Top 5 American Sports Rivalries That Make No Sense

Last night, the New York Red Bulls (or, to be more corporately accurate, "Red Bull New York") went down to Washington, and beat D.C. United, 2-0.

Is that a big deal? I mean, any more than any other win? It shouldn't be. It's 230 miles from Times Square in Midtown Manhattan to downtown Washington, and 221 miles from Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey to Audi Field in Southwest Washington.

To some, this rivalry may make sense geographically. But hold on: There are not one, not two, but three Major League Soccer teams closer to Red Bull Arena than are DCU: The New England Revolution, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 215 miles; the Philadelphia Union, at Subaru Park (formerly Talen Energy Stadium and PPL Park) in Chester, Pennsylvania, 104 miles; and, easy enough to guess, New York City FC, still playing "home" games at the new Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, just 21 miles (although, with traffic, especially over the George Washington Bridge, it could take over an hour).

So why are DCU the Red Bulls' arch-rivals? Why do "Metro" (short for the team's name from 1996 to 2005, the New York/New Jersey MetroStars) fans treat DCU the way college teams treat their arch-rivals? Why is the week leading up to the game "Hate DC Week"?

Top 5 American Sports Rivalries That Make No Sense

Note: All distances given are between each team's current home venues. Where they may have played at the times of the rivalry's biggest moments, if not the same, is not relevant for this discussion. And all win totals are current as of last night's RBNY-DCU game.

5. Red Bull New York vs. D.C. United

Began: 1996, with the founding of Major League Soccer

Really Began: Same time

Distance: 221 miles

All-Time Series: DCU 44, RBNY 36 (counting last night's win), 17 draws

Trophy: Atlantic Cup, DCU lead 12-11, although RBNY have won the last 3

Playoff Games: DCU 8, RBNY 3, 3 draws

In no other sport is New York vs. Washington a real rivalry. The Yankees and the Washington Senators were never rivals. The Mets and the Washington Nationals have only been playing each other since 2005, when the former Montreal Expos moved to the District of Columbia.

The New York Giants and the Washington Football Team (formerly the Washington Redskins) have been playing each other, and always in the same Division (under various names), since 1937. But both teams have bigger rivalries: The Giants with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the WFT with the Dallas Cowboys (which I'll get to later).

The New York Jets aren't in the same Conference, let alone the same Division, so they don't care about Washington at all, except on those rare occasions when they play each other. But Giant fans take no special pleasure when Washington lose, unless it means the Giants get closer to winning the NFC Eastern Division. And that wouldn't affect Jet fans at all.

The New York Knicks and the Washington Wizards have been playing each other since 1963 (the DC team was the Baltimore Bullets until 1973, then the Washington Bullets until 1997). But, aside from the late 1960s and the early 1970s, when it was New York vs. Baltimore, there has never been much of a rivalry between them. And the team now known as the Brooklyn Nets have been playing them since 1976, with no animus toward them.

As for hockey, the Washington Capitals have had some memorable Playoff matchups with the locals, playing the Rangers in 9 series, the Islanders 8 (including losing to the Isles last month), and the Devils 2. But they don't consider any of those teams their rivals. They'd rather beat the Philadelphia Flyers or the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Even in college sports, there isn't much of a rivalry: St. John's vs. Georgetown was a huge basketball matchup in the Big East Conference in the mid-1980s, but that didn't last long: It was big on quality, but short on quantity. And St. John's discontinued football in 2002.

New York City FC? They have but one rival, and that's the Red Bulls. Maybe two rivals, if you count the New York City government, which isn't willing to build them a stadium. Maybe three, if you count the Yankees, who have forced them out of Yankee Stadium for 3 separate home games.

So, why RBNY vs. DCU? Because, when MLS was founded in 1996, there were only 3 teams in the Northeast: Those 2, and the New England Revolution. One would think that New York vs. Boston would become MLS' big rivalry, due to the Yankees-Red Sox, Jets-Patriots, Knicks-Celtics and Rangers-Bruins rivalries.

But DCU won 3 of the 1st 4 MLS Cups, and 4 of the 1st 9, establishing themselves as the league's dominant team in its first period. And they dominated the MetroStars as well. Metro fans got jealous, and they got nasty. Eventually, DCU began to decline. With the opening of Red Bull Arena in 2010, Metro got better. Not until 2014 would RBNY beat DCU in a Playoff game (which are sometimes two-legged "ties"), and not until 2015 would RBNY knock DCU out of the Playoffs.

Also with the opening of RBA, Metro fans began to point out the difference in the stadiums: RBA was new and soccer-specific, while Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, built in 1961 as a multipurpose facility, was not well-maintained. There were jokes about rats, and, to the tune of "London Bridge," Metro fans sang, "RFK is falling down!" That came to an end with DCU's 2018 move into the soccer-specific Audi Field.

It's not all on Metro's side. DCU fans would still rather beat them than Philly, New England, or the other New York. This may only be the 25th season of Major League Soccer, but there is some history there.

4. San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks

Began: 1976, with the founding of the Seahawks

Really Began: 2002, with the move of the Seahawks to the NFC West

Distance: 834 miles

All-Time Series: Seattle 25, San Francisco 17, no ties

Trophy: None

Playoff Games: Seattle 1, San Francisco 0

From the Seahawks' debut in 1976 until 2001, 25 years, this matchup only happened 6 times. Then, in 2002, came realignment, and the Seahawks were moved out of the AFC West into the NFC West. Suddenly, with the 49ers-Rams rivalry on hold because the Rams were in St. Louis, out of the traditional Northern California vs. Southern California hatred, the Niners had a real rival again.

Except, this one doesn't make sense, not even geographically. Since when are San Francisco and Seattle rivals? Okay, there's the whole tech thing: Seattle's Microsoft would not have been possible without the Silicon Valley around San Jose, which is part of the San Francisco Bay Area, where the 49ers moved when Levi's Stadium opened in Santa Clara in 2014.

But is that a reason for the fans of the respective cities to hate each other? St. Louis and Milwaukee are the nation's 2 major beer brewing centers, but they don't hate each other. Even when the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers faced each other in the 1982 World Series, there were a few "Suds Series" jokes, but they didn't hate each other. Since 1998, the Cards and the Brew Crew have been in the National League Central Division together, but both teams' fans hate the Chicago Cubs more. (Those 2 rivlries, at least, make geographical sense.)

Is there any other pair of cities that hate each other because they're industry rivals? San Diego and Seattle don't hate each other because they're both Navy cities. (Maybe if Norfolk, Virginia had a team.) New York and Atlanta don't like each other, but it's not because Atlanta has CNN's headquarters and nearly every other network is based in New York.

Boston and Philadelphia both have Revolutionary War connections, but the history they care about now is mainly their sports history against each other. You don't see too many Philadelphians bragging that Ben Franklin couldn't stand Boston so he left for Philly (even though that's true).

It is true that the Seahawks have usually been good since their move to the NFC West, and that the 49ers have had their moments since then. But, aside from the 2013 NFC Championship Game, won by the 'Hawks, this matchup has usually not meant very much.

Finally, once the Rams moved back to the Los Angeles area for the 2016 season, that automatically restored them to their 1950 to 1994 position as the 49ers' arch-rivals. Seahawk fans may still hate the 49ers more than any other team, but the feeling is not mutual.

3. University of Notre Dame vs. University of Southern California (hereafter referred to as "USC")

Began: 1926

Really Began: 1964, with a nationally-televised classic

Distance: 2,099 miles

All-Time Series: ND 47, USC 36, 5 ties

Trophy: Jeweled Shillelagh, ND 32, USC 29, 3 ties

Playoff/Bowl Games: None so far

That Knute Rockne, who had already built Notre Dame into one of the most successful college football programs in the country in the 1920s, would want to test his team against another of the sport's great programs, as USC had become under Howard Jones (who had previously coached at the University of Iowa and was a friend of Rockne's), is not a surprise. That it became an annual rivalry, especially given the distance involved and in the age before jet flights, is very much a surprise.

But, thanks to a discussion between Mrs. Rockne and the wife of USC athletic director Gwynn Wilson, it happened. Since that time, each program has gotten much bigger. It could be argued that these are the 2 most successful college football programs ever, although University of Alabama fans could legitimately dispute that, and fans of Ohio State, Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas would probably also like a word.

The modern era of the rivalry began in 1964, with a huge game, nationally telecast. Ara Parseghian and Notre Dame went into the Los Angeles Coliseum undefeated and 11-point favorites, with the eventual Heisman Trophy winner, John Huarte, at quarterback. But John McKay led the Trojans back from 17-0 to beat the Fighting Irish 20-17, with running back Mike Garrett leading them to the National Championship, and succeeding Huarte as Heisman winner the following year.

Since then, it's been back and forth, with the teams switching off periods of dominance. Due to the weather, it's played in midseason when Notre Dame has the home field advantage in South Bend, Indiana, in odd-numbered years, broadcast on NBC, which has an exclusive contract with Notre Dame for home games; while when USC has it, in even-numbered years, it's played on the Saturday of Thanksgiving Weekend, broadcast on ABC, which has the Pac-12 package.

Yes, it's a great spectacle. But it makes no sense geographically: There is no other intersectional college football rivalry that approaches this one. And it's been a while since both teams were serious national title contenders at the same time, making it make less sense competitively, too.

I should also point out that this rivalry only exists in football. USC doesn't have a great basketball program. Notre Dame's never really been great at the sport, although they've had their moments.

Even so, they've got a bigger rivalry with the other major Los Angeles school, USC's local rivals, the University of California at Los Angeles. When UCLA had its 88-game winning streak of 1971 to 1974, still a men's collegiate record, Notre Dame was both the last and the next team to beat them.

2. Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys

Began: 1960, with the founding of the Cowboys

Really Began: 1967, with an incident detailed below

Distance: 1,480 miles

All-Time Series: Dallas 69, Philadelphia 53, no ties

Trophy: None

Playoff Games: Dallas 3, Philadelphia 1

In 1960, the NFL added the Dallas Cowboys as an expansion team, and the Philadelphia Eagles won the Championship. The following season, the NFL added the Minnesota Vikings as an expansion team, and placed them in the Western Division. That made sense. They decided to move a team from the Western Division to the Eastern Division. That made sense. They should have moved the Baltimore Colts, who were in the West despite being further east than 4 of the 6 teams then in the West.

