Amateur Predictor

Something this morning reminded me about the bold predictions I made for the 07 baseball season back in April and I looked up that post to see how I did. And the answer is ... not bad. Better than a lot of guys who get paid to make predictions.

I had half the playoff teams right, which in an odd year like this one, isn't too bad. I had the Red Sox, Yankees, Diamondbacks and Phillies right. I had the Sox and Phils as Wild Cards and the Yanks as East champs, so it wasn't exactly precise, but I made it up for it with the bold D-backs pick. That one was solid! Picking the Phillies showed some foresight as well, but the Yankee and Sox picks weren't exactly risky.

I did have the Sox winning the World Series though, so I get bonus points for that, even if that was as much me being a fan as me being a prognosticator. I got close, but missed, on the Tigers, Mets and Cardinals. Picking the Rangers to win the AL West is the lone embarrassment. I don't know what I was thinking. I have no excuse.

All in all, I'm pleased with myself. Maybe I have a thing for this! I won our office March Madness pool back in 2005 despite not getting the winner right thanks to a ridiculous run in the first two rounds. (Yeah, I had Vermont in the sweet sixteen). Back in 1992 I picked every Triple Crown winner in horse racing. But don't worry, friends and supporters, this is strictly for fun -- no money is involved!

Moving on to other topics...
-- The Global Missions Health Conference was a blast, despite my "questionable" attitude going into it. We had more and better contacts than last year. There were several really excellent inquirers with a heart for church planting and a willingness to take initiative and pioneer new work. I'm actually excited to follow up with them and optimistic we'll be able to help some or most.

-- I'm going to become a lean, mean fighting machine. Yesterday I had my first trial kempo lesson and I decided to take up the classes on an on-going basis. Should be fun ... and good for me. And who knows, maybe with enough work I can parlay this into a gig on the UFC!

-- I had something else to talk about here, but now I forget what it was.

-- This wasn't it, but bears mentioning: Anyone else notice how Kelly Kapur has all the good lines on The Office now? (The trash-talking last night was good, but nothing tops "Ryan used me as an object" from a few episodes back). All in all, this season isn't measuring up to the last two, but it's still good for a chortle every now and again.