Mr. Predicto: Bold Guesses for 2008

With the start of the new year, it's the perfect time to throw some predictions onto the record. Rather than restrict myself to sports prognositcation as usual, I'm gonna make some guesses about everything under the sun. Here are some things to watch for in 2008:

* At Macworld in January, Steve Jobs will announce that all of The Beatles' music will finally be available on iTunes. To coincide with the announcement, Apple will release a Beatles-branded iPod.

* Bouyed by game MVP Marion Barber, the Dallas Cowboys will upset the New England Patriots in the highest-rated Super Bowl ever.

* At the Oscars, the recent trend of splitting the Best Picture and Best Director awards will continue. After Paul Thomas Anderson's suprise win for There Will Be Blood, the Best Picture trophy will go to No Country for Old Men.

* After Michael Bloomberg enters the presidential race as an independent in March, both major party candidates panic. GOP nominee Rudy Giuliani engages Bloomberg in a spat about which mayor deserves more credit for New York's post 9/11 resurgence. Meanwhile, in an effort to disassociate herself with New York and appeal to rural voters, Hillary Clinton selects Bill Richardson as her running mate.

*Dr. Dre's long-awaited Detox album will finally be released, becoming the first album in three years to go platinum in its first week in stores.

* The WGA strike will extend all the way to April, effectively canceling the '07-'08 television season. Having seen the devastating effects of the writers strike, the studios will prevent the SAG and DGA strikes from materializing by coming to new terms with the unions in June.

* To the surprise of few, the second O.J. Simpson trial will be the dominant story of cable news talk shows.

* The Dark Knight will upset Indiana Jones 4 to become the highest grossing movie of the year.

* The Beijing Olympics will be a ratings hit, and will become the first buzzed-about Olympics since Atlanta '96. Shawn Johnson, Tyson Gay and Dwight Howard will be the breakout American stars of games. There will be no major drug scandals, leading conspiracy theorists to accuse the image-conscious Chinese Olympic organizers of orchestrating a cover-up.