"Better luck next year JETS fans!"

by Steve Ferguson, OTSL Analyst

Yesterday on the coldest night this year in a winter of seemingly endless arctic weather I opted to stay in and watch my beloved NY JETS playing one of the most consistent, rugged and talented football teams in the NFL, the PITTSBURGH STEELERS rather than venture out into the frozen tundra at packed sportsbars where seats would have been just a mirage and not reality.

This game looked to be a terrific contest between the perenially successful STEELERS and the up and coming JETS at the big ketchup bottle known as HEINZ FIELD. Amidst the sea of yellow towels and a cacphony of noise whose decibel level almost rivaled the 12th man at Seatte's home field it looked a night to sit back have a beverage of your choice and get ready for a spectacular battle.

But in a game that was supposed to be a knock down drag out battle it was the JETS who came out and played as if they were knocked down and dragged out even BEFORE the game started. One could make the argument that after beating two bonafied Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Tom Brady this was would be an insurmountable feat for them to beat their third straight team and future Hall of Famer perhaps in Ben Roethlisberger on the road.

I'm sure we all recall when the NEW YORK GIANTS ran the table in 2007 beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers culminating their improbable run by beating the previously invincible and undefeated 18-0 New England Patriots and the Brady Bunch.

Call me a dreamer but I started thinking maybe the NEW YORK JETS had the karma to pull off the same miracle. After all the playoffs seem to be the time miracles can happen! Just ask the Seattle Seahawks after they beat the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints recently. Soon after the game started I quickly realized that there was NO WAY we were going to match up with the hungry, passionate, intense Steel Curtain. I couldn't believe how many players from LaDanian Tomlinson to Darrelle Revis to Jason Taylor confessed how "we were flat".after the game.

Question: How the hell is a team flat in a Championship game?! Their first half defense was awful tackling-wise and their offense was non-existent.

While this takes nothing away from the STEELERS who certainly wanted to get to the Super Bowl and clearly had revenge in mind after the JETS beat them 22-17 back on December 19th the JETS played a sloppy, scared to death, purposeless and meaningless first half; devoid of any dsirer, fire or emotion. Bad enough they played like they were strangers to a football field but their coaching decisions particularly by the offensive coordinator were abysmal. Whose bright idea was it throw on 3rd and 1 at the 1 yard line!

I say the JETS aren't winning ANY championships until they FIRE BRIAN SCHOTTENHEIMER NOW! He's a horrible coach. Since GM Mike Tannenbaum was aggressive in the off-season last year acquiring LT, Santonio Holmes, Nick Folk and Jason Taylor it's time to get aggressive with better coaching personnel so that Rex Ryan doesn't look like a fool in front of the cameras next time around.

By the way sorry to say but Jason Taylor's days are over as a player. Acting or broadcasting are definitely in the future as is the Hall of Fame one day. And the "Folk" hero needs to go as well. Where is Jay Feely when you need him?

Hey Tannenbaum, Please bring in an offensive coordinator who knows what he's doing!!!! What about Brian Billick or Jim Fassel, two former head coaches and offensive coordinators who are experienced and less afraid to fail than the idiot who runs our offense now.

UNLEASH THE SANCHISE and take the cuffs off him!! Never mind ground and pound. Get some offensive linemen who block better than the current group to help Ferguson and Mangold and open up the offense PUH-LEASE!!!

And the 2022 World Cup is awarded to…….QATAR????

by Sean Roman, OTSL Analyst

FIFA’s executive committee voted to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar. With Qatar getting the nod, the “World Cup,” has truly lived up to its venerated namesake.

The 2022 event will be an especially wonderful opportunity to bring some of the most divergent cultures together through the sport that unites the world unlike any other.

Just 12 years shy of kick-off, a brief explanation of Qatar as the proper choice to host the world’s most watched sporting event is warranted for all our dedicated On the Sportlines zealots (yes…all seventeen of you).

Qatar beat out stiff competition coming from England, the United States and Spain. Obviously, this will mark the first time an international sporting event of this magnitude will be held in the Middle East. Qatar was a vastly more surprising choice than Russia (also a first time host) since Qatar has an extremely limited soccer pedigree. In contrast, Eastern Europe has produced a terrific talent pool in the sport. Additionally, Poland and Ukraine will co-host the European Cup in 2012.

Just this past summer, South Africa was the first host country to fail to advance through group play. Qatar will have to work hard over the next 12 years to field a team ready to play with the world’s elite. Since the Qataris were able to put together an extraordinarily talented business team that secured the games, I am certain that they will dedicate themselves with equal diligence to putting a quality football (okay....soccer) team on the pitch.

Financially, Qatar can put on a grand spectacle. Qatar is a bastion of oil and gas reserves -- a modern day Boomtown. Under FIFA requirements, Qatar will need to have 12 stadiums with minimum capacities of 40,000 and an 80,000-seat stadium for the finals. Presently, they have 4 stadiums: Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, which seats 50,000, two stadiums that hold 25,000, and another which holds 18,000.

Qatar organizers have a monumental building project on their hands; which they are fully able to complete. Since the mid 1990’s, Qatar has developed at an astonishing pace, right along with Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Investors, builders, and workers have flooded Qatar and created a skyline that rivals many traditional international cities.

