Cage Fight Pick 'Em: Crosby vs Ovechkin

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Perfect. The biggest individual, one-on-one, face-to-face rivalry in sports today. Don't give me the Kobe-LeBron or Brady-Manning crap. These guys genuinely hate each other, are physically going against each other, and are allowed to pummel the shit out of each other. So let's shoot and score on this cage fight.

Sid the Kid: No longer a kid anymore. But Crosby is the fundamental genius. He's a better all-around fundamental player than Ovechkin is. He is a phenomenal playmaker and can obviously put the puck in the net. This translates to the octagon. He's a tactical fighter. He'll look to make the fundamental, standard strikes, takedowns, and submissions. If you're looking for a raging lunatic to go swinging wild, that's not Crosby's style. He'll stay under control and he won't take chances. He'll win most of his fights by decision, because he doesn't have that explosiveness to knock people out.

Ovi: Ovechkin. The most explosive player in the history of the game, arguably. Guy takes off and is a wrecking ball moving a thousand miles per hour. Until he stops on a dime and is already going the other direction before you can blink. He doesn't play that extremely sound fundamental style that Sid plays. But if you're looking to see a crazy bastard give 160% in the octagon and have reckless abandon while doing it, Ovechkin's your kind of fighter. He'll let it loose. Very explosive strikes. He'll want to keep it standing up, because on the ground, Crosby can use his tactical advantage much more effectively. Stand it up and knock him out. That's Ovi's plan.

X-Factor: There are a few key factors here, but one of them is definitely going to be Crosby's ability to take hits from Ovi. Ovechkin is definitely going to land some big blows. If Crosby is able to withstand them long enough, Ovi will tire by the later rounds and allow Sid to make better tactical moves. The longer Sid hangs around, the better his chances are. Unfortunately for the Canadian, it's Russia's day today.

The Decision: Ovechkin knocks out Crosby with a right hook.

What do the fans think? Vote 1 for Crosby would make Ovechkin want to go back to Russia forever. Vote 5 for Ovechkin will make Crosby wish he was never born.