COLUMN: The crystal ball of Penn sports

From Rick Haggerty's, "House of Haggs" But what many millennium-focused people seem to be forgetting is that we still have a year to go before we flip the calender next December 31. And a lot will happen in that one year, including much right here in University City. So, as we look forward to the end of the 20th century, I will now provide you with seven of my personal predictions for 1999 from the world of Penn athletics. · Penn parties like it's 1979 at the Big Dance. I'm not the first on this campus to predict a '99 tournament berth, but this men's basketball team is definitely capable of bringing the Ivy crown back to the Palestra for the first time since 1995. Princeton has not lost a league game in over two years, but it is time for that streak to end. And it will if the Quakers play like they did against Brown on Saturday. I don't want to get carried away here, but remember what happened 20 years ago. · Michael Jordan comes out with a new look. We saw the baldy at the end of last season, and he had the Iversonesque corn rows for the Lehigh game last month. What's next, Mike? With this team having a good chance to play in the postseason, I'm sure No. 23 will have something up his sleeve. My guess: Rodman pink. · Mandy West and Diana Caramanico team up for 90 points in one game. Since it is unlikely that Derrick Coleman will rejoin the 76ers, Caramanico is probably the best basketball-playing D.C. in town. And when the shots fall for West, she can light up any team. This duo should do some major damage as the season progresses. · Rockin' Robin flies at NCAAs. He's been there before, but Robin Martin -- the fastest man this side of the Schuylkill River -- has never come out on top in the 800-meter final at the NCAA Track and Field Championships. Last June, the star of the Penn men's track team was on his way to first place in the finals at SUNY-Buffalo, but a late kick only allowed him to come up with third place. This year, expect the All-American to scorch every other runner in the field. · Penn Relays attendance hits 100,000. After celebrating its centennial anniversary five years ago, the world's largest track and field meet will hit another milestone containing the number 100. Last year, Relays attracted over 90,000 fans to Franklin Field for the three-day carnival, and the numbers seem to increase every year. · Jim Finn will be receiving an NFL paycheck in the fall. For the second straight year, a Quaker will make the jump to the NFL. Teams won't be passing on Tim Couch or Ricky Williams to take the Ivy League Player of the Year, but Finn should find a place on a practice squad next year, probably as a fullback. · The softball team does not go winless in the Ivy League. After going 0-12 and being outscored 82-9 in league games last year, there is nowhere to go but up. Jen Strawley was the only loss to graduation in '98, so expect the softball team to post at least a win or two in the Ivies this year. · Good ol' 1998 brought several Ivy titles and individual accomplishments with it, but it now looks as though 1999 could bring even more. So, as the 21st century rapidly approaches, look for the Penn Athletic Department to finish the 20th in impressive fashion. Have a happy New Year, Penn sports fans. It should be a good one.