There’s a saying that you should be careful what you wish for because it just might come true. A day after watching his Phillies lose the World Series in six games to the Yankees, Jimmy Rollins may want to think twice before making a prediction in the future because it might not come true.

In the past few years, Rollins has become a present-day Nostradamus of baseball. Never shying away from the pressured spotlight of having to live up to his word, Rollins has assumed a prophet-like role forecasting the triumph and success that he expects his Phillies to accomplish. Prior to the 2007 season, he declared the Phillies as the “team to beat” in the NL East over the New York Mets. Not only did the Phillies use a late-season surge to take the division during the Mets’ titanic September collapse, but Rollins walked away with the NL MVP award as well.

In the months leading up to the 2008 season, Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran attempted to one-up Rollins by noting that New York and not Philadelphia was the team to beat after the Mets acquired left-handed ace Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins in the offseason.

Beltran’s comment struck a nerve with the overly confident shortstop as Rollins once again stepped up to the plate by publicly announcing that the Phillies would win 100 games in 2008, accusing Beltran of plagiarism along the way. Rollins stayed true to his word as Philadelphia went on to win the 2008 World Series, carrying with them 103 victories (including the 11 games they won in the postseason).

Rollins continued to bat 1.000 on the prediction scale when he prophesied that the Phillies would meet the Yankees in the 2009 World Series. After the two teams squared off in a three-game interleague set in May, Rollins told Playboy magazine that he expected to see the highest-paid team in baseball face off against the defending champion Phillies in the Fall Classic. So it was said, so it was done.

Fast forward to Oct. 26, when Rollins appeared on “The Jay Leno Show” and made his notorious nationwide prediction that the Phillies would be the victors in five games, or six if they were feeling generous. Unfortunately (at least for the Philadelphia shortstop), Rollins’ legacy as a faultless fortune-teller came to an end when the Yankees sealed their 27th championship with a 7-3 win over the Phillies in Game 6.

After batting a mere .217 in this year’s six World Series games, Rollins may have learned if he is going to play Joe Namath, he needs to be prepared to face the music if he is unable to back up his claim. (At least he can take anything thrown in his way.)

Rollins certainly isn’t the only athlete to be audacious enough to guarantee a title or victory and fall short of turning their opinion into a cold, hard fact. Last March during the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, Oklahoma center Courtney Paris promised that if the Sooners did not win a national title, she would pay back the entirety of her four-year scholarship to the school. For a while, it seemed like Paris might be able to keep her piggy bank full until the Sooners lost in the Final Four to Louisville in a 61-59 contest.

Then-Steelers safety Anthony Smith guaranteed a Pittsburgh win over the undefeated Patriots when the two teams met on Dec. 9, 2007. New England ensured that Smith would be incorrect in his assessment as the Patriots offense totally dismantled the Pittsburgh defense, with Tom Brady throwingfor 399 yards and four touchdowns to win by a final score of 34-13.

The victory upped the Patriots’ record to 13-0 en route to a perfect 16-0 regular season and a trip to Super Bowl XLII. However, when the Patriots finally did reach the Super Bowl and faced the New York Giants, they heard a familiar proclamation when Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress predicted New York would win 23-17 over the 18-0 squad. Many laughed and shrugged off Burress’ comments. Though the final score read 17-14, it did so in favor of the Giants, giving Burress at least partial credit for his fortune-telling.

For a while, Rollins was in the company of players such as Burress and Petr Sykora, the former right winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins. During a break in Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, Sykora accurately told a sideline reporter that he would score the game-winning goal. In triple-overtime, Sykora delivered a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

With Wednesday night’s blemish on his once-perfect prediction slate, Rollins may need some coaching himself.

Welcome to Friday’s Morning Mashup, where we’ll get you caught up on what’s going on in the sports world and beyond.

FOOTBALL: Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Dolphins should be a good one. Chris Price has Five Things to Watch For in this key divisional battle.

Adalius Thomas said rumors of a players strike during the playoffs are “totally absurd.”

Colts cornerback Marlin Jackson will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. The National Organization for Women called for Raiders coach Tom Cable to be suspended.

D.J. Bean has his fantasy football can’t-pass-up matchups.