Instead, it was the Cowboys who got moved to the East, despite being further west than only 2 teams in the entire League. And so, every year, the Cowboys and Eagles have played each other twice in the regular season: At Franklin Field on the University of Pennsylvania campus and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas from 1961 to 1970, at Veterans Stadium in South Philadelphia from 1971 to 2002, at Texas Stadium in suburban Irving from 1971 to 2008, at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia since 2003, and at AT&T Stadium in suburban Arlington since 2009.

On December 10, 1967, at the Cotton Bowl, the Cowboys, on their way to the NFL Championship Game, were leading 31-3 in the 4th quarter, when their linebacker Lee Roy Jordan gave a forearm shiver to Eagles running back Timmy Brown, knocking out a number of his teeth, depending on who you talked to. The newspapers at the time said it was 4. Until his death earlier this year, Brown said it was 9. Clearly, the viciousness of the hit was unnecessary, and the Cowboys won the game, 38-17.

This began a string of 12 straight wins in the series for the Cowboys, and 23 out of 25. Dick Vermeil became Eagles head coach in 1976, and, noting the Cowboys' dominance over not just the Eagles, but the entire Division, now known as the NFC East, made beating the Cowboys the team's 1st big goal. They accomplished this on ABC Monday Night Football in 1979, and then beat the Cowboys at the Vet in the 1980 NFC Championship Game. After nearly 40 years, it is still one of the most treasured victories for Eagle fans.

Dallas has had the Strikebreakers of 1987, and has knocked the Eagles out of the Playoffs in the seasons of 1992, 1995 and 2009. For Philly, there's been revenge for the Strikebreakers in 1987; the Bounty Bowls of 1989, one of them a 27-0 Eagles win in Irving on Thanksgiving; the snowballs thrown at Jimmy Johnson in 1993; the 4th & 1 Twice Game in 1995; the Eagle fans' cheering of Michael Irvin's career-ending injury in 1999; Roy Williams' illegal horse-collar tackle of Terrell Owens in 2004, before T.O., already with a reputation for disrespecting the Cowboys, became a Cowboy himself; and a Thanksgiving win by the Eagles in Arlington in 2014.

Through it all, as WIP morning show host Angelo Cataldi says he's seen -- and has often led -- "I've seen fathers with sons, three or four years old, and they know four, five, or six words, and two of those words, taught to them by their fathers, are, 'Dallas Sucks!'"

The New York Giants are just 95 miles away from The Linc. The Washington Football Team, 130 miles. The Pittsburgh Steelers, 312 miles. The Giants and the WFT are in the same Division as the Eagles, the Steelers not but in the same State.

Still, if you told Eagle fans they would go 2-14, but they could choose their 2 wins, they would both be over the Cowboys.

1. Washington Football Team vs. Dallas Cowboys

Began: 1960, with the founding of the Cowboys

Really Began: 1971, with details below

Distance: 1,480 miles

All-Time Series: Dallas 73, Washington 45, 2 ties

Trophy: None

Playoff Games: Washington 2, Dallas 0

In 1959, when Clint Murchison, leading the group that owned the Cowboys franchise, wanted entry into the NFL, a unanimous vote of the 12 established owners was required to admit them. The Washington Redskins' owner, George Preston Marshall, refused.

Marshall also owned the team's radio network. (The NFL was already negotiating TV rights separately.) As the Southernmost team in the League at the time, he was marketing the 'Skins as the South's team. The Redskins were also the last NFL team that hadn't yet racially integrated. These facts are connected. Marshall didn't want to give up his Southern status.

So Murchison pulled a dirty trick: He bought the rights to the fight song, "Hail to the Redskins." He told Marshall that if he wanted the right to ever play the song at his games again, he would have to vote to admit the Cowboys. Certainly, as an oilman, Murchison could not be bought with mere money. (Marshall was rich, but not that rich.) Not wanting to lose the NFL's best-known fight song (even more than "Bear Down, Chicago Bears,"), Marshall caved: He got the rights to the song, and Murchison got his admittance into the NFL.

In 1971, George Allen was named head coach of the Redskins. He knew that, in the newly-merged-and-realigned NFL, the Cowboys were well-positioned to dominate the NFC East. And, as a former coach of the Los Angeles Rams, he was already sick of the Cowboys for their success since 1966. So he made it his mission to beat the Cowboys, more than it was to win a title.

He made his players hate the Cowboys as much as he did. As Cowboy defensive end Harvey Martin said in an interview about the rivalry -- with some irony, given that the Cowboys played in the city where John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and that the Redskins' stadium was now named for JFK's assassinated brother, Robert F. Kennedy, "When you go to play the Redskins, you better have your guns on." The apotheosis of this was the Redskins' win over the Cowboys on New Year's Eve 1972, in the NFC Championship Game.

The contrast between the head coaches was remarkable. Cowboys coach Tom Landry was always described as stoic, never using his face to betray his emotions. Allen was one of the most emotional head coaches in NFL history. However, when Joe Gibbs became Redskins coach in 1981, he was less emotional than Allen, but more successful. He beat the Cowboys in the 1982 NFC Championship Game, sparking a run of 10 seasons in which the Redskins reached 4 Super Bowls, winning 3. The Cowboys won 2 out of 5 in 9 years before that, and would win 3 out of 3 in 4 years after that.

Biggest Event: They've face each other in 2 NFC Championship Games: 1972 and 1982, both times as RFK Stadium. The Redskins have won them both, and each time, faced the Miami Dolphins in the Super Bowl, losing in VII and winning in XVII.

The Redskins finally bowed to anti-racist pressure this calendar year, and will operate the 2020 season as "The Washington Football Team" until they decide on a new name. Ironically, "Cowboys" also has racial connotations, although few people know it. There was a strong black presence in the Wild West, and so there were "cowboys," and their white bosses, "cattlemen."

NFL's Top 10 Rivalries

Tomorrow night, the National Football League -- founded on September 17, 1920 in Canton, Ohio -- celebrates its 100th Season (not its 100th Anniversary) with an opening game featuring its oldest continuous rivalry: The Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers, at Soldier Field II in Chicago, kicking off at 7:20 Central Time (8:20) Eastern.

The National Football League's Top 10 Rivalries

Note: A rivalry needs to be about more than just repeated postseason matchups to qualify. And, in each case, I am listing these teams by alphabetical order. Not in any other order: Not personal preference, not age, not success level.

10. Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets.

Began: 1966, with the Dolphins' founding in the AFL.

Reason: Divisional play. It can't be distance, as there's 1,264 miles, mostly of Interstate 95, between East Rutherford and Miami Gardens. But the Dolphins got good in 1970, just as the Jets came off their Super Bowl III high -- a game played at the Orange Bowl, the Dolphins' home field at the time -- and it's been mostly Dolphins ever since.

Biggest Individual Rivalry: Dan Marino vs. the Jets' defense. The "New York Sack Exchange" couldn't stop the curly-haired kid from Pittsburgh in the 1980s, and their successors in the 1990s couldn't do it, either.

Biggest Event: January 23, 1983, the AFC Championship, at the Orange Bowl. Known as the Mud Bowl, it was scoreless at the half, but 3 interceptions by A.J. Duhe (a linebacker, which is rare) doomed Gang Green, and the Dolphins won 14-0. Three times since then, at least points-wise, the Jets have come closer to reaching the Super Bowl, but it still feels like that's the closest they've come since Broadway Joe Namath held up that "We're Number 1" finger as he walked off the field at the Orange Bowl half a century ago.

The Jets have had their moments, though, including a 51-46 overtime shootout in 1986, and a comeback from being 30-7 down to win 40-37 in overtime in 2000, a game known as the Monday Night Miracle, both at the Meadowlands.

Current Status: Surprise! Despite the Dolphins being far more successful, the Jets lead the rivalry, 54-51-1, mostly due to the Dolphins being underachievers for about a quarter of a century.

This Year's Games: In Miami (well, in Miami Gardens, Florida) on November 3, and in New York (well, in East Rutherford, New Jersey) on December 8.

9. New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles.

Began: 1933, with the Eagles' founding.

Reason: Geography. Currently, 96 miles, most of it along Interstate 95, separate the teams. But it got personal on November 20, 1960. It was the only time between 1958 and 1963 that the Giants didn't win the NFL Eastern Division, and it was clinched when the Eagles' Chuck Bednarik forced a fumble on the Giants' Frank Gifford, knocking him out cold, and forcing him into an early retirement. (He came back in 1962, for 3 seasons.)

Biggest Individual Rivalry: Bednarik vs. Gifford.

Biggest Event: Surprisingly, not a Playoff game, although there have been 4 of them between these teams. The Giants won a Wild Card game at Veterans Stadium in 1981, and a Divisional Playoff at Giants Stadium in 2000. The Eagles won a Wild Card game at Lincoln Financial Field in 2006, and a Divisional Playoff at Giants Stadium in 2008.

No, the game that stands out in everyone's memory, unless they're old enough to remember the 1960 Bednarik-Gifford hit, was on November 19, 1978. The winner would probably make the Playoffs. The loser, almost certainly not. The Giants had a 17-12 lead with 30 seconds left, but quarterback Joe Pisarcik tried to hand off to Larry Csonka, it didn't work, he fumbled the ball, and Herman Edwards picked it up, running 26 yards for a game-winning Eagles touchdown, 19-17. Eagle fans call it "The Miracle at the Meadowlands." Giant fans call it more profane things.

The Eagles made the Playoffs, and got to the Super Bowl 2 years later. The Giants organization started firing people the next day. Their rebuild would take a little longer, but they, too, would reach the Super Bowl after 8 years -- and, unlike the Eagles, actually win it. And then, 4 years later, another.

Current Status: It can't get any closer: Each team has won 86 games, with 2 ties.

This Year's Games: In Philadelphia on December 9 (Monday Night Football), and in New York (well, in East Rutherford, New Jersey) on December 29 (the regular season finale).

8. Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints.

Began: 1967, with the Saints' founding.

