Predicting the winners is not always easy

As the semester comes to a close and we all prepare to pack up and head for home, it seems appropriate to discuss and make predictions for the summer of sports ahead. So here are a few of my predictions, and I'll admit right now that they are my hopeful, yet realistic, opinions of what will happen in the upcoming sports-filled summer.\nNHL Stanley Cup Playoffs \nWith several of the big boys getting upset in the first round, the Stanley Cup is up for grabs. In the East, New Jersey will advance to their third finals in four years. The Devils' solid defense, anchored by goaltender Martin Brodeur will prove too tough for the rest of the weaklings in the East. Dallas, a top-seed in the West, will find a way to blow their opportunity, and I'm riding Anaheim and goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere all the way to the Cup finals. Once there, Brodeur will prove too much and with consistent scoring from Patrik Elias, Jamie Langenbrunner and Scott Gomez, the Devils will prevail in six games.\nNBA Finals\nIt is the NBA, so teams have not even started to play yet. TNT analyst and former player Kenny "The Jet" Smith said it best: "A playoff series does not really start until a team faces elimination." As sad as it is, it seems true. Every team has shown signs of dominance in their first round series, just to come back the next game and get blown out from the start. The West is a three-team race between Sacramento, San Antonio and Los Angeles. Sorry Dallas, but you have to play at least a little defense in the playoffs to win. I'm wishfully picking Sacramento over L.A. in the conference finals as the Kings will finally get by the demons of the Lakers. But as much as I despise the Lakers, my gut tells me they very well may pull the four-peat. The Eastern Conference is a crap-shoot. You could flip a coin to pick a series winner, and you would have as good a shot as actually analyzing the series. So I followed my intuition, and New Jersey ended up back in the finals. It doesn't matter though. The West will prevail again. Kings win in five games.\nIndianapolis 500\nYes, racing is a sport, and it does not get any better than the biggest event at the most heralded speedway in the world. Sure, I'm biased since I lived a mile from "The Track" until I was six, but if you are any sort of sports fan or you like American history and culture, you have to go to the Indy 500 at least once in your life. You do not have to enjoy the racing aspect, but the atmosphere, pre-race festivities and people are absolutely incredible. Back to my predictions, Penske is the easy pick for the 500 in a few weeks, and Helio Castroneves will definitely challenge to become the first ever driver to win three 500s in a row. But I'm gonna take Sam Hornish Jr. to bring home the title this year. Castroneves and others will put up a fight, and I'm hoping Sarah Fisher will be able to compete without mechanical problems to show all the guys what she is made of.\nMajor League Baseball\nI know that baseball season will still have a month left when we get back to school in September, but by that time, things will have sorted out. The Royals will compete, but the Twins will rule the American League Central. The Red Sox will go through their usual August swoon, and the Yankees will easily win the AL East. And as usual, the Cubs will swan dive through the National League Central back into reality once the temperatures warm up, and the Cardinals and Astros will battle to the end for the division title. Sorry, but it is just five more years until the Cubs hit the century mark without a title, and they will go flying by that mark into a second century of depression and hope for next year.\nWimbledon\nCan anybody beat Serena Williams? The simple answer is no. Even sister Venus has been left in the dust by Serena's recent run through the entire women's circuit. On the men's side, Andre Agassi will battle Australian youngster Lleyton Hewitt for the final with Agassi making one last stand and bringing home the championship.