Dan Rowinski has Five Questions for Boston College during its off week. Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant lost his final appeal with the NCAA.

BASEBALL: The Red Sox traded for Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida. Alex Speier delves into the thinking behind this low-risk/potentially high-reward transaction.Curt Schilling was on Dennis & Callahan yesterday, and he revisited the Pedro Martinez-Red Sox prima donna controversy.

The Angels signed Bobby Abreu to a two-year deal. Tim Hudson and the Braves are closing in on a three-year deal.

Dan Guttenplan says the key to the Yankees winning was Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter learning how to get along. Yankees manager Joe Girardi stopped to help a car crash victim on his way home from Yankee Stadium after his team won the World Series. Jamie McCourt’s bid to get her job back with the Dodgers was denied by a Los Angeles court. Giants ace Tim Lincecum was cited for possession of marijuana.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics are No. 1 in Michael Holley’s NBA power rankings. Wyc Grousbeck says the Celtics are not having financial problems. Gary Marbry has some stat nuggets from the Celtics’ wins this week. LeBron James was denied on a final shot and the Cavaliers lost to the Bulls.

HOCKEY: The Bruins finally scored a goal, but they lost to the Canadiens in a shootout. David Krejci was sent home after testing positive for H1N1.The B’s signed goalie Tuukka Rask to a two-year extension.

The Penguins finally lost a road game.

The Sharks put defenseman Rob Blake on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Kings forward Andres Nocioni was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. According to a business report, Columbus will have trouble keeping the Blue Jackets due to financial problems.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: The offseason following the 1976 season marked the first time for free agency as we know it in Major League Baseball, following an arbitrator’s ruling the year before. On Nov. 6, 1976, the Red Sox made the first and biggest splash in that year’s free agency, signing which pitcher?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We scored. Obviously, that’s a positive we can take out of the game.” — Forward Blake Wheeler, after the Bruins ended a 192-minute scoreless streak last night in a 2-1 shootout loss to Montreal

STAT OF THE DAY: 27 — Consecutive quarters scoring 20 or more points by the Celtics until they scored 19 in the first quarter Tuesday night (thanks to Gary Marbry for that stat)

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Paul Pierce appeared on the Dale & Holley show yesterday. When asked about the Rajon Rondo-Chris Paul incident, he said, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“In the people’s — as if there was this transcript of the technology called open you know to look closely from the rights. As — in the view of — the minister of Soviet.”

What he actually said: “Hey, it’s up to you to be able to just concentrate and focus on the game and not get caught up in that, because people are going to say things some nights, and if it throws you off your game and gives us an advantage, so be it.”

‘NET RESULTS: On Monday, we showed the video of San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobli swatting a bat out of the air during a game. The website Mental Floss came up with 10 instances of animals delaying sporting events. Here’s No. 1:

TRIVIA ANSWER: Bill Campbell, who previously pitched for the Twins

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Eugene Pitt of the Jive Five is 72 today. Here the 1965 hit “I’m a Happy Man” (recorded at a reunion show in 1982) to get you in a good mood for the weekend.

Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup, where we’ll get you caught up on what’s going on in the sports world and beyond.

BASEBALL: The Yankees won. Hideki Matsui was MVP. Alex Rodriguez finally has a title. Fans celebrated. Blah, blah, blah. Alex Speier rates the last 10 World Series winners.

Rob Bradford writes about what the future holds for Josh Beckett. Former Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette will participate in a WEEI.com chat today at noon.

Dodgers pitcher Vicente Padilla is recovering from a bullet wound in his leg after a shooting accident in Nicaragua.

FOOTBALL: Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter doesn’t like the Patriots. Again.

Colts starting linebacker Tyjuan Hagler is out for the rest of the season with a ruptured biceps.

Dan Guttenplan has his Week 9 NFL picks.

The University of Florida upped the suspension of Brandon Spikes to a full game. Police made another arrest in the stabbing death of UConn cornerback Jasper Howard.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics finally had a close game, edging the Timberwolves, 92-90. Jessica Camerato looks at Three Things We Learned from the win.

