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Thanks to chadronhusker for illustrating the crazy ride Iowa fans have been on all season.

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• Rank: Which team is the best champion of the past 26 years?

Not this year, Philly fans. Despite a majority of SportsNation foreseeing (or perhaps just wishing for) a Phillies win in Game 6 to tie up the series, the Yankees proved all of SN wrong and won the World Series on Wednesday night.

Does this World Series win seal the deal for the Yankees as the team of the decade? Or does that award go to other top '00-'09 teams such as the Cardinals, Phillies or Red Sox?

Vote and discuss below!

“

Cue the Empire Strikes Back Theme music.....

” -- yanksgmen84

Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd will be blocking kicks all day on "SportsNation" TV.

Argue the hot topics of the day and vote on the biggest stories from the world of sports. The show airs on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. and midnight ET.

Note: Broadcast voting results as of this afternoon (ET).

Are you rooting for or against Alex Rodriguez?
A-Rod has finally broken out in the postseason and is saying all the right things. Of course, he still plays for the Yankees.

What should the NFL do to better protect officials?
Umpires could be outfitted with helmets or repositioned in future seasons to prevent injuries from collisions between players and officials.

Which was more impressive?
Was Reggie Bush leaping into the end zone or Adrian Peterson crushing William Gay a more spectacular play?

What do you think of Mark McGwire becoming the Cardinals’ hitting coach?
Is it a big deal that the slugger has never addressed questions about PEDs, or is it time to stop talking about the past and look to the future?

What is "SportsNation" TV, and how do you make your voice heard? Read about the new ESPN show that features fan opinions with calls, tweets, polls, rankers and more.

Alex Rodriguez hits two game-tying home runs in the late innings of postseason games. Brad Lidge closes out a game like the Lidge of old (or at least unlike the Lidge of this season). And the Angels make the Red Sox look positively Pawtucket-ish. Clearly, there is some bad postseason karma looking for a new home. Good thing MLB umpires are around.

Capping off a run of mistakes around the league, home plate umpire Jerry Meals, by his own admission, blew a call that prolonged a ninth inning in which the Phillies eventually took a 6-5 lead against the Rockies Sunday night. Then again, perhaps Meals can be forgiven for freezing on a call in a four-hour game played in sub-freezing temperatures.

Buster Olney thinks it's time to bring in mechanical assistance. Back in July, only a slight majority of SportsNation thought replay should be expanded. Has October changed that?

• Vote on NLDS: Will the Phillies close it out? | Vote on ALCS: Yankees or Angels?
• Chat: "Baseball Tonight" analyst Orestes Destrade talks playoffs, 3 ET.

“

i'd just like to send out a personal thank you to bud selig. bud, thank you so much for caring more about money than the fans. this was the best game of the post season (imo) and my kids didn't even get to see the first pitch. thank you so much bud for allowing me (on the east coast) to get 3.5 hours of sleep last night. i appreciated it greatly, 8 would have been too much...you're the best big fella. keep thinking about the mlb wallet and keep sticking to the little guys (literally, i'm talking about my kids).

” -- rustyburg

“

face it, no one wants to see the friggin rockies in the playoffs so im not suprised to see the umps pulling for the phils. no one likes the rockies cause they have no personality and are boring. so who wants to watch that

” -- thelivinglegend05

Matt Holliday hit .353 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs for the Cardinals in 63 regular-season games this season. He hit a home run in the top of the second inning against the Dodgers that gave his team a 1-0 lead Thursday. And now he may rank somewhere behind Sean Payton, Dan Gladden and Bill Bidwill on the list of most popular sports figures in St. Louis.

Holliday's ninth-inning, two-out error gave the Dodgers new life and paved the way for their eventual 3-2 win. Holliday said he lost it in the lights. Adam Wainwright suggested it might have been the nefarious white towels fans in Dodger Stadium were waving (in Los Angeles, we would have thought the red glare of brake lights from fans beating traffic would have been a bigger issue). Either way, his name now lives in infamy ... sort of.