Reason: Geography. These teams have these things in common: They're in the Southeast's 2 leading cities (Miami doesn't usually think of itself as "Southeastern" or "Southern," but ask The Doors about that), they're professional teams in Southeastern Conference country, they were founded at around the same time (the Falcons in 1966), and now play in domed stadiums where Mercedes-Benz has the naming rights. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and the Mercedes-Benz (formerly Louisiana) Superdome in New Orleans are separated by 470 miles.

Some of that SEC flavor has gotten into this one. Both teams struggled, and, for a while, first in the NFC West, and now in the NFC South, both teams could beat few except the other. In 1998, the Falcons reached a Super Bowl (XXXIII, losing it), and the Saints hadn't yet won a Playoff game. But in the 2009 season, the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV. The Falcons have since blown the biggest lead in Super Bowl history (LI), and Saints fans have never let them forget it.

Biggest Individual Rivalry: Current quarterbacks Matt Ryan vs. Drew Brees.

Biggest Event: There has been 1 Playoff matchup between them: The Falcons hosted and won a Wild Card game in 1991, despite the Saints having won the Division for the 1st time in their history.

Current Status: It's close: The Falcons lead it 52-48.

This Year's Games: In New Orleans on November 10, and in Atlanta on November 28 (Thanksgiving Night -- have some gumbo or grits next to your turkey).

7. New England Patriots vs. New York Jets.

Began: 1960, with the founding of the teams and the American Football League.

Reason: Personal. Yes, the geography does have something to do with it. Yes, the traditional New York vs New England rivalry in other sports also has something to do with it. Jets vs. Patriots might not yet be as big as Yankees versus Red Sox, but it has gotten bigger than Knicks vs. Celtics and Rangers vs. Bruins. It's just 207 miles from the Meadowlands to Foxborough.

It got personal in 1993, when former Giants coach Bill Parcells went to Foxborough, and revived the Patriot franchise, building a mini-rivalry with the Jets, where none had previously existed. Then, in 1997, Parcells, with his former Giants defensive coordinator Bill Belichick going back to him after coaching the Cleveland Browns, came to the Jets. Patriots fans, not yet used to success, took that personally, and hated the Jets, whereas they previously considered them a minor annoyance.

Parcells left the Jets after the 1999 season. The Jets thought they had gotten Belichick to succeed him, but the day after agreeing to do so, he announced he was resigning, and took the Patriots job. Since then, the Patriots have won 225 regular-season games, the Jets 141; the Patriots have made the Playoffs 17 times, the Jets 6; the Patriots have won the AFC East 16 times, the Jets once (in 2002); the Patriots have reached the AFC Championship Game 13 times, the Jets twice (in 2009 and '10); the Patriots have reached 9 Super Bowls, winning 6, while the Jets have reached none. It is more lopsided than Yankees vs. Red Sox ever was in the Yankees' favor.

Biggest Individual Rivalry: Bill Belichick vs. the Jets organization.

Biggest Event: January 16, 2011: The Jets, coached by Rex Ryan and quarterbacked by Mark Sanchez, beat the Patriots in Foxborough in an AFC Divisional Playoff game. It is the Jets' biggest win ever, except for Super Bowl III. There have been 2 other Playoff games between them, both Patriot wins: In 1985 at Giants Stadium, and in 2006 in Foxborough.

Current Status: Before Belichick went to Foxborough, the Jets led the rivalry 43-36-1. Even in the 2007 season, the Jets led 48-47-1. Now, the Patriots lead it 65-54-1.

This Year's Games: In Boston (well, in Foxborough, Massachusetts) on September 22, and in New York (well, in East Rutherford, New Jersey) on October 21 (Monday Night Football).

6. Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns.

Began: 1970, with the Bengals' admission to the NFL following the merger with the AFL.

Reason: Personal. Paul Brown was the Browns' 1st coach (they were not named for him), leading them to 4 AAFC and 3 NFL Championships. But new owner Art Modell fired him in 1963. To be fair, new coach Blanton Collier got them into 4 of the next 7 NFL Championship Games, winning the title in 1964.

But Brown never forgave Modell. He knew Modell was slime long before most Browns fans did. When the AFL offered Brown ownership of a team in Cincinnati -- an Ohio native, he had also won a National Championship at Ohio State -- he jumped at the chance. He now only named himself head coach and general manager, he gave his new team everything he gave the Browns: The same initials, the same colors, and the same offensive and defensive schemes. He even rehired his former Browns assistant coaches.

And he instilled in his new team hatred for his old team. Sam Wyche was his 1st starting quarterback, and later coached them to the 1988 AFC Championship. During a 1989 game vs. Seattle, fans reacted to a bad call by throwing things onto the field. Wyche was given a microphone, and admonished the fans: "You don't live in Cleveland! You live in Cincinnati!" Big cheer.

Of course, the rivalry is also regional and Divisional, as both teams are in the State of Ohio and in the NFC North. The Cincy-Cleveland rivalry doesn't really manifest itself in any other sport -- Cincinnati doesn't have the NBA, Cleveland doesn't have MLS, the cities share the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL, and the Reds-Indians rivalry is not one of the bigger MLB Interleague rivalries -- but it's intense here. The teams are separated by 253 miles of Interstate 71.

Biggest Individual Rivalry: Brown vs. Modell.

Biggest Event: Hard to say. They've never faced each other in the Playoffs. It may have been the 1st-ever meeting, on October 11, 1970. Paul Brown did not get his revenge, as Cleveland won 30-27 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. But on November 15, a 14-10 Bengals win at Riverfront Stadium sparked the Bengals to win the 1st-ever AFC Central Division title, in only the team's 3rd year of existence.

Current Status: The Browns may be the more historically successful team, but the Bengals lead this rivalry 50-41.

This Year's Games: In Cleveland on December 8, and in Cincinnati on December 29 (the regular season finale).

5. Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers.

Began: 1950, with the 49ers' entry into the NFL from the All-America Football Conference.

Reason: Regional. Northern California vs. Southern California is always big: Giants vs. Dodgers (less so, Athletics vs. Angels), Raiders vs. Chargers (when the Raiders were in Oakland), Warriors vs. Lakers (and now, Warriors vs. Clippers?), Kings vs. Sharks, Earthquakes vs. Galaxy (a.k.a. the California Classico), Cal vs. UCLA (more so in basketball than in football).

49ers vs. Rams lost its luster after the Rams' move to St. Louis in 1995. But with their return to L.A. in 2016, it was reborn. Currently, they are separated by 352 miles, mostly on Interstate 5.

Biggest Individual Rivalry: Probably the quarterback rivalries. Norm van Brocklin vs. Y.A. Tittle in the 1950s, Roman Gabriel vs. John Brodie in the 1960s, Jim Everett vs. Joe Montana in the 1980s, Whether Jared Goff vs. Jimmy Garoppolo develops into such a rivalry remains to be seen.

Biggest Event: The 1989 NFC Championship Game, their only Playoff matchup, at Candlestick Park. Montana's Niners dominated, 30-3. However, on November 10, 1957, they played each other at the Los Angeles Coliseum. What stood until the 21st Century as an NFL record regular season crowd of 102,368 saw the Rams win 37-24.

Current Status: The 49ers lead 69-67-3. That counts games in the Rams' St. Louis tenure.

This Year's Games: In Los Angeles on October 13, and in San Francisco (well, in Santa Clara, California) on December 22. With the NFL's "flex schedule," this game could be moved back to Saturday, December 21.

4. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders.

Began: 1960, with the founding of the teams and the American Football League.

Reason: Personal. Lamar Hunt founded the AFL and the Chiefs, and his aim was to get the AFL teams into the NFL. Al Davis became the Raiders' head coach in 1963, and owner in 1966 (in part, then wholly in 1972), and his aim was to beat the NFL. Hunt wanted acceptance, Davis wanted humiliation. This is largely why, after the merger was carried out from 1966 to 1970, Hunt was welcomed into the fraternity by the owners of the established NFL teams, while Davis was mistrusted.

But it was also why Hunt and Davis didn't like each other. Davis had to tolerate Hunt to stay in the league, while Hunt chose to tolerate Davis because he helped the league's profile. Once their teams were placed in the AFC West after the merger, and they could drop the pretense of needing each other and view each other as true opponents, the roughness got worse.

The Raiders have had rivalries with several other teams, including the Jets, Miami, New England, Denver, Pittsburgh, and the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers -- although the only occasional opposition of the neighboring San Francisco 49ers has prevented that from becoming a real rivalry -- but their biggest hate remains for the Chiefs. The Chiefs have had a rivalry with the Denver Broncos as well, but it's hardly the same.

It's worth noting that the Raiders' move from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982, and their move back to Oakland in 1995, had no effect on the rivalry's intensity. I suspect the Raiders' planned move to Las Vegas for next season won't, either. The distance, for the moment, is 1,816 miles from Arrowhead Stadium to the Oakland Coliseum, longer even than Redskins vs. Cowboys, making this the longest arch-rivalry in the NFL.

Biggest Individual Rivalry: Davis vs. Hunt. I've listed Davis first, since he was the instigator.

Biggest Event: There have been 3 postseason games. In 1968 at the Oakland Coliseum, the Raiders won a Playoff for the AFL Western Division title. In 1969, also at Oakland, the Chiefs won the last AFL Championship Game. In 1991, at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs won an AFC Wild Card game.

Current Status: In spite of the Raiders' greater overall success, the Chiefs lead the rivalry 65-53-2.

This Year's Games: In Oakland on September 15, and in Kansas City on December 1.

3. Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers.

Began: 1950, with the Browns' entry into the NFL from the All-America Football Conference.

Reason: Regional, as they are separate by 135 miles of Interstates 76 and 80. But also personal, as the cities are so similar: Industrial powerhouses that lost their way in the socioeconomic upheaval of the 1970s.

Biggest Individual Rivalry: None really stands out. Although it is interesting that the Steelers' 1st 5 Super Bowl wins were coached by former Browns players: Chuck Noll (IX, X, XIII and XIV) and Bill Cowher (XL).

Biggest Event: They've faced each other in the Playoffs twice, and the Steelers have hosted and won both: In 1994 at Three Rivers Stadium, and in 2002 at Heinz Field.

Current Status: In spite of the Browns' dominance in the 1950s, '60s and '80s, the Steelers lead 75-58-1.

This Year's Games: In Cleveland on November 14 (a Thursday night), and in Pittsburgh on December 1 (the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend).

2. Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins.

