WINTER IS COMING: 5 future Winter Classics the NHL needs to play

When the NHL takes its game outside for the annual Winter Classic on New Year's Day, it's impossible not to take notice.

The novelty of seeing professional hockey played outdoors is unrivaled in other major American sports. Sure, college basketball on the deck of an aircraft carrier is cute, but it's not a spectacle like a hockey game played in the elements.

Yet, amid all of the college football played on New Year's Day and the addition of more outdoor games throughout the season, the NHL must ensure its premier regular season game stays just that -- premier.

But that can only happen by ripping a page out of last year's playbook and putting on made-for-TV productions like the one we saw when the largest hockey crowd ever -- 104,000 fans -- packed the University of Michigan's "Big House" to see the Red Wings take on the Maple Leafs in the 2014 Winter Classic.

With that in mind, here's how teams and venues should be selected in years to come, as well the five Winter Classic games the NHL should make happen:

COLD WEATHER IS A MUST: Sorry Los Angeles, but the Winter Classic is played during, well, winter! Snow makes for poor hockey conditions, but tremendous TV. And the word snow just simply doesn't exist in the lexicons of South Beach or Hollywood. 

THE VENUE MUST MAKE SENSE: The NHL wouldn’t pit Chicago against St. Louis at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, would it? Neutral sites are a plus, but if it’s not a pure home game for one team, the game should be played at a venue accessible to both markets (see No. 1 below).

THERE HAS TO BE A HOOK: Sure, the Blackhawks and Capitals have the requisite star power to get our juices flowing, but this year’s matchup doesn’t exactly scream classic grudge match. The Winter Classic should be reserved for historical rivals or teams with blossoming rivalries.

THE BIGGER THE VENUE, THE BETTER: See "2014 Winter Classic." Over 100,000 rabid hockey fans crammed into the country’s largest stadium during a snow storm -- 'nuff said. (Hint: You'll see two college football stadiums on my list).

THE NEW YEARS DAY FACTOR: Does the confluence of the previous four criteria move the average joe's meter on one of sports biggest days? Is the spectacle grand enough to compete with the wonderful platter of college football bowl games play Jan. 1?

Still with me? Taking all of that into account, here are the five Winter Classic matchups and sites that the sports world needs to see:

Ohio Stadium - Columbus, Ohio

5. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS at Ohio Stadium 
Will the buzz be big enough in Columbus to fill the Buckeyes’ massive stadium? I think so. Last year’s first round playoff matchup between these two teams produced one of the most entertaining series of the postseason. And remember: the Steel City is just a three-hour drive from Columbus. To once again see 100,000 hockey fans flood one of college football’s best venues would produce a spectacle worthy of Winter Classic branding.

Coors Field - Denver, Colo.

4. DETROIT RED WINGS vs. COLORADO AVALANCHE at Coors Field
It’s time to stoke the fires of this former Western Conference rivalry. The two teams met in the postseason five times between 1996 and 2002, three of those meetings coming in the Western Conference Finals. Claude Lemieux’s hit from behind on Kris Draper in the 1996 playoffs gave way to an on-ice brawl between the two teams the following season. Rekindling this rivalry on the Winter Classic stage would be well worth it. Plus, it’s evident the Red Wings know how to bring it with their custom jerseys for this game.

Gillette Stadium - Foxboro, Mass.

3. BOSTON BRUINS vs. MONTREAL CANADIENS at Gillette Stadium
Staging hockey’s most important regular season game in the home of the New England Patriots makes me want to dry heave. However, I could put up with a little gastrointestinal discomfort to see hockey’s oldest rivalry unfold on an outdoor sheet of ice. Just imagine the hordes of poutine-craving Canadiens fans pouring over the New Hampshire border, making a bee-line for Foxboro. The atmosphere would be akin to a Game 7. While the Bruins have already hosted a Winter Classic, they should get another if it means an outdoor matchup against their most hated rival.

Beaver Stadium - State College, Pa.

2. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS at Penn State
Sure, the governor might have to call the National Guard into Happy Valley, but what else are you supposed to spend taxpayer money on these days? Is this matchup too regional? Maybe. But people would surely tune in to see how 50,000 cheesesteak-eating, potty-mouthed Flyers fans get along with 50,000 Penguins fans who make the 2½-hour drive east. Perhaps no Winter Classic matchup has more potential wow factor. It checks all the boxes – rivalry, winter elements, unique venue, buzz. I think Pierre McGuire just wet himself.

And the No. 1 Winter Classic venue/matchup is…

Lambeau Field - Green Bay, Wisc.

1. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS vs. MINNESOTA WILD at Lambeau Field
Duh! This makes so much sense on so many different levels. Green Bay is practically halfway between Chicago and the Twin Cities, it’s colder than Winterfell (seriously, when is "Game of Thrones" coming back?) and it’s home to the NFL’s most storied stadium.

Just a 3½-hour drive north of Chi Town and about 4 hours from St. Paul, Lambeau is close enough to get fans from both teams to come out in droves in the same way the Toronto and Detroit fan bases converged on Ann Arbor last year. Not to mention, it would provide Brett Favre the ideal platform to announce that he’s once again coming out of retirement -- and then change his mind 10 minutes later. 

