Prediction Market

On a sparkling spring morning here in the Pacific Wonderland, I’m about to head to the nearest cave-like faux-Irish bar and spend a couple hours screaming at foreigners in shorts. Hey, I’m an American soccer fan—that’s how we roll. Anything I say about today’s Big Game is bound to be wrong, so I’m gonna go ahead and say it: choosing Experience over Hope, I call this thing Manchester United 2 : 0 Barcelona. Goals by Ronaldo (in about the 25th minute, as Barcelona’s flaky defense explodes in a shower of toothpicks) and someone totally random like Park (in about the 75th minute, on a Victor Valdes howler off a set piece). Messi, Eto’o and Henry all non-factors. Maybe Iniesta has some luck from distance.

Okay. Let it, like every other sporting prediction I’ve ever ventured, not come to pass.