After it’s over, you have to wait 50 more weeks to see some live tennis in New York City.

Of course, a true fan of the sport can travel across the country – or even the world – to see the best play, but nothing compares to, as it’s called, the rock-and-roll atmosphere of the big city.

That’s why it’s refreshing to see an event line the 2010 BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup which took place on last Monday at Madison Square Garden. With Kim Clijster, Ana Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Venus Williams playing an exhibition, a glimpse of the last summer came to New York during the cold winter.

And it really didn’t matter the first matches only went one set each and the played with the no-Ad rule, what was seen was very exciting tennis at the Mecca.

“There was definitely a real connection [at the Garden],” said Williams, the eventual winner over Clijsters, 6-4 3-6 7-5. “They were just rooting me on and it felt great. That’s the most fun I had in front of a crowd anywhere. It’s nice to see how much it means to them having tennis at the Garden.”

Back about 20 years ago, the New York area was the capital of Tennis. Besides the Open, the WTA championships were held at the Garden and even the Davis Cup came to New York. There was an event in Northern New Jersey over the summer, and even old Forest Hills hosted bigger events.

But then everything changed when world class facilities popped up around the globe offering top dollar prizes. Most of the tournaments moved out of the Metropolitan Area, leaving the last major of the year as the only tennis in the city.

And that’s why putting an event at the Garden is so important for the sport. With less and less coverage in the in the papers, having a any event in the largest media market means tennis will get the exposure it desperately needs.

That’s not to say all these other cities that want to host events shouldn’t get them, but the ATP and WTA needs to keep the sport in the focus of the largest media markets in order to keep it in conscience of the TV, radio and print.

So, maybe the powers that be should consider expanding this new late winter event into a weekend event. Instead of making it one night, it could be a full weekend with no gimmicky rules and an expanded card. And since it would be in February or March, the event won’t get the distracted of other sports. Football will be over, baseball is in Florida, and the Knicks and Rangers obviously are road teams for that weekend.

And every newspaper looking to fill their pages will be there and tennis, once again, may get the spotlight it so desperately seeks.

Finally after a day of waiting, Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust are Rangers, while the team bids goodbuy to Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins.

No matter how Jokinen meshes with Marian Gaborik, this is simply a good trade for the Rangers. They gave up nothing, while getting the cap flexibility for next season if their new No. 1 center leaves as a free agent.

These are the trades general manager Glen Sather needs to make. The Rangers can’t give up their young talent, as that’s the future of the organization, so he has to be nimble and use the bad fits in moves to make the team better.

In this trade, Sather just moved two very disappointing parts, including one that didn’t want to be in New York, and got himself a rental, which could make a huge impact this season. Coach John Tortorella knows Jokinen from his years in Tampa, as the new Ranger was the No. 1 option on the rival Florida Panthers. If anyone knows the enigmatic ex-Islander, it’s Torts. And if there’s a fit with Gaborik, the No. 1 line with Vinny Prospal on the wing, gives the Blueshirts a great scoring combination.

And if there isn’t a fit, then the No. 2 line may get a whole lot better, because there will be some secondary scoring going on, something that has been missing for most of the season.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the Rangers are a perfect team, far from it. It still needs to shed some really bad contracts in Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival and Donald Brashear, but it’s a start, and one that could be a sign of things to come.

Although this looks like a win-win, of course this could go south. No one thought getting Higgins and Kotalik were bad moves over the summer. In fact, this space lauded the arrival of the Smithtown, NY native, but it was not meant to be.

It’s not easy playing in your hometown, which is something Higgins learned very quickly in New York and Kotalik just never fit in with Tortorella, something not many can do. Yet, neither player were life long Rangers, just some spare parts in a greater scheme of things.

Yet, the young players are a different story. Sather must keep his young talent, since that’s the way the organization grows long term. Brandon Dubinsky still needs to grow and Ryan Callahan can improve as well. On the blue line, three young talents in Marc Staal, Michael Del Zotto, and Matt Gilroy are the future. Sure they make their mistakes, but their errors are far less glaring then Redden’s or Rozsival’s.

