins NCAA tourney
4 – Wolves narrowly miss playoffs as the 9 seed in the West but are on a huge upswing and will be a force in 2012/13
5- Michigan plays Ohio State in rematch of The Game, OSU wins in an upset and wonders what if as they sit out bowl season
my bad... figured the ban was just for bowl games
Wow does Wisco have an easy path to get back to the B1G Championship Game!
As long as we're being bold,
I predict that the Gopher football team does not finish last in the Legends this year. Northwestern, maybe, finishes lower in 2012. They will drop one non-conference game, but win against MSU in a snow bowl to get to 6-6.
Gopher hoops will end up 8-10 needing some help in the B1G tournament. Don’t feel too good about it.
Gopher hockey will make it to the NCAA’s, playing at the X will help them make it to the Frozen Four. If all it takes is Guentzel to return to relevance, that IMO is a fireable offense for Lucia. He will stick around, however.
The Wild will return to the playoffs, the Wolves will come up just short. The Twins will get back to about 75-80 wins, and the Vikings…well, I think they will get some pieces, but won’t do a lot better than last year. Frazier will be fired after another tough year.
Last year
for Tubby at the U of M. No NCAA/NIT this year and he retires/resigns. I sincerely hope I am wrong big time on this, but I have a bad feeling.
okay
As there is kind of a lot of consensus going on, let me try to at least work in a few new things:
1. Tyus Jones commits to the Gophers
2. RSII gets drafted late in the second round, but doesn’t make a roster
3. Trevor doesn’t get drafted but signs to the D-league and eventually sees some time on an NBA roster in his first year (probably not in calendar 2012).
4. Hoops squad is on the bubble but doesn’t make the dance, wins two games in the NIT.
5. Football wins 5.
6. Maturi retires (not too bold there).
7. Vikings stadium deal is reached and passed by the legislature by March.
8. Stadium will be in Minneapolis.
9. Twins win between 80 and 88 games, finish second in the division.
10. Morneau finishes in the top five in MVP voting.
11. Vikings trade their #3 pick in the draft for more picks.
12. Ponder start starts 10 games next year with Webb starting the other 6.
13. Adrian Peterson recovers from the knee surgery in time to play in the first regular season game.
14. Chip Armelin transfers (I hope not, but it seems like someone has to).
+1 to 4, 5, 6, 13, 14
I would be shocked if Jones commits here in the first place, and even if he does, doesn’t waver down the road. Can’t wait to get to the next chapter of Gopher sports with a new AD. And I would have thought for sure that Maverick would be the transfer, but he has impressed enough (although I still can’t be sold on him as a consistent performer) that you are probably right on Chip, especially with Welch having one more year as well as Hollins, Hollins, Ahanmisi having plenty of eligibility left.
I’m not convinced the legislature has enough “guts” to pass a Vikings stadium bill this year, especially being an election year, and this gets messy with lawsuits and threats of leaving/selling. I say if it doesn’t get done by the time the lease expires it gets ugly.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see Tubby retire after this year and see Saul get the job, for at least 2-3 seasons to see if he has what it takes. Tubby was reenergized but after losing his best player, I can see where it would add up to be too much at his age.
Not long ago
I would have said Mav too, but he’s getting more minutes now than I expected. I think Chip will get frustrated and go somewhere he can play.
I’d be pretty surprised if Tubby retired after this year. I think he wasn’t Saul to get the job next, and I don’t think Tubby’s in a position to make that happen yet. Two or three years including some runs in the dance and Tubby can probably finagle Saul as his replacement.
I'd be surprised to see Tubby retire,
as I thought he was really energized about this latest incoming class. Coleman, Hollins squared, etc. I feel like this will be his last full class with the gophers…ride these guys for 2-3 years to see what he can make of them.
Not sure why I feel that…I just got that impression. Like he’s excited about this crop of freshman and wouldn’t bail next year due to being tired/done with coaching.
Forgot I was going to add
In a hopelessly optimistic long shot:
- Rodney Williams dedicates himself during the off season to develop a quality jumper and thus catapults himself into consideration for next year’s big ten player of the year.
The FB team goes to a bowl game. Nothing spectacular, but a bowl game.
The MBB team misses the Dance after losing in the 2nd round of the B1G tourney.
The hockey team goes on a tear in the playoffs and make the Frozen Four.
The Wild will make the playoffs and get bounced in 6.
The Twins will stink
The Vikings will stink
The Timberwolves will stink, but be fun to watch because of Love and Rubio.
