Winter Dreams

90 degrees for my last post; about 75 degrees colder for this one. I guess I waited some time. It's a long weekend, a bit light on the correcting duties, so a chance presents itself to put thought on paper. or on screen anyway.

So the Patriots are 18-0 and SuperBowl bound. When I last wrote, the season was in its infancy and we were all gearing up for the Red Sox playoff push and eventual World Championship. In October, Josh Beckett was basically the closest thing to God we've seen around these parts. Now Tom Brady has reclaimed that post (although he did have a less than divine performance against San Diego this weekend). And then the NBA season started and the Celtics became the best team in decades. I'm not much for watching basketball, but I must admit turning into a fair weather Celtics fan. They are mighty fun to watch. And the Bruins are not horrible. They are not great either, but it's been a decent season so far. It's a good time to be a Boston sports fan.

And of course, wouldn't the Patriots draw the New York Giants as the SuperBowl opponent. I guess in a year when we were spared the inevitable Red Sox-Yankess postseason matchup, this evens the scales a bit. I like our chances, but game 16 was against New York and it was a tight one. Eli Manning can be much better than the mediocrity he often slides into. And he has been impressive in the last three or four weeks, dating back to that game 16 in New York.

Prediction: Patriots 27, Giants 17

Meanwhile, my #1 presidential candidate, Barack Obama, is defying odds. No one expected him to be where he is today. This was supposed to be a walk in the park for Hillary. I'm glad to see the struggle. I expected the Democratic party to just hand her the torch and march straight into disaster in November against whatever Republican candidate picked up enough momentum. And that may still happen; but the torch has not just been handed over. There is hesitation; there is doubt; there is a desire for something different. I think the odds are in her favor to win the nomination, but the process will have been good.

Prediction: This Saturday, Obama will win the South Carolina primary pretty comfortably. John Edwards will be out of this race by next Monday. South Carolina is where he was born; he lives in North Carolina. Anything but a win and he's done. He might even go so far as to endorse Obama.

Prediction: Hillary emerges as the definitive front runner on Feb. 5th (Super Tuesday). Obama will not concede then, but that day will mark the final swing of the pendulum in her favor.

Prediction: In mid-summer Hillary will choose a running mate. It will not be either Obama or Edwards. It will be a military figure, perhaps Wesley Clark, but definitely someone like him.

Things are much more fluid on the Republican side. No one can get a clear edge as frontrunner. I think these guys will go past Super Tuesday before the dust settles. And it's a tough one to call.

Prediction: Mitt Romney does well on Super Tuesday, not well enough to put the others away, but enough to become the leader of the pack. McCain dogs him a little while longer, but ultimately Romney becomes the default pick for Republican voters who feel they lack any better alternative.

Prediction: Whoever the Republican nominee is, and I expect it to be Romney, his running mate might well be a woman.

And the Oscar nominations come out tomorrow (Tuesday). I'm still playing catch up, but I think it's fair to say that No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and Atonement should lead the way in total nominations.

A few things I'd like to see among the nominations:

for Picture: American Gangster, There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Into the Wild

for actor: Denzel Washington (American Gangster), Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild)

for actress: Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose)

And I'd like to see Juno get recognition in any category (probably screenplay, music, and maybe lead actress). Also Sweeney Todd (direction maybe). And Eddie Vedder did a great job with the music to Into the Wild, so I'd like to see him get nominated too.