Maybe in the next month, Sather will be able to move another player or two. It will take a miracle to get rid of Redden’s bloated contract and Brashear appears to found his life in the Blue Seats with the addition of Prust, but sometimes things happen. Who would have thought Scoot Gomez would have been traded after last season or Jokinen and Prust come to New York for a couple of spare parts.

Things happen. And now the Rangers are better for it.

This year, though, there’s no doubt the master is on track.

“It’s not something I’ve ever put in my mind that this is something I want to achieve,” Federer said after defeating Andy Murray in straight sets, 6-3 6-4 7-6. “I’ll still go and play the smaller tournaments, you know, the Masters 1000s, the ones we’re supposed to play. I try to give my best everywhere I go to, because I think there are not only the Grand Slams.

“Of course, they are important, but I try to respect every tournament that invites me to go play there. There’s the fans who pay tickets. I want to live up to my expectations, too.”

After a scare in the first round, Federer had a pretty easy time in the Oz Open as he dominated the competition in Melbourne. Although the more exciting matches over the past two weeks were played by others, the Swiss Master just went about his business.

“I always knew I had it in my hand,” he said. “The question is do I have it in my mind and in my legs, you know. That’s something I had to work extremely hard at. Now I feel like obviously I’m being pushed a great deal by the new generation coming up. I always feel sort of tennis changes sort of every five years.

“Because when I came on tour, matches were played very differently. It was more of a bluff game, guys serving well, but there was always a weakness you could go to. Today that doesn’t exist anymore. I think that’s also thanks to guys like Murray. They’ve made me a better player, because I think this has been one of my finest performances, you know, in a long time, or maybe forever.”

Now Federer is on track for that elusive Grand Slam. Even with all the major wins, he never won all four in a year, as the French always gave him problems. But now, after winning in Roland Garros last year, Federer has a real chance to nail down the elusive achievement.

Of course he will play the tournaments as they come, but Federer feels now that he’s in position to dominate everything in 2010.

“It’s not an easy thing to do to win your first Grand Slam,” Federer said. “That’s not mental, you know, trying to screw with his head, you know. It’s just a tough thing, you know.

“The next one is not going to get any easier. But his game is so good that I’m convinced he will win one, you know. And I thought he did really well tonight because conditions were tough. I mean, I think I played a great match. So someone’s got to win, and I’m happy it was me.”

The road ahead won’t be easy. Although Federer has said he’s become a better player, the rest of the field has become tougher as well. Besides the usual suspects, like Nadal, Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Roddick, upstarts like US Open Champion Juan Martin Del Potro have become elite players, who will give Federer fits as he tries to nail down the Slam.

Yet, that’s what keeps the Swiss Master going. With every match he learns something about himself, on his quest for perfection.

“[It’s] a tough generation at the moment,” Federer said. “There’s many guys. You know, I’ve dominated hard court and grass for a long time; Rafa did clay. Rafa also became very strong on the other surfaces and so forth.

“So I think it’s just not an easy thing to do, Grand Slams, and I proved it again tonight.”

One down. Three to go.

Yet, after Classics in Western Canada, Western New York, Chicago, and Boston, Metropolitan Area fans are wondering when the New Year’s game will be played in the New York area. After all, 10 percent of the NHL is located here, and with such a densely populated area, a sellout would be a cinch.

But putting the Winter Classic in New York isn’t the easiest of tasks. Much like so many things around here, a ton of red tape has to be cut before the Rangers, Islanders, or Devils will be playing under the cold January sun.

First, the league has to decide which of the three teams will represent New York. Unlike other markets, where there’s just one club, New York has three fan bases to draw and picking one would run the risk of alienating the other two. There’s very little crossover here, and since the league would like to get another market involved, just one of the three teams would participate in a New York Classic.

Although the Rangers are the obvious choice, the Devils and especially the Islanders could use the spotlight to ignite some interest. Even though New Jersey holds one of the best records in the league, they are a no-name squad that could use the bright outdoor lights, while the Islanders have a young team that’s getting better and maybe a few disenfranchised fans would come back if they saw them play on New Year’s Day.

But the NHL is more interested in promoting the whole sport and the Rangers will give them not only a large fan base, but a villain club which many will watch to see lose. So pretty much go with the Rangers here.

