This week, SB Nation continues its coverage of sports rivalries which began last week. Today, we want to hear from you about your favorite rivalries. Which do you most enjoy to watch? Or, which sports teams do you hate the most?
For me, you can’t beat Ohio State-Michigan. I have room in my heart for lots of sports hate, but none tops my deep-seated loathing of all things Wolverines. I don’t go so far as boycotting the letter “M” in November (even I can’t go that childish), but anything else is fair game.
I imagine this hate will be shared by any of you who grew up as Buckeye fans in the 90s. Michigan dominated the football series then, with former OSU coach John Cooper having a paltry 2-10-1 record in the series. Cooper deserves his place in the College Football Hall of Fame; he won a lot of games in his career, including Rose Bowls with two different teams. He just couldn’t win THE game that mattered most. As a result of all the heartbreak I had as a kid as a result of those losses, I continue to savor each victory in the 21st century. OSU has won 17 of the last 19 games – including the last eight – but I will never take this for granted.
I’ve been fortunate to attend four games in the series in person. All were in Columbus, and all were wins. The first was the first Cooper victory in 1994. 2012 was one of the coldest games I’ve attended, and Ohio State had no chance of playing in the postseason due to NCAA sanctions, but it was still a thrill to witness the completion of an undefeated season.
The most recent one I attended was 2016, when both teams were ranked in the top three in the country. At stake was a probable playoff berth for the winner. It was not a well-played game by either team, and it went to overtime for the first time in series history. The final three plays to clinch the Buckeye victory were chaotic, stressful, and exhilarating. It was everything you want from a rivalry game.
What’s your favorite?
More Rivalry Week coverage
The Columbus Blue Jackets don’t have an obvious rival like that. Nonetheless, last week we profiled the history of their series with four teams which share some elements of a classic rivalry:
Nashville
Pittsburgh
Detroit
Washington
Which one of these is the best rivalry? Or is there one we missed that should have been considered instead?
Who is the top rival of the Blue Jackets?
| Predators | 0 |
| Penguins | 56 |
| Red Wings | 2 |
| Capitals | 5 |
| Other (Explain in the comments) | 2 |
The weeks that were
The big news of the last fortnight was the NHL Draft Lottery, in which the top pick was won by a placeholder team, to be determined by a second lottery among the eight teams eliminated in the play-in round of the postseason. MrSwift explained why it would be a good thing for the Blue Jackets to lose to the Leaves and be able to pick an elite winger in Alexis Lafreniere. We also had a discussion of the lottery and its fallout on last week’s Cannon Cast.
On the previous Cannon Cast, Will and Elaine interviewed Mike Watson, president of the Columbus Ice Hockey Club. He has a front line perspective on how the sport of hockey has grown in Central Ohio.
Elaine got an exclusive interview with Nathan Gerbe. The resulting article is worth your time to read. Gerbe describes his long path back to the NHL and what this season was like for him. The biggest revelation? That he almost turned down his initial call-up in December. He was spending the holidays with his family when he got the call.
In the latest edition of SB Nation Reacts, NHL fans revealed that commissioner Gary Bettman is suddenly more popular than ever due to the league’s handling of the shutdown and their Return to Play plan.
I wrote about the top Blue Jackets from Finland.
Will considered what questions he would ask of Jarmo Kekalainen and John Tortorella if he had the chance – and if they would be compelled to answer honestly.
MrSwift would make several major changes to the NHL rulebook. Most of them are pretty sensible. A 3-2-1-0 points system is way past due, for example, but I disagree strongly with getting rid of offsides.
Play me out
Like many people, in 2016 I found myself obsessed with the soundtrack album from the Broadway musical Hamilton. This weekend, I again joined a large number of people in watching a filmed performance featuring the original cast, which is now streaming on Disney+. For anyone unaware, the musical tells the life story of founding father Alexander Hamilton. The twist? The roles are played by people of color and the songs are mostly hip hop and R&B.
While I loved the music on its own, the best way to experience this is to watch it. The staging, choreography, and costuming is inventive and captivating, and perfectly complement the songs.
Are there any other Hamilfans here?