The Ballad Of East And West

West Coast Me

But they also can't easily erase outdated perceptions that have been decades in the making. You should get out more, East Coast Me. You probably still believe New York is the mecca of basketball because you've heard it said so often, but there's major talent coming out of Seattle and Dallas and Los Angeles these days, among other places. Is Madison Square Garden still the World's Most Famous Arena, as it has long been billed? It hasn't housed an NBA champion since the Nixon Administration.

East Coast Me

O.K., I'm willing to admit that there might have been a bit of bias, but it's nowhere near as strong as it once was. It's not like the old days when we ignored Western teams and athletes because they played their games while Eastern fans and media were asleep. If Heisman voters in the East want a good look at Stanford's Andrew Luck, his highlights are at their fingertips. College basketball fans from coast to coast knew all about BYU scoring machine Jimmer Fredette last season through the viral magic of the Internet—Jimmermania wasn't just a Western phenomenon.

West Coast Me

Fair enough, we can agree on that much. As for Pujols, at least he doesn't have to worry about the Cardinals being the victims of any bias for the rest of the postseason, not with the league championship series matchups of St. Louis--Milwaukee and Detroit-Texas.

East Coast Me

Not exactly glamour teams, are they?

West Coast Me

Nope. TV ratings might take a hit.