The Suns became the latest team to fall from the ranks of the undefeated, losing handily to the Magic. The Nuggets stayed perfect, using a 44-point third quarter to pull away from the Nets.

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was released from jail. Nancy Lieberman will be the first woman to coach an NBA Development League team.

Isiah Thomas made his debut as coach of Florida International and lost an exhibition game to Northwood, an NAIA team coached by Rollie Massimino. UConn crushed Division 2 AIC in an exhibition in Hartford. At the University of Central Florida, Michael Jordan’s son Marcus cost the school a shoe contract with adidas by insisting on wearing Nike Air Jordans.

HOCKEY: Bruins fans, it could be worse — Carolina’s winless streak reached 10 games last night. The Sharks won their sixth straight.

MISC: Kirk Minihane has his weekly mailbag.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 5, 1946, for the first time in pro basketball history, a player shattered a backboard — albeit with a shot instead of a dunk. Which Celtic did the honors?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Look, a lot of people ran the other way. My teammates and coaches and organization stood right next to me. And now we stand together as world champs.” — Alex Rodriguez, after the Yankees won the World Series

STAT OF THE DAY: 6 — RBI for Yankee Hideki Matsui last night, tying a World Series single-game record

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Celtics boss Danny Ainge appeared on The Big Show yesterday. When talking about the C’s bench, he said, according to our automatically generated transcript:

“And KG they have mystical city night last night that we get a database at the Sheldon.”

What he actually said: “And KG and Ray have miserable shooting nights last night but we get it out of Eddie and Shelden.”

‘NET RESULTS: Al Jefferson played well against the Celtics last night in Minnesota. Maybe it was revenge for the way Paul Pierce treated him when Jefferson was a rookie in Boston in 2004.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Chuck Connors, who was better known for starring in the TV show “The Rifleman”

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Herman’s Hermits lead singer Peter Noone is 62 today.

After stealing second base on Sunday, Johnny Damon looked up and saw that third was also uncovered and took off, stealing it as well. It was a heads up play by Damon and a costly mistake by the Phillies, who had mounted a dramatic comeback to tie the game in a game that would have tied the series, 2-2. 

We all know how that game ended, but it opens up an interesting subject. How often have we seen athletes make game-changing mistakes that cost their team wins? We decided to list some of the more (un)forgettable moments.

Chris Webber calls a timeout
Webber, while maybe not one of the all-time NBA greats, was a good big man and a contributor for the teams he played for. However, he will always be known for calling a timeout in the 1993 NCAA championship game between Michigan and UNC. In retrospect, there was plenty of time left in the game for Michigan to set up a play and if the Michigan guards, who usually handle the ball, had helped after the rebound, we might only talk about how Michigan collapsed and not how Webber lost the game for his team.

Andres Escobar scores own goal
Escobar was a defender on the Columbian 1994 FIFA World Cup team. Despite a celebrated career, he cemented himself in sports history when he scored an own goal in a match on June 22 against the United States while attempting to redirect a shot from U.S. midfielder, John Harkes.

The result of the own goal was the U.S. winning the match, 2-1. Columbia failed to advance past the first round in the tournament, and helped propel the U.S. into the second round, where they lost a 1-0 match to Brazil. The win over Columbia put U.S. soccer on the map in terms of World Cup play. For Colombia and Escobar, the result was far more harrowing. On July 2, 1994, Escobar was shot and killed in front of a bar. His death is widely believed to be punishment for the own goal.

Jim Marshall runs the wrong way
As a football player, this is one of those situations that you hope never happens to you.
It was an athletic play to pick up the ball on one bounce, but you have to pay attention to where you are! Even to this day Marshall can’t live it down. But at least Roy Riegels has company.

Bill Buckner 

Need I say more?

Merkle’s Boner

The granddaddy of all brain cramps in U.S. professional sports, which has been immortalized in culture and literature. Fred Merkle, a rookie making his first-ever big-league start, was on first base when one of his Giants teammates lined an apparent walkoff single against the Cubs, with whom New York was in a heated pennant race. Rather than touching second, however, Merkle sprinted straight from first base to the Giants clubhouse, located in centerfield, to avoid a flood of fans on the field. Johnny Evers of the Cubs somehow retrieved the ball (or a ball), brought the umpires back on the field as he stepped on second for a force out, and insisted that Merkle was out. Instead of a Giants walk-off win, the game was declared a suspended tie that the Cubs ultimately won, a pivotal moment in their claiming the pennant and their last World Series triumph in 1908. 

