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Which are the best teams in Michigan and Wisconsin?

RYAN STIEG

Every season, no matter what the sport, teams from different historical eras are compared to each other.

Could this one beat the other one? Which one had the better quarterback? Who had the better starting rotation? Who had the better goaltender?

Sometimes these comparisons can be intriguing. A good example of the former is the current debate over who would win in a matchup between the 2017 Golden State Warriors and 1996 Chicago Bulls.

Both had superstar players, dominant regular seasons and got the job done in the postseason. However, making a comparison before the season is over can backfire as was the case with the 2016 Warriors.

After Golden State set the regular-season record of 73-9 and knocked the Bulls from the top spot, fans and analysts made the same comparison. As we all know, the Warriors then went on to blow a 3-1 lead to Cleveland in the finals and didn’t win the title, thus making that debate pointless.

So that got me thinking about some of the Michigan pro teams and which would be the best teams to compare. For good measure, I threw the Green Bay Packers in there, too.

Due to the Detroit Lions’ lack of success and the fact that the Tigers haven’t won a title since the year I was born, I’m skipping over them because let’s be honest, do you really want to see the 1991 Lions play again, even hypothetically?

So since the boring NBA Finals have been going on and we need something a little more compelling, let’s start with basketball.

1989 vs. 2004 Pistons

The toughest part of this comparison was to figure out which Bad Boys team to choose, the first championship squad in 1989 or the repeat one in ’90. Both were outstanding and fun to watch, but I decided to give the edge to the ’89 team due to its better record in the regular season and postseason.

The first Bad Boys team was stacked with four Hall of Famers and breezed to a finals sweep of the Lakers. The 2004 squad also took down Los Angeles, but in upset fashion as the defensive pressure of the Pistons took down the stacked Lakers.

I think the post tandem of the Wallaces, Ben and Rasheed, keep Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn off the boards, but that the ’89 backcourt of Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumars puts them over the top. Bad Boys win in six games.

Even though it’s the first half of June, somehow a game on ice is still being played, strangely in the now-hockey mad city of Nashville this evening. So let’s head to the new Little Caesar’s Arena and remember the Red Wings’ glory years.

1998 vs. 2002 Wings

Both of these Stanley Cup-winning teams finished in the NHL’s top 10 teams of all-time, and rightfully so.

The 1998 squad won Detroit’s second straight title and had Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Federov and Nick Lidstrom all in their prime. However, the 2002 squad also had those same players, but also the key additions of Chris Chelios and Brett Hull along with an emerging star in Pavel Datsyuk.

So the 2002 team is deeper, but the 1998 team is younger and had more overall speed. It’s really a toss-up. However, as is usually the case in the postseason, it comes down to goaltending and I can’t pick against Dominik Hasek.

I think the 1998 team steals the first game just like Carolina did back in 2002, but as fast as it was, the 2002 team was just too much to handle. 2002 skates to a five-game victory.

Since the Lions are so inept, I had to leave the state to find a more suitable football matchup and there is a great one in the land of heifers and brewskis. Two Super Bowl championship teams going at it in a one-game scenario, it’s hard to find a tastier pairing than this one.

1996 vs. 2010 Packers

As a native Minnesotan, I can’t stand Green Bay, but even the most rabid Vikings’ fan would tune in to this game. There is a Hall of Fame quarterback on one side in Brett Favre and a future Hall of Famer in Aaron Rodgers on the other.

The 1996 squad had the league’s best scoring offense with Favre throwing passes to Antonio Freeman, Robert Brooks and Andre Rison. It also had a strong defense that gave up the fewest points as well anchored by Reggie White and Sean Jones.

The 2010 squad counters with another great passing game with Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson snagging throws from Rodgers. The defense was also just as good, finishing second in the league in points allowed, sacks and interceptions. Its star players were lineman B.J. Raji, linebackers Clay Matthews and A.J. Hawk and defensive backs Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams.

Seriously, look at those lineups and tell me that this wouldn’t be a great game.

I think it’s a back-and-forth game, but the score stays reasonable because of the stout defenses. However in the fourth quarter, it turns into a quarterback duel as both signal callers discover their rhythm.

Favre finds Freeman over the middle for a long score, Rodgers leads a long drive and hits Driver in the back of the end zone with a minute remaining to give the ’10s the lead. The ’96ers answer back driving just past midfield and are on the cusp of entering Chris Jacke’s field goal range, but Favre ends up doing what he does best and throws the ball across his body into the waiting hands of Woodson for a game-clinching interception.

The ’10s top the ’96ers in a classic contest.

So there you have it. A great game and two fun series determine the best teams in each franchise’s history. These scenarios will never happen, but they’ll keep coming up every year. My hope is that one of these teams wins it all again because they never get old.

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.

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