Welcome to The Coin Toss, where I make some bold, unlikely predictions about your favorite professional sports.
In my last column, I made some NFL draft predictions. I correctly predicted four of the top-10 picks: Myles Garrett to the Browns, Solomon Thomas to the Niners, Leonard Fournette to the Jaguars and Christian McCaffrey to the Panthers. In a tumultuous draft with trades everywhere, I think four-for-10 is pretty good.
For this ever-so-special commencement issue, I thought I'd do a smattering of predictions across a couple of sports. If you've read my column before, I hope you've enjoyed my rambling for the past two semesters. If you're reading for the first time, enjoy! Here's the biggest, boldest edition of The Coin Toss yet...
NBA: Who will win the MVP award?
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Not bold enough, you say? Vegas odds have James Harden winning the award. Harden is -175 as the favorite, with Westbrook at +125, followed by Kawhi Leonard at +650. If I had a vote, I would pick Harden to win. He's carried his team to a dominant season, while Westbrook has had remarkable stats, but largely helped himself over his team. My opinion doesn't matter however, as the media votes for the award. The media narrative is that Westbrook had the better season than Harden. The coverage has emphasized his triple double stats as the reason he has the edge in the MVP race. Maybe Harden should win, but Westbrook will take home the award.
MLB: Who will win the AL East?
Boston Red Sox
I'm a die-hard New York Yankees fan, so it pains me to make this prediction. As I write this, the Yankees and Orioles are off to hot starts and are fighting atop the division. The Yankees are riding the power of Aaron Judge, and the Orioles are led by Manny Machado and their surprisingly good pitching staff. The Red Sox, meanwhile, are sitting behind them just waiting to explode. They have what is probably the most talented roster in the American League. Chris Sale is on fire to begin the season, Mookie Betts simply refuses to strike out and Andrew Benintendi is showing he's no fluke in his rookie year. But the Sox haven't been as successful as we all thought. I think the best is yet to come for them, and they'll eventually take control of the most competitive division in baseball.
NFL: Who will be the best QB out of the year's draft?
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
To me, the answer right now is fairly obvious. Watson had easily the best body of work from college, but he was still passed on by both the Bears and Chiefs, who reached for Mitch Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes, respectively. Watson fell to 12 where he was drafted by the Houston Texans, which should be an ideal situation for the young QB. The Texans have a talented defense and a great receiving corps, led by Deandre Hopkins. Again, we might not know for a while, but I would bet that Watson will eventually be considered the best quarterback from the 2017 draft.
