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• Rank: How do you rank the World Series MVP candidates?

On Tuesday (when Phillies fans and Yankees haters could still picture the Bronx Bombers without a 2009 World Series title), a majority of SportsNation overwhelmingly picked Chase Utley as MVP of the World Series.

Yet with the Yankees taking home the title of world champs, was it only fitting that a New York player (Hideki Matsui) win the award? Or should Utley's numbers (most notably, his five home runs this series) have made him the 2009 World Series MVP? Discuss and vote below!

“

Matsui is the MVP. He single-handily [won] today's game and finished the series with 3 homers, 8 RBIs, .615 average. Sorry Mariano not this year.

” -- Jake-Macauley

• Vote on World Series: Is Alex Rodriguez reverting to form?
• Vote on Vikings-Packers: Did Ted Thompson pick the right quarterback?

A lot of good things came out of 1969. We landed on the moon, Joe Namath lived up to his guarantee, moviegoers got to watch "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "Easy Rider," and music fans got cornerstone albums from the Beatles and the Velvet Underground. But four decades later, the year is still giving back in the form of Mariano Rivera and Brett Favre, born little more than a month apart.

Thursday night was Rivera's time in the spotlight, as the Yankees' closer went two innings and 39 pitches to shut down the Phillies and secure Game 2. But come Sunday, the two may go head to head for SportsNation's affection, with the Yankees and Phillies playing Game 4 at night and Favre making his return to Lambeau Field in the afternoon.

So it's a simple question: Which product of 1969 tops your list?

Bryan (Wichita)

What are your thoughts about playing for the Vikings and [Brett Favre's] comment about them being more talented than the '96 Pack

Former Packers FB William Henderson

I hope he said it in an attempt to motivate his own locker room. Boneheaded statement if it was meant to truly compare the No. 1 defense and No. 1 special teams from Super Bowl XXXI team to an unproven. Full transcript.

sam (new jersey)

who was the toughest pitcher you had to face?

Red Sox OF Jacoby Ellsbury

Mariano Rivera. Full transcript.

• Vote: ALCS: Yankees lead 2-1 | NLCS: Phillies lead 3-1
• Chat: Buster Olney on the playoffs, 1 p.m. ET.

You certainly can't say that this postseason has been devoid of excitement.

Not that we were accusing you of saying that; you seem pretty knowledgeable (heck, you did OK on our postseason quiz, and we had our top guys working on that). It's just nice to be reminded every once in a while of just how awesome October baseball can be.

That almost wasn't the case in Anaheim, however. For reasons unexplained, the Yankees' opponents this season seem intent on booting balls, running into outs and generally acting like they're unfamiliar with the basic rules of baseball. That ineptitude was once again on full display Monday night, with Bobby Abreu getting rung up after a failed attempt to get back to second base going along with the Angels' inability to score with a man on second and no outs. Thanks to some curious decisions by Yankee skipper Joe Girardi, however, the Angels managed to cut the Yankees' ALCS deficit to 2-1. SportsNation wasn't confident about the Angels' chances in this game, but how are they picking now?

In Philadelphia, the game nearly came down to a matchup of future slow-pitch softball MVP Matt Stairs and fireballing closer Jonathan Broxton. Flashbacks to 2008's Stairs moonshot were temporarily avoided when Broxton walked the pinch-hitting terror, but that only delayed the inevitable. Broxton gave up the game on a two-run double to Jimmy Rollins, whom he'd historically had some success against. Broxton is one in an increasingly-long line of big-time closers this season that have blown saves -- Papelbon, Nathan, Fuentes -- heck, even Mariano Rivera almost got in on the fun. It says something about the value of closers in the postseason -- we're just not sure what.

• Rankings: Which contenders can feel most secure about the ninth inning?

Billy Wagner hasn't pitched in more than a calendar year. He's coming off Tommy John surgery at 38 years old. He was reportedly placed on waivers by the Mets -- a team that might as well print its "abled" list to save paper -- now that he's on the verge of returning. And the sad part is you suspect at least half of the general managers in the pennant race got a little excited when they heard the news.

The defending champions have a closer with an ERA that looks like an NBA sixth man's points per game. The Cubs just banished Kevin Gregg in favor of Carlos Marmol, who has walked 52 batters in 56.1 innings. And Ryan Franklin is suddenly the second coming of Lee Smith in St. Louis. We're just saying the ninth inning is going to be kind of an adventure in the playoffs this year.

• 59 percent of SportsNation says an iffy closer is more agonizing than an iffy kicker.
• Only Wisconsin not voting for Mariano Rivera as best closer of all time.

“

I have wanted Marmol to be the Closer all year. I thought they snubbed him by bringing in Gregg. They also had Marmol change some of his delivery mechanics.

” -- natesweet72

“

Dodger signs of the apocalypse: ... Jonathan Broxton blowing 5 of 7 saves and still having only 1 loss.

” -- phcool757

• How would you rank 10 of baseball's all-time best bullpen arms?

By the time Semisonic's "Closing Time" came out in 1998, Mariano Rivera already had a full season as a dominant closer under his belt. More than a decade later, he's still on top of the game. Semisonic, not so much.

As much fun as it is to poke Yankees fans with memories of Dave Roberts and Luis Gonzalez, any fan who ever felt the crushing blow to the solar plexus that came out of nowhere any time Heathcliff Slocumb or Curt Leskanic trotted in for a save opportunity can appreciate Rivera as a ninth-inning institution.

A week ago, SportsNation ranked Joe Torre as its top all-time manager, and it's probably safe to assume he'd stick with Rivera regardless. But who would you hand the ball to in the ninth inning if you had a full Baseball Encyclopedia's worth of options?

• SportsNation's take: Rivera is great, but Jeter is still more of a Cooperstown lock.
• Then again, forget the Hall of Fame; Rivera gets the ultimate respect in the form of props from a Red Sox fan on a SportsNation blog.
• Monday's chat: See what Buster Olney has to say at 1 p.m. ET.

“

Congrats Mo on 500 saves. No doubt Hoffman, Eck, Goose, and a few others are in the elite closer group, but Mo's post season numbers (34 saves 0.75 ERA in 110+ post season games) are so off the chart he has to be considered the greatest closer of all time.

” -- RIPredskins21

“

If you didn't take a little pleasure in watching Mo bat against K-Rod, you're not a baseball fan. I was laughing so hard I almost wet myself when he took that big cut. All kidding aside, it was a pretty good at-bat - and a classic moment from two of the best relievers I've ever seen.

” -- berberage