And since I'm on a hockey high...

ESPN's Poll currently asks which is the best head-to-head rivalry in sports right now?

Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal (30%)

Alexander Ovechkin/Sidney Crosby (27%)

Kobe Bryant/LeBron James (34%)

Tiger Woods/Phil Mickelson (9%)

I'm here to make the case for my vote: Ovechkin/Crosby.

If you want to take the question literally, it has to be Ovie and Sid the Kid. Federer and Nadal haven't met in a tennis final in a while. Kobe and LeBron are still a couple weeks away from being the best of these four. Woods and Mickelson aren't the best, since neither are playing at their best right now anyway.

Ovechkin and Crosby are about to head to Game 7 of their second round series. In Game 2, Washington defeated Pittsburgh 4-3. Ovechkin had a hat trick. So did Crosby. In the series, Alex has 13 points, Sid has 10. Ovechkin has 10 goals in 13 playoff games. Crosby has 10 goals in 12. They've played their best hockey against the other and who knows what lies ahead tomorrow night.

If you want to take the question figuratively, though, it's still the hockey rivalry. What does it matter if Tiger and Phil are battling atop the leaderboard at the Masters if they both falter and neither winds up in contention? And it isn't like they're solely battling one another - they're up against everyone.

Nadal and Federer is good, but with Federer's troubles lately, it's typically a foregone conclusion when the two meet. Even when Roger was the top-ranked player, you knew almost always who would win between the two. On clay, Nadal dominated. On anything else, Federer had the edge. This isn't anything close to Sampras-Agassi and never will be since each has a clear-cut advantage on their surface of choice.

Kobe and LeBron are the two best players in the game without question, but how is it even a rivalry when they meet once a season? It should get better in a couple weeks and over the next few years when they meet in the finals year in and year out. But until that happens, they're playing their own game. Bird-Magic was a great rivalry because the Celtics and Lakers engaged in several NBA Finals appearances, but Bryant and James haven't done that yet.

But Ovechkin and Crosby are the best in the game and they see plenty of each other. Being in the same conference, the Caps and Pens play each other several times in the regular season. They just added seven meetings over the past week and a half. Each are matching the other goal for goal and win for win. Ovechkin is the better goal scorer and physical presence, Crosby the better overall offensive player. And each will bring out the best in the other in Game 7. The game's best player might be judged by many as the one who leads his team to victory tomorrow night. There's your rivalry.

By the way, don't forget to read the blog below this. I posted them within about a half hour of each other, so there are two new ones. Hope you like reading about hockey.