Began: 1960, with the Cowboys' debut.

Reason: Personal. Seriously. It's not proximity, that's for sure: The distance between the teams' respective stadiums is currently 1,367 miles. No, essentially, it is personal. And it's mostly the Redskins' fault.

But when Clint Murchison, leading the group that owned the Cowboys franchise, wanted entry into the NFL, a unanimous vote of the owners was required to admit them. The Redskins' owner, George Preston Marshall, refused. He also owned the team's radio network. (The NFL was already negotiating TV rights separately.) As the Southernmost team in the League at the time, he was marketing the 'Skins as the South's team. The Redskins were also the last NFL team that hadn't yet racially integrated. These facts are connected. Marshall didn't want to give up his Southern status.

So Murchison pulled a dirty trick: He bought the rights to the fight song, "Hail to the Redskins." He told Marshall that if he wanted the right to ever play the song at his games again, he would have to vote to admit the Cowboys. Certainly, as an oilman, Murchison could not be bought with mere money. (Marshall was rich, but not that rich.) Not wanting to lose the NFL's best-known fight song (even more than "Bear Down, Chicago Bears,"), Marshall caved.

In 1971, George Allen was named head coach of the Redskins. He knew that, in the newly-merged-and-realigned NFL, the Cowboys were well-positioned to dominate the NFC East. And, as a former coach of the Los Angeles Rams, he was already sick of the Cowboys for their success since 1966. So he made it his mission to beat the Cowboys, more than to win a title.

He made his players hate the Cowboys as much as he did. As Cowboy defensive end Harvey Martin said in an interview about the rivalry -- with some irony, given that the Cowboys played in the city where John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and that the Redskins' stadium was now named for JFK's assassinated brother, Robert F. Kennedy, "When you go to play the Redskins, you better have your guns on." The apotheosis of this was the Redskins' win over the Cowboys on New Year's Eve 1972, in the NFC Championship Game.

Allen's technique would be copied by Dick Vermeil when he became Philadelphia Eagles coach in 1976. At least once at every practice, he would ask his team, "What's it going to take to beat the Dallas Cowboys?" He did this until a Sunday night in 1979, as his team was at their Dallas hotel, preparing for their Monday Night Football game the next night, having just seen that day's games. Vermeil turned off the TV, and asked, "What's it going to take to beat the Dallas Cowboys?" Believing they were finally ready after 3 1/2 seasons, he answered his own question: "Twenty-four more hours." His team roared its approval, and did it. The next season, they beat the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game.

Eagles vs. Cowboys is pretty nasty, too. This was already the case before Vermeil, and has been the case ever since. But it doesn't make the Top 10.

Biggest Individual Rivalry: Allen vs. Cowboys coach Tom Landry. Landry was always described as stoic, never using his face to betray his emotions. Allen was one of the most emotional head coaches in NFL history.

Biggest Event: They've face each other in 2 NFC Championship Games: 1972 and 1982, both times as RFK Stadium. The Redskins have won them both, and each time, faced the Miami Dolphins in the Super Bowl, losing in VII and winning in XVII.

Current Status: In spite of the Redskins' postseason success, the Cowboys dominate overall, 71-45-2.

This Year's Games: In Washington (well, in Landover, Maryland) on September 15, and in Dallas (well, in Arlington, Texas) on December 29 (the regular season finale).

1. Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers.

Began: 1921, the NFL's 2nd season. The Bears had been formed the season before, as the Decatur Staleys in Downstate Illinois; the Packers, the season before that. But it took until 1921 for the Packers to join the NFL. As a result, the Packers celebrated their 100th Anniversary last year.

Reason: Regional and historical. The teams are separated by 209 miles of Lake Michigan, and Interstates 94 and 43. And they've played each other 198 times. The NFC North Remembers. This rivalry is why the Division, formerly the NFC Central, was known as "The Black and Blue Division": The Monsters of the Midway against The Creatures From the Frozen North.

While the Arizona Cardinals did begin in Chicago in 1920, and had a nasty rivalry with the Bears, at least at first -- including Thanksgiving Day games, some of which had fights -- the Cards' move to St. Louis in 1960 seriously increased the distance and decreased the rivalry. If there was any left by 1987, it was ruined by the Cards' move to the Phoenix area after that season.

Biggest Individual Rivalry: George Halas vs. Vince Lombardi. From 1959 to 1967, Lombardi's tenure as Packer head coach, each man was both head coach and general manager for his team. Halas and Packer founder-coach Earl "Curly" Lambeau were more friends than rivals. Halas and Lombardi certainly respected each other, but each wanted to be the biggest man in the NFL.

Lombardi knew he couldn't be the biggest, as Halas was, not entirely but a stand-in for everyone else who was, the founder of the League. So he settled for being the most successful. In Lombardi won 5 titles in 9 seasons, compared to Halas' 8 titles in 64 seasons. (They are still the most successful franchises: The Packers have won 13 NFL Championships, the Bears 9, albeit just 1 since 1963.)

Biggest Event: January 23, 2011. Despite the Bears having home-field advantage, the Packers won the NFC Championship Game, and went on to win Super Bowl XLV. Their only other postseason meeting was when they tied each other for the NFL Western Division title in 1941, and the Bears won a Playoff.

Current Status: It couldn't be much closer: The Packers lead it 97-95-6.

This Year's Games: At Chicago tomorrow night, and at Green Bay on December 15.

Ranking the Yankees' Rivalries

How does the Yankees' rivalry with those pesky Blue Jays, resuming tonight at The Stadium, compare to the others?

I used a not-exactly-scientific way of measuring the Yankees' relationships with the other teams in Major League Baseball. I weighted it for regular-season matchups, postseason matchups, intensity, and how recent it all was. (Example: A nasty regular-season matchup in 2015 is worth more than one in 1950, but the 1950 World Series is worth more than any regular-season matchup.)

Here's what I came up with. You can probably guess who comes in 1st, but you may be very surprised at who comes in 2nd:

39. Seattle Pilots, 1969-only: They existed for only one season, before becoming the Milwaukee Brewers, and both teams were far out of their respective Divisional races. The only significance to their games was Pilot pitcher, former Yankee, Jim Bouton including their mention in his book Ball Four.

38. Boston Braves, 1903-1952: The Yankees (as the New York Highlanders) debuted in 1903, and 1952 was the Braves' last season in Boston. They've played each other in 4 World Series, 2 in Milwaukee, 2 in Atlanta. The closest they came to playing each other in a World Series was in 1948, when the Yankees finished 1 game out and the Braves won the Pennant. But the only times they ever played each other was in spring training. At least the next team on the list has played the Yankees in the regular season, however rarely.

37. Colorado Rockies, 1997-only: The Rockies entered the National League in 1993, but Interleague play has only been possible since 1997, and they've never faced the Yankees in a World Series.

36. Montreal Expos, 1997-2004: Not much between them, although Les Expos were the opponent in David Cone's 1999 perfect game.

35. Washington Nationals, 2005-current: The Ex-pos have, on occasion -- June 2006 comes to mind -- given the Yankees a little trouble. But, at the rate they're going, they won't be facing the Yankees (or anyone else) in a World Series anytime soon.

34. Kansas City Athletics, 1955-1967: After moving to the Great Plains from Philadelphia, the A's took the place of a Yankee farm team, the Kansas City Blues, but the transactions between the teams made it look like the Yankees were still treating Kansas City as a farm club.

New owner Charles O. Finley stopped that in 1960, and his actions thereafter, before moving the team to Oakland, made it look like beating the Yankees was more important than building a winning team. It was the first time Charlie O made a fool of himself in baseball, but it wouldn't be the last.

33. Houston Astros, 1997-current: Switching to the American League after being in the NL since 1962, the Interleague games between the Astros and the Yankees were all but meaningless. However, the Astros' revival this season added a little "juice" to their games, regardless of whether they were played at Minute Maid Park or the new Yankee Stadium. And it is still very possible that they will play each other in this season's Playoffs.

32. San Francisco Giants, 1962-current: The former local rival played the Yankees in the 1962 World Series, the 1st ever to go to a Game 7 and end 1-0. (It's also happened in 1991.) But only a few Interleague games have been played since, despite both teams making the Playoffs in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2012.

31. San Diego Padres, 1997-current: A few regular-season games, plus the 1998 World Series, which was a Yankee sweep, but Games 1, 3 and 4 were close. Game 1 was controversial, and Game 3 was a classic.

30. St. Louis Browns, 1903-1953: The team that became the Baltimore Orioles nearly beat the Yankees out for the Pennant in 1922, and did beat them out for the Pennant in 1944. But they didn't have very many other good seasons, lost the only World Series they would ever have to the Cardinals (ironically, their tenants at Sportsman's Park), and went to their grave with the permanent label of "legendary losers."

29. Washington Senators, 1903-1971: Another bunch of "legendary losers," or perhaps they could be called "lovable losers," that no longer exist. They beat the Yankees out for the Pennant in 1924 and 1933 (and also won in 1925, when the Yankees were well out of the race), and were, along with the Yankees, among the teams that battled to the wire in 1945, losing out to Detroit.

After that, though, their most notable moments against the Yankees were Mickey Mantle's "tape measure home run" in 1953, and the last game the Senators ever played, where a fan riot ruined a 7-5 Senator lead with 1 out to go, and resulted in a forfeit to the Yankees.

28. Arizona Diamondbacks, 1998-current: Aside from a few stray regular-season games, it's all about the 2001 World Series, an epic that the Yankees couldn't quite win. At the time, I was drained, and couldn't feel bad about the particular opponent. Indeed, I was glad to see some longtime veterans finally get their ring. But so many of them have since been exposed as steroid cheats, so this one hurts more now than it did at the time.

27. Miami Marlins, 1997-current: The Yankees' 1st Interleague series ever was against the team then known as the Florida Marlins, and we lost it. More importantly, there was the 2003 World Series. It burned me up then. Knowing Ivan Rodriguez was a steroid cheat and that Josh Beckett is a monumental jackass, like the 2001 Series loss, this one burns me up more now.

26. Chicago Cubs, 1932-current: Two World Series sweeps, in 1932 and 1938, plus a few regular-season Interleague games. That 1932 Series was nasty, because of how the Cubs treated former Yankee shortstop Mark Koenig, leading to Babe Ruth's gestures that have gone down in history as his "Called Shot." But it's hard to get worked up about this pairing: Since 1945, the Yankees have won 26 Pennants, the Cubs none.

