Three Top Sports Rivalries to Watch in 2015

Photos by Eclipse Sportswire
After turning the calendar from 2014 to 2015, it became clear that the new year in sports is shaping up to be one with a handful of fascinating, exciting rivalries sure to generate plenty of buzz. Let's take a look at three rivalries sure to turn up the heat in 2015:
#1: #TheRematch
What: Triple-headed rivalry: 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome v. champion Shared Belief v. 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern
When: Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015 at Santa Anita Park
Where to watch: Fox Sports 1 will televise #TheRematch during a two-hour telecast from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. ET / 2:30-4:30 p.m. PT
Why: These three last met in the richest horse race conducted on American soil, the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park on Saturday, Nov. 1. Controversy ensued after Bayern broke out of the gate and bumped the favorite, Shared Belief, who in turn bumped with others. Bayern surged to an early lead and comfortably went on to win the richest purse in American racing. Despite his third-place finish in the Classic, California Chrome, winner of the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness earned the title of Horse of the Year by a landslide vote. Shared Belief, co-owned by national sports radio/TV personality, Jim Rome, has impressively earned eight wins in nine starts, the only blemish being his fourth-place finish in the Classic. These three, star 4-year-old racehorses have collectively earned $10,664,530.
2014 BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC

Courtesy of Breeders’ Cup
Quote:  “[This] race has tremendous significance because it could feature a rematch of three of the top four finishers from the controversial [Breeders’ Cup] Classic. The winner, Bayern, who smashed into Shared Belief coming out of the gate, California Chrome, who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes and who finished third in the [Breeders’ Cup] Classic and Jungle Racing’s Shared Belief, who as you will recall did finish fourth after getting hammered coming out of the gate and having to check up some 150 yards later.
START OF 2014 BREEDERS CUP CLASSIC

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
“So that was not a good thing for Shared Belief, great thing for Bayern. So there’s a lot of controversy, as you’ll remember after that race. My feeling was it was not a good day for us; we’ve had a lot of racing luck, we did not have racing luck that day and I kind of rolled with it. There were a lot of other people who said that the winner should have been taken down, that it was a foul, that you can’t do that sort of thing, so it was a very controversial finish to arguably the most important race of the year. So most of all, what I’ve been saying is ‘Let’s do it again. Let’s get these horses together again and let’s have a rematch.’ And if all goes well, we might have it on Feb. 7 and Fox Sports 1 is going to air that race.
“So, let’s hope it happens, let’s hope it goes down, let’s hope for a clean race with no drama and let’s see how it plays out. I accept what happened in that last race; that is racing. Sometimes you have luck, sometimes you don’t. We didn’t have it that day. I accept it. Period. I’m not going to point the finger at anybody. I accept it, but I do want to say for the record you didn’t get our best shot and I’m still proud as hell of our horse. We’re not spitting the bit, we’re not quitting, we’re not shutting it down. He still ran a big fourth and beat a lot of world-class horses despite the adversity. Let’s do it again! Let’s have that rematch. Let’s hope all three horses are there that day. Right here in SoCal and you clones can watch it on Feb. 7. Fox Sports 1. Let’s get it on, let’s do it.” – Jim Rome, speaking on his CBS Sports Radio platform on Wed., Jan. 21.
 
#2: The Fight of the Century (if it happens)

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What: Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. v. Manny Pacquiao 
When: If it happens, most likely will occur on Sat., May 2 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Where to watch: PPV
Why: Sports fans across the globe have yearned for this fight for years, only to see the two camps unable to agree on a date, purse-sharing agreement and drug testing among an array of other issues. Pacquiao sports a career record of 57 wins, 5 losses, 2 draws and 38 wins by knockout. Mayweather Jr.’s claim to fame is an unblemished record of 47 wins in 47 bouts, with 26 of them by knockout. It’s time for these two warriors to settle the debate of who is the toughest pound-for-pound fighter and the best of the best inside the ring. Horse racing fans will note that the racehorse Rprettyboyfloyd hasn’t experienced quite the same sterling record as his human boxing counterpart. Rprettyboyfloyd has earned one win in 10 starts and career earnings of $106,630, which would barely cover the tab for a night out in Vegas for “Money” Mayweather and his entourage.
PACQUIAO IN TRAINING 

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Quote: “If you really care about the fans, you will fight. If you care about yourself … you won't fight.” – Manny Pacquiao, in a tweet on Jan. 20 directed at Mayweather, Jr.
 
#3: Urban Meyer v. Jim Harbaugh

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What: Defending National Champion Ohio State v. Michigan
When: Saturday, Nov. 28, in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Where to watch: ABC or ESPN
Why: The intensity level on both sidelines will be off the charts. Urban Meyer’s coaching record of 142 wins against 26 losses along with his three National Championships (2006, 2008 with Florida and 2014 with Ohio State) speaks for itself. His ability to recruit top athletes to Columbus, Ohio from across the nation has returned Ohio State to the top of the mountain. Michigan, which has the most all-time wins and the second-highest winning percentage in college football history behind only Notre Dame, has fallen on hard times of late. Until, that is, it hired former Michigan quarterback and San Francisco 49ers head coach  Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh will be looking to quickly restore Michigan to its glory days and regain national relevance on the college football stage. So, sports fans have duly marked their November calendars, already filled with the must-see 2015 Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Nov. 1 on NBC Sports at historic Keeneland Race Course, for this late November clash of the coaches.
Quote: “Kind of like going from the Wood Memorial [Stakes] to the Kentucky Derby.” - Jim Harbaugh, on the transition from college football to the NFL.