With that said, it shouldn’t shock you that I’m going to admit I was wrong last December with one of the five Mash-up predictions I made for 2007.
•Prediction: Super Bowl hype will get downright silly. Result: Correct. At halftime, Prince played a guitar behind a sheet and his silhouette made almost as much news as the game.
•Prediction: Athletes will stop rapping. Result: Wrong. This was wishful thinking.
It’s never a good idea for athletes to rap. There is nothing to gain even if it goes well, and it never goes well.
As chairman of the nonexistent National Organization for Reproaching Athletes who Perform (NORAP), I’ve done everything I can — up to and including making smart-aleck remarks — to prevent it from happening.
However, I had nothing to do with the Mash-up jinx, which has proved to be stronger than the Madden curse.
Here’s how it went for rapping athletes in ’07: Warriors guard Troy Hudson released a rap album; he’s been dealing with a hip injury that might end his career.
Chiefs running back Larry Johnson found himself in a controversy over whether a voice rapping on a recording was his. All involved said it wasn’t LJ, but the curse didn’t care. He’s missed most of the season with a foot injury.
(Putting my trademark sarcasm aside, I’d never wish to see anyone get hurt. Get well soon, fellas. That’s real.)
Nationals outfielder Lastings Milledge was on a song called “Bend Ya Knees,” which had nothing to do with a proper batting stance. This offseason, he was traded from the New York Mets, a playoff contender, to Washington, the National League’s version of purgatory.
Spurs guard Tony Parker released a French rap album. He’s now suing a Web site that posted a report saying he cheated on his wife, Eva Longoria. Parker says the report was untrue, and he wants $40 million.
•Prediction: A sports movie will touch our hearts. Result: Technically, I was right.
In 2007, Hollywood gave us “Balls of Fury,” a movie about ping pong, which had the tagline, “A huge comedy with tiny balls.” That was as classy as drinking strawberry wine straight out of the bottle at a formal Christmas party. And in “Blades of Glory,” Will Ferrell played an obnoxious figure skater.
Anyway, I said a movie would touch our hearts — I didn’t say whether it would feel like the touch of a massage therapist or a dentist’s drill.
•Prediction: Tony Romo’s love life will continue to intrigue. Result: Nailed that one like my name was Stanley “Hammer” Burrell.
•Prediction: An unlikely product will emerge. Result: Got this one right, too. Mostly, anyway. I said it would be Major League Baseball hair gel — instead it was David Beckham hair gel.