These plays and others like them will live on in infamy because of how much fans cherish sports and their favorite teams. These plays gain significance over the years because they are often deciding factors in what makes an individual, a team or game memorable.

Welcome to Wednesday’s Morning Mashup, where we’ll get you caught up on what’s going on in the sports world and beyond.

NBA legend Bill Walton announced this week that he will not return to ESPN to provide NBA analysis, saying, “It is time to dedicate the rest of my life to service.” Here’s a clip of him playing horse vs. Will Ferrell. Coincidentally, this video shows the Larry Bird behind-the-backboard shot that’s being compared to Rajon Rondo’s shot last night.

BASEBALL: Pedro Martinez knows he has the support of Red Sox Nation tonight as he faces Andy Pettitte at Yankee Stadium. Phillies sparkplug Shane Victorino is still hurting after being hit on the hand by a pitch in Game 5, and he’s questionable for tonight.

Josh Beckett plans to talk to the Red Sox brass about his future.

FOOTBALL: Chris Price has his weekly Patriots mailbag. Price also writes about Dolphins speedster Ted Ginn Jr., who comes to Foxboro Sunday. D.J. Bean has his Week 9 Living With the Bye fantasy football column

The Seahawks cut running back Edgerrin James, who ranks 10th in NFL history in rushing. The Chiefs picked up tight end Chris Chambers, who was waived by the Chargers.

Browns owner Randy Lerner met with some disgruntled fans. Meanwhile, his team reacted to the departure of general manager George Kokinis. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder talked publicly about his frustration with his team’s woes.

In college news, Georgia running back Washaun Ealey, the victim of Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes’ attempted eye gouge, said he doesn’t think Spikes should be suspended. At Syracuse, three players were suspended for violating team rules. Longtime Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews will retire after the season.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics routed the 76ers, 105-74. Paul Flannery writes about how the C’s are making it look easy.

The Magic lost to the Pistons, and the Heat were felled by the Suns, leaving the C’s as the only undefeated team in the Eastern Conference. The Nuggets are 4-0 and off to their best start in 24 years. The Lakers survived the Thunder in overtime.

Cavaliers guard Delonte West faces additional weapons and traffic charges in Maryland. Clippers owner Donald Sterling paid a $2.7 million fine to settle a housing discrimination dispute.

Syracuse lost to Division 2 Le Moyne in an exhibition game at the Carrier Dome. Duke guard Nolan Smith was suspended two games for playing in an unsanctioned summer league.

HOCKEY: The Bruins dropped a 2-0 decision to the Red Wings.

Former Bruin Phil Kessel made his debut with the Maple Leafs in a losing effort.

HISTORIVIA: On Nov. 4, 1986, which Red Sox bench boss was named named American League Manager of the Year?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I don’t want to die and then hear everybody say, ‘Oh, there goes one of the best players ever.’ If you’re going to give me props, just give them to me right now.” — Pedro Martinez, as he prepares for tonight’s Game 6 of the World Series in New York

STAT OF THE DAY: 132 — Consecutive scoreless minutes for the Bruins

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Ken Rosenthal appeared on the Dale & Holley show yesterday and talked about the situation in the Phillies clubhouse after Game 5, when Brett Myers confronted teammate Cole Hamels.

According to our automatically generated transcript, Rosenthal said:

“I just bought our used joke you know look at the big deal at all. It back when I woke up the border learned that the fluid in Britain.”

What he actually said: “I just though Myers was joking and it wasn’t a big deal at all. And in fact, when I woke up this morning to learn that the story had been written …”

‘NET RESULTS: Comedian Stephen Colbert is sponsoring the US Olympic Speedskating team.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: John McNamara

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Harry Elston is 71 today. He sang with “Friends of Distinction,” which you know from their version of “Grazing in the Grass.” The group was “discovered” by football legend Jim Brown in the late 1960s, or so the story goes.