It is going to be a long winter for New York sports fans. I should start out this article by saying that I am a fan of the New York Yankees, Rangers, Giants and Knicks, New York teams of all four major sports. Most years, at this time of the year, I can ride the wave of euphoria of the Yankees having won the World Series and then their subsequent shopping spree in the free agent market. Other years, I have been able to jump on the New York Ranger bandwagon, knowing that once they make the playoffs, they seem to have an extra bit of magic up their sleeves. The New York Giants have conjured up thoughts of Super Bowl by this time in past years. And those Knicks of old, a virtual lock to make the playoffs, always seemed to have the will to beat teams and then have fate intervene (LJ!). But, this year, my friends, is NOTHING like that.First of all, and most fresh in my mind, is the baseball scenario. The Yankees not only failed to win the World Series, but they failed even to get close, losing to Rally Monkey Nation and a team owned by Disney. Not only did the Yankees lose to a far inferior team, they lost because the Angels played the type of baseball that the Yankees of old played - drawing walks, being patient at the plate and getting the extremely timely hits. To make this situation even worse, I had to sit through an all-California World Series. After the Red Sox, New Jersey and Canada, the thing that New Yorkers seem to despise and make fun of most are those Californians. And the fact that one of them HAD to win the World Series makes me wish there was a strike (though, Bonds not winning helped). Speaking of that strike scenario, the new collective bargaining agreement has so unfairly targeted the Yankees that they're actually trying to SAVE money this off-season. The Boss is becoming so money-conscious that he's fired a bunch of scouts and cut the dental plans of his employees. The Yankees' only hope for salvation this off-season is if they can sign Japanese star slugger Hideki Matsui - nicknamed "Godzilla" - and hope he's not like another Hideki (Irabu, that is, whom the Boss nicknamed "The Fat Toad"). I can't wait until spring training.

This situation could really be made better. It really could. If ONE of the winter sports played in New York could produce a team that actually would give me some hint that they may compete, I would be a little happier. But we have the New York Giants who seem like they want to define mediocrity this season. They give hints that they're going to be playoff contenders and then pop the air out of that balloon with losses to teams like the Arizona Cardinals. They may make the playoffs, but this team has not given anyone hope that if they do, they'll actually go anyplace. Most of my New York friends, who reside at other colleges around the country, at least have their college teams to root for. I, however, go to Brandeis, and it's very hard to root for flag football.

Next comes the Knicks. I've never really been a die-hard Knick fan, per se. In my opinion, they've never had a team that you always wanted to tune into during regular season games because of their spectacular play. Instead, they've been the team that I've rooted for during certain regular season games (against the Bulls or Pacers or Heat, for example) and during the playoffs. There are not going to be anymore Knicks playoffs to tune into for a while. When they're relying on Lee Nailon and Clarence Weatherspoon to make the team competitive, it really makes us Knicks fans start marking the days on the calendar until the draft order is announced, so hopefully we can land LeBron James and maybe save this sorry franchise.

The New York Rangers are the hardest for me to swallow. I've always been a die-hard Ranger fan, but I have to admit they've become the Boston Red Sox of hockey - they spend a ton of money and never seem to have any results to show for it. On paper, the Rangers should be the best team in the Eastern Conference, but, in reality, they stink. The Ranger brass (headed by General Manager Glenn Sather) has come up with the new idea of getting every Ranger arch-nemesis to be on the team. They traded for Eric Lindros (Philly), signed Bobby Holik (N.J.) and Darius Kasparaitis (Pitt.), and hired Brian Trottier (an ex-Islander who killed the Rangers for years) as their new head coach. For those not familiar with hockey, this would be the equivalent of the NAACP hiring John Rocker or PFLAG hiring Eminem as their spokesperson.

So, as you can see, it's going to be a long winter for myself and my fellow New York sports fans (Islanders, Mets and Jets fans, don't think you're exempt from this). It is possible that the Giants may surprise us and make the playoffs, and even go far, since there is so much parity in the NFL. Or, that the Rangers may start streaking and sneak in as the eight seed in the NHL. (Sorry, there is no hope for the Knicks, they just need to concentrate on losing every game and trading everyone to shed some salary). We could defect and root for the exciting New Jersey Nets. But, more likely, and less demeaning toward my self esteem, it'll be counting the days until pitchers and catchers report for baseball.