I don't know about the rest of you, but these Yankee-Red Sox series, like the one beginning tonight at Fenway, doesn't have as much pizazz as they once held.

Maybe it's because year-after-year both teams qualify for the playoffs anyway, or maybe it's because the players on these teams are a little less hostile than the players of the past.

Boston pitcher Bill Lee's shoulder getting dislocated by Yankee third baseman Graig Nettles in a brawl in 1976 and Boston ace Pedro Martinez throwing down Yankee bench coach (and former Red Sox manager) Don Zimmer in the ALCS in 2003 are just a couple of examples of that hostility.

Don't get me wrong, there is still a buzz whenever these two longtime, heated rivals get together, whether they're playing to open the season in April or playing for a spot in the World Series.

But it's just not the same.