The Observer, April 22, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 26
The year in review: a columnist's self-evaluation
This is my 26th article for The Observer in this last edition of the paper for the 2004-2005 school year. In addition, I'll be graduating at the end of the semester, making this my last article ever. The paper staff is going to have to find someone to replace me. Will this person have to fill big shoes? How hard will I be to replace? Well, many people can write well and there are a lot of creative people on this campus.
The difference between an average columnist and a great one is the ability to predict the future – to possess an intuition and insight for what is going to happen next. Many of my articles have included predictions of some type; therefore, I'll recap some of them and score my prediction on a 0-2 scale. A "0" is an absolutely awful prediction, a "1" a half wrong/half right one, and a "2" is a correct prediction. This will also give you an opportunity to get a recap of some of the articles you missed (which I am sure are numerous) and for me to give my bosses at The Observer an idea of how much of a monetary bonus I should receive for my efforts this year. I'll state the name of the article, the date it was published, the thesis of the article, the main prediction, and then score the correctness of the prediction.
Aug. 27: Title: "And the gold medalist is…Bayer?" Thesis: Steroids are more prevalent in sports than athletes are willing to admit. Prediction: More will come out about steroids; lots of people are on them. Score: 2 – BALCO, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and the Senate hearings have proven this article correct.
Sept. 3: "Come on, not tonight, I got an eight o'clock tee time tomorrow!!" Athletes' relationships tend to adversely affect their performance on the field, especially in the case of Tiger Woods. The prediction was that Tiger Woods would continue to lose his title as the world's best golfer. Score: 0 – Although Tiger did lose his number one world ranking to Vijay Singh, he just won the Masters last week and is still regarded as the golfer to beat. His game is definitely on the rise.
Sept. 10: "Let's pause to shed a tear for Tim Couch." Tim Couch had just been released by the Browns. He then was picked up by the Packers' but was not playing well there either. The pre-diction was that Tim Couch's talent would shine through and he would rebound to play good football eventually. Score: 0 – Tim Couch has been proven to be a loser. He was out of football last year, has no team this year, and is one of the biggest busts in history.
Sept. 17: "2002 déjà vu for OSU?" This article was written after the Browns and Buckeyes had solid starts to their seasons, each having won in an exciting game the weekend the article was written. The prediction was 2 004 would be like 2002 in terms of exciting, quality football, when the Browns made the playoffs and the Bucks won the National Championship. Score: 0 – This one was a bad prediction. The Browns went 4-12, and the Buckeyes had their worst season since coach Jim Tressel's first year with the team.
Sept. 24: "Are the Cleveland Browns a black hole?" The article said that Cleveland is unlucky for athletes. The prediction was Jeff Garcia would have a terrible season, Kellen Winslow would be unproductive, and the Browns' record would be bad. Score: 2 – This is exactly what happened, and it was painful to watch.
Oct. 1: "Ricky Williams forced to give back millions." The article covered former Miami Dolphins' running back Ricky Williams' sudden retirement. The two predictions were Williams would try to make a comeback to avoid paying back his signing bonus and that he would be a success. Score: 1 – The first prediction was correct; however, the Dolphins did not want Williams back even though their record was poor.
Oct. 8: "Rocket rolls to playoffs, seventh Cy Young." The article addres-sed pitcher Roger "The Rocket" Clem-ens's amazing career. It predicted Clemens would lead his team the Houston Astros to the World Series and that Clemens would win the Cy Young award. Score: 1 – The Astros made it all of the way to Game 7 of the NLCS, but lost to the Cardinals. Yet, Clemens did pick up his seventh Cy Young.
Nov. 5: "OSU lucky, not good in win over troubled Penn State team." This article commented on the Ohio State football team, asserting that the Buckeyes were lucky, and not good, in winning their first few games. The prediction was the Buckeyes were going to take a dive and lose many games. Score: 1 – At first, this was an excellent prediction, as the Buckeyes lost games to Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Iowa. However, they recovered to beat Michigan and won big in their bowl game to save the season, proving they were semi-talented after all.
Nov. 12: "Cavaliers' opening games show early problem signs." After losing their first three games, this article addressed some of the problems with the Cavs, saying they were over-hyped. The prediction was the Cavs would have a mediocre year. Score: 1 – The Cavs then went on to ascend to first in their division, but have since taken a dive.
Feb. 18: "Cavs are good this year, but not good enough." After losing to the Denver Nuggets, this article said the Cavs were not that good even though they were first in their division. The prediction was the Cavs would take a terrible dive late in the season and may miss the playoffs. Score: 2 – This one actually happened.
Feb. 25: "Improving sports programs will help Case's dorky image." This article asked the administration to make improving Case's sports programs a higher priority. The prediction was that the Case campus will be greatly improved in many ways and Case's reputation will be bettered if the school is made to be more sports and athlete friendly. Score: provisional 2 – I hope this happens. It hasn't happened yet, but I really hope it does in time.
Mar. 18: "The Contender picks boxing up from the canvas." This article was about NBC's show The Contender, which is still playing every Sunday night at 8 p.m. The prediction was the show would do well and excite people about the sport of boxing once again. Score: 1 – The show has been fairly successful, but I'm still waiting to see more enthusiasm about boxing amongst the general population. Still, the media coverage on the show is a step in the right direction towards the re-popularization of boxing as a premier spectator sport like it was in the 1970s.
With a score of 13 out of 24 possible points, I fall into the category of an average columnist. Oh well, it just makes it easier for the staff to find a replacement. No matter what, each article was fun to write regardless of whether the prediction was 100 percent correct in the end. Have a good summer, and goodbye forever, Case Western Reserve University.
