Sometime late in the night of October 17, 2004, the world changed. Up became down. Losers became winners. Winners became losers.

From the rocky shores of Maine to the tiny towns of New England to the Hub that is Boston, the change was felt.

Throughout the metropolitan area and the five boroughs of New York, especially in the Bronx, the earth moved.

Red Sox nation felt the change. So did the Yankee empire. And the world hasn’t been the same since.

What a colossal change. From the time they purchased Babe Ruth from the Red Sox before the 1920 season right up until that fateful 2004 ALCS, the Yankees dominated this rivalry. (And many argued that Yankees-Red Sox really wasn’t even a rivalry — it was a nail vs. a hammer, and the Bronx bombers did all the hammering.)

Curse of the Bambino

It was the Curse of the Bambino, a phrase first coined by columnist Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe. A curse that lasted longer than a lifetime.

Oh sure the Red Sox had their moments, American League pennants in 1946, 1967, 1975 and 1986. But they went 86 years without winning a World Series.

Meanwhile, the Yankees built dynasty upon dynasty, 39 pennants and 26 World Championships between 1921 and 2000. And they had their way with the Red Sox in every big game, like 1949 and 1978 and 2003 and so many others.

Then came Game 4, 2004 ALCS, when the Red Sox rallied to beat the Yankees in 12 innings and began the most improbable playoff run in baseball history. One bloody sock and three games later, the Sawx were American League champions and on their way to their first World Series triumph since 1918.

Red Sox Rule the World

Boston won another World Series in 2007.

Meanwhile the Yankees, in a reversal of roles, have failed to win a playoff series since, failed to even make the playoffs last year.

And so far this year, the Red Sox have played the Yankees eight times — and won all eight games. Blowouts and comebacks, shutouts and one-run decisions, Boston has won them all.

The Red Sox grind out at-bats and get the big hits; the Yankees leave runners in scoring position. The Yankee bullpen falters; Boston holds the fort. New York starters sometimes fail to get out of the third inning; Boston gets a good pitching performance almost all the time. And when they don’t, they simply outslug the once-vaunted Bombers.

Yes, it’s a different world now.

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Yankees versus Red Sox begins today.

And the series is not going to live up to the hype. Unless Kevin Youkilis gets drilled in the noggin by Joba Chamberlain, there’s going to be no fireworks and no fights. Without A-Rod, Manny, Pedro, and Schilling, the rivalry just ain’t what it used to be.

The good news is, all of these games are crucial to the AL East and unseeding Toronto as the early favorite to win the Championship of the Universe. And who knows, maybe there will be a fight (when Cashman comes down from his box and punches CC Sabathia after he loses another one).

Mallory and I are usually on the same side with everything, but alas, I have found a difference between us: she supports the New York Yankees. Being that this blog is 50% mine, I will keep things balanced (but not “fair and balanced” because Fox News and their deceptive slogan makes me sick to my journalistic integrity-loving stomach) and talk about the Boston Red Sox. (Haha I love you, Mal!)

Those who know me know that I’m far more likely to know political scores than baseball scores, but come on, I do live in New England. And my journey to being a Red Sox fan is not a long one, but before you judge me and call me a fair-weather fan, hear me out. I grew up with Cal Ripken, the Orioles and Camden Yards. But upon moving to New Hampshire from Maryland my sophomore year of high school (I had one girl say to me, “New Hampshire? Isn’t that, like, up north somewhere?” Yes hun, it is.), I quickly realized that loving the Red Sox was not just a passion some people have; it is a way of life.

It didn’t come easily, but after awhile, I began to slowly develop affection for the Sox much like Belle for Beast in the Disney classic, “Beauty and the Beast”. Sorry, I had to throw that in. I spent hours watching the games with friends, a pastime I would never have done as an O’s fan. So I started off slow, just watching the games and learning the personalities of the players. Now, I have lived in NH for six years-and because of this I consider myself to be on the same level as a six-year-old child when it comes to my love for the Red Sox. My dad bought me my first Red Sox hat last year! Hooray!

But Mal and I have one thing in common despite our different sides in one of the deepest and longest of rivalries: I have never been to a game at Fenway Park, just as she’s never been to a game at Yankee Stadium. It’s humiliating, but true. I yearn for the day when I can join pretty much every other New Englander and say that I went to Fenway and saw the World Series champions.

So, if anyone wants to help me on my journey, give me a call. Take me out to the ball game. I love hot dogs. And beers.

[Posted by Kathleen]

Since I used to do an auto racing blog, I can attest to how much I hate NASCAR, they are greedy douchebags that are actively killing auto racing while they turn all of it into entertainment and lifestyle broadcasting and repeated shots of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon, all with the ugliest fucking cars possible, with the Car of Tomorrow. Because I want to know what Denny Hamlin wants to eat for breakfast.

My eyes! (Don’t give me the “but it’s safer” argument, they could have accomplished the same safety standards with a better design similar to the old race car, it is obvious NASCAR wanted more sponsor space)

Oh, this is a baseball blog, never mind. But this is kind of relevant.

On Saturday’s Red Sox-Yankees game FOX cut it 2 pitches short and everyone is mad now because their baseball got interrupted for a sport that most people love to hate. The game had also been rain-delayed several time throughout, causing the game to go on for very very long.

Should we really blame NASCAR though? They did comply to FOX. And two pitches to the rest of the country, other than Red Sox and Yankees fans, is really nothing. Plus, if the Yankees and Red Sox finish, all the NASCAR fans get pissed for missing the start. But NASCAR races take forever and 500 miles is way too long for those races and you can delay the start, especially in a sub-par, excruciatingly boring race track like Phoenix International Raceway. This debate is actually interesting. Do we blame FOX, NASCAR, the weather? In this case, everyone in the New York and Boston East Coast media is overreacting. I think that is the real point here. NASCAR already delayed the start once. And while the East Coast hates NASCAR, baseball people and racing people actually respect each other pretty well it seems, with people from the Red Sox, the Diamondbacks, among other teams helping out in NASCAR ownership.

All I know is that I know way too much about both sports, both with extremely different reactions.