AB.com's 2011 Predictions.

New Year's Resolutions are for punks. Let's face it, if you need wait until January 1st and announce to the world you intentions to finally join Gold's Gyms and lose that gut, you probably aren't gonna make it. I would really like to permanently remove the word "resolution" from the English language.

I'm more about predictions anyway. They're more fun to make, and if you're wrong, who cares? If you're right, you look like a genius, and I need not remind you, in 2010 and 2009, I looked like a genius. Thus, I'm once again staring into the AB Crystal Ball and giving you a boatload of various predictions for the new year.

---

Politricks

President Obama will find Year 3 of his Presidency the easiest thus far. The bipartisan wins of the lame duck session will miraculously roll over in the the new year, as the President and GOP-controlled Congress will come together to tackle issues of tax code reform, deficit reduction, and the economy at large. Obama will finally figure out how to take credit for what he does, and a White House shakeup in early 2011 will result in better messaging as a whole. His approval ratings will resurface to the mid 50's, setting the table for 2012.

The economy will finally rebound. With new job numbers improving month by month, the Obama administration will be able to claim they solved the unemployment issue. By year's end, unemployment will drop to an even 9.0%, which won't be earth shattering, but will be a good enough trend for the Administration to prove things are on the right track.

The Dow will briefly eclipse the 14,000 mark during the course of the year, then level back off.

The GOP will find itself continually at-odds within their newly controlled Congress. While party leadership will be more apt to work with the President, the Tea Partiers will be eager to make a name for themselves and will prove to be a thorn in the side of progress. In an odd turn of events, the Tea Party and Congressional Black Caucus will find themselves on the same side when the President and GOP leadership strike a deal that neither group agrees with.

By year's end, Tea Party newbies will find themselves unable to get anything of substance done and will simply fall in line with GOP leadership on some very controversial votes, which will set the tone for a difficult 2012 re-election campaign for many TP candidates.

The usual GOP suspects will declare their 2012 intentions by March. Sarah Palin, however, will string the party along for months until announcing that she won't run sometime in the Summer. Tea Partiers and bloggers alike will fall into a deep depression. Imagine all of the lost post fodder.

Entertainment

Tyler Perry will finally make a movie (of his own) that's actually good enough to get bourgeois Negroes like myself off his back. Yes, the movie (which won't include Madea) will actually be that decent.

J. Cole will finally blow up, as his debut album sells close to 200,000 copies the first week.

A new white rapper will become the biggest thing in the rap game at some point in the year.

A high profile rap groupie will get her own reality show on VH1.

Sports

The LA Lakers will lose in an early round matchup. The Miami Heat will implode in the Eastern Conference Finals vs the Boston Celtics, effectively blowing the homecourt advantage they worked all season to get. The San Antonio Spurs will in the NBA championship.

The Chicago Bears will win the Super Bowl. Yeah, really.

The UConn Huskies will win both the men's and women's' NCAA basketball titles.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will win the Stanley Cup (again).

Blake Griffin will win the NBA's Rookie Of The Year award.

Question: Okay, these are my predictions, show me yours.