And if it is the Blueshirts, who would they play? With Chicago, Detroit, Boston and Philadelphia being represented the last two years, the NHL l will probably look elsewhere. How about looking north and grabbing a Canadian team to play? The league could market it as America vs. Canada and it would be a win-fall for NBC. And given the Rangers history with a number of the Canadian teams, it would make for a few interesting matchups.

The league could tap Vancouver and make it a rematch of 1994, 15 years later. You could bring back all the members of both clubs and highlight that classic Stanley Cup Finals. Mark Messier could be the honorary captain of the Rangers, while Trevor Linden would wear the honorary ‘C’ for the Canucks.

Yet, this hasn’t been much of a rivalry since 1994 and outside of that seven game series, there’s little history there. Plus the Canucks would have to fly across country for this game, something they may not want to do.

If not Vancouver, how about Edmonton? Think about Glen Sather’s former team against his current club. Heck Messier could be honorary captain for both squads. Plus you would have former coach Tom Renney behind the bench for the Oilers, coaching against the Rangers in New York for the first time. That alone could be the story.

Yet with so many common players between the two franchises, the league could bring back many of them before the game. Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Glen Anderson, Kevin Lowe, Craig MacTavish, Jeff Buekeboom, Esa Tikkanen, and Adam Graves – not to mention Sather and Renney – could be honored before the game.

But the Oilers have a tradition on New Year’s Eve every year when they play the Calgary Flames in the Battle of Alberta, so they would have to cancel that to play on New York.

Probably the best bet would be the Canadiens. Although not a fierce rival for a long time, this would be an Original Six matchup, surely to draw fans from both sides. And since the Habs beat the Rangers for the Cup in 1979, there’s some history there too. Plus you wouldn’t have to worry too much about the travel.

So let’s go with Blueshirts against the Habs, and with that out of the way, now let’s look at where they would play.

Yankee Stadium has been rumored for the last two years. In 2009, the league wanted to use the old building, but construction ended that and this year the NHL went with a surer bet in Boston. In 2011, though, the stadium may not be available. With the Yankee Bowl coming late in the year, the NHL may not have the two weeks it needs to convert the facility for hockey. A nice idea but that window seems to be closed for now.

And the New Meadowlands may be out as well, since the Jets and Giants will still be playing. Unlike Ralph Wilson Stadium three Classics ago, the league won’t be able to get both the Jets and Giants to go on the road for two week that late into the football season. Plus the 82,000 seats may be a tough fill. And since it is located in New Jersey, the Devils may try to block the Rangers from playing there, unless of course they are playing Devils.

So that leaves one logical choice. Citi Field will be available for two weeks. Its 42,000 seat capacity makes it better for the classic, and since the seats are closer to the field, it may be more conducive viewing. And because it’s in Queens it would be out of the way of the Times Square celebration the night before.

The only question is if the Mets would want the game at their ballpark, especially with the NHL flirting with the Yankees the last few years.

Yet, Jeff Wilpon is a hockey fans and has been seen at Madison Square Garden taking in a game every once in a while. With the new ballpark pretty much vacant, there’s no reason why the Mets would be against an influx of off-season revenue.

The NHL has done a great job with the Winter Classic. Wrigley and Fenway were slam dunks and while there are other worthy locations, New York is the next logical choice. So let’s have the Rangers take on the Canadiens at Citi Field to ring in 2011.

Take it out of each of their paychecks because a game like this is just unacceptable.

Sure, after the game, each Ranger was saying how their play was a disgrace, but the loyal Garden fans deserve more from this. If the Rangers don’t want to compete at home, the fans need something for their efforts.

And Giant-like apologies just won’t do it.

“There was nothing good about the game,” said center Brandon Dubinsky. “I’m not going to hide under a rock, though.”

Fine, they all were there in the dressing room after the match fielding answers to the questions. Each Ranger, though, has a certain responsibility to come in and play hard every night, especially at home. They owe the fans that. To do any less is a disgrace to the uniform they wear and tarnishes every great who wore the Ranger sweater since 1926.

“Everyone had a bad game on the same night,” Christopher Higgins said when asked about the game, but this is more than that, you have to wonder why the Rangers performed like this, especially after the mockery of a game just two weeks ago against the Islanders.

After that game, John Tortorella was livid, but tonight was more reserved.

