One final wake-up call

It's hard to believe that as I type, the final episode of the Sopranos is only nine hours away. Considering the fact that I have been watching this show since I was a freshman in High School, the final episode of the show will air one month after my graduation from college. Now, as every Sopranos fan knows, that doesn't mean it has been running with any sort of continuity since the first episode, but the show is just so damn good that they can afford to make their

fans wait however long it takes for a new slice of the greatest television show of all time.

The popular question tonight is: what will the male population watch this evening: the final episode of the Sopranos, or game two of the NBA finals? Well, first of all I would like to tell the NBA to sit and spin for doing this to me, and all other Cavs fans. There was no reason not to have game two on Saturday night, just absolutely no reason. Because of this, I am now torn, but I am in the minority considering the ratings for game one of this series. The solution that I have been presented with is to simply wait until tomorrow to watch the Sopranos (On Demand), and watch the Finals live. That would be acceptable in any other circumstance other than the final episode EVER. Even if this were the final episode of any given season, I could wait until tomorrow to watch it, but just not tonight. Then again, I am a witness.

We all are. So, needless to say, my decision has not been made, but I will be live blogging whichever I do decide to watch. Most people are trying to predict what will happen in the final episode of the Sopranos, so I figured I would offer my own assessment right now.

I just can't see Phil killing Tony. This was the big lead-up after the last episode, that Phil Leotardo got to Bobby and Syl, and that Tony will be next. If David Chase has taught us anything, it's that things almost never ever ever go as planned, that one episode's ending doesn't mean the next will pick up where the previous one left off. Here's the other thing that it might help to know going into tonight: David Chase has said that he has known how he was going to end the show when he first started it. If that's the case, I can't see Phil, who at the beginning of the show was a nobody, would end up netting the big fish. It just will not happen.

One of the children will die, and Carmela will find out about a long-dead secret. I think AJ or Meadow will bite it, most likely Meadow since they have been focusing on AJ so much in the previous weeks. If Meadow does die, that also could lead to AJ killing himself, the straw that breaks this very fragile camels' back. Regardless, I think one will die. Carm will not be able to handle this, and will obviously blame Tony. Here's where it could get ugly. I think, somehow, Carm will find out about Adrianna. Whether it's Syl blurting it out on his death bed... somehow, Carm finds out, leading to this very bold prediction:

Carmela, ravaged with grief, will kill Tony. Carmela is a very emotionally dangerous character. We have seen over the years some irrational behavior reacting to some pretty minor things. She has a very short fuse, and will definitely not be contained after the loss of one of her children, coupled with the knowledge that her best friend in the world was killed at the order of her husband, only to protect himself from the Feds. Is this prediction out there? Sure it is, but if you follow the series close enough, you know to expect the unexpected. This is all contingent upon either AJ or Meadow dying though, that alone could be enough to throw her over the edge. Couple that with the Ade knowledge? Well, that's your ballgame right there.

Let's not forget that throughout this series, there has been one constant: the Soprano family is the center of the story. Thinking that the four of them will not play a significant role in the finale would do an injustice to the premise of the show. And if David Chase wants to go out with a bang, this would be the loudest bullet in his gun.

Yeah, I'm probably going to be watching this at 9. I'll be live blogging it, as some things just go beyond sports.