25. Philadelphia Phillies, 1950-current: Aside from a few regular-season games, it's just the 1950 and 2009 World Series, both Yankee wins that were closer than they appear at first glance.

24. Atlanta Braves, 1996-current: Their presence in the NL East makes them a regular opponent for the Yankees, but it's the 1996 World Series that's remembered -- and, to a lesser extent, the 1999 edition.

23. Pittsburgh Pirates, 1927-current: Regular-season matchups have rarely happened since Interleague play began, but there are 2 World Series between them: The Yankee sweep of 1927, and the seesaw battle of 1960 won by Bill Mazeroski's Game 7 walkoff home run. That one Yankee loss, though over half a century ago now, places this rivalry ahead of the one with the Braves.

22. Chicago White Sox, 1903-current: Despite being one of the Yankees' oldest opponents -- only Boston, Cleveland and Detroit have played the Yankees as long in their current city -- there haven't been many big games between them. Both teams were good in 1906, 1919-20, and 1957-64 during the days of the single-division AL.

But with the ChiSox having been in the AL West from 1969 to 1993, and in the AL Central ever since, regular-season games between them have meant little. Despite both teams making the Playoffs in 2000 and 2005, the strike short-circuiting that possibility in 1994, and near-misses in 1977 and 1993, they've never faced each other in the Playoffs -- among AL teams, that also true only for Houston, Toronto and Tampa Bay.

21. Milwaukee Braves, 1957-58: Two World Series matchups, both went 7 games, both thrilling, each won one. But the Braves' tenure in Milwaukee was short-lived.

20. Texas Rangers, 1972-current: Being in separate Divisions has kept their regular-season games relatively stress-free. The 1996 AL Division Series was tough. The 1998 and 1999 ALDS were not. The Yanks won them all. But the Rangers won the 2010 AL Championship Series, thanks to Joe Girardi's idiotic move of letting Boone Logan face Josh Hamilton with men on base.

19. Minnesota Twins, 1961-current: It was the Twins that dethroned the Yankee Dynasty in 1965, but the Yanks were out of that race early, so it doesn't stand out as much as it could. Four ALDS matchups have resulted in just 3 games won by the Twins.

18. Philadelphia Athletics, 1903-54: Before 1927, this rivalry was occasionally interesting, but didn't justify the geographic proximity. From 1927 to 1932, the Yanks and A's may have had more talent between them than any 2 AL teams have ever had. After 1932, though, the A's were rarely a factor, due to Connie Mack's desperate need for cash and then his advancing senility.

17. Cincinnati Reds, 1939-current: A few Interleague games, and 3 World Series, all mismatches. The Yankees swept in 1939, won in 5 in 1961, and got swept in 1976. Actually, those Series had some close games, but that's not how it looks to posterity.

16. Milwaukee Brewers, 1970-current: Their move to the AL Central in 1994, and then their move to the NL in 1998, pretty much ended what was a good AL East matchup. Good or bad, the Brewers always seemed to give the Yankees trouble. From 1978 to 1988, it was a good rivalry with some interesting games, including the strike-forced to-the-limit ALDS of 1981.

15. Oakland Athletics, 1968-current: The A's and Yanks won half of all the AL Pennants from 1972 to 2003, yet have only faced each other 3 times in the postseason. The Yanks have won them all: The 1981 ALCS and the 2000 and 2001 ALDS.

Had the A's stayed in Philadelphia, which is twice as close to New York as Boston or Baltimore, and thus been placed in the AL East, who knows how big this rivalry would have been.

14. Tampa Bay Rays, 1998-current: It seems ridiculous that a team that's played 30 fewer seasons than the A's would have a bigger rivalry with the Yanks, but it's true. And it's all down to one man: Joe Maddon. The fact that this dirty manager of a dirty team is no longer there will probably be, along with the bad stadium in a bad location and hardly any fans showing up, what dooms this team to having to move within 5 years.

13. Seattle Mariners, 1977-current: From the Yankees' 1st trip to the Pacific Northwest (not counting the ill-fated 1969 Pilots, of course), this team has been a pain in the Yankees' necks. Frequently, trips to the Pacific Coast would help derail the Yankees' chances in the 1980s, as the M's, the A's and the Angels shut the Yankees down. Retroactively, I call these "Borg trips," because it seemed like the Yankees would lose seven of nine.

Never were the Mariners more a pain than in 1995, but the Yankees got them back in 2000 and 2001. They haven't been much of a threat since, despite the uncrowned "King" Felix Hernandez and the switch of Robinson Cano.

12. Los Angeles Dodgers, 1963-current: The Yankees and the Dodgers have both reached the postseason 13 times since the Bums' move west, but they've only faced each other in 4 World Series, the Dodgers winning in 1963 and 1981, the Yankees winning in dramatic fashion in 1977 and 1978. Had the Dodgers stayed in Brooklyn, and everything else remained the same, they would easily be Number 2 on this list. Alas, the West Coast edition of the Dodgers isn't even ahead of the East Coast edition.

11. Kansas City Royals, 1969-current: Aside from the 1983 Pine Tar Game, the regular-season games between these teams haven't amounted to much. But those ALCS tilts of 1976 to 1980, hoo, boy. Maybe this is the season the Yankees finally get revenge for 1980, which the Royals thought was revenge for 1976, '77 and '78.

10. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 1961-current: Being in different Divisions since 1969 shouldn't have resulted in big regular-season games, although they always seem to give the Yankees trouble, especially in Anaheim. The Angels beat the Yankees in the 2002 and 2005 ALDS, because their pitching shut the Yankees down -- not that the Yankees made it all that hard. But in the 2009 ALCS, the Yankees did hit, and beat the Angels for the Pennant. Another Playoff matchup between them is possible this season.

9. St. Louis Cardinals, 1926-current: The Cards are 2nd only to the Yanks in winning World Series, 27 to 11. So it makes sense that they've faced each other a few times. Five, in fact: The Cards winning in 1926, 1942 and 1964; the Yanks in 1928 and 1943. Since 1964, there were divisional close calls in 1974 and 1981, and both teams have reached the postseason in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011, but they've never faced each other in October again.

8. New York Giants, 1921-1951: As with the Dodgers, the Yankees faced the Giants much more often as a "Subway Series" than as a post-1957 Coast-to-Coast matchup. The Yankees' 1st 2 World Series were against the Giants in 1921 and '22, and the Giants won both. But the Yankees won in 1923, and have been New York's most successful baseball team ever since, also beating the Giants in 1936, '37 and '51.

7. Toronto Blue Jays, 1977-current: Even when bad, the Jays have played the Yankees hard, hence my constant reference to them as "those pesky Blue Jays." But they were mostly the "Blow Jays" until finally winning the World Series in 1992 and '93. The Jays had to beat the Yanks out for the AL East title in 1985 and '93, and also vied with the Yanks for the Division title in '87 and '88 (neither team ended up winning it either time).

Before last season, a lot of people predicted the Jays would make the Playoffs or even win the AL East, due to their hitting and their pitching acquisitions. Those people looked really stupid within a month. It turned out, they were a year off, as the Division will come down to the Yanks and Jays, who face each other 7 times out of their last 24 (or, in the Jays' case, 7 of their last 23). And, since whichever team doesn't win the Division is likely to get one of the AL Wild Card berths, they could face each other again in the Playoffs.

6. Brooklyn Dodgers, 1941-1956: When the words "Subway Series" are used, this is the pairing that most often comes up. They played each other in October 7 times in 16 seasons -- and if you take out the 3 seasons with the most wartime player depletion, and add the seasons in which the Dodgers just missed the Pennant, there were 13 season where they came close to facing each other 11 times.

In 1947, 1952, 1955 and 1956, it went the full 7 games. But only in 1955 did the Dodgers win the whole thing -- against the Yankees or anyone else.

5. Detroit Tigers, 1903-current: This one is ranked so high due to being weighted toward recent postseason matchups. They locked horns in Pennant battles in the regular season in 1926, '34, '35, '36, '40, '44, '45, '50 and '61; and in AL East battles in 1972, '87 and '88, before the Tigers were bumped over to the AL Central in 1998. It took until 2006, the teams' 104th joint season, before they played each other in the postseason, and the Tigers have won all 3 times: The 2006 and 2011 ALDS, and the 2012 ALCS.

4. Baltimore Orioles, 1954-current: With the move of the A's after the 1954 season (the only one in which they were in Philly and the Browns/O's were in Baltimore), the O's are the Yankees' closest AL opponents in terms of distance, a little closer from the southwest than the Red Sox are from the northeast.

The O's made a Pennant run of it in 1960 and '64 before they started winning and the Yankees stopped. The Yankees got good again, and there were tight Division battles in 1974, '75, '77, '80, '81, '96, '97 and 2012. (Had 1994 not been cut short by the strike, that might have been another one.) But only in 1996 and 2012 have they met in the postseason, the former controversial due to Game 1 and then a laugher the rest of the way, the latter a tough one that the Yankees didn't win so much as survive.

3. New York Mets, 1997-current: I was at the 1st-ever Yanks-Mets regular-season game, at the old Yankee Stadium on June 16, 1997. It didn't go so well: Dave Mlicki shut the Yanks down, Andy Pettitte had nothing, and the Mets won, 6-0.

For the most part, though, the Yanks have dominated in the regular season, and the 2000 World Series was one of those Fall Classics whose individual games suggested closeness, but the result (Yanks in 5) did not. Now, the Mets look like they're going to win the NL East, while the Yanks have a tough battle on their hands. Remember: It's not a Subway Series unless it's a World Series.

2. Cleveland Indians, 1903-current: Surprise! Actually, 2nd and 3rd were very close, and the Mets would probably be 2nd if the Yankees had shown up in the 2007 ALDS. (Or those Lake Erie midges hadn't.) But no team was a more frequent down-to-the-wire competitor for the Yankees in the single-division era than the Tribe.

Their 1960-1993 absence from any Pennant race was abysmal, but they were, along with the Yankees, the best team overall in the AL from 1994 to 2001, and that included the 1997 ALDS which the Indians won, and the 1998 ALCS that the Yanks took.