“If we have to go with a coach losing his mind making an idiot out of himself every five games then we are beating our heads against the wall,” Tortorella said. “It can’t be that way. We have to find some consistency. I think we played pretty well Islander game.

“Guys, I am being honest with you, I don’t have an answer on why we played the game tonight the way we did. I thought we practiced well, I thought we got enough rest and they were in good spirits. I just don’t know why.”

Neither do the 18,200 fans, all of whom deserve their money back. At least they got treated to the NHL debut of Chad Johnson, the 23 year-old backup goalie, who stopped 17 of 20 shots on the night after coming in for Henrik Lundqvist to start the second period.  Although Simon Gagne was able to score on the first shot Johnson faced, thanks to a turnover by Dubinsky, the rookie hung in there.

“I thought he settled in, made some good saves,” Tortorella said. “It’s a tough position for a kid to come into his first game into this storm or whatever you call it.”

Fortunately the Rangers are able to play tomorrow, so they won’t have to sit and mull over this game. And maybe they can ring out this bad 2009 with some sort of win and maybe put this game behind them.

And maybe the fans will forget this game too.

You have to give the Mets credit here. A reportedly four-year, $66 million deal give the Mets their left fielder for the next four seasons, while adding a big bat in the idle of the lineup, one that has been missing since Carlos Delgado’s hip went out on him in the middle of May.

But let’s not call it an off-season yet. There’s still a lot of work to do. The Mets still need a catcher and of course a front of the line starter to compliment Johan Santana.

Now it seems like they are close to grabbing Bengie Molina to catch, and if that doesn’t work, the Mets can get Rod Barajas behind the plate. But that No. 2 starter? Well that’s another question.

There’s not much out there for the Mets. Joel Pineiro interests the club, especially after a 15-win season, but you have to wonder if that was Dave Duncan’s magic at work. Or they could explore a trade for Carlos Zambrano, but that’s seems like a long shot given the pitcher’s no-trade clause in his contract. Or the Mets can go and grab a reclamation project like Ben Sheets or Chien-Ming Wang, but that would just add another question mark to a team with rehabbing players.

Yet, that’s the story of the Mets for this off-season. They can fill their holes nicely, but without a healthy club in 2010, there will be no chance for competing for the post season. Jose Reyes needs to run at full speed, while Carlos Beltran has to have healthy knees. Johan Santana needs a healthy knee and elbow, while David Wright has to learn how to hit with power again.

Unless that happens, signing Jason Bay is just academic.

Speaking of Bay, you have to wonder if he really wanted to be here. Without any other offer, the 31 year-old outfielder sat and waited for the Mets to flinch on their initial four-year offer. But without anybody else competing for his services, you have to wonder if he really wanted to play in Queens. Next week, we will hear how much he loved the organization in 2002 when he was a Met farmhand and how much he loves New York and always wanted a chance to prove himself here. But his actions – or in this case inactions – the last three weeks tell another story.

You also have to wonder why the Red Sox bowed out so quickly. There are rumors about the health of his shoulders and if there are long term problems, will he make it through the life of the contract? Or will the Mets see another high priced free agent produce for a year or two, and then succumb to age in jury?

General manager Omar Minaya is on the hot seat, so he may be thinking of the near term rather than the bigger picture, while COO Jeffrey Wilpon is desperate to sell season ticket plans, which have dropped off to a snail’s pace. Bay could be the quick fix they are seeking for those problems, but it doesn’t mean it translates into wins in 2010.

Sure Bay does make the club better, but without the upgrades at other positions, the Mets will be desperately undermanned in a division that’s getting tougher and tougher every day.

We are on the verge of entering the second week of Bay-watch with Jason Bay still holding out for a fifth year, while catcher Bengie Molina looking for a third guaranteed season.

Do they deserve it? With Bay, maybe, but Molina, no way – two years is too much for a 35 year-old catcher, let alone three.

Yet, the Mets wait and as Santa Claus is set to make his annual run tomorrow, Met fans are wondering what will be under their Christmas trees.

Well, it’s time for the Mets to make a decision. If they want to sweeten the pot with Bay for a fifth year option, so be it, but then tell both Bay’s agent Joe Upton and Molina’s rep Fernando Cuza, it’s time to make up their minds. Give them the Christmas holiday weekend to make up their minds, or tell them the team will look elsewhere.

