J. Michael Andresen

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...

5. Film (March 2) Which picture will win American filmdom's highest prize this year at the Academy Awards? These are the five nominees for the Golden Globe for Best Dramatic Picture, which often contains the best picture for the Academy, as well. What will win the Oscar for Best Picture? a. 12 Years a Slave b. Captain Phillips c. Gravity d. Philomena e. Rush f. none of the above: some other film will win At the Academy Awards last month, 12 Years a Slave that became the first picture by a black director or producer (Steve McQueen) to win the Best Picture Oscar. This means the answer to Question 5 of the 2014 Prognostication Quiz is A . The Historical Dramatists Larry A. Keila B. Craig W. Russell V. Sarah M. Dave S. Ellen Y. Stacey C. Valerie M. Ron D. Katie M. Matthew D. Adam K. Sarah T. Ryan M. Rachel H. Hexiang Adrian C. Chris M. Dawn K. Marcus S. Xiaoqi Leaderboard Nadir Y. guessed Gravity while Larry A. advanced on 12 Years ...

4. Olympics An Olympic gold medal is the goal of all of the young athletes competing at the Winter Olympics this February in Sochi, Russia. Canada won the most gold medals in 2010, but it was the host country, which usually gets a boost in medal count. Russia is hoping to prevail this year, but it would have a very long way to come from its low gold medal count in 2010. The Olympic predictor Infostrada, which looks at how individual athletes from each country perform in international trials, predicts Norway will rise to the top this year. The Infostrada gold medal prediction for each country is listed in parentheses, followed by the gold medal count from the 2010 and 2006 Olympics, respectively. Who will win the most gold medals at the Winter Olympics? a. Norway (15 predicted in 2014, 9 in 2010, 2 in 2006) b. United States (14 predicted in 2014, 9 in 2010, 9 in 2006) c. Canada (11 predicted in 2014, 14 in 2010, 7 in 2006) d. Germany (6 predicted in 2014, 10 in 2010...