PCTI-III Rivalry Rankings

A lot has come up in the last 11 months in the way of storylines going into PCTI-III. Throughout all the offseason jargon has come a significant amount of rivalries that can no longer be denied. All that being said, below are the power rankings (1 being the biggest) for most deep rivalaries that have been formed heading into Dallas.

Without further ado:

10. Joe Thompson vs. Anthony Hopkins

PCTI's most recent rivalry picked up steam quickly, but has since died down. Although an intriguing one that came out of left field, I don't believe there is much upside to it, especially with Hops recent surge on the blog. Although his insubordination for a week had Thompson boiling, Hops appears to be back in his good graces. The only thing that could potentially keep this thing going is Thompson's uncanny ability to hold grudges, even against guys he has been friends with for a long time.

9. Michael Orr vs. Josh Stephens

Out of nowhere Smo revealed via the Podcast that he wants a piece of the man they call Abe. No one is really sure what sparked Smo's on the court hatred for Stephens (Maybe it's that he has never fed the post in his life) but whatever it is, there appears to be substance behind it. I don't expect this to escalate as both are relatively quiet when in game (Outside of Smo being the best on court communicator on the planet) but it's definitely a rivalry to keep an eye on.

8. Danny Krow vs. The Spotlight

Krow has voiced displeasure with The Spotlight for one reason-He doesn't think he can live up to the hype surrounding his nickname. It's up there with my favorite nicknames of all time (See Stacy Augmon-The Plastic Man), but let's be serious... Pat Higdon is no Stacy Augmon. I'm not sure this will escalate to levels any higher than it is currently, but with two big mouths like Krow and Spotlight, there is no telling what is in store for their future.

7. Joe Thompson vs. Jeff Sabin

This offseason's longest and deepest rivalry appears to have cooled off. Like you would expect from any two mature adults (Which they both are), they appear to have re-kindled which was once a friendship, but I expect it to transition to a love-hate relationship between two very volatile personalities the second Thompson sets foot in his hometown.

6. Jeff Sabin vs. Josh Pitto

One of the oldest rivalries in PCTI has lost steam through a lack of support from the PCTI bretheren. Although still very much alive between the two, PCTI was looking for something new and therefore pushed these two enemies away from the spotlight (No reference to The Spotlight). Sabin waging war on all of PCTI (Hold Smo) took some attention off of Pitto, along with the fact that they finally won't be playing together, have all contributed to this dying down. There will be reminders during PCTI-III, but don't expect for it to be much more than that unless Legs Feed the Kitten wins, and Pitto becomes the only 0-3 PCTI participant.

5. Joe Thompson vs. Wes Murray

My personal favorite on the list is the best example of how good Thompson is at starting jargon with people. After all of PCTI tried to pump some life into Wes by ridiculing him any way possible, two weeks ago he finally come out firing... The only thing was that he bypassed the other 15 guys that have been assaulting him the last six months, and went right after Thompson, sighting everything from him throwing Joe's first shot in PCTI-II, to making fun of his Hollywood lifestyle full of glitz and glamour. It's clear Murray chooses his battles meticulously, and this one appears to have a lot of substance behind it. I look forward to watching it flourish.

4. Danny Krow vs. Brian Eskildsen

This unspoken rivalry somehow started 6 years ago during organized morning pickup. Eskildsen should be Krow's favorite guy of all time. He was always in no matter what time, always reliable, and was a Verizon Wireless user. However, two years of always choosing teams (Thus being on opposite teams) and always guarding each other forced the rivalary to begin. The hype of Eskildsen as a basketball God by guy's like Big Brent have really pissed Krow off, so expect this one to escalate into something deep come PCTI-III.

3. Joe Thompson vs. Josh Stephens

THE OLDEST RIVALRY IN NASHVILLE HISTORY. These two have tried to fake that they have learned to get along in recent years, but if anyone thinks for a second that Thompson has forgotton that low, crude shot Stephens took at him at David Lipscomb 11 years ago, they are crazy. Despite Thompson trying repeatedly to no longer make this rivalry one sided by verbally bereating Stephens in PCTI-II, he has been unsuccessful. After 11 years, I expect PCTI-III to finally be Thompson's opportunity to break Stephens and make this bitter rivalry go to the main steam media.

2. Ben Wilson vs. Scott Donley

You want to talk bitter rivals? Any chance Wilson gets in an open forum he immediately goes on the offensive, attacking Donley anyway possible. Although Donley has stayed quiet when being referenced, he has been doing some behind the scenes training with the intent of doing more physical damage to Legs Feed the Kittens #1 overall pick and PCTI-III's soon to be assist leader. Donley can only stay quiet so long, and that first hack on Wilson will need six guys standing between the two heavyweights, as that is the only chance of stopping the blows from coming.

And now, for the biggest rivalry in PCTI-III, and maybe in the history of basketball....

1. Ian "The Bruiser" Van Horne vs. "Big Pun" Brent Carney

Two guy's with physical, punishing nicknames that have it out for each other. Although year 1's victory goes to BC for his MVP performance, a new look Bruiser came out in PCTI-II looking for revenge, and ultimately won that battle. Now, it's time for the rubber match. Both have been training hard for this war, and I fully expect blood all weekend between these two in the trenches. This hatred is so deep that when BC went to Nashville to pick up the PCTI-II videos, Bruiser left them in his mailbox because he didn't want any interaction. If that's not deep, I don't know what is.