With a grain of Saul: Big cities have big confusion in October

When it comes to Sunday, there’s no dilemma on what to watch in the black-and-yellow nation…. When it comes to Sunday, there’s no dilemma on what to watch in the black-and-yellow nation. By the time Oct. 1 hits, the Pirates have been dead for two months and the Pens are months away from making their Stanley Cup run, so the obvious choice is to watch the Steelers.

Pittsburgh sports fans are fortunate in this sense. You see, for some cities, the October sports conundrum is more stressful than midterms. Channels are being flipped so wildly that an innocent bystander could have a seizure.

By now, these problems are in full swing. So let’s take a look at some of the major cities that will be facing problems this October and shed some light on what they should be watching.

New York City — When you think about major sports cities, or just major cities in general, the first that comes to mind is the Big Apple. It hosts more sports teams with the potential to be playing in October than any other city: the Rangers, Islanders, Jets, Giants, Mets and Yankees — enough to make any New Yorker’s head spin.

But the decision might be easier than you think. First off, who really cares about the Rangers or the Islanders? Hockey preseason is lame enough for the good teams, but neither of these teams has been a legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup in years. The Rangers make the playoffs here and there but will always live in the shadow of the Yanks and Giants.

The Mets … well, yeah — sorry Mets fans, but your days of swinging the bat in October have passed.

That leaves the Yankees, Giants and Jets. Now, most people will tell you that the typical New Yorker is either a Mets and Jets fan or a Yankees and Giants fan, so let’s assume the Jets fans have no tough choice to make since their beloved Mets don’t like to make the playoffs anymore.

This process of elimination leaves the rest of New York choosing between Eli Manning and Derek Jeter; Tom Coughlin and Joe Girardi; Lawrence Tynes and Mariano Rivera; three Super Bowls and 27 World Series Championships. Should I keep going? It’s gotta be Yankees ball.

Boston

The Patriots, Celtics, Bruins and Red Sox make up this past decade’s most dominant sports quartet.

For Boston fans, it’s tough to make a wrong choice — but it’s also tough to make any choice at all. From Tom Brady to Paul Pierce, these teams all have their star power and consistent playoff contending qualities.

But when October rolls around, a conundrum arises when you have to choose between the Pats, Bruins and Red Sox.

This year, the Sox were part of a historic night in baseball. In one evening, four games had playoff implications, two went to extra innings and another was decided in the last at-bat. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, their collapse was a historic one — they became the first team to miss the playoffs after entering September with a nine-game lead in the wild-card.

With the BoSox on the outside looking in, this choice is simplified: NFL regular season or NHL early season? I’ll stick with Tom Brady on this one.

It should be mentioned, though, that the Boston teams have combined for seven championships since the turn of the millennium: three for the Patriots, two for the Red Sox and one a piece for the Celtics and Bruins. After the Bruins made it to the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, the city became the second to have all four of its major professional sports teams appear in the league championship finals since 2000, following only…

Philadelphia

The debate over whether Philadelphia is a baseball or a football town has been raging for years, and it’s pretty likely those manic Philadelphia fans will never make their minds up.

But one thing is for sure, and it’s that Philadelphia fans care. And they have a pretty damn hard time choosing which sport to watch.

Up until a few years ago, the Phillies had been making sporadic appearances in October since their last World Series Championship in 1980. For that reason, most people didn’t have to choose until recently.

But now, with Phillies baseball at the top and the Eagles flying with one of the most exciting teams in the NFL (e.g., Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson), most Philly fans are split between Game Two and Week Four. I’d like to take this moment to bring some clarity to the situation: The choice is easy — go for the Phillies.

I know there are baseball haters, and I do understand your complaints about one of the slowest sports known to man. I am also aware that you don’t want to miss Vick shedding tacklers and tossing a 60-yard touchdown to Jackson. But the Phillies have done something the Eagles haven’t — they’ve brought a world championship to your city in an era during which television existed. In fact, they’ve brought two.

So although you can argue football’s greatness behind its exciting brand of entertainment, you should consider the pride of your city. Which team has the winners — the ones who get it done, who represent? In Philadelphia, that’s the Phillies.

Noteworthy: Detroit

I’ve got a joke for you: Lions football.

Right? Well … maybe not.

Detroit seems to have somehow risen from the dead this year, bringing a slew of things for Detroit sports fans to be proud of. Not since the days of Barry Sanders has anyone in a Lions stadium wanted to show his face — no, seriously. These guys are famous for wearing paper bags on their heads to games.

But now, behind the collapse of the once-reigning NBA Champion Detroit Pistons, the Lions, Red Wings and Tigers have all simultaneously brought together winning formulas.

For the Red Wings, it’s not anything new. Detroit has won the most Stanley Cup Championships (11) of any NHL team based in the United States (they trail the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs).

The Tigers had a rebirth in 2006 when they returned to the World Series but would follow it up with three seasons of second-half collapses that left them out of the playoffs.

This year, with the Tigers battling the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs (and sporting baseball’s premier player, Justin Verlander), Detroit fans are going to have to choose. This is, after all, a hockey town. In fact, it might be the only city on this list that would choose Red Wings preseason hockey over anything else.

But that was before the Lions started 4-0. That was before Calvin Johnson became the most dominant player in the NFL. That was before they found a franchise quarterback in Matthew Stafford.

Now the fans have to choose. Although it’s tough to say — and many might pick the Red Wings no matter what — I think the Lions are the sensible choice.

There are a few reasons for this: 1) Calvin Johnson. 2) Calvin Johnson. 3) NFL.com isn’t broken, the Lions actually are undefeated. 4) Calvin Johnson.

The Tigers are probably going to be eliminated by the Yankees anyway, and if fans don’t get behind the Lions now, when will they? The same formula goes for the Philadelphia conundrum: If they’re winning, if they’re representing, you’ve got to back them up.