Archive → June, 2014
Top 5: Coast-to-Coast
With the highly contested Stanley Cup Final a few weeks in the rearview mirror, I felt it would be appropriate to let our minds wander into what other East Coast/West Coast Championships we would all be lucky to see. The Stanley Cup features the two largest media markets in the United States, Los Angeles and New York City. For this list, I ignored the middle states of the U.S. and focused more on the coasts. As fans you cannot ask for more than these epic continental dividing clashes:
5. 49ers vs. Patriots
Starting off is a matchup that may come as a surprise to some. Though these two teams do not have any real rivalry, they actually fit the bill quite well. In this game you have two of the largest cities, San Francisco and Boston, each with their own championship history and eight Super Bowl victories between them. Who wouldn’t want to see the contrasting styles of Harbaugh/Kaepernick going against Belichick/Brady?
4. LA Kings vs. NY Rangers
The Kings vs. Rangers is the best the NHL has to offer so of course they had to be included on my list. Because these two teams are the biggest media markets in the country their series will excite even the most mediocre hockey fans, causing them to pick sides based on what coast they live on.
3. Lakers vs. Celtics
Do I really have to explain why this is on the list? This is the best rivalry in the NBA and these two franchises have met twelve different times in the Finals. Enough said. These two cities and teams do not and will not ever like each other.
2. USC vs. Alabama
The biggest shocker on my list comes with USC vs. Alabama, my #2. These two national powerhouses have played only seven times in their history and have not played since 1985. Thus, the reason for my #2 placement. We as fans have been longing for this head-to-head match up in college football and have yet to witness it. How cool would it be to see “Kiffin Bowl” in the new College Football Championship Game.
1. Dodgers vs. Yankees
Finally, #1 on my list pairs the storied rivalry, L.A. Dodgers vs. N.Y. Yankees. Eleven meetings between these two in the World Series and thirty-three Championships between them. What I love most about these teams is their history. This was once a backyard rivalry in the Boroughs of New York that turned into a 3,000 mile battle in 1958. Though much has changed since these two first played, the matchup has remained as desirable as ever.
A Monday Mariner Masterpiece
This has to be a sure fire win for the Mariners. With King Felix on the mound today, there is no way the mariners lose in Yankee Stadium. Something about the new Yankee Stadium seems to mesh well with the king. Hernandez has has been absolutely dominant there in his last 6 starts going 4-1 with a 1.18 ERA. He is also coming off of his best pitching performance of the season against the Angels on Wednesday, where he was one out from a complete game. This along with the fact that the Yankees are without Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira spells a long day for the Yankee lineup.
Prediction: Mariners 6 Yankees 1
Felix cruises through 8 inning striking out 8 while giving up only 5 hits one of which is a solo shot.