http://www.winnipegsun.com/sports/top10/2010/09/11/15321311.html


Today, we examine tradition gone bad, in the Top 10 Lopsided Rivalries in Sports.

10. Detroit vs Colorado (NHL)

Somebody get Claude Lemieux and Darren McCarty out of retirement. Because lately we haven’t heard a peep from what was once one of hockey’s bloodiest rivalries. That’s probably because the Red Wings have stayed on their game since these two went at it annually in the playoffs in the late 1990s, while the Avalanche have tumbled into obscurity, not making it past the second round of the playoffs since 2003.

9. Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State (college football)

U.S. college football contains perhaps the most storied rivalries on the continent, this one starting in 1912. We’re not sure why they bother. Called the Bedlam Series, it’s been just that for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, losers of seven consecutive games (average spread, more than 22 points) and 80% of the games, overall. Not even Merle Haggard would be proud to be an Okie from OK State.

8. Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer (tennis)

It took a few years for Federer to even acknowledge the growing rivalry between the two. Only after their marathon 2008 Wimbledon Final did he admit they had something special going on. Today, the most dominant player in men’s tennis history has to admit Nadal has had his number, almost from the beginning. A 5-2 edge in Grand Slam Finals, a 12-5 edge in overall tournament finals, and 14-7 head-to-head record, overall — clear advantage, Nadal.

7. Saskatchewan vs Winnipeg (CFL)

Two community-owned, prairie football teams in cities with their own inferiority complexes has led to some serious put-downs between fans of the Riders and Blue Bombers. Heck, even the media are getting into it (see riderssuck.ca). On the field, though, the banjo-picking inbreds of Rider Nation, a term coined by former Winnipeg kicker Troy Westwood, have had their way with the Blue and Gold for a while, winning six straight games, dating back to the 2007 Grey Cup, and 10 of the last 12.

6. Army vs. Navy (college football)

Back to the college gridiron, where this 120-year-old rivalry was so explosive they had to move it to a neutral site in 1899. Overall, the series is remarkably even, with Navy holding a 54-49-7 edge. Lately, not so much, with the Midshipmen winning 10 of the last 11, including eight straight by an average margin of more than 27 points. Maybe it’s time to move the game out of Philadelphia and to West Point, where the Black Knights may be able to regain their honour.

5. Calgary vs Edmonton (CFL)

Once one of three-down football’s marquee matchups, the Battle of Alberta has turned ugly. You’d think when a team loses 56-15 to a rival, as the Esks did three weeks ago, it’d come back with a vengeance the next time. Instead, the Green and Not-So-Gold went one worse in last weekend’s Labour Day tilt, embarrassing themselves, yet again, this time 52-5. No, that’s not a misprint. Going into this weekend, the Stamps had won the last five, by an average of 27 points.

4. USC vs Notre Dame (college football)

The “greatest intersectional rivalry in college football,” as it’s often called, started in 1926. It started fizzling eight years ago, when Pete Carroll’s Trojans started reeling off lopsided victories, currently at eight, and counting. Average margin of victory: 24.5 points. Notre Dame legends like Joe Theismann and Rocket Ismail must be choking on their mouth guards. The battle for the Jewelled Shillelagh ain’t what it used to be.

3. Ohio State vs Michigan (college football)

ESPN once called this the greatest rivalry in North American sports, and that may have been true at one time. There’s plenty of history attached to it, going back to 1897, as the teams, led by legendary coaches like Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, have combined for 18 national championships and 10 Heisman Trophy winners. But the Buckeyes are making a mockery of it lately, winning the last six meetings and eight of the last nine, the last three by a combined 77-20 count.

2. Duke vs UNC (college basketball)

They’re separated by an eight-mile stretch of highway known as Tobacco Road, creating a one-of-a-kind rivalry Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski once described as follows: “We share the same dry cleaners... there is no other area like this. It produces things, situations, feelings that you can’t talk to other people about.” Lately the Blue Devils have simply been taking North Carolina to the cleaners, winning 11 of the last 12 meetings.

1. Montreal vs Toronto (NHL)

Sure, these two cities have competed in the NHL since 1917, making it the oldest rivalry in the game. And, yes, the animosity over the years was in part the result of tensions between English and French-speaking Canada. There was a time when a Leafs-Habs game was war on ice, with the teams winning more Stanley Cups between them than the rest of the NHL, combined. But recently? Forget it. Since 1967, Les Glorieux has won 10 Cups, while the Buds haven’t even made it to the Final. That’s not a rivalry, it’s a cakewalk. In any language.

9/13/2010 12:06:37 PM

Quote :

"Lately the Blue Devils have simply been taking North Carolina to the cleaners, winning 11 of the last 12 meetings."

Um? What is this, six years old? In fact, according to Wiki UNC is 7-4 in their last 11 versus Duke.

