Funny how things never work out the way they were planned.

Almost as if one half was working full-time at counteracting every prediction the other half has ever made.

The majority of last year, and a good part of this summer were full of predictions gone wrong and hard-to-believe outcomes.

Let’s review.

Under oath and waving fingers, Baltimore Orioles first baseman and potential hall-of-famer Rafael Palmiero told Congress and the rest of America, that he never took steroids.

Funny.

Already under scrutiny, Palmeiro’s future status in the hall is now even more questioned. Despite being one of four in the elite 500 homers and 3,000 hits club. This well-known slugger may face perjury charges to accompany his 10-game suspension.

Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams returned to his team after deciding that football was listed higher amongst his priorities than marijuana.

Funny.

His teammates are having difficulty warming up to him since his return. He is also supposedly practicing as the Dolphins’ fourth string running back, even though he sees the ball slightly more than the typical fourth stringer.

Evidently, Kansas wanted a piece of that screw-with-peoples’-heads action as well.

Earning a trip to its first bowl game under coach Mark Mangino in 2003, Kansas football looked to have improved immensely for the 2004 season.

Funny.

Although they started a vast majority of the games looking like the team of new, Kansas disappointed us all by following a bowl game season with a 4-7 campaign in 2004.

Adding to the humor was former running back John Randle. The All-Big 12 honorable mention rushed for 540 yards and six touchdowns last year.

He also urinated in public and racked up a battery charge to go with it.

To top off this salute to a disappointing 2004 is Kansas basketball, starring departed guard J.R. Giddens.

Loaded with seniors, talent and heart, the 2004-2005 basketball season was set to rival no other. A team with an ability to win, unprecedented by those before it. The season began exactly that way — on a tear. 20-0 in the first month and a half.

Funny.

How fast that feel of success and superiority can leave you. The Jayhawks finished the year on 3-7 fallout, losing to Bucknell in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Oh but the surprises kept coming.

Three-point specialist and drama creator, Giddens, not only caused confusion with a sub-par sophomore season, but added to this unbelievable list when he created his own ticket off the basketball team.

The fight outside the Moonbar, was not a surprise. Disrespecting tradition at the university you play for was.

The page turns and 2005 is upon us. Surprises are not always negative, and often are the source of reform and improvement. More good than bad occurred last year in the Jayhawk world of sports, but it’s the jaw-droppers that stick with us.

Maybe the Jayhawks got it all out of their systems last year. Maybe this crazy world of athletics, where most of us reside, will straighten up, follow predictions and quit confusing us.

Funny. I just can’t believe that.