But given how much of a role he played in getting the Cardinals to this point, and how utterly humiliating an error it was, would you rip Holliday if he played for your favorite team?

• Vote: Are the Cardinals done? | How will all four division series end?
• Chat: Jerry Crasnick talks playoffs, 3 ET | Crasnick on Yankees' Game 1 win

“

It's not all matt holidays fault, he hit a homer and with 2 outs in the 9th missed a semi-routine play. So what, your closer should be able to turn around and get the next guy out, all he had to do was get two guys out... Which brings up the next point, matt kemp did the same exact thing by hitting a homer early and later making a foolish mistake in the 9th of game 1. But the difference was broxton cleaning up the mess before it got out of hand.

” -- capraco

“

All Wain-O was doing by talking about the towels was protecting Holliday... if anyone could've dragged the ball club into finger-pointing and dissention... it was Wain-O... but he didn't... he blamed the towels... the inocuous towels... that's a class-act of a team-mate... bc you know he wanted to punch Holliday in the gut for that drop.

” -- partofwhatswrong

The battery of Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd has a better ERA during the afternoon episodes of "SportsNation" TV.

Argue the hot topics of the day and vote on the biggest stories from the world of sports. The show airs on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. and midnight ET.

Note: Broadcast voting results as of this afternoon (ET).

If he trained, would LeBron be a better WR than Braylon Edwards?
You've seen the LeBron in a Browns uniform commercial. You've seen Edwards traded away. Now complete the Cleveland fantasy football picture.

Whom would you pick first for a playoff series?
Derek Jeter had a clutch HR to start the Yankees' postseason scoring. Albert Pujols was intentionally walked anytime the Dodgers saw danger.

Are the Red Sox in the Angels' heads?
The Angels have lost 12 of their past 13 postseason games against the Red Sox. "Last year was last year," said Torii Hunter when asked about it.

Does toughness run in families?
Eli Manning missed practice for a second straight day. Will he play against the Raiders? Dad Archie and brother Peyton have been known to play hurt.

Does Braylon Edwards make the Jets a serious Super Bowl contender?
Edwards, wearing a white No. 17 Jets jersey, caught passes from rookie Mark Sanchez and backups Erik Ainge and Kevin O'Connell in drills Thursday.

What is "SportsNation" TV, and how do you make your voice heard? Read about the new ESPN show that features fan opinions with calls, tweets, polls, rankers and more.

If the Red Sox and Yankees wind up playing in the ALCS, is there a way Brett Favre can throw out the first pitch? Just to see if the world would, in fact, actually implode?

With apologies to debates over whether the Rockies can handle the Phillies' left-handed pitching, or if Clayton Kershaw is ready to be a postseason ace, the prospect of another Red Sox-Yankees clash looms over the postseason as either a return to the best rivalry in sport or as many as seven five-hour nightmares, depending on your perspective.

Are you rooting for another showdown or absolutely anything else?

• Vote: Angels-Red Sox | Dodgers-Cardinals | Phillies-Rockies | Yankees-Twins
• Vote: Pick a World Series winner and how long each division series will last
• Your rankings: Power Rankings | Playoff closers | Big-game pitchers | All-time upsets
• Chat wraps: Buster Olney | Eric Young | Joe Morgan | Rob Neyer | Peter Gammons
• Hall of Fall: Steve Bartman becomes first inductee

Moving on from last night's Favre-less drama in Minnesota, we move immediately to a playoff (now that we're finally allowed to use that word) tripleheader Wednesday. It's a quick turnaround, as the Twins will attest, but SportsNation has been prepping all week by picking the brains of some of ESPN's best baseball writers. Hey, it beats working.

Steve (Hopkinton, MA)

What do you think of the plan to have Molina catch AJ in the playoffs?