[Edited on September 13, 2010 at 12:10 PM. Reason : stupid fucking canandians behind the times again]

9/13/2010 12:08:36 PM

This is dumb. 2, 3, and 4 especially, equating recent dominance with calling the entire series lopsided.

9/13/2010 12:09:40 PM

I may link this to all my UNC buddies while claiming it to be factual.

9/13/2010 12:16:07 PM

lol @ canadian newspapers making a top 10 list just to shit on the local CFL team

9/13/2010 12:41:17 PM

^^^^I wondered that as well. All I remember is the holes whining about how Hansblo won every game in Cameron

9/13/2010 12:43:10 PM

If you want to talk about lopsided rivalries then that would be UNC vs Duke (football), Tennessee vs Vanderbilt (football), Notre Dame vs Navy (football), UNC vs NC State (basketball).

9/13/2010 1:04:13 PM

^in that case, Kentucky has the longest active losing streak to a single team: 25 in-a-row to Tennessee...and I think the second longest too with 23 in-a-row to Florida

9/13/2010 1:36:40 PM

That is horrible article. What else would you expect from Canada though. I'd like to see this article actually written by a respected U.S. sports writer with a focus on overall series history. I wonder if NC State - UNC basketball would make the Top-10. Probably not since no one outside Raleigh considers us a rival to UNC.

9/13/2010 1:38:57 PM

^since moving to Miami, I've learned that probably 70% of people don't know the difference between UNC and NCSU. Granted Miami isn't the place for the most knowledgeable sports fans, I'm talking mostly people who follow UM to some degree.


Gotta say most people dont know/care about State-UNC

9/13/2010 2:34:04 PM

I've also found that a lot of people outside of the Carolinas struggle to discern NCSU from UNC

9/13/2010 2:51:50 PM

I went to high school with a huge State fan, which was weird. But there were also a about a half dozen UNC fans, too.

Anyway, I don't necessarily think people get confused -- at least in my experience. It's just that UNC athletics has been relevant so people care/talk about it. People know NC State, they just don't give a shit about the school's athletic programs.

9/13/2010 2:57:52 PM

Quote :

"I've also found that a lot of people outside of the Carolinas struggle to discern NCSU from UNC"

I, too, have encountered this

9/13/2010 3:02:35 PM

I was at a bachelor party in chicago over the summer, and we were out drinking in wrigleyville. I was wearing a state hat, and some dude started came over and started talking to me after seeing it, mentioned that the wolfpack were his favorite ACC team (he was a northwestern grad). He had no connection to state whatsoever, and had lived in chitown his whole life (i would guess he was in his mid 20s or so).

I asked him what made him like the wolfpack because God knows that unless you graduated from here, no one is going to randomly choose to be a state fan, and he mentioned our julius hodge-led sweet 16 team from several years ago.

This is the only time in my life that i've met a state fan (even if it's fan in the loosest sense) from out of the region that had no real connection to the university.

[Edited on September 13, 2010 at 4:21 PM. Reason : .]

9/13/2010 4:20:01 PM

Haha...when I was in Chicago last weekend I was wearing my State Hat and a random dude said "Go Wolfpack" and gave me the Wolfpack sign. I was shocked. I wonder if it was the same guy you chatted with.

9/13/2010 5:10:24 PM

if it was, I'm wondering why something with odds like that can't ever apply to me winning the lottery.

9/13/2010 5:15:20 PM

11. Northwestern vs. Illinois State (college football)

9/13/2010 7:23:22 PM

LA Lakers vs LA Clippers

I mean, it's clearly no contest.

9/13/2010 8:40:14 PM

ADHS Jaguars versus anyone they fucking played in the years 1998-2002 (High School Football)

The Jaguars even managed to lose a couple of homecoming games in there, and they had come just short of scheduling homecoming vs the school of the blind just to get a win.

9/13/2010 9:44:24 PM

Hulk Hogan vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper.. it's not even close

9/15/2010 4:47:46 PM

Harlem Globetrotters vs. the world

wikipedia...

On February 27, 2006, the Globetrotters extended their overall record to exactly 22,000 wins. Their most recent loss came on March 31, 2006, when they went down 87–83 to the NABC College All-Stars to bring their loss tally to just 345, a winning percentage of 98.4%. According to the Globetrotters' website, all of the Globetrotters' exhibition games are real games.

9/15/2010 6:26:02 PM

I actually liked State some before I ever even thought of moving to NC because I hated UNC and they always played FSU really well

9/15/2010 7:54:05 PM

CB Aycock Football 1993-2002.....they never won a conference game.

The conference split up after 2002.

[Edited on September 15, 2010 at 8:50 PM. Reason : .]

9/15/2010 8:49:11 PM