1. Boston Red Sox, 1903-current: The only surprise with the team at Number 1 is how far back it goes, to 1904 and the "Boston Americans" beating the "New York Highlanders" out by 1 game, essentially by 1 wild pitch.

The references are legendary: Babe Ruth, Harry Frazee, DiMaggio vs. Williams, Rizzuto vs. Pesky, 1949, 1967, Guidry vs. Rice, the Boston Massacre, Bucky Dent, Goose vs. Yaz, Mattingly vs. Boggs (ah, but which one won a Pennant as a Yankee?), Derek vs. Nomar, Roger vs. Pedro, Aaron Boone, Curt Schilling, Big Papi, A-Rod, The Slap, Johnny Damon (for both sides), steroids.

It is the ugliest rivalry in North American sports, making Ohio State vs. Michigan, Duke vs. North Carolina, Kentucky vs. Louisville, Texas vs. Texas A&M, Rangers vs. Islanders or Devils, even Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs look tame by comparison. Evil Empire? The Yankees are the empire, the Sox are the evil.

There Are Rivalries, and Then There Are RIVALRIES

This coming Thursday, which is Thanksgiving Day, the football team at East Brunswick High School will face Old Bridge High School for, depending on how you measure it, either the 19th or the 52nd time.

With their 15-7 loss in a "consolation game" to Freehold Township on Friday night, EB goes into "The Battle of Route 18" at 2-7. OB are now 7-2, and (due to Hurricane Sandy messing with the schedule) are still in the State Playoffs, when another round should have been played by now (i.e. this should be their 11th game, not their 10th).

The game will be played at Vince Lombardi Field, at what is now Carl Sandburg Middle School, formerly Old Bridge High West Campus, Madison Central High and Madison Township High.

I know, naming a school after a poet in a town where most of the people are illiterate, it's weird.  It's also weird that the stadium is named after Lombardi, who has no connection to the school, or even to the town.

If you count the school only under its current name, mascot and colors -- Old Bridge High School, the Knights, purple and black -- then we've played them every year, and always on Thanksgiving, since 1994.

If you count their previous incarnations, then we've played them every year since they started playing football in 1963, 50 regular-season meetings, plus 2 Playoff games. They were named Madison Township High School from 1963 to 1974, and Madison Central High School from 1975 (when the name of the town was changed to Old Bridge) until 1993 (when it was reconsolidated with Cedar Ridge High School, which was broken off from them in 1968). Their mascot was the Spartans, their colors navy & sky blue.

They were an early-season game from 1964 to 1979 (except for 1974), and again from 1982 to 1987; they were a late-season game in 1963, 1974, 1980 & 1981, 1990 & 1991, and a Thanksgiving opponent since 1994.

If you count only under the OBHS label, the Purple Bastards lead us, 15-3. If you count under all labels, they lead us 29-20, with 2 ties.

East Brunswick and Old Bridge, adjoining towns, have their schools 8.3 miles apart -- since OB's stadium is at the old school, now a middle school, from stadium to stadium it's 6.4 miles. Most high school rivalries, including those played on Thanksgiving Day, are roughly that close.

Among the classic, some no longer played, Middlesex County football rivalries, here's the distances in miles:

Woodbridge vs. John F. Kennedy (crosstown rivals): 1.6
Madison Central vs. Cedar Ridge (the two former OB schools): 1.8
New Brunswick vs. St. Peter's (NBHS' crosstown rival is now closed): 2.3
South Plainfield vs. North Plainfield (Union County): 3.2
South River vs. Sayreville: 4.7
Highland Park vs. Metuchen: 5.5
Edison vs. J.P. Stevens (crosstown rivals): 5.7
Perth Amboy vs. Carteret: 5.7
East Brunswick vs. Old Bridge: 6.4
Piscataway vs. Franklin (Somerset County): 6.9
North Brunswick vs. South Brunswick: 8.7

New Jersey and a few other Northeastern States still have Thanksgiving Day rivalries.  But most States that used to have them have dropped the tradition for State Playoffs. New Jersey has tried to have its cake -- or, rather, it's turkey -- and eat it, too.

Some other big ones from around the State include:

* North Jersey: Newark's Barringer vs. East Orange (first played in 1897), the Paterson matchup of Eastside vs. JFK (formerly Central), Hackensack vs. Teaneck, Westfield vs. Plainfield, Roselle vs. Roselle Park, Union vs. Lindon, Bloomfield vs. Montclair, Belleville vs. Nutley, Clifton vs. Passaic, Irvington vs. Columbia (which serves South Orange and Maplewood); the Jersey City battles between Ferris and Snyder (now an early-season game), and Dickinson vs. St. Peter's Prep, which would be played at the old Roosevelt Stadium, a 24,000-seat minor league ballpark.

* Central Jersey: Hamilton Township of Mercer County having Hamilton vs. Steinert; the Shore Conference battles of Middletown North vs. Middletown South, Long Branch vs. Red Bank, Red Bank Catholic vs. Rumson (school size prevents RB & RBC from being regular opponents), Asbury Park vs. Neptune and Lakewood vs. Toms River (now Toms River South).

* South Jersey: Crosstown rivalries such as Cherry Hill East and Cherry Hill West, Camden vs. Woodrow Wilson, Pennsauken vs. Bishop Eustace, Haddonfield vs. Haddon Heights, and Hammonton vs. St. Joseph's; Gloucester City (which is actually in Camden County) vs. Gloucester Catholic; Atlantic City vs. Holy Spirit of neighboring Absecon; Ocean City vs. Pleasantville; and the oldest one in the State, in South Jersey, the Cumberland County classic between Millville and Vineland, which dates back to 1894.

The State of New York isn't big on the tradition. Xaverian of Brooklyn and Fordham Prep of the Bronx have been playing since the 19th Century, often at the Polo Grounds, and after its demolition at Downing Stadium on Randall's Island. These days, when Fordham Prep is the home team, they play at Fordham University's Jack Coffey Field; when it's Xaverian, they play at a stadium at Floyd Bennett Field, a former airport in Brooklyn.

In The Bronx, Cardinal Hayes and Mount St. Michael play each other on Thanksgiving. In nearby White Plains, public White Plains takes on parochial Archbishop Stepinac.

With the exception of Philadelphia and its immediate suburbs, Pennsylvania has mostly abandoned the tradition. But one such matchup is worth mentioning, because it straddles the Delaware River and thus the State Line: Easton vs. Phillipsburg, annually played at Fisher Field at Lafayette College in Easton. They've played each other every year since 1905 and on each Thanksgiving since 1916.

The New England States used to be very big on it. But Vermont doesn't do it anymore, and Maine is down to just 1 such game, in the State's largest city, Portland: Portland vs. Deering, every year since 1911. Massachusetts remains the pace-setter for high school football on Thanksgiving, with matchups such as East Boston vs. South Boston, Boston Latin vs. Boston English (played since 1887 and usually at Harvard Stadium), Medford vs. Malden and Winchester vs. Woburn. (No, Winchester High was not named for the Boston native M*A*S*H surgeon or anyone in his family.)

Connecticut still has 47 such games, some dating back to the 19th Century. New Hampshire is no longer all that big on the tradition, but the State's largest city, Manchester, hosts its city championship on the day. Rhode Island has a few.

A cross-State game is played between Stonington High of Connecticut and Westerly High of Rhode Island, just 2.6 miles apart. There was a time when these 2 schools played twice a year, and with this year's matchup being the 150th, it is the most played high school football game in America. Overall, the Stonington Bears lead 68-65-17, but on Thanksgiving, the Westerly Bulldogs lead 47-40-11. Either way, it's quite close.

In Baltimore, Calvert Hall and Loyola used to be part of a doubleheader at Memorial Stadium. They still play every Thanksgiving, now at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Ravens. But Baltimore City College and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute -- a.k.a. City vs. Poly -- while still being played in November at the big football stadium in town, is no longer played on Thanksgiving.

The cities of Washington, D.C., Buffalo, New Orleans and San Francisco used to have their city championships on Thanksgiving. D.C. still does, and also hosts Gonzaga vs. St. John's on Thanksgiving. San Francisco also still hosts its city championship on Thanksgiving, at the new version of Kezar Stadium, built on the site of the original home of the 49ers in Golden Gate Park. But the only true T-Day rivalry played west of Missouri is nearby, in San Jose, between Abraham Lincoln High School and San Jose High Academy since 1945 at a neutral-ground college's field.

*

College football usually isn't played on Thanksgiving anymore. There've been a few such rivalries, such as Alabama vs. Auburn, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, Texas vs. Texas A&M, Nebraska vs. Oklahoma, Mississippi (Ole Miss) vs. Mississippi State. Mostly, though, these games are now played the Friday or Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.

This year, the only game being played on T-Day is Texas vs. Texas Christian (TCU) -- not Texas A&M. Louisiana State (LSU) and Arkansas, Arizona and Arizona State, Washington and Washington State, and the new rivalry Nebraska created with next-door Iowa by joining the Big Ten, are on Friday.

Saturday will see some biggies: Ohio State vs. Michigan, Alabama vs. Auburn, Florida vs. Florida State, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, Notre Dame vs. Southern California (USC), Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, South Carolina vs. Clemson, Tennessee vs. Kentucky, Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State, and, while it isn't a particularly big rivalry, it could decide the Big East title: Rutgers vs. Pittsburgh.

The NFL has had Thanksgiving games almost from the beginning, formerly including Bears vs. Cardinals when both were in Chicago, and the New York Giants playing the Staten Island Stapletons, before the latter went out of business due to the Great Depression in the early 1930s.

Starting in 1934, the Detroit Lions have played on the day every year except during World War II; for a long time, in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, the Green Bay Packers would be their opponent every time. The Dallas Cowboys started the tradition in 1966, and a third game has been held in prime time since 2006, although it's not the same teams every year.

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But most college and pro sports rivalries in America aren't as close as high school rivalries. And they're certainly not as close as international club soccer rivalries, with several pairs of rivals flirting with danger by "groundsharing": Both teams using the same stadium, including in Milan, Moscow and Rio de Janeiro. In North America, the only MLS teams that do it are the Los Angeles teams, L.A. Galaxy and Chivas USA. It's also done in the Mexican league.