Buster Olney

Steve: Not surprising. I think Burnett is going to be the barometer for what the Yankees do (or don't do) in the post-season, and they need him to be excellent -- and it's clear that he is just more comfortable with Molina, to the point where pitching to Posada distracts him. So Girardi, a former catcher who was known for his empathy for pitchers, is going to do what makes one of his starting pitchers feel most comfortable. Full transcript

Tyler (San Diego via Boston)

Where are the Dodgers mentally after their late season fall from grace? Is Kershaw going to be ready for playoff baseball?

Peter Gammons

The Dodgers' biggest concern is trying to get Manny Ramirez hitting again, because he has actually been a liability in the three-hole. Their young hitters do feed off of him so they need Manny to be something other than an average offensive player. Scouts who saw Kershaw Saturday night thought he had the best stuff of any pitcher in the NL. He is their best hope to win 2 games against either Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright. Full transcript

Ben (Boston)

"Cole Hamels is exactly as good right now as he was a year ago." No, he's not. That implies he's pitching just as well now as he was then, and if he's less successful it's just bad luck. Do you refuse to recognize that players go through hot streaks (when everything clicks) and cold streaks (when they lose their touch)? That's just being a human being. Hamels in a hot streak is better than Hamels when he's not so hot.

Rob Neyer

With all due respect, Ben ... Are we *really* still having this conversation? If so, I suppose I should be glad; it means my work's not yet done. But would you look at Hamels? His HR, BB, and K rates are almost EXACTLY the same as last season. The difference in his ERA's is due mostly to luck; last year he was lucky, this year he's been unlucky. But he's fundamentally the same pitcher. Full transcript

Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd don't complain on "SportsNation" TV when they get leading questions from reporters.

Argue the hot topics of the day and vote on the biggest stories from the world of sports. The show airs on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. and midnight ET.

Note: Broadcast voting results as of this afternoon (ET).

Does clinching an early playoff berth help or hurt an MLB team?
A day after clinching the American League East, the Yankees rested many of their starters. They still beat the Royals 8-2.

How should Cowboys fans feel after Monday's game?
Instead of landing among the half of the league that has a losing record, the Cowboys bounced back from their loss to the Giants with a win.

Should Al Davis suspend Raiders coach Tom Cable if charges are filed?
Raiders assistant coach Randy Hanson told Napa police that he was struck by head coach Tom Cable and suffered a broken jaw.

What is more fun?
Would you rather be playing golf or cruising about on a golf scooter? The new set of wheels doesn't have the traditional seat or roof.

Who deserves more credit for the Vikings' game-winning play on Sunday?
Since Brett Favre didn't complete the pass to himself, Greg Lewis also deserves some credit for the game-winning touchdown pass Sunday.

What is "SportsNation" TV, and how do you make your voice heard? Read about the new ESPN show that features fan opinions with calls, tweets, polls, rankers and more.

Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd tee off for a $10 million paycheck on "SportsNation" TV.

Argue the hot topics of the day and vote on the biggest stories from the world of sports. The show airs on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. and midnight ET.

Note: Broadcast voting results as of this afternoon (ET).

Should the Nets be on LeBron James' short list?
The King hasn't said anything recently to cause us to doubt his Cleveland loyalties, but the Nets are getting a new Russian billionaire owner.

Would you hire a former great player to coach your team?
Wayne Gretzky is the latest superstar player to fare poorly in management. His record in Phoenix: 143-161-24 with no playoff appearances.

Who has been more impressive this season?
The Cardinals are on the verge of wrapping up the NL Central. Have you been more impressed with Albert Pujols or St. Louis' pitching?

Do you enjoy player trash talk?
Randy Moss and the Jets defense are exchanging off-field barbs. We see the talking, even if we can't hear what the players are saying, almost every game.

Do you like Jay Leno's new show?
Many of the critics have been unkind to the former "Tonight Show" host in his new, earlier time on NBC. What's your take on Leno?

What is "SportsNation" TV, and how do you make your voice heard? Read about the new ESPN show that features fan opinions with calls, tweets, polls, rankers and more.