This waiting game is a very dangerous proposition. Sure it worked two years ago with Johan Santana, but there were more wheels in motion there. First Minnesota had to trade him to the Mets and then they dealt with the player.

But that’s not the case here. By all accounts both Bay and Molina have no other leverage; the Mets seem to be the only player. Yet, the longer the team waits the more windows open up. Look at the Javy Vasquez trade yesterday. Now it’s possible for either Atlanta or even the Yankees to have interest in Bay and the Mets will be left out in the cold.

In the past, when the Mets went after their big ticket items, they brought them to New York. Jeff Wilpon entertained them and showed them places to live. Right now, we are seeing none of that, which makes one believe neither player is really interested in the New York Mets. If that’s the case, then it’s time to move on, be it with Matt Holliday or some other cheaper option.

Wellington Mara once said, “There’s no fooling our fans.” Yet, this is what the Mets are trying to do here. With season renewals going at a snail’s pace, the Mets are desperate to be relevant in this market. Yet, what they are doing is shooting themselves in the foot, because everyone sees right through that act.

There’s no shame in rebuilding and you can do it in New York. Just look at the Knicks, who are starting to come to life this season and have a bright future if they can sign their high ticket free agents. If the Mets just said to the fan base they are trying to compete next year, but also present a long term plan, then no one would ever complain.

Yet, they are trying to continue their patchwork plan, which they do every off-season. That has gotten Minaya all of one postseason, two epic collapses, and one really bad 2009.

It’s time now to end this and come up with a plan. It starts today by ending the waiting game with Bay and Molina and telling both it’s time for them to make up their minds.

Last night’s game against the Islanders was a call to arms for the Rangers. Are they are a team or are they just a collection of overpaid veterans just looking to collect their check?

After benching Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik, the Rangers responded and thanks to an ill advised Islander starting of a very tired Dwayne Roloson, who gave up three goals on the Rangers first five shots in their eventual 5-2 win.

“I think, collectively, as a team, we responded well and everybody realized what they had to do,” right wing Ryan Callahan, who scored two goals in the match, said. “I think it’s a little bit of both. Obviously, Hank is the backbone of this team and he made some key saves.”

Lundqvist made sure the Rangers had a chance as he stopped the Islander onslaught during the first 10 minutes of the game when the Isles outshot the Rangers 10-1. Being up for the challenge, Lundqvist kept the Rangers in the match as his teammates got their legs.

“It’s happened a lot of times in this building,” Lundqvist said. “They come out flying and we have a tough time settling in. It was important for me personally and for the team to stay in there. I don’t know how we had the lead after the first period, but we did.”

But a win is a win and the Rangers will now move forward with maybe with a new found lease on life. There’s no word on Redden and Kotalik, both of who sat in the press box for the match. After a shouting match between the defenseman and coach John Tortorella, Redden was worked out by assistant coach Mike Sullivan and then expressed his displeasure to the media.

“Not real pleased about it, honestly,” Redden said.  “To be singled out – I know the team’s going through struggles and everyone’s got to be better.  The fact that I’m sitting out – I mean, I’m not real happy about it.”

Redden acted like he was losing money here, but let’s remember his $39 million contract will still be paid even if he’s sitting on the bench. And for him to be “singled out” is a joke, because he’s been playing this way for a year and a half.

Yet, you have to blame Sather for that signing, yet he will still get paid as well. Even though some morning show commentators were saying he was set to get canned, the Rangers president’s job is safe for now.

And you can look for Tortorella to go as well, but at least the coach has abandoned his old offense first mantra and started to do some neutral zone trapping over the past two weeks.

So, all is well for one night at least as the Rangers try to save the season. But is this just one night or a start of something big?

We will soon find out.

Yet, in less than a year into the John Tortorella regime, the Rangers stand at 14-15-2.

Say what you want about the Rangers abrasive coach, but the fact is that record is not getting the job done. Renney, for all his flaws, knew how to win on Broadway, something many a good coach could not do.

Maybe, we should add Tortorella to that list. He came here with a reputation as the Anti-Renney, an offensive coach, who is as abrasive and outspoken as he is an up-tempo genius. But now he has a team that just can’t score any goals. Just look at the numbers. In the last 19 games dating back to Oct. 28th, 15 times the Rangers scored two goals or fewer.

