The Sports Roundup Week 15: Reviewing My Sporting Predictions

Hi everyone! Hope you are doing well and enjoying the many sporting events taking place around the world! This week, I’m going to look back at some predictions I made back in October, and see how close I got! But, before we get to that:

Here are my Top 5 Sporting Moments of the Week:

5. The Australian Open started! Finally, the much anticipated and controversial tennis tournament began on Monday. There were limited crowds to watch the matches, but it is great to see the tournament taking place, and the safety of all players continuing to be prioritised. For Australia, Nick Kyrgios made a strong start to his tournament, but Djokovic is undoubtedly the man to beat in the men’s draw. For the women, all eyes will be on Ash Barty, and whether she can win a home grand slam.

4. Chris Gayle continues to do Chris Gayle type of things. This time, it was equalling his fastest half-century scoring 50 off a ridiculous 12 balls. It led him to score 84 not out from just 22 balls in the Abu Dhabi T10 league. Gayle’s form in the definition of VERY hot and VERY cold, but it was an incredible sight to see the veteran hitting them from the middle of the bat, leading his team to victory.

3. The Collapse of the Liverpool Football Club. 3 home losses in 3 games. Liverpool have been humiliated in consecutive Premier League fixtures, after losing at home to Burnley, Brighton and now a 1-4 embarrassment against Manchester City. Injuries have left the team debilitated, but that excuse still doesn’t make up for these performances. It’s been over 20,000 days since Liverpool lost 3 home games in a row, and it could take hundreds of more days until they recover from this recent run of form.

2. The Sydney Sixers win the Big Bash League! They were the dominate team all-season, and overcame their toughest competition in the Perth Scorchers, to claim another BBL title. Their batting was led by international import, James Vince, whose innings set the platform for Dan Christian and Carlos Brathwaite to set a challenging score. However, the scorchers were never able to build a partnership, and the Sixers walked away with the title.

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers win the Super Bowl! Tom Brady is the Greatest of All Time. No one can deny it any longer. Brady has now won more Super Bowls than any team has ever won. An incredible achievement at 42 years of age, demonstrating his immense commitment, courage and motivation to his sport, craft and team. It was a disappointing night for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, but it’s a necessary learning experience in what will be a long and successful career for Mahomes.

Feature Article: Reviewing My October Sporting Predictions

In October, or in Sports Roundup Week 10 (https://thelevinelowdown.com/2020/10/08/the-sports-roundup-week-10-upcoming-sports-predictions/), I gave some predictions for many different sports I would follow over the coming months. Well, now is the time to see how close I was and where I went very wrong.

NRL

Prediction: Melbourne Storm

Result: Melbourne Storm

The Penrith Panthers came tantalisingly close to the Premiership, but a slow start meant that it was always going to be difficult to catch-up. Ryan Papenhuyzen had a man of the match performance for the Storm and led them, along with the guidance of Cameron Smith, to another title.

AFL

Prediction: Port Adelaide

Result: Richmond

Port Adelaide came close but lost by a goal to Richmond in the Preliminary finals. That sent Richmond into a grand final against Geelong where they dominated from the first bounce and took an early lead that Geelong could never chase down. Dustin Martin also became the first player in AFL history to win the Norm Smith Medal three times.

Bathurst 1000

Prediction: Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes

Result: Shane Van Gisbergen and Garth Tander

My prediction failed in Lap 32 of the 161 lap race, where a mistake of Whincup sent their car into the wall. That led to a close battle at the front of the grid between the factory teammate of Whincup in Shane Van Gisbergen and the Tickford Racing entry of Cameron Waters. After fierce fighting throughout the 161 laps, the Triple Eight Racing Holden Commodore took the race by just under a second.

Formula One

Prediction: Lewis Hamilton

Result: Lewis Hamilton

The only person that could challenge Lewis Hamilton was Valtteri Bottas, and his performances were less than promising. Although the end of the season was barraged with drama such as Hamilton’s positive COVID-19 test, and the horrific crash of Romain Grosjean, Hamilton still dominated the standings and took home another driver’s and team’s championship.

MotoGP

Prediction: Fabio Quartararo

Result: Joan Mir

This one, I got very wrong. The Yamaha’s were looking strong for an extended period of the season, but utterly collapse as the season continued, struggling to make their way into the Top 10. This enabled the consistency of Joan Mir on the Suzuki to continue putting up performances each weekend and capitalising on his title challenger’s errors.

NBA

Prediction: LA Lakers

Result: LA Lakers

An understrength Miami Heat team was always going to struggle against the superpower of the LA Lakers. Lebron James and Anthony Davis were dominant, supported by a strong bench and won the moments that mattered most, taking the Lakers to another championship.

NFL

Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 

Result: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers were never in my mind after a slow start to the season. Still, as mentioned early in this roundup, they dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl and the Greatest of All Time status of Tom Brady has been solidified forever.

IPL

Prediction: Delhi Capitals

Winner: Mumbai Indians

I predicted the two teams that would make the final, the Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, but I picked the wrong team to win overall. The Mumbai Indians, led by Rohit Sharma wit the bat and Jasprit Bumrah with the ball were the most consistent team and won by 5 wickets in the final.

French Open

Prediction: Rafael Nadal

Winner: Rafael Nadal

No one can beat Nadal on clay. That statement has long been believed, but at the French Open, we were provided even more evidence of his incredible ability and love for the French Open. His win against Novak Djokovic is his fourth consecutive and 13th overall French Open title. It is also his 20th overall Grand Slam singles title, equalling Roger Federer’s all-time record.

Early Soccer Predictions

Premier League: Manchester City – Currently top of the table!

Ligue 1: PSG – Currently in 3rd place with Lille at the top of the table

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich – Currently top of the table!

Serie A: Inter Milan – Currently in 2nd place with city rival AC Milan ahead by 2 points

La Liga: Barcelona – Currently in 2nd place with Athletic Madrid 10 points ahead!

So, there are my sporting predictions from October and the result of each competition.

If you enjoyed this type of article, please let me know in the comments below or through Instagram, and I’ll endeavour to do another prediction article in a few months!

Enjoy the Australian Open!

Advertisement