If you are in the greater New Orleans area and are stumbling around trying to find a good source of news or reading, chances are you’re going to find an online source called NOLA.com, which is a compilation of newspaper articles from many different news outlets from the greater New Orleans area. And if you do some digging, you might find an art
icle written on New Years Eve by a famously known sportswriter, Peter Finney.
Finney, an inductee into the National Football Hall of Fame for his journalistic work for the New Orleans Saints and the City of New Orleans, was an avid sportswriter of any and every sporting event that the City of New Orleans hosted. Every New Years Eve, Finney would publish one final article for the calendar year: one that predicted the outcome of each major sporting event for the next calendar year.
When Finney passed in 2016, his son, Peter Finney Jr., picked up his father’s tradition when writing his own predictions for the 2019 world sporting season, a memory for his father who had passe two years earlier.
So, for this year, I want to honor the late great Peter Finney and make my own. Finney would always laugh that people would cross out his mispredictions in the crayon, but this time around there is no need for a crayon. You can email me.
January:
Indiana’s Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza likely would have sprung his Hoosiers side to an impressive display of force as they dominate their second round CFP matchup. Ohio States strength of schedule scare me, especially when they likely play Georgia in the semifinal, a Georgia squad who would cruise to a sugar bowl win against a coach less yet red hot Ole Miss. Georgia and Gunnar Stockton are a clear favorite to take home the second rendition of the 12-team college football playoff when they dismantle The Indiana Hoosiers 38-17 in an impressive offensive out showing.
February:
A lopsided and wild NFL season makes any sort of prediction for the postseason difficult, especially when everyone’s preseason predictions are all being proved false each week. We begin to see a Tom Brady 2.0 in Drake Maye when the playoffs roll around, and with the most resistance of another Patriots super bowl appearance (their 6th in the past 15 years), coming from a strong AFC South and the Broncos, I think they should have no issues going to their first super bowl game since Tom Brady left. In the NFC, on the other hand, there are too many favorites for the postseason, not to be interesting. The Midwest features a boiling hot Chicago Bears side who refuse to lose a game, and you go to the NFC East who house the defending super bowl champions and their closely skilled counterparts in Dallas, Texas. Any strong team has a chance to win, but with the Seahawks defense, I think they will face the Patriots in the Super Bowl. And just like the last time they faced off in the NFL’s biggest game, the Patriots will win with Drake Maye at the helm.
March:
The annual March Madness tournament is one of the biggest sporting events of the early spring. Each game is a 50/50, even lopsided game like a 1 seed playing a 16 seed. Even with strong SEC Darkhorse’s like Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Alabama, and Auburn, I think Duke from the ACC is strong favorite to make another final, but will face serious competition with Arizona, UNC, Purdue, and Houston. I think Houston and Duke will square off in a final or semifinal game. Regardless, the Blue Devils will be crowned kings of March once again.
April:
Though I’m not the world’s biggest golf fan, the month of April has me glued to my TV for four days watching the world’s best play at Agusta national in Georgia. It might be too early to tell, but I don’t believe Rory McIlroy will defend his masters title very well, losing to Scottie Scheffler in the 2026 edition of the masters.
May:
The Kentucky Derby is one of the most well-known races for thoroughbred horses in the world, with Churchill downs hosting some of the finest horses and jockeys. On the golf side, the PGA championship will be held from May 11th-17th, and this is one I believe Rory McIlroy will win. McIlroy is a consistent player on the PGA, and he will be looking to win another strong tournament following his masters to win the year prior.
June/July:
The FIFA World Cup will contain a record high 48 teams with games spanning across the 3 biggest countries in North America. If you watched last year’s world cup final, arguably the most famous soccer match of all time, you’d easily come to the conclusion that the world cup is a high stakes tournament featuring the world’s best towards the later rounds. Strong favorites include Spain, Argentina, France, and England. However, some countries, I believe, can make it to the later rounds despite being stacked up against what appears to be insurmountable odds. Countries like the Netherlands, South Korea, Brazil, and Morocco are all strong teams with considerable success, especially at the Qatar World Cup in 2022. Portugal has also solidified its spot as a contender, with young talent helping old veterans end their careers. Don’t be surprised when any of those teams make it to the Round of 16. However, I think France will make it out their group, dominate the tournament with their award-winning talent, and leave the final at MetLife Stadium world champions.
August/September:
The US open will start in the very final days during August and run into September. The world’s best tennis players will gather in Long Island, New York, to play in the biggest tennis competition in the western hemisphere. For the men’s bracket, I predict Carlos Alcaraz and Jannick Sinner will meet again in the final, with Sinner taking home the trophy, not allowing Alcaraz to win back-to-back US Opens. For the women’s, Karolina Muchova will win.
October:
The infamous saying in the MLB world “March to October” ends with the Dodgers and the Mariners being the last two in the postseason. Unfortunately for Mainers fans, their season ends in heartbreak as the Dodgers take home another World Series title, their 10th all-time.
November/December:
The Saints will have some success in “sophomore” Tyler Shough and will show signs of the Saints commanded under Drew Brees. They will at least be .500, going 8-8 or 9-7, getting wins at the right time. The Final Four teams in the CFP will be Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, and Oregon, with Texas being the SEC champions.