USC and UCLA -- the University of Southern California and the University of California at Los Angeles -- have their campuses 10.7 miles apart. They played each other this past Saturday, UCLA winning 38-28 to clinch a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

There's a few college basketball rivalries that are that close, or thereabouts. The best-known is Duke in Durham vs. North Carolina in Chapel Hill, who, of course, also play each other in football. They're almost exactly the same distance as USC-UCLA: 10.8 miles. Throw in North Carolina State in Raleigh, and it's about 25 miles from both Duke and Carolina.

Boston University's arena has Northeastern University's 2.1 miles to the east and Boston College's 3.3 miles to the west. In Cincinnati, the University of Cincinnati and Xavier are less than 3 miles apart. Philadelphia's Big Five? The University of Pennsylvania's Palestra is 3.5 miles from Temple's Liacouras Center, 4.3 from St. Joseph's Michael J. Hagan Arena (formerly Alumni Fieldhouse), 7.4 from LaSalle's Tom Gola Arena, and an even 10 miles from the Pavilion at Villanova.

And, while their football rivalry went by the wayside over 30 years ago, Rutgers and Princeton, the original college football rivals, still play each other in basketball (Rutgers won this week), are just 17 miles apart from Old Queens in New Brunswick to Nassau Hall in Princeton.

But most of the biggies in college football are not that close. Observe:

California vs. Stanford: 40 miles
Southern Methodist vs. Texas Christian (SMU vs. TCU): 41
Oregon vs. Oregon State: 43
Utah vs. Brigham Young: 47
Michigan vs. Michigan State: 65
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech: 70
Kentucky vs. Louisville: 79
Texas vs. Texas A&M: 105
Indiana vs. Purdue: 115
Penn State vs. Pittsburgh: 136
Virginia vs. Virginia Tech: 137
Iowa vs. Iowa State: 137
Florida vs. Florida State: 150
Alabama vs. Auburn: 160
Tennessee vs. Kentucky: 171
Michigan vs. Notre Dame: 177
Indiana vs. Kentucky: 179
Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt: 181
Ohio State vs. Michigan: 185
Grambling State vs. Southern University: 216
Minnesota vs. Wisconsin: 265
Washington vs. Washington State: 289
Iowa vs. Minnesota: 303
Florida vs. Georgia: 345
Texas vs. Oklahoma: 369
Nebraska vs. Oklahoma: 454
USC vs. Notre Dame: 2,100

Each of those, as my Grandma would have said, is a fur piece.

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As recently as 1952, there were 5 cities with at least 2 teams in Major League Baseball: New York (3), Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis. From 1958, the 1st year the Dodgers and Giants were in California, to 1961, the year before the Mets began play, it was 1, Chicago. When the Athletics moved to Oakland for 1968, it was back up to 4 metropolitan areas: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Wrigley Field to U.S. Cellular Field: 8.6
Yankee Stadium to Citi Field: 10.1
AT&T Park to Oakland Coliseum: 17.0
Dodger Stadium to Angel Stadium: 30.9

But until Interleague play began in 1997, these teams did not play each other in the regular season. Their fans may hate each other's teams, and each other, but they're not real rivalries.

Take a look at the distances for these major rivalries in the "Big Four" North American sports -- remember, I'm measuring between the stadiums/arenas, not the city centers:

New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets: 6 (also Rangers-Islanders starting in fall 2015)
New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers: 12 (it was 8 from the Garden to the Meadowlands)
San Francisco 49ers vs. Oakland Raiders: 21 (not a real rivalry anyway)
New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders: 28 (as long as the Isles are in Uniondale, anyway)
Los Angeles Kings vs. Anaheim Ducks: 31 (Lakers & Clippers share Staples Center, so that's 0)
New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers: 89
Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings: 89
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 96
New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies: 109
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns: 135
Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames: 190
Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs: 192
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: 206
New York Jets vs. New England Patriots: 207
Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers: 213
New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics: 216
New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins: 216
Miami Heat vs. Orlando Magic: 234
Dallas Mavericks vs. Houston Rockets: 242
Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals: 253
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings: 286
Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs: 271
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators: 279
Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons: 294
Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues: 298
Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals: 303
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: 308
Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins: 308
Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: 337
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors: 367
San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: 380
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings: 391
Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints: 470
San Diego Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders: 484
Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 610
Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys: 1,366

Aside from the ones in the same metro area, they're all pretty far.

Mets vs. Atlanta Braves was never a real rivalry. Neither is Knicks vs. Miami Heat. Neither was Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche. These were all high on hate, but burned out quickly, partly due to one team or the other falling off, but mainly due to distance, the kind of proximity that could keep it alive. There's only 3 rivalries in all of North American sports that can truly overcome that much geographical distance: USC-Notre Dame, Lakers-Celtics, and Redskins-Cowboys.

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But the intensity is so much greater in club soccer. I'm not even going to get into the ones in Europe and South America. Just the ones in Britain.

Imagine that, instead of playing each other 6 times a year, every year since 1999 (and 3 times a year in 1997 and 1998), the Yankees and Mets have been playing each other 18 times a year, as often as the Yankees and Red Sox (or the Mets and Phillies) do. And instead of them playing in ballparks 10 miles apart in adjoining Boroughs, imagine that they played at opposite ends of Central Park, at 81st Street, where, in real life, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History actually stand. Just one mile apart, across a park.

That's Liverpool Football Club and Everton Football Club: Playing for the acclaim of the city of Liverpool and England's Merseyside region, just one miles across Stanley Park from each other.

The intensity of these British "football" rivalries is off the scale.

Liverpool vs. Everton, Liverpool: 0.9 miles
Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City, Birmingham: 3.1
Sheffield United vs. Sheffield Wednesday, 3.8
Arsenal vs. Tottenham, North London: 4.1
Manchester United vs. Manchester City: 4.3
Celtic vs. Rangers, Glasgow, Scotland: 4.3
Bristol City vs. Bristol Rovers: 4.4
West Ham United vs. Millwall, East to South London: 7.1
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. West Bromwich Albion, West Midlands: 10
Newcastle vs. Sunderland, North-East: 13
Derby County vs. Nottingham Forest, East Midlands: 16
Watford vs. Luton Town, Hertfordshire vs. Bedfordshire: 19
Portsmouth vs. Southampton, South Coast: 20
Liverpool vs. Manchester United, North-West: 31
Cardiff City vs. Swansea City, Wales: 40
Manchester United vs. Leeds United, the old "War of the Roses" Lancaster vs. York: 41
Norwich City vs. Ipswich Town, East Anglia: 43

And nearly every one of these matchups goes back to the 19th Century, at a point when baseball's American League, organized professional football, organized professional hockey, and pretty much the game of basketball itself did not yet exist.

And you can't get away. The supporters of the other club are all around you. You run into these bastards at work, on the way to work, on the way home from work, on your lunch hour, when you go shopping. Lose to your hated rivals, and they get in your face with the result until the next one. Win, and you hold the hammer over them, and tell them they have nothing to say... which never stops them, of course, the wankers.

In contrast, think of how few Red Sox fans live in the New York Tri-State Area -- or how few Yankee Fans live in New England in general and Boston in particular. They may be noisy, but they know they can't act up too much, because they're well outnumbered. And while Washington is the nation's capital, any Dallas Cowboy fans living there are going to be surrounded by people who despise the Cowboys.

It's not that way in soccer.

Except for a very few college rivalries, it's not even close to being the same.

Certainly, a high school rivalry can't match that.

No matter how much my Big Green self hates those Purple Bastards.

And while Old Bridge will almost certainly lay waste to my beloved E.B. Bears on Thursday, I'm still basking in the glow of this past Saturday's North London Derby, where Arsenal, as they did the last time the teams faced each other (February 26), came from behind at home to beat Tottenham 5-2.  It was Groundhog Day at New Highbury.

Good thing, too. Not just for my fellow Gooners.  But because I couldn't have taken Arsenal losing to Tottenham and East Brunswick losing to Old Bridge within a span of 5 days.

Yanks Beat Scum In Biggest Game of Season (So Far)

Today, my nieces, age 4, learned a new word: "Rivalry." I told them it means two people, or two groups of people, who have faced each other in some form of competition so many times under difficult circumstances that they really don't like each other.

That's the best way to explain the concept to little kids. I've told them, "Boston is actually a really nice city, I just don't like its sports teams, including the Red Sox."

Someday, they will read this blog, and they will be shocked about the language I sometimes use. Or maybe they'll see the language and won't be shocked -- in which case, I will be.

I went into last night thinking the finale of the Yankees-Red Sox series at Fenway Park would be the key game of the regular season, in terms of the American League Eastern Division. A Red Sox win would make it very difficult for the Yankees to win the Division, and thus "stick" the Yankees with the AL's Wild Card berth (which fans of a lot of teams would love to be "stuck" with). A win for the Yankees would give them just about an even chance to win the Division, and to thus stick the Sox with having to go to Detroit, the Dallas-Forth Worth "Metroplex" or Southern California to play Games 1, 2 and possibly 5 of the AL Division Series.

Regardless of what you may think of those places (and I hate Texas so much that I'd actually rather be in Detroit or Anaheim), you want the 1st 2 games of the postseason at home. Especially if home is Yankee Stadium (or old new) or Fenway Park.

But in order for the Yankees to win last night, A.J. Burnett, who has been not just Bad A.J. but Atrocious A.J. lately, would have to hold the Sox to as few runs as possible in that little green pinball machine with the red seats in Boston's Back Bay section.

Easier said than done, and I was not optimistic. I was thinking the only way I was going to get a win last night was through the Rutgers University football team, which did, beating North Carolina Central University at home, 48-0. My father was at the game, and he felt bad for N.C. Central, a school which was Division II not that long ago and really did not belong on the same field as even a mediocre Division I-A team, as Rutgers was last season. The 7-touchdown win over such an opponent proved nothing, but I'll still take it.

I would especially taken it, considering I was likely to see Bad A.J. instead of Good A.J. Oy...

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But Burnett was Good A.J. last night. He got through the 1st 3 innings only allowing a couple of baserunners and no runs. I was hoping he'd get through the 1st 6 allowing 3 runs or less; allowing none over the 1st 3 was more than I dared ask for.

