Martin Brodeur, Hall-of-Famer

On the new Hockey Hall of Fame inductees:

Martin Brodeur of my New Jersey Devils: No surprise, totally deserved. He is, statistically, the greatest goaltender who ever lived.

Martin St. Louis, longtime star of the Tampa Bay Lighting: Also no surprise. Also totally deserved.

Willie O'Ree, the 1st black player in the NHL, in 1958, 60 years ago: What took them so long? Probably only looking at his playing, and not seeing what he'd done in terms of inspiration. Hence, his election was in the "Builders" category, not in the "Players" category.

Alexander Yakushev: I never saw this Soviet star of the 1960s and '70s play, but his international record is exemplary.

Jayna Hefford: I will take the word of those who know women's hockey better than I do.

Gary Bettman: A disgrace. Never mind that, unlike players, the Commissioner doesn't have to be retired to be elected: No one has done more to besmirch the game. Then again, the Baseball Hall of Fame elected Walter O'Malley and his puppet Bowie Kuhn.

*

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 2, this Friday night, at 7:05, at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 4, this Sunday afternoon, away to Toronto FC, the defending MLS Champions.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 11, a week from next Sunday, July 8, at Yankee Stadium II. Unless it's forced to be moved to Citi Field, East Hartford, or, this would be funny, Red Bull Arena. Their next game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday, July 21, at Red Bull Arena. Their 1st game against D.C. United, and their 1st game ever at the new Audi Field, will be on Wednesday night, July 25. Their next game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Sunday, October 21, at Talen Energy Stadium.

Days until The Arsenal play again: 29, on Thursday, July 26, against Atlético Madrid in the International Champions Cup, a glorified friendly, at the National Stadium in Singapore.

Days until the 2018 trading deadline, after which we won't have to fear Yankee general manager Brian Cashman trading any proven good players for "prospects": 34, on Tuesday, July 31. Under 5 weeks.

Days until Arsenal play a competitive game with a manager other than Arsène Wenger: 45, in the 2018-19 Premier League season opener, on Saturday, August 11, home to defending Premier League Champions Manchester City. A little over 6 weeks.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 68, on Saturday, September 1, home to Texas State University. Under 10 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown. The 2018 schedule hasn't been released yet. But the season opener is usually on the 1st Friday in September. That would be September 7, which is 72 days from now.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 72, on Friday, September 7, a "friendly" against Brazil, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 101, on Saturday, October 6, against the Edmonton Oilers, at... Scandinavium, an arena in Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden. Yes, that will be a regular-season game, part of the NHL Global Series. The Mulberry Street Marauders will warm up for it on October 1, with an exhibition game in Switzerland against SC Bern; while the Oilers will visit Kölner Haie in Cologne, Germany on October 3.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 115, on Saturday afternoon, October 20, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The 1st game against the New York Islanders, a.k.a. the Fish Sticks, will be on Saturday night, November 3, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The 1st game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday night, January 31, 2019, at the Prudential Center.

Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 132, on November 6. A little over 4 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 143, on Saturday, November 17, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game: 148, on Thursday, November 22. A little under 5 months.

Days until the next North London Derby: 157, on Saturday, December 1, at the Emirates Stadium.

Days until a Democratic Congress can convene, and the impeachment process can begin: 190, on Thursday, January 3, 2019. A little over 6 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 210, on January 23, 2019. A little under 7 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 345, on June 7, 2019, in France. A little over 11 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.

Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 367, on June 29, 2019. A shade over a year, or a little over 12 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 539, on December 18, 2019. A little under a year and a half, or a little under 18 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 574, on January 22, 2020. A little over a year and a half, or a little under 19 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 758, on July 24, 2020. A little over 2 years, or under 26 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 860, on November 3, 2020. Under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 28 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 938, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 3 years, or a little under 31 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.

Days until the next Winter Olympics (after the current one in Pyeongchang, Korea) begins in Beijing, China: 1,318, on February 4, 2022. Under 4 years, or a little over 43 months.

Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,609, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 4 1/2 years, or under 53 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.

