A (Brief) Look Ahead

2007, I hardly knew ya! As the door closes on another year and the ball starts to slowly drop up in NYC, I've decided to take a look at the situations surrounding some of my favorite teams, players, bands, and life in general for 2008.

Kentucky Basketball
I thought I'd start here since I'm typing this during the commercial breaks of today's game against Florida International. So far, the Cats look like a completely different team than the one we've seen thusfar this season. This is a good thing. As Jasper and Meeks get healthier and team chemistry continues to develop, will UK be able to make any sort of run during SEC play? I think we will continue to see improved play and win a few games we're not supposed to win. But it's still going to be a struggle this season, and the Cats will be damn lucky if they make the NCAA tournament. Kentucky will be fun to watch in '08, but it may be October of '08 before the fun begins.

New York Jets
The Jets finished the season strong yesterday in the Herm Edwards Bowl against the Chiefs with a thrilling 13-10 overtime victory. I am as giddy as a high school virgin on prom night about the upcoming NFL Draft, but the Jets have so many holes to fill, I don't know where they should start. They are absolutely stagnant on offense. They have mediocre play at linebacker since going to the 3-4 defensive scheme. And their secondary is filled with a nice mixture of inexperience (Darrelle Revis) and geriatrics (Hank Poteat). Look for the J-E-T-S to have a productive draft and play better football in 2008...better than the 4-12 record of this year, but not likely to return to the playoffs just yet.

Minnesota Twins
So this off season has already seen the Twinkies lose Torii Hunter to Los Anaheim and shop Johan Santana around to an extent that would make Heidi Fleiss proud. On the plus side, they've added star-to-be Delmon Young and star-of-now Francisco Liriano should be healthy for the upcoming season. Throw in the mix the fact that there are sure to be at least two or three guys you've never heard of that will emerge and make a name for themselves this season, and things don't look terrible in the Twin Cities. Unfortunately, the American League All Star team (aka Detroit Tigers) play in the same division as my beloved Twinkies, and the Cleveland Indians still have a solid squad. Look for another third place finish by the Twins in the AL Central, and look for Joe Mauer to continue to break the hearts of ladies all across the country.



Chad Pennington
I am a big fan of Kellen Clemens. I think he gives the Jets a ton of options on offense that Chad just doesn't give them. But I also love Pennington. It was under his reign at QB that my "like" for the Jets became my "love" for the Jets. It saddens me that he is likely gone this offseason. I think he would be a great teacher for Clemens, a great backup in case of injury, and a great leader in a clubhouse full of young players. One of my biggest fears is that he will go to the division rival Miami Dolphins, since the Big Tuna Bill Parcells is calling the shots down there now. Parcells loves veteran QBs (see Drew Bledsoe, Brad Johnson, and goddamned Vinny Testaverde), so nabbing Chinnington would provide the young 'Fins with some stability at the position. It will be hard for me to root for a Dolphin, but I wish Chad the best of luck in '08.

Music
As I've said before, 2007 was a great year for albums. And a lot of those albums were released late in '07. That means there will be a lot of touring by a lot of great bands in 2008. I plan on attending as many shows, in-stores, and festivals as I possibly can in the upcoming year. First on my list is Band of Horses in Louisville on January 26th. I am hoping to see The National, of Montreal, Battles, and Jens Lekman, just to name a few. Unfortunately, I don't know if there will be as many great albums in '08 because there were just so damn many in '07. Here's hoping I'm wrong about that.

Life
2008 is the year when I finally graduate from pharmacy school and start a "real" job. This is both exciting and terrifying. I have no idea what I ultimately want out of my life, and I'm gonna be up to my ears in debt from student loans from the getgo. It should be interesting. I had a lot of ups and downs in 2007, but overall it was a good year. I am excited about meeting new people in the months to come and about the adventures that I'm sure to take with people I already know and love. I learned a lot about myself this year, which I have continued to do for a while now - that's always good. I still don't know anything about buying a house or negotiating a job contract, but I suppose I'll figure it out. Until then, I will continue to smile, crack smart-ass jokes, and continue to be cynical. It has gotten me this far.

Have fun watching the UK Football Wildcats scalp the Florida St. Seminoles. Whenever I think of Seminoles, I will always think about this. Have a fun and happy New Year full of booze and good food. And get home safely, whatever you get into. We would hate to lose one of our three readers.
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