I have pulled the Greenbean crystal ball out of mothballs to peer into the future and see what might lie ahead for the coming year. Please remember, I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet. I am merely making educated (or not so educated) guesses about what might occur. Last year I was only two out of ten, predicting that Bashar al-Assad will still be in power on December 31, 2016 (he was) and that Wal-Mart would continue its decline (it did, closing many stores). The other eight were massive fails. So, keep that in mind as you read my predictions.

I have turned on comments for this post, because I’d love to hear your predictions.

1. The ratings for this years Super Bowl will be monumentally lower than previous years. This will likely be true for all major football contests, including the NCAA championship game. Sports reached an apex about a decade ago, and now people are moving on. A corollary to this one is that ESPN will continue to slide as well, and might even undergo massive changes in corporate as well as production.

2. Netflix will buy one of the major networks. It could also merger with HBO or Comcast or something like that. Either way, my prediction is basically that Netflix will continue to grow ever more powerful.

3. A proxy shooting war between the United States and Russia will occur, most likely over Iran.

4. There will be some kind of constitutional crisis in the United States between the Senate and the Presidency. It might be over the POTUS’ business dealings, or it could be over his love affair with Russia, or perhaps use of Twitter.

5. Unlike other former Presidents, Barack Obama will actively seek to undermine the new President and eventually become the face of the Democratic Party.

6. This is the year in which a non-chemotherapy/radiation based cure for cancer is introduced. Within three years cancer will be almost eradicated.

7. Tragically, a strain of flu, or measles, or some common illness will prove to be resistant to antibiotics or drugs and kill millions of people, if not more.

8. Bill Gates will fight to take control of Microsoft again. He will attempt to do a Steve Jobs performance and rebuild the company. I can’t believe Gates likes Windows 10, either.

9. The Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys will face each other in the NFC Championship game.

10. Vinyl will continue its comeback, and record albums will be the hottest gift for Christmas next year.

So these are my predictions. I wonder if I will do better than twenty percent this year? I certainly hope with everything in me that numbers 3, 4, and 7 do not happen, however, I think at least one of them is probable. I hope number 6–oh, I hope for 6.