Tampa Bay's 10 Greatest Athletes

Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp

This weekend, the Yankees are in St. Petersburg to play the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa Bay's Top 10 Athletes

10. Fred McGriff, 1st base, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 1998-2001, with a return in 2004. The Tampa native played 19 seasons in the majors, 5 with the Rays, hitting 493 home runs (99 of them with the Rays), with no serious accusation of having used performance-enhancing drugs. He was an original Devil Ray in 1998, and an All-Star with them in 2000. He should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

9. John Lynch, safety, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1993-2003. A 9-time Pro Bowler -- 5 times in Tampa, 4 with the Denver Broncos -- he is the Bucs' all-time leading tackler, and a member of their Super Bowl XXXVII Champions. But the Bucs and the Broncos have named him to their team halls of fame, and he is now the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers. He is not yet in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he should be.

8. Evan Longoria, 3rd base, Tampa Bay Rays, 2008-17. Not the greatest player ever to play for the Rays -- they've also had Hall-of-Famer Wade Boggs -- but the greatest Rays player. He is their all-time leader in hits (1,471), home runs (261) and RBIs (892).

A 3-time All-Star and a 3-time Gold Glove, in 2008 he led them to their 1st postseason appearance, including the American League Pennant, and won the AL Rookie of the Year. He also led them to the postseason in 2010, '11 and '13. In other words, they've never made it without him. And he's no longer with them, now with the San Francisco Giants.

7. Dave Andreychuk, center, Tampa Bay Lightning, 2001-06. Only 87 of his 640 NHL goals were scored for the Bolts, but he captained them to the 2004 Stanley Cup, acting as their "Jump on my back" veteran. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

6. Steven Stamkos, center, Tampa Bay Lightning, 2008-present. Despite injuries that cost him big chunks of the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2016-17 seasons, he's already scored 348 goals for the Bolts. A 5-time All-Star, he's won 2 Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophies for leading the NHL in goals, and led the team to the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals.

5. Vincent Lecavalier, center, Tampa Bay Lightning, 1998-2013. A 4-time All-Star, he was a key member of the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup winners. He won the Richard Trophy in 2007, and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions in 2008. He retired with 421 goals (383 in Tampa). He is not yet in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but should be. The Lightning retired his Number 4.

4. Martin St. Louis, right wing, Tampa Bay Lightning, 2000-14. A 6-time All-Star, he had a dream season in 2003-04, winning the Hart Memorial Trophy as Most Valuable Player (as chosen by the sportswriters), the Lester B. Pearson Award as most outstanding player (as chosen by the players), the Art Ross Trophy as leading point scorer, and, most importantly, the Stanley Cup.

He later won 3 Lady Byng Memorial Trophies as "most gentlemanly player." The 1st Lightning player to get his number retired (26), he scored 365 of his 391 NHL goals for them. He is not yet in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but should be.

UPDATE: He was elected on June 26, 2018.

3. Lee Roy Selmon, defensive end, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1976-84. The 1st player drafted by the expansion franchise turned out to be their 1st All-Pro, their 1st retired number (63), their 1st inductee into their Ring of Honor, and their 1st inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A 6-time Pro Bowler, he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1979, a year that also featured the Pittsburgh Steel Curtain, the Dallas Doomsday Defense, the Denver Orange Crush, the Miami Killer B's, and the Oakland defense that was so tough it didn't need a nickname. He was named to the NFL's 1980s All-Decade Team. In 2010, the NFL Network ranked him 98th on their list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

2. Warren Sapp, defensive tackle, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1995-2003. A 7-time Pro Bowler, he and Derrick Brooks arrived the same year, and turned the franchise around. He was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1999, and was the emotional leader of the team that won Super Bowl XXXVII.

His Number 99 was retired, he was elected to the NFL's 1990s and 2000s All-Decade Teams, and he was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. To this day, fans who doesn't remember Selmon -- and many who do -- who, when asked to think of a great Buccaneer, will think of Sapp first.

But one of his teammates might have been even better:

1. Derrick Brooks, linebacker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1995-2008. An 11-time Pro Bowler, he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2000, and led the defense that helped the Bucs win Super Bowl XXXVII. The Bucs retired his Number 55, and he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL's 2000s All-Decade Team. In 2010, the NFL Network ranked him 97th on their list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.