Win your 'Ugly Sweater Party' this Christmas with these bad boys...

The holiday season is here and that can only mean one thing...your yearly ugly sweater party is right around the corner.

But as you pick through the bargain racks at your nearest Salvation Army or scour the internet for that truly hideous Christmas sweater, perhaps you should consider taking things in a different direction this December.

Say for instance, you're a diehard Detroit Red Wings fan. Why not show off your Christmas spirit and your Hockeytown pride at the same time? I'm happy to report that after some sartorial genius out there decided to mesh the two in a series of superbly righteous holiday sweaters, now you can.

Sure, they're about five times as expensive as the run-of-the-mill holiday sweater you'll likely find in your local Goodwill. And sure, you might only wear it once a year, but remember, fan is short for FAN-atic and these sweaters might just be the most ridiculous things to hit the rack since the "Linsanity" player tees were hanging in Moddell's.  

Why settle for an ordinary ugly sweater when you can light up your holiday party with one that's inspired by your favorite sports team? As if being a Jets or Giants fan wasn't embarrassing enough these days. Now you can go the full nine yards and embrace the hilarity of your football team's woes with one of these gnarly knits.

It's hard to pick a favorite because there are so many gems out there. Of course there's the aforementioned candy cane-adorned Red Wings selection and the remarkably tacky Jay Cutler/Chicago Bears incarnation.

And this gem will surely warm the heart and soul of the most pathetic Knicks fan.

So get in the Christmas spirit, fork over the 50-some-odd bucks for one of these and crush this year's ugly sweater party like the whack job sports fan your know you are.

LeBron James is going home, where his legacy will truly be written

The title drought in Northeast Ohio is 50 years and counting. It’s been five decades since Jim Brown and the Cleveland Browns – the last team to win a title in the city – brought an NFL championship to the blue collar, Midwest town.

During that retched span, the Cleveland sports fan has endured a laundry list of gut punches, from the “The Shot” to “The Drive” and beyond.

Heck, the city’s beloved football team even upped and left once upon a time.

Then of course there was the night of July 8, 2010 -- “The Decision – when Akron native LeBron James dumped the Cavaliers on national television. In the aftermath of that debacle, I kept asking myself one question.

How much can one fan base take?

But that’s exactly why Friday was such a special day in sports, as LeBron eloquently announced in an essay that he’s returning to the Cavaliers. There was something so cruel, so organically unfair about the raw deal the city of Cleveland got when King James bolted for the Miami Heat four years ago, but Friday felt like the Sports Gods had righted a past wrong.

People have since questioned the loyalties of the Cavaliers fans who were seen rejoicing in the streets as news broke of LeBron's Decision 2.0. Weren’t these the same people burning his jersey in those same streets four years ago?

Cavaliers fans famously burned LeBron James jerseys in 2010.

Sure they were. But that shouldn’t matter. Friday’s events weren’t a product of some cookie cutter bandwagon effect that consumes all sports markets when the local team is on a roll. What we saw in Cleveland runs so much deeper.

After such a magnificently tragic 50 years, the Cleveland teams have ostensibly become the Kennedys of the sports world. Remember, this is the same fan base that has endured 141 consecutive seasons – across multiple sports – without a championship parade. That’s the longest active drought for any city.

In LeBron’s open letter announcing his decision to resign with the Cleveland Cavaliers – the team he spent the first seven years of his career with -- he writes that his decision to return to Cleveland wasn’t purely about winning championships.

It wasn’t about legacy or even basketball as a whole.

It was about going home.

His was a letter written by a person who truly understands his place in the world and where he belongs.

Yet, while the promise of rings isn’t the reason LeBron is returning to Cleveland, the prospect of that happening is the undercurrent that fueled the celebrations in the streets on Friday.

Sure, he could have stayed in South Beach, won two or three more titles with a revamped roster and inched closer to Michael Jordan’s magic number of six championships. Perhaps that would have been the prudent move for his legacy, as if that word were solely rooted in the number of championship rings that rest on your fingers.

No, LeBron’s legacy can be about so much more than raw talent or jewelry.

That’s why his decision to leave was so hard for me – with no rooting interest and no connection to Cleveland – to swallow in the first place. Rightly or wrongly, I couldn’t understand how he could divorce himself from the prospect of being the guy to bring a championship to Northeast Ohio, even if it was just one.

Just do a bit of homework on Mark Messier, and you’ll understand.

In 1991, the New York Rangers traded for Messier, a five-time Stanley Cup champion with the Edmonton Oilers. Three years later, Messier spearheaded an epic Cup run that ended the organization’s 54-year title drought and vaporized a World War II-era hex.

Five Cups with the Oilers, but it’s the title he won in 1994 with the Rangers that just might be Messier’s finest accomplishment. It was a legacy-cementing championship – one that still echoes on the streets on New York and in hockey lore.

Perhaps LeBron wasn’t ready for that type of a moment. Maybe he didn’t have the foresight or the vision to fully understand the opportunity that lay before him four years ago.

