J. Michael Andresen

Entry deadline is 3:30 p.m. CST on Saturday, January 10, 2015 . Send fifteen answers and one tie-break to jmandresen at gmail.com. Anyone with an email address is welcome to enter this FREE contest. The winner receives a deluxe gift bag. Happy guessing! Name:___________________________________ e-mail:___________________________________ 1. Freedom (January) Freedom House is an international organization that studies democracy and freedom in the world, publishing an annual report on how many countries it calculates to be free, partly free, or not free. The 2014 report calculated that 88 of the world’s 195 nations were free in 2013. Will freedom advance, stay stagnant, or retreat in this year’s report, covering 2014? Note: the nine worst free countries (with the highest likelihood of being downgraded) are Botswana, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Lesotho, Montenegro, and Peru. The sixteen best partly free countries (with the highest likelihood of being up

8. House Republicans currently control the US House of Representatives, with a 234-seat majority. How will that change after mid-term elections? What will happen with the House Republican caucus? a. They will hold steady or gain more seats (234 or more total) b. They will lose seats, but keep control of the House (218 to 233 total) c. They will lose control of the House (0 to 217 total) John Boehner and his colleagues picked up 15 seats from the Democrats, and only lost three (with three recounts and two runoffs still to come). As Quizmaster, I was quite relieved that the Republicans did well enough that we didn't have to wait until a January runoff in order to call this question. The Republican caucus stands right now at 244 seats, and can only get bigger. The answer to Question 8 of the of the 2014 Prognostication Quiz is A. The Republicans will gain seats in the House . The presidential party usually loses seats in the mid-term elections, so it is not too surpri

7. Soccer The World Cup takes place this summer. Who will win? Answers are listed in reverse order of their likelihood to win, according to early sports betting sites. Brazil is the early favorite, with perhaps a 25% chance of winning it all. Who will win the FIFA World Cup? a. Brazil b. Argentina c. Spain d. Germany e. Italy f. Belgium g. Colombia h. England i. France j. Uruguay k. Portugal l. None of the above Embarrassingly, C, E, and H didn't even advance out of the initial group stage. The final four were A, B, D, and L (Netherlands). The early tournament favorite Brazil was trounced in quite embarrassing fashion (at home, remember) 7-1 by the upstart Germans, who eked out a 1-0 win over Netherlands to win the tournament. This means the answer to Question 7 of the 2014 Prognostication Quiz is D. Germany. Twenty-six entrants chose A , followed by 5 for B , 6 for C , 9 for D , 3 for E , 2 for F , and a lonely single vote for poor K. Portugal by Jaso

6. Writing (April 15) Fourteen of the 21 Pulitzer Prizes are awarded for journalism. Some awards are given to the newspaper as a whole and some are given to individual reporters, but the newspaper is always mentioned. If an award is shared, both newspapers are considered to be named. The number of times each has won in this century is listed in parentheses (ties are possible). Which newspaper will win the most Pulitzers? a. The Washington Post (4) b. The New York Times (5) c. The Wall Street Journal (3) d. The Los Angeles Times (5) e. another news organization will be named the most times (0) Ties are possible, or even, perhaps, inevitable in this typically low-scoring prognostication question. This year, the Washington Post and the New York Times split the Pulitzer Prize count with two apiece. The Washington Post won the Public Service reporting prize for its coverage of the NSA surveillance scandal and for Explanatory reporting on food stamps in America. The New York