And, tonight was no exception with the Rangers scoring just two goals in their 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden.

“Bottom line, we know we have to win,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist. “We are doing a lot of good things and the work ethic is definitely there. We work really hard. We just come up short a lot of nights. I don’t know what else to say.”

To help Lundqvist out here, the Rangers come up short because they are in an offensive system that doesn’t score. Too many times their all-world goaltender is left naked out there by a very suspect defense filled with two overpriced and underperforming veterans and a bunch of youngsters, who are just learning.  Under Renney this worked, because the trapping system masked defensive deficiencies, but they are now exposed under Tortorella.

And that is where the problem just starts. Every night it’s the same story and over the past few weeks changes started to happen. But frankly, they are the wrong ones. Was it really Stephen Valliquette’s fault that the Rangers are playing so poorly? And why was Matt Gilroy sent down and not Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival?

Tortorella was brought in because Renney was considered too nice to bench or demote any of his high priced veterans., but we have failed to see the tough love given to players like Rozsival, Redden, Chris Drury, or Christopher Higgins, all of whom could use a game or two sitting in the stands and maybe one or two of them should be shown the Hartford shuttle. Yet all are enjoying NHL minutes and NHL meal money on an everyday bases.

Earlier in the year, Tortorella was shocked out the press’s reaction when it comes to benchings, saying it’s “treated like crucifixions” here. But how can anyone take his no-nonsense seriously when he refuses to sit down some of his veteran. His rules seem to just be for the players he can push around and not the ones who deserve it.  But what do you expect from a coach who benched his best agitator in the playoffs last year, only to make a fool out of himself by squirting a bottle on a few fans.

Is there time to turn this around? Of course. But it also means the team needs a personality transplant. They need to bare down and the veterans need to step up and lead this club, or John Tortorella’s Rangers are destined to become a failure, like many other successful coaches when they came to Broadway.

But this year is different, with so many holes to fill, so the Mets, the field is wide open for the Amazin’s in Indianapolis, just like the race the city entertains every Memorial Day Weekend.

The Mets have a lot of holes to fill, after a 92-loss season. So this year, much maligned GM Omar Minaya has a handful to fill holes in left field, catcher, the rotation, and the bullpen.

So it stands to reason that the rumors were flying yesterday with a Philadelphia website reporting the Mets acquired former nemesis Pay Burrell for Luis Castillo and Detroit pitcher Edwin Jackson also coming to Queens for an unidentified player. Neither was true.

What we do know is that the Mets are trying to make a trade or two in Indy, forcing their way to improve the team even with a meager $25 million to spend on free agents.

“I don’t want to say I’m that close,” Minaya said to reporters in Indianapolis. “But closer than we were. I’m getting either an idea that we’re going to get it done or not get it done. Put it this way – I’m further along today than I was [Sunday] night.”

It looks like he is trying to trade Castillo, especially with the team looking at free agent second baseman Adam Kennedy. And this morning the NY Post is reporting Minaya is talking to Milwaukee about a John Maine for Corey Hart swap. (And no, Minaya was not seen wearing his sunglasses at night.)

Yet, that’s the insanity of the Winter Meetings, especially this season with the direct line to the event through programs like Twitter. In the past when a reporter would get a rumor, he or she would have some time to research it, but now once said it’s just a few taps on the Blackberry away from becoming public.

So expect the rumors to fly over the next three days, as the Mets desperately try to fill in their holes. With the Mets shopping Castillo, every bad contract out there will be rumored coming to New York, even if the fit isn’t there, while Minaya looks for bargains to fill his holes.

Oh, he will kick the tires on free agents as well. If the price is right for Bengie Molina, then he will be signed – look for a Castillo like 2-year, $12 million contract there – and of course, Minaya will look at John Lackey, although he may be out of the team’s price range.

Yet, Lackey’s price may come down and if a few smart trades do occur, then Minaya may have the money for a high price ticket like the Angels erstwhile ace. And if that happens, then the Mets may be able to salvage a very bumpy 2009.

One thing is for certain though – at these Winter Meetings, the race has just started.