NEW YORK -- Get ready, America, whether you wanted it or not. Call it Red Sox-Yankees III if so desired, the long-awaited follow-up to the epic American League Championship Series battles of 2003 and 2004. Or maybe that's going too far. After all, that was a generation ago in baseball years, and the bad blood of that time has long since receded for the most part. The Red Sox ended the curse, added two more titles, and Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez moved on to other phases of their lives.
Still, it's Red Sox versus Yankees in the postseason for just the fourth time ever -- and the first time when both are 100-win teams.