Compare and contrast in clear idiomatic English:

Bob Ryan’s Boston Globe column on the New England Patriots-New York Jets rivalry:

It rivals anything we’ve seen

Excerpt:

Now while we can’t see Coach Bill and Regal Rex wrestling at the 50 either before or after a game, we know there is a genuine feeling of enmity between the two organizations that dates from the instant Bill Parcells switched sides to set off what he laughingly labeled “The Border War.’’ Oh, and he took Curtis Martin with him.

Bill Belichick turned up the flame the day he decided he really didn’t want to be the “HC of the NYJ.’’ And here are two words for you: “Eric’’ and “Mangini.’’ Can’t forget Mo Lewis blasting Drew Bledsoe, which turned out to be a pivotal day in both Patriots and NFL history.

But nothing has so enhanced the rivalry as the presence of Rex Ryan, who established his position by declaring that he had not come to New York in order to kiss Coach Bill’s rings. Meanwhile, though everyone had a good yuk with the 45-3 regular-season triumph last December, which team played longer in each of the last two years? And which team has not won a playoff game since New York (Giants) 17, New England 14 in Super Bowl XLII?

Jason Gay’s Wall Street Journal column on  the Pats-Jets rivalry:

The Patriots and Jets Will Save Your Soul

Excerpt:

The Patriots, an idyllic facility in the woods of Foxborough, Mass., are pro football’s classiest image rehabilitation center, having made a Super Bowl champion out of the dyspeptic running back Corey Dillon and transformed me-first receiver Randy Moss into an unselfish sensation (until Cranky Randy resurfaced, and he was catapulted to Minnesota.) . . .

When you hear a sports analyst discuss the Patriots, they almost always use an affected, hushed tone, the way an unctuous dinner guest does when whispering about Harvard, the Vineyard, or El Bulli. It’s effusive reverence for a team that has won three Super Bowls, but none since 2004, and got a giant playoff wedgie from Rex Ryan last January.

Don’t miss Gay’s Charlie Sheen reference, or his description of Bill Belichick as “the taciturn Kenobi in a hoodie.”

Great fun, both pieces.