Even USC-UCLA doesn’t make this rivalry list
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A look at 10 rivalries, in no particular order:
Duke vs. North Carolina
It’s as pure as Smith and as jumbled as Krzyzewski but mostly a war born of passion for basketball and proximity. All you need to know: North Carolina and Duke have won the last two NCAA championships.
Ohio State vs. Michigan
A college football rivalry you can actually smell. Biggest concern about Big Ten expansion is how it affects the Big One. All you need to know: Woody Hayes, driving in Michigan, refused to stop for gas until he crossed into Ohio.
Dodgers- Giants
Think of the saloon fight in “Blazing Saddles” except the brawl starting near Coney Island and spilling to the Golden Gate Bridge. All you need to know: Juan Marichal, John Roseboro.
Red Sox-Yankees
The first rivalry created by a sports network, ESPN, but it has really turned into something. All you need to know: Pedro Martinez and Don Zimmer.
Alabama-Auburn
There are no pro sports in Alabama, aside from bass fishing, so everyone in the state sweats to this oldie. All you need to know: Series was discontinued from 1908 to 1948 for political and hatred reasons.
Maple Leafs- Canadiens
Teams have met five times for the Stanley Cup. If you go to a fight in either city a hockey game might break out. All you need to know: Two of the six original NHL franchises.
Packers-Bears
Game ticket includes a beer, a brat, a Walter Payton jersey, hand warmers and a punch in the nose. Official game colors: black and blue. All you need to know: The Packers had Bart Starr and Brett Favre while the Bears have been looking for a quarterback since Bobby Layne.
Dodgers-Yankees
Took a half-century or so for the Dodgers to mix a World Series title into the conflict, but winning five titles since 1956 has really inched L.A. closer to its rivals. What? It’s still not even close? All you need to know: Bob Welch vs. Reggie Jackson.
Ali-Frazier
What has been better: the three fights in the trilogy or all the books and documentaries produced on the trilogy? All you need to know: “Thrilla in Manila.”
Harvard-Yale
Included to make happy Walter Campers of the pigskin purists and professors even though the schools downgraded to 1-AA years ago: All you need to know: “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29.”
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