Because of two 3 sigma anomalies --- 1)the discrepancy between hadronic
and leptonic Z decay asymmetries and 2) the NUTEV measurement --- the
Standard Model (SM) fit of the precision electroweak data has a poor
confidence level, CL= 0.01.  Since both anomalies involve challenging
systematic issues, it might appear that the SM could still be valid if
the anomalies resulted from underestimated systematic error. Indeed
the CL of the global fit could then increase to 0.65, but that fit
predicts a small Higgs boson mass, m_H=43 GeV, that is only consistent
at CL=0.035 with the lower limit, m_H > 114 GeV, established by direct
searches.  The data then favor new physics whether the anomalous
measurements are excluded from the fit or not, and the Higgs boson
mass cannot be predicted until the new physics is understood. Some
measure of statistical fluctuation would be needed to maintain the
validity of the SM, which is unlikely by broad statistical
measures. New physics is favored, but the SM is not definitively
excluded. (See M. Chanowitz, Phys. Rev.  Lett. 87:231802,2001, and
Phys. Rev. D66:073002,2002.)