Oh Well, It's Not the End of the World

The Yankees are actually cutting costs? While still owned by the Steinbrenner family?

The Mets are not only spending like a small-market team -- possibly out of necessity -- but are looking into replacing the traded R.A. Dickey with Carl Pavano, ol' American Idle himself?

The Giants are in danger of blowing what should have been a sure NFC East title -- and in danger of missing the Playoffs completely?

The Jets are, well, the Same Old Jets?

The Knicks are still looking for the title -- and, this May, it will have been 40 years?

The Brooklyn Nets are looking like the same old New Jersey Nets?

The NHL season has been canceled through January 14, and is looking like there won't be a season at all -- a 2nd season out of 9 canceled completely?

The Red Bulls still don't have a manager (aside from former player Mike Petke as current caretaker)?

The Rutgers football team is about to play in a minor bowl game, having blown the best chance they will ever have at winning their league outright and playing in a BCS bowl game?

The Rutgers basketball team is 8-2, but that includes a loss at home to St. Peter's of Jersey City (roughly the equivalent of the Mets losing to a Triple-A team -- no, I mean a team actually in Triple-A), and their coach Mike Rice is suspended for 3 games, and they haven't even started the killer schedule of the Big East Conference yet?

All this?

Oh well, it's not the end of the world.

*

And since the world didn't end, I might as well do the countdowns.

Days until the Devils play again: Who knows. All NHL games have been cancelled through January 14, including the Winter Classic, set to be played on New Year's Day between Detroit and Toronto at the University of Michigan's 111,000-seat stadium; and the 2013 NHL All-Star Game, set for Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets. As in 2004-05, we may not have a season at all.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: Who knows.

Days until Arsenal play another competitive match: 1, tomorrow, away to Wigan Athletic, at the DW Stadium in Wigan, which is in Lancashire in the north of England, about halfway between Liverpool and Manchester.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 7, a week from tonight, December 28, against former Big East opponent (now an ACC team) Virginia Tech, in the Russell Athletic Bowl, at the Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando. It could have been so much more, but they threw away the outright Big East title at home to Louisville.

Days until the U.S. National Soccer Team plays again: 39, on Tuesday night, January 29, at BBVA Compass Stadium, the new home of Houston Dynamo, against Canada, in a friendly, as a tuneup for the last, "Hexagonal" round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers, for the region that encompasses North America, Central America, and the Caribbean nations. That round begins on February 6, away to Honduras. If they finish 1st or 2nd in this group of 6 -- and they definitely should win, certainly should finish no worse than 2nd behind Mexico -- they qualify for the 2014 World Cup. Anyway, the friendly with Canada takes place in under 6 weeks.

Days until the next North London Derby: 71, on Saturday, March 2, 2013, at White Hart Lane. (This is corrected, I had it too low by 20 days.) Just 10 weeks. That March 2 date presumes that Arsenal are not paired up with Spurs in the FA Cup's 4th or 5th Round, both of which will take place before March 2.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 72, on Sunday, March 3, away to the Portland Timbers in Oregon. The 2013 MLS schedule has been partly released, including the club's first game and its first home game. A little over 10 weeks.

Days until the Red Bulls' home opener: 85, on Saturday, March 16, against D.C. United (or, as Metro fans call them, "The D.C. Scum"). Under 3 months.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby," against either the New England Revolution, the Philadelphia Union or D.C. United: See the previous answer.

Days until the Yankees play again: 101, on Monday, April 1, at 1:05 PM, at home at Yankee Stadium II, against the Boston Red Sox.  Under 4 months. Beat The Scum!

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: See the previous answer.

Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 254 (estimated around September 1, 2013). Under 9 months.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Uncertain, since the 2013 schedule has not been released. But if the usual pattern holds, it will be on the 2nd Friday in September... which, next year, just so happens to be a Friday the 13th. Oy vey. Anyway, if that's the way it works out, then it's 266 days. Under 9 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 342.

Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 408 (February 2, 2014). Under 14 months. Of course, we have no idea who the opposing teams will be. The possibility exists that either the Giants or the Jets could be in it -- or both. To this day, no team has ever played a Super Bowl in its own stadium -- in spite of multiple hostings by Miami, New Orleans and various California teams. Only 2 have done so in their home metro area: The 1979-80 Los Angeles Rams, whose home field was then the L.A. Coliseum, and they lost to Pittsburgh at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena; and the 1984-85 San Francisco 49ers, whose home field, then as now, was Candlestick Park, and they beat Miami at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, which had a much larger capacity than Candlestick.

Days until the 2014 Winter Olympics: 413 (February 7, 2014).

Days until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil: 538 (June 12, 2014). Under 18 months.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 603 (estimated, around September 15, 2014). About 21 months.

Days until the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 1,323 (August 5, 2016). Under 4 years.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,379 (estimated -- I'm guessing around the end of 2016, around September 30).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 763rd career home run to become as close to a "real" all-time leader as we are likely to have: 1,591 (estimated -- estimating 28 home runs a year, taking his recent injury into account, I'm guessing around April 30, 2017, at age 41). Under 4 1/2 years -- if he can. At this point, I don't think he's going to make it.