Laura and Beth Pick Chicago Cubs to Win the World Series

My family has always been amazed at just how well my daughter does at selecting teams to win whether it be college basketball or professional baseball. We are amazed because she rarely pays attention to the games that were constantly on the television. She didn't collect baseball cards or study the stats of each player.

Her choices for who's to win are based on a complex system she devised when she was about 5 years old. First, what colors are the uniforms? Next, you must consider the level of cuteness of the team mascot. Finally, you throw in emotional ties to the team, such as if the team is located in the town where a favorite Aunt lives.

This unique system has crushed her two brothers, a step Father and me (Mom), all devoted sports fans. We know stats, history and know the current injuries of all the teams and use this information to create our choices. So, I thought as the division series for the NL and AL begin this week, I thought I would show you my selections versus Laura's selections with her compelling arguments for her decisions:

National League Division Series:

Beth: Cubs over Dodgers

Laura: Cubs over Dodgers (Cubs have the cute bear mascot and the Dodgers left Vero Beach where her Grandmother lives and that decision made Gran mad!)

Beth: Brewers over Phillies

Laura: Phillies over Brewers ( Laura's college is in Pennsylvania, only 2 hours away)

American League Division Series:

Beth: Red Sox over Angels

Laura: Red Sox over Angels (She loved the movie with Drew Barrymore and Aunt Aimee and Uncle Dave live in Boston)

Beth: Rays over White Sox

Laura: Rays over White Sox (She LOVES fish and marine biology)

National League Championship Series:

Beth: Cubs over Brewers

Laura: Cubs over Phillies (Hard one to call, but cute bear and the fact the her step Dad was a bat boy for the Cubs during spring training when he was little, trumps closeness to College connection)

American League Series:

Beth: Red Sox over Rays

Laura: Red Sox over Rays (Family ties wins out over love of fish, plus she likes the color Red better as this is one of the colors for her College)

World Series Championship Game:

Beth: Cubs over Red Sox

Laura: Cubs over Red Sox ("It's because of that 100 year thing that Bill is always talking about!")

Well, there you have it! We will just have to see how our predictions hold up in this very exciting year! The good news, we both ended up with the best Winner even though we came to our selections in a very different manner. Go Cubbies!