It sure seems like he does now. And if that’s the case, haters and fans alike should recognize and respect his choice to return home, his decision to slay Cleveland’s ancient demon.

His nickname is The King, but these days it feels more like “The Savior.” Then again he won’t be considered that until he ends the vaunted title drought that’s lingered on the shores of Lake Erie for a half century.

When LeBron does that, and only then, his legacy will truly be complete. Not in Springfield, Mass., on sports talk radio or in bar stool conversations that will follow in the years to come, but the one place where it truly maters.

Home.

World Cup fever? More like Stanley Cup hangover

Alec Martinez of the Los Angeles Kings, left, scored in double overtime of Game 5 of the Stanley
Cup Final to clinch the team's second Stanley Cup championship in three seasons.

Forgive me if I haven’t yet gone full soccer hooligan and tattooed John Brooks’ likeness onto my body.

This won't be happening anytime soon, but it’s not for a lack of patriotism.

And it's not because I'm rooting against the U.S. National soccer team in this year’s World Cup – the global spectacle that seemingly unites all corners of the planet in sporting frenzy every four years. 

After all, I watched the Americans’ gutsy performance against arch nemesis Ghana on Monday and even let out a guttural “Yes!” when Brooks delivered what proved to be the game-winning goal in the waning minutes of play.

John Brooks' late goal lifted the U.S. over Ghana, 2-1, in
Monday's World Cup opener.

But as the World Cup kicks into high gear – and so do the Americans’ hopes for a berth in the knockout round -- forgive me as my inner sports fan sluggishly lags behind.

That's because for the last two months, I have fervently worshipped at the alter of the hockey gods as my beloved New York Rangers’ rode a magical ride through the meat-grinder that is the NHL Playoffs.

For the last two months, I watched the Rangers withstand a seven-game series against the rival Philadelphia Flyers, rally from three games to one down against the Pittsburgh Penguins, KO the Montreal Canadiens and skate their way to an improbable berth in the Stanley Cup Final.

For the last two months, I found my team at the center of the hockey world and watched the Blueshirts become the apple of the Big Apple’s eye.

For me, that was nearly enough.

You see, when you lay claim to the Mets, Jets and Knicks as your teams, championship runs are about as rare of an Italian soccer game without an Oscar-worthy flop.They just don't happen often.

Thus, the last two months have infused my daily life with a surreal feeling – a quality that became more and more palpable with every step the Rangers took toward the Stanley Cup.

Yet, it all came to an end early Saturday morning when the Rangers dropped a 3-2 double-overtime verdict to the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final, capping what was as dynamic and gripping of a five-game series as you’ll see in any sport.

Yes, the Kings took a 3-0 series lead, and yes, they wrapped things up in what one day will surely be mistakenly described as a “tidy” five-game victory. But it took a pair of two-goal comebacks in Games 1 and 2, and Friday’s double-overtime crucible for the Kings to assume their throne atop the NHL and plunge this Ranger fan – and all others – into an instantaneous fog.

And yet the general sports malaise I find myself in now is not just about my team’s defeat. It’s bigger than just the Rangers.

I spent the last two months gripped by what is pound-for-pound the sporting world’s best event, the NHL Playoffs. If I wasn’t watching the Rangers, I surely had the Blackhawks or Bruins on.

Perhaps more so than any other, the NHL’s postseason presents the sport at its very best. And any attempt by me to wax poetic about the rigors – and beauty – of postseason hockey would ultimately fail, because Sports Illustrated’s Steve Rushin already did so in what might be the greatest bit of sports writing I’ve ever laid eyes on.

“Playoff hockey games begin with a frenzied first period more akin to sudden death and end with a sudden death that resembles something much closer to actual death,” Rushin wrote in his opus that ran during last year’s playoffs.

“The NHL playoffs are one long, pressurized Ponzi scheme: The sooner you get out, the more likely you'll be made whole again. After all, with no guaranteed payout, the teams that advance are doubling down on their potential misery.”

Just ask Henrik Lunqvist and the Rangers.

For these reasons, among dozens more, there’s simply nothing comparable to NHL’s annual “Ponzi scheme” – not the NBA, not March Madness. Sorry soccer fans, not even the World Cup.

This was all evident as I sat on a bar stool during Game 5, nervously chomping on my fingernails while my hockey team poured its guts out onto the ice. At some point during the overtime chaos I received an unexpected call from my friend, Kevin.

“Are you watching this game?” he asked.

Of course I’m watching the game.

“This is ridiculous,” he said. “You know I hate hockey, but this is ridiculous.”

During that brief phone call, why I love playoff hockey crystallized: It’s so unmistakably thrilling to watch, so maddening in its unrelenting intensity, that even casual fans and haters alike can’t turn away. 

And yet it’s all over now. Hockey diehards are left itching for just one more game, while fringe observers cannot deny the way they felt when they tuned into a game they thought they cared little about.

So as this year’s World Cup picks up speed with more excitement like we saw Monday, forgive me for not coming down with the soccer fever everyone seems to have.

I’m still nursing one heck of a hockey hangover.