Laying Down the Ground Rules

Notsodamus has watched many different sports shows over the last two weeks. The variety of "predictions" made by announcers is staggering. When Lou Holtz says, "Oklahoma could win all their games without Sam Bradford", is this a prediction? Is an "Upset Alert" calling the upset, or just sounding a warning siren? This post will clarify the rules Notsodamus will use to determine whether a statement made by an announcer should be considered a prediction.

1) A prediction must be made with conviction. Announcers need to make statements such as "The Steelers will beat the Titans." If an announcer says "Florida should win the SEC", this is not a prediction.

2) A prediction must be measurable. Kurt Warner will be the 2009 NFL MVP is measurable. Warner will either win the MVP, or he will not. Kurt Warner will have a good year in 2009 is not a prediction, since it is difficult to determine what defines a "good year". How do you define a "good year" for a QB? TD passes? Yards? Wins?

3) An "Upset Alert" is not a prediction. Notsodamus believes that an "Upset Alert" is an announcer saying, "I'm not calling for the upset here, but if you made me pick an upset, this is the one I would pick." Upset Alerts are like a Tornado Watch , they indicate when conditions are favorable for an upset.