Everyone fails. The successful learn from their failures. I just wish we'd quit giving ourselves so many learning opportunities.
by WhiteSpeedReceiver on Jan 4, 2012 1:18 PM CST reply actions
I'll stick (mostly) to football, but here goes
1. Vikings will still be in Minnesota and a stadium will be under construction in Minneapolis.
2. Adrian Peterson will rush for over 1,000 yards
3. The Vikings will be in the playoff hunt until the second to last game of the season
4. The Gophers win 7 games, beat Michigan, and go to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.
5. Jerry Kill wins B1G Coach of the Year.
6. The Twins will falter badly, and Justin Morneau gets traded at the deadline. Jason Marquis…seriously??
7. Gophers make a run to the B1G tournament championship game, but lose to OSU.
8. Gopher hockey goes to the Frozen Four. And I know it’s more than a year out, but they will be the inagural B1G Hockey Champions.
"Go hard. I mean, like relentless. I want a bunch of coaches that coach like their hair’s on fire, and I want a football team that goes for four to six seconds (per play) with relentless effort." OSU Coach Urban Meyer.
Crystal Ball
1. Gophers football goes 5-7. The opening loss to UNLV haunts us.
2. Gophers hoops is a bubble NIT team. They get in. The first round loss makes us wish they hadn’t.
3. Gophers hockey wins one game in the NCAA tournament.
4. Mauer returns to form, competing for the AL batting title, but Morneau plays less than 50 games.
5. The Twins go 72-90. Bill Smith retires.
6. Adrian Peterson does not suit up in 2012.
7. Ricky Rubio wins rookie of the year, but the Wolves only go 28-38.
8. The Wild make it to the second round of the playoffs before bowing out in 5 games the next round.
He's in charge of facilities at Spring Training...
…or something not harmful to the organization though as I recall.
What keeps AP out all year?
Surely not the ACL.
ACL and MCL
It should take 12 months. Of course, he’ll rush it and have complications and require another surgery before seeing the field in 2013.
As long as we're being bold
I’ll try to stay has realistic as possible:
1. Gophers go 5-7. They still get blown out in one or two games, but most of the losses are not embarrassing.
2. Despite popular perception, Maturi doesn’t retire. He stays on as Minnesota’s athletic director under the premise of seeing the Jerry Kill thing through.
3. Michigan wins the Big Ten championship.
4. Gophers lose to Iowa this year but come surprisingly close to toppling Wisconsin.
5. Minnesota still doesn’t go to a bowl, but there’s enough progress on the field to inspire some faith in Jerry Kill.
6. Marqueis Gray continues to struggle at quarterback, Max Shortell officially assumes the role. (This is my least certain prediction.)
P.S. Honestly, some of the kool-aid you guys are drinking. Jerry Kill will not win Big Ten coach of the year for only getting six or seven wins. Every recipient for the past couple years has received the award because of a breakthrough. While 6 or 7 wins might be considered a breakthrough to the Gopher faithful, Kill would have to get at least 9 (including a bowl victory, so 9-4) to really wow anyone.
I may ave to strangle you
For the Maturi thing ;)
Thankfully, I don’t think his retirement decision is going to be up to him.
I don't think
he’s as hated by the Minnesota brass as everyone thinks he is. He’s clearly in control of his fate enough to where he could tell the press flat out, “I’m not going anywhere,” when they asked if the Brewster fail meant he would have to step down.
Obviously the Brewster fail and the Glen Mason firing are the combined reasons why fans want him gone. And the whole “Tubby Smith type hire” comment (or at least how it’s remembered) didn’t help either. But with everyone’s unified support behind Kill, it takes a lot of the heat off Maturi. I, for one, won’t be at all surprised if Maturi stays on as AD.
by Meager Reader on Jan 6, 2012 4:38 AM CST up reply actions
The new boss is not the same as the old boss.
Everyone fails. The successful learn from their failures. I just wish we'd quit giving ourselves so many learning opportunities.
by WhiteSpeedReceiver on Jan 6, 2012 8:50 AM CST up reply actions
Predictions... and maybe with a bunch of hope mixed in.
1. Gopher Football – If the gophers finish 4-0 in their non-conference games, They will make a bowl game. With that being said, I’m predicting a 6-6 finish and an at large bowl bid.
2. Timberwolves – They actually will improve on their last season (which isn’t going to be difficult with the people they have on the team and the coach they have) but won’t make the playoffs. They will be around 10, maybe number 9 in the west, and finish around .500
3. Twins – The rebuilding process starts with hopefully some better front office moves, because we have been burned by players who performed mediocre here, and then turn into big playmakers in other places. I believe the team will improve and have about a .500 year.
4. Vikings – This is going to be the biggest question mark of them all. I won’t blame Leslie Frazier for the huge issues we suffered this year (injuries, and the very odd offseason is going to be a huge hurdle for a new head coach), and they need to draft smart. With the number 3 pick, I would see if anyone wants to take it, so we can possibly get more picks later on. If no one wants it, take the Offensive Lineman from USC. They should improve the next year, but once again, I see them being short of the playoffs.
5. Wild – The injury bug has bit this team hard as well, but they should be able to bounce back and still get into the playoffs. I’m hoping they make it to the conference championship, but more than likely they will be out in the divisional round.
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