As for the Yankees, Jesus played. Yes, the much-heralded 21-year-old righthanded-hitting-and-fielding slugging and catching prospect from Guacara, Venezuela, Jesus Alejandro Montero, made his Major League Baseball debut, as the designated hitter, wearing Number 63, and batting 7th against the Sox' nasty lefty, Jon Lester.

The top of the 1st inning was very eventful. Lester began the game by striking out Derek Jeter. But Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira hit back-to-back singles, and Robinson Cano doubled Grandy home -- but Teix could only go to 3rd, which could very well have turned out to be a pivotal failure to score. Lester struck out Nick Swisher, walked Andruw Jones, and then, in Montero's 1st big-league at-bat, Lester struck him out. Lester struck out the side, but allowed a run. It could have been a bit more.

Jeter and Granderson hit back-to-back singles with 2 outs in the 2nd, but Teix popped up to end the threat. With 1 out in the 3rd, Swisher singled, but Jones struck out, and Montero flew out. Jeter drew a 2-out walk in the 4th, but Granderson struck out to end that threat. So it was one-nil to the Pinstripe Boys going to the bottom of the 4th. So far, pretty good, but hardly good enough in Fenway.

As the Sox proved in the bottom of the 4th. Adrian Gonzalez, who has been battling it out with Granderson and Detroit Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander for the right to be named AL Most Valuable Player this season, hit a ground-rule double to right, and then Dustin Pedroia homered to center. 2-1 Boston. And now, who's up? Of course, the big fat lying cheating bastard himself, David Ortiz.

A Yankee Fan could have been excused for thinking the season was over, that we were doomed to lose the game, the Division, and the Division Series, and to start thinking about 2012. After all, this was A.J. Burnett on the mound against David Ortiz. Bad A.J. + Big Papi = Doom.

But this was Good A.J. He got Orcheatz to ground out, struck out Carl Crawford, and got a groundout of Jed Lowrie to end it still 2-1 in Boston's favor. If you had told me before the game A.J. would allow 2 runs over the 1st 4, I would have taken it.

With 1 out in the top of the 5th, Cano hit his 2nd double of the game, and Swish sacrificed him to 3rd. Bad idea, since there was already 1 out, although with the Green Monster looming over left field just 310 feet from home plate, scoring from 2nd on a single is no guarantee. Jones drew a walk, but Montero made himself 0-for-3 in his career with a groundout.

A.J. got through the 5th with no further runs. Former Yankee Alfredo Aceves came on to pitch the top of the 6th, because Lester had already thrown 118 pitches. The ghost of Bob Feller calls him a wimp.

Russell Martin led off the inning with a single, but Eduardo Nunez grounded into a double play. This began to loom large as Jeter singled, Granderson walked, and Teix was hit by a pitch -- and, since this loaded the bases, this was a rare occasion when a Sox pitcher hit a Yankee batter and everybody knew it was not on purpose.

By now, by all rights, Martin should have scored to tie it up, but that double play had erased him. But Cano grounded out. The Yankees had 4 baserunners in the inning, and scored no runs. You can't do that! Especially against the Red Sox. Especially at Fenway. You never know when the enemy is going to score more runs.

The bottom of the 6th. The tension mounts. A.J. still in there. He gunned down Gonazalez. Very important to get that leadoff man out. But Pedroia singled, and stole 2nd with Ortiz up. Uh-oh, this is it, the A.J. Meltdown. Fortunately, he only walked Ortiz. As the old saying goes, "It's better to give the big man four balls for one base, than to give him one ball for four bases."

Joe Girardi came to the mound and took A.J. out. Although he stood to lose the game, and was responsible for a potential 3rd and 4th runs, thus far he could not be faulted for the Yankees losing the game. The Yankees had simply failed to get him sufficient run support.

Joe Girardi hates me. What's that, you say? He doesn't even know I exist? Well, with the Internet, that may no longer be true. But it probably is. But the reason I think he hates me is that, in the biggest game of the season thus far, he brought in Boone Logan to relieve.

Twice in the last month, including on Tuesday night of this series, he'd brought Logan into a Fenway game, and gotten away with it. Could this really have been a case of "Third Time Lucky"? Would the third time be a charm?

Logan threw Crawford 4 pitches. The 1st and 3rd were nasty sliders. The 2nd and 4th were fastballs. The 4th was a swing and a miss. A huge strikeout.

Logan did his job. Girardi pulled him for Cory Wade, who also hasn't been too good lately. Wade pitched to Lowrie, who hit a sinking liner to center field. Uh-oh, Ortiz can't run, but that'll score 1 run...

No! Granderson made a spectacular catch! Inning and threat over! Still 2-1 Boston!

It was the kind of catch that would have made Mel Allen yell, "How about that!" and Phil Rizzuto yell, "Holy cow!" As soon as the shock wore off, John Sterling on WCBS turned to Suzyn Waldman and said, "You know, Suzyn, if the Yankees win this game, that'll be the reason why!"

Well, it helps if you can take that momentum and get some runs with it. In the top of the 7th, with 1 out, Jones fouled off 10 pitches before Aceves threw him ball 4. Chris Dickerson pinch-ran for him, and Montero reached base for the 1st time in his major-league career: Aceves hit him with a pitch. With the Red Sox, you never know, but if Aceves hit him on purpose, it was really stupid, so I'm thinking it was another accident. But that put the tying and go-ahead runs on.

Sox manager Terry Francona took the ball from Aceves and brought in Daniel Bard. The batter was Russell Martin, who swung and missed at Bard's 1st 2 pitches, then worked him for 3 balls, fouled off a tough slider, and then crushed a 97-MPH fastball to right. Dickerson scored. For the 1st time in his big-league career, Montero scored. It was 3-2 Yankees. Biggest hit of the season, and it was by a guy whose defense has been superb behind the plate, but had been slumping with the bat lately. Huge hit for Martin, both personally and for his team.

Girardi sent Eric Chavez up to pinch-hit for Nunez, thus allowing him to keep Chavez in the game to play 3rd base in place of the injured Alex Rodriguez. Chavez singled to right to score Martin. 4-2 Yankees.

No further baserunners in the inning, but who knew how big a 2-run lead could be? This is Fenway Park, after all. This is Yankees-Red Sox. Anything can happen. As Sterling likes to say, "You know, Suzyn, you can't predict baseball." In Yanks-Sox, especially in Fenway, the only way to get a prediction right is to, in the immortal words of former San Francisco Giants star Will Clark, "Expect the unexpected in baseball. There ya go, buddy!"

Bottom of the 7th. Teix, still aching from his HBP, left the game. Swish went to 1st base, Dickerson took Swish's place in right field, and Brett Gardner took Dickerson's place in left, which he had taken from Jones. Rafael Soriano, who's been an "I can't look" pitcher or on the Disabled List for most of the season, walked Jacoby Ellsbury with 2 outs, but struck out Marco Scutaro to end the inning.

Gardner got on in the top of the 8th, but got picked off. As childhood Long Island resident and Brooklyn Dodger fan, and grown-up historian, Harvard professor, Boston suburb resident and Red Sox fan Doris Kearns Goodwin would say, "There's always these omens in baseball." As Uncle Mike would say, "Ulp."

In the bottom of the 8th, David Robertson, who's pretty much been lights-out this season, walked the leadoff hitter, Gonzalez. Pedroia grounded into a force-out, and while that did get an out, it didn't help much, because it put a faster runner on 1st. And the Boston Fat Boy was up, representing the tying run. I could see Ortiz's phony point-to-the-sky on crossing the plate for a tying home run. But it didn't happen: Robertson gunned him down on a hellacious curveball.

Then, with Crawford up, Robertson threw a wild pitch, sending Pedroia to 2nd. But Robertson got Crawford to fly out.

Nothing across in the top of the 9th. One inning to go, and it would be pitched by Mariano Rivera. But, just as the familiarity of this series means that there's one team that knows how to beat Jonathan Papelbon, and it's the Yankees, it also means that there's one team that knows how to beat Mo, and it's the Red Sox.

And the way to beat Mo is to draw a leadoff walk, which Lowrie did. Uh-oh...

Mo got Josh Reddick to fly to right, and struck out the man with the longest surname in MLB history, Jarrod Saltalamacchia. But then he walked Ellsbury, and now a runner was at 2nd, the tying run was at 1st, and the winning run was at the plate. It was Scutaro, who, first for the Oakland Athletics and now for the Red Sox, has become one of those guys who can't hit against any other team, but turns into Ted Williams against the Yankees.

Scutaro dropped a soft line drive to right. It wasn't enough to score anyone. But now the bases were loaded. Lowrie was at 3rd. Ellsbury, the tying run, was at 2nd. Scutaro, the winning run, was at 1st. And the batter was the dangerous Gonzalez. A single could tie the game, although at Fenway it's no sure thing. An extra-base hit would probably win it.

Needless to say, in the stands, the Fenway animals were howling.

I was begging Mariano and the Yankee defense to get one more out, any way they could, I didn't care how.

Mariano Rivera remembered that he is Mariano Rivera, and that it doesn't matter who the opponent is.

He struck that Scummer out.

Cue Sterling: "Struck him out swinging! Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!"

4-2! We beat The Scum, 4-2! We beat The Scum, 4-2! We beat The Scum, 4-2!

Whew!

WP: Wade (3-0), as he was the Yankee pitcher when the lead that was never relinquished was taken; but a big tip of the Yankee cap to Burnett, who gave the Yankees 5 innings and change of exactly the pitching they needed, even if it doesn't save his place in the starting rotation or the postseason roster -- it may have been the pitching performance that wins the Division and makes Title 28 possible. SV: Rivera (36), inching closer to Trevor Hoffman's all-time record. LP: Aceves (9-2).

The Yankees get out of Boston half a game behind The Scum, dead-even in the AILC, the All-Important Loss Column. Going into the games of September 2, the teams are, essentially, tied for first place.

The Yankees come home to face the Toronto Blue Jays, having a bad season but always playing the Yankees tough. The Sox stay home to face the AL Western Division-leading Texas Rangers. If we can take 2 of 3 from the Pesky Blue Jays, and the Strangers can take 2 of 3 from The Scum, it will make the AL East race, as Arte Johnson used to say on Laugh-In, "Verrrry intereshting."

It's Yankees vs. Red Sox. It's frequently, "Verrrry intereshting... but shtupid."