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Each December I gaze into my crystal ball and predict what I believe will be the top 10 stories of the coming year. I almost never get these right but they’re fun to speculate about nevertheless. A year from now we’ll take a look back and see how well I did, unless I didn’t do well at all. In that case we will pretend this never happened for the sake of preserving my fragile self esteem. In case you missed part one, make sure to check out last week’s column for numbers 10 through six. 5. Green Bay Packers win...

post your predictions for 2013. Here are the results for 2012

Five NFC teams are fighting for two postseason spots, and the race for first-round byes in the AFC remains convoluted. The Cowboys lost, but the Giants' loss later sets up a winner-take-all Cowboys-Redskins game on Sunday night for the NFC East title. The Vikings remained in the No. 6 slot in the NFC but also were big winners, as the Giants and Cowboys' losses mean Minnesota doesn't require help to make the postseason.

I was asked this in an online forum, and my answer got too long to manage. Here’s my infallible prediction. How did I do? Orthodoxy: Little visible change, zero substantive change. Increasing numbers and cultural impact. Progress toward a single American Archdiocese, but still not there yet.Catholicism: Neither women priests nor married priests will happen. Increasing disaffection among liberal American Catholics leading to a significant decrease in attendance. Identification as Catholic will be increasingly cultural rather than creedal. This trend, combined with decreasing numbers of men seeking the priesthood, will force additional parish churches to close. This will be...

In the NFC, five 8-6 teams appear to be competing for two available spots, though the 9-5 Seahawks haven't secured their postseason berth yet. And while the Steelers, Cowboys and Giants wouldn't make the playoffs if the season ended today, all would get in by winning their remaining two games. The Vikings, who would make it right now, do not control their own fate.

GREEN BAY (9-4) At CHICAGO (8-5) Sunday, 1 p.m., FOX OPENING LINE -- Packers by 3

Chicago (8-4) at Minnesota (6-6) - 1:00 p.m. (Line: Chicago by 3) The Bears have lost three of their last four games. Their lone victory in that stretch came against Minnesota. The Vikings are 5-1 at home this year. Quarterback Christian Ponder has thrown for more than 200 yards just twice in his last six games, and for more than 150 yards just three times in his last six outings. ---RJ's Pick: Minnesota by 3 New York Jets (5-7) at Jacksonville (2-10) - 1:00 p.m. (Line: New York Jets by 2.5) As of this writing, no one knows who will...

I went 10-6 last week straight up, and 12-3-1 against the spread. *Sunday, December 2* Indianapolis 7-4 at Detroit 4-7 - 1:00 p.m. (Line: DETROIT by 4.5) The outcome of this game doesn't really matter much to me, as a Lions fan. They ain't making the playoffs this year. But I am interested to see how many times Ndamukong Suh "accidentally" kicks Colts QB Andrew Luck in the nuts. ---RJ's Pick: Lions by 8 Jacksonville 2-9 at Buffalo 4-7 - 1:00 p.m. (Line: BUFFALO by 6) A crappy warm weather team going to play in a cold weather city in...

The College Football Czar Week 14 Week thirteen in review: Notre Dame did what it had to do, by defeating another diminished opponent to finish the regular season at 12-0. The Fighting Irish defense stuffed the USC ground game on a late goal-line stand, and harassed freshman QB Max Wittek into two interceptions in a 22-13 victory. That presumably advances them to the BCS championship game in Miami, where they will face the winner of the SEC title game. Alabama and Georgia both dominated their rivalry games, which eliminated all other contending teams from the chase. The college football czar...

*Sunday, November 25* Minnesota (6-4) at Chicago (7-3) 1:00 p.m. (Line: No Line) The Vikings would move into a three-way tie for first place in the NFC North with a win here and a loss by the Packers on Sunday Night Football. There is no line for this game as of this writing presumably due to the fact that Jay Cutler's status is up in the air. I think he'll play. ---RJ's Pick: Bears by 9 Oakland (3-7) at Cincinnati (5-5) 1:00 p.m. (Line: Cincinnati by 7) The Raiders have lost three straight, while the Bengals have won two in...

