David James said the Cincinnati Bengals will win the Super Bowl this year.
I imagine three questions are popping into your head after reading that intro: Who is David James? Why do I care what team he thinks will win? And is he nuts?
The answer to that last one is hard to figure out.
James was the host of the sports radio show "Call It What You Want," a perfect venue for his tendency to make bold predictions. The 41-year-old has since abandoned his show and now works for athletes and general managers on a freelance basis, charging for his services as a sports prognosticator.
"Now I travel around and do radio, which has been great," he said in a phone interview. "I also meet with GMs and athletic directors. I come out and advise them on where their strengths are and where their weaknesses are."
And he's fairly sure his predictions will come true.
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"I humbly say that I'm 80 percent right with all my predictions."
His description of his methods is intriguing. James said he has no overall formula. He's just "the Predictor." He has connections with several pro teams in every sport, and he spends countless hours studying players and teams. He watches tapes and pores over stats. Then, like a true sports swami, he "senses" the futures of teams.
Sounds crazy, right?
James is on record as having predicted, among other things, that Tom Brady would be a better quarterback for New England than Drew Bledsoe before the 2001 NFL season.
"I stand by all my predictions," he said. "I knew six years ago that Ryan Leaf would be a total bust, and that one was really how I started to make my name."
Leaf, you probably remember, was regarded as potentially better than Peyton Manning, and turned out to be one of the worst NFL quarterbacks ever.
Along those lines, James predicted the Dallas Cowboys will be a division winner this year, but heir-apparent quarterback Drew Henson will be a bust for Bill Parcells.
As far as contracting his services, James said he has put his sports prediction skills on display for a prominent NHL team's general manager.
"I told him it would take me two years to turn them into a winner," he said. "The first year I spend figuring out what the problem is, then the next year I fix it. He really liked what I had to say."
The Predictor is bringing his knowledge to New Mexico on Thursday when he'll appear on Ian Martin's nightly radio show "The Sports Animal" on KNML 610 at 6:30 p.m.
On UNM sports, James's predictions get a little vague. He said DonTrell Moore is a good player, "but wouldn't be high on my draft board," and Danny Granger "has a big career ahead of him. I see big headlines for him."
The Predictor can't really say what helped him form either of these opinions. He said he's just going with his "sense."
But if he truly is the Nostradamus of sports, expect a Super Bowl parade in Cincinnati early next year.
