Like it is

Let's take some of the suspense out of 2019

Arkansas coach Chad Morris watches during the first half of a game against Missouri on Friday, Nov. 23, 2018, in Columbia, Mo.

In Arkansas' world of perspiring arts, 2018 was not a great year.

Oh, there was some success and that blood-pressure-raising College World Series, but mostly, thanks to the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football season, it was a forgettable year and not worth looking back.

So today, as is the tradition in this space, here are some predictions for 2019 and maybe a resolution or two:

PREDICTION The Razorbacks football team will be better this fall. How much? At least twice as good.

PREDICTION The Razorbacks basketball team, an unselfish bunch with chemistry, will win some games in which they were underdogs, but lose some they were favored in. Almost halfway into the season and with a 9-3 record, they are no longer young. They will make postseason play, but to enter the Big Dance they have to be more consistent on defense.

RESOLUTION To get back into that cashmere sport coat that was bought in 1982 and has been in a plastic bag fresh from the cleaners for more than 12 years.

PREDICTION That resolution will not come true. Time to get rid of the sport coat.

PREDICTION The Dallas Cowboys will beat Seattle in the playoffs but lose their next game. Dak Prescott becomes a multimillionaire, and Jason Garrett returns as the head coach.

PREDICTION The Razorbacks baseball team will be good, as usual, but will need some luck to get back to the College World Series.

PREDICTION If Alabama beats Clemson for the national championship, the Crimson Tide will be declared the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) football team. If Clemson wins, it will not be declared the G.O.A.T. Maybe because the Tigers aren't in the SEC.

PREDICTION If Alabama wins yet another national championship, Tua Tagovailoa will be the favorite next season to win the Heisman Trophy -- like he was much of this year -- but because of Bama's success and the growing arrogance of the SEC, voters will look for a reason to not vote for him.

RESOLUTION To spend at least as much time with mom, who may not remember the visits but seems to enjoy them while they are happening.

PREDICTION The University of Arkansas at Little Rock's basketball team is improving. The players are starting to grasp the importance of playing defense all the time, not just once in a while. Darrell Walker knows what he is doing. He has a good staff. He will win a Sun Belt championship within three years.

PREDICTION Blake Anderson will lead Arkansas State to its ninth consecutive bowl game. He sets the bar a little higher each season.

PREDICTION Richard Johnson, president of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, will do exactly what his predecessor, Keith Ingram, did and leave the organization in better shape than he found it. An early prediction is incoming president Greg Flesher will do the same, and following him Greg Hatcher will, too.

PREDICTION The Razorbacks Nation will decide the future of games in Little Rock. It will either turn out for the game against Missouri in War Memorial Stadium or it won't, and the game will eventually be moved. It is up to the fans.

PREDICTION If yours truly writes the words President Trump, someone will complain.

PREDICTION This will be the year when an athletic director and chancellor/president give a football coach a contract with a salary based on wins. A base plus bonuses for every win. The current business model cannot be sustained.

PREDICTION There will be at least two head football coaching changes in the SEC in December.

Happy New Year!

Sports on 01/01/2019