The College Football Czar Week 13 Week twelve in review: The top two teams in the BCS ratings were upset, which, according to the media template, has thrown the championship picture into “chaos.” Top-ranked Kansas State should now be out of the running altogether, after getting the phlegm beaten out of them by ninth-place Baylor, 52-24. Oregon, having lost to Stanford 17-14 in overtime, still has a chance, although they need help from a couple conference rivals. Not only did Oregon lose a much better game to a much better opponent than K-State did, but the human polls are bound...

Green Bay 6-3 @ Detroit 4-5 at 1:00 p.m. (Line: PACKERS BY 3.5) Packers LB Clay Matthews is out of the lineup this week with a hamstring injury. The Lions are the only team in the NFC North with a losing record, but they are 2-1 at home this season. ---RJ's Pick: Detroit by 2

The College Football Czar Week 12 Week eleven in review: Alabama was bounced from the #1 position in the BCS, though not out of the national championship picture, in a 29-24 loss to Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide spotted the Conjunction Boys a 20-0 lead, before pulling within a field goal in the third quarter. A&M, defying well-founded expectations, opted not to choke this time. Although the SEC now dominates the BCS ratings, that league would not currently have a representative in the national championship game. This week’s ratings place Kansas State #1, followed by the only other eligible unbeatens,...

I went 12-2 straight up last week, and 10-4 against the spread. What follows are my picks for the NFL's Week 10: *Thursday, November 8* Indianapolis (5-3) at Jacksonville (1-7) - 8:20 p.m. (Line: Colts by 3) The Colts have won three in a row. The Jaguars have dropped five straight. They are winless at home this season and have the most inept offense in the league in terms of points per game, passing yards per game, and total yards per game. - RJ's Pick: Indianapolis by 7

The College Football Czar Week 11 Week ten in review: For the second time this season, the College Football Czar must issue a retraction. A few dozen more, and he may find himself writing for the New York Times. Last week, he wrote that Air Force was looking to clinch the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy against Army, when in fact, they were merely trying to stay in contention for it, having lost to Navy in overtime earlier this season. Army’s 41-21 shocker over the AFA means that possession of the trophy will be decided in the season-ending Army-Navy game. All the undefeated...

Predictions for the next four years. Obama 2016

Hey friends, we're using the #ElectionNightSurprises hash-tag today, so join in! 5 Nov 12 Reply Retweet Favorite Join in on an awesome Election Eve hashtag game, you say? Don’t mind if we do! Ricochet @Ricochet #ElectionNightSurprises Chris Matthews is calm and level-headed in his coverage 5 Nov 12 Reply Retweet Favorite Jason B. Whitman @JasonBWhitman I wonder if he'll announce in O-I-H-O? RT @TheRickWilson: Biden announcing his 2014 Presidential Campaign. #ElectionNightSurprises 5 Nov 12 Reply Retweet Favorite Mr M @proUSAproGod Al Gore will take his mask off, reavealing it was Al Sharpton all along. #ElectionNightSurprises 5 Nov 12 Reply Retweet...

Okay... election day is tomorrow, and it's time for all us to make final predictions on the record... you know, for bragging rights. This is specifically for the Presidential race, but if you want to lock in overall and/or specific Senate and House races for "bonus points", by all means go ahead!

I went 10-4 straight up last week, and 7-7 against the spread. For the season, that puts me at 72-46 and 50-63-5 against the spread. For a comparison, check out the "experts" over at ESPN.com. What follows are my picks for the NFL's Week Nine: **Thursday, November 1** Kansas City 1-6 at San Diego 3-4 - 8:20 p.m. (Line: SD by 7) The Chiefs have lost four in a row. They are ranked 29th in the league in both points scored per game and points allowed per game. Matt Cassel has thrown 10 INTs and lost six fumbles so far...

The College Football Czar Week 10 Week nine in review: As this issue goes to print, there remain massive power outages on the Eastern seaboard due to Hurricane Sandy. Naturally, this poses the potential for some of this weekend’s games to be postponed or canceled, although there is no known instance of such at this time. Honestly, the College Football Czar had fully intended to pick Oklahoma over Notre Dame, and he has no idea what possessed him to type in Notre Dame as the winner, but the published pick is the published pick, and the clairvoyant Broward County canvassing...