Qatar’s small size also makes it a bold choice. Qatar is comparable to the size of Connecticut, which means that rabid World Cup fans will be more centralized than ever. Policing soccer fans in a country without the type of legal system Western nations are accustomed to will pose an interesting challenge. For example, by law, drinking and dancing is limited to the small amount of bars and nightclubs in 4- and 5-star hotels. However, organizers have already promised to allow drinking in “fan zones.”

Bid chief executive Hassan al-Thawadi, 31, promised that fans from all nations would be welcome. “We are a very, very hospitable place that welcomes people from all parts of the world." "Bringing the World Cup to the Middle East now ... will feature to the world that the Middle East is home to a lot of people, it's opening its arms to the rest of the world."

The heat can reach 120 degrees during the time the World Cup is played. Accounting for the heat is the biggest challenge Qatar will face. The plan is to build air-conditioned stadiums that include individually air-conditioned seats. After the tournament, like a grand Lego project, the stadiums will be taken apart and sent to countries in need of them.

Franz Beckenbauer, FIFA executive committee member and former New York Cosmos and German superstar, has proposed the best idea to deal with the temperature: play the 2022 World Cup in January. Beckenbauer stated “It might make more sense to think about another solution.” “In January and February, temperatures are a comfortable 25 degrees.” [about 77 degrees Fahrenheit].

So much of what will happen between the present day and 2022 is just plain unpredictable, in our individual lives as well as in world affairs. Who knows what conflicts, elections, and business cycles will shape the course of human events. Who knows what will be gained and what will be lost. Nevertheless, I say with a great degree of confidence that in 2022, soccer will remain the World’s most popular sport and by being in Qatar, the World Cup will bring diverse cultures closer than ever and promote mutual aims, understanding, and good will.

“The NHL’s Winter Classic Should Come to New York”

by Anthony Strait, OTSL Floor Director

When the National Hockey League came up with the idea of an outdoor game to be played on New Year’s Day, it was first looked at like yet another gimmick to help a struggling brand get notice. After all, the league had fallen behind NASCAR in terms of popularity while the national coverage of the sport has been reduced significally since the days of ESPN National Hockey Night. The date was January 1, 2008 and what we saw that afternoon was the start of what has become a tradition. In a snowy Ralph Wilson Stadium, Sidney Crosby won the game in a shootout as Commissioner Gary Bettman and the brain trusts at NBC scored a big one for hockey. The following year’s classic at Wrigley field yielded the highest ratings in 33 years for the sport. Now a stable of New Year’s Day and a premiere event, it is about time that it comes to the Big Apple either next season or after that. You can only imagine the ratings boost if this game was held in either Yankee Stadium or even Citi Field and featured the New York Rangers and New York Islanders-rich with hatred and vintage uniforms.

Even if you’re not a hockey purist, the idea of an outdoor hockey game is appealing to the most casual sports viewer. With the national spotlight on the sport, it is about time one of the oldest and bitter in-state rivalries is featured. Both of these franchises have the rich history that the NHL loves to display. The Islanders were one of sports most dominant dynasties in the 1980s and featured names like Al Arbour, Mike Bossy, Dennis Potvin and Bryan Trottier. The Rangers feature classic names of their own in Mark Messier, Brian Leech, Rod Gilbert, and Eddie Giacomin. The Rangers are also one of the original six teams and their 1994 Stanley Cup run became part of pop culture by ending a 54 year title drought. Who could ever forget the chants of “1940” from Islander fans taunting the Rangers faithful? The close proximity of these two teams makes for instant drama. Their meetings this season have been high scoring games with a playoff-like atmosphere. The NHL could multiply that by 50,000-60,000 jamming a packed stadium and making it the centerpiece of the league schedule.

Of course New York also has two baseball stadiums to choose from. Yankee Stadium originally was a candidate for the 2010 winter classic before it was awarded to Boston’s Fenway Park and was in discussion to host this year’s game. It has shown over the last few years that it can hold other events beyond baseball as concerts, boxing matches and college football have been featured. Citi Field has its unique charm and attraction that makes it more than just a ball park. A candidate to host the 2013 MLB All-Star game, Citi Field’s configuration may actually allow for more room to construct an outdoor hockey rink than the fan box that Yankee Stadium offers. If the NHL wanted to use both of these they could schedule Rangers/Islanders back to back years with the Rangers being home at Yankee stadium while the Islanders being the home team at Citi field. But the NHL would like to feature as many unique venues and teams as possible so that idea goes out the window. There is always a good old coin flip to determine things. Hey, it worked for the Giants and Jets, albeit in ugly fashion.

The popular feature to the winter classic is the vintage uniforms that teams sport in these games. What casual fan wouldn’t love to see the Isles dust off those Fisherman-like orange and teal uniforms from the 1997 season for one day? While the Rangers debuted 3^rd uniforms last month, the Isles have gone back to their traditional colors the last few years. They could bring back the fisherman uniform for an alternate scheme. That is normally the case where as the teams that wear the vintage uniforms adopt them as third color jerseys and the fans typically love them. While it wasn’t a hit originally in 1997, who’s to say it wouldn’t be a best seller in 2011?

There is also significance to playing as the road team as it has yielded its own curse. Since 2008, the road team in the Winter Classic has gone on to the Stanley Cup final that year only to lose. Considering neither team has come close to getting that far during the season, that would be a welcome curse in these parts. The NHL announces the host for these games during the off season; let’s keep our fingers crossed that this matchup takes place next season. Hockey on New Year’s Day has become what baseball is to the Fourth of July and football is to Thanksgiving. It is time for the coolest game on earth to take center stage on Broadway.