This is a tale of two sports, of baseball and football. They collide head to head this afternoon, forcing remote controls around New England to work overtime.

When the clock strikes one, the Red Sox square off against the Yankees for the final time this regular season. At the same time, the Patriots will be upstate, kicking off their season in Buffalo.

Are you ready for some clicking?

In the past week, the Red Sox and Patriots had player issues to deal with. The way the teams handled their respective problems said a lot about the power these leagues hold over their players.

On the diamond, the Sox had to deal with Manny Ramirez and his very, very sore throat. Manny was sick and couldn’t play. He couldn’t even make it in for a doctor’s checkup last Sunday. He could, however, make it out to a bar Saturday night with his buddy, Enrique Wilson of the Yankees. When Ramirez finally returned for work on Monday, he was not yet strong enough to play, turning down several requests to pinch hit during the team’s ninth-inning rally.

On Tuesday, Grady Little made his most forceful statement since becoming manager of the Red Sox. He benched Ramirez for the game against the White Sox, despite the fact that Manny said he was ready to play. The team supported the manager, going to great lengths to point out that this was not a suspension.

You see, a suspension would have stirred the all-powerful players union. The MLBPA would’ve come to Manny’s defense, pointing out (correctly) that the player was sick, and you can’t suspend a man for being sick. Little pulled an end-around, and came out on top.

In Foxboro, the Patriots were trying in vain to get Lawyer Milloy to restructure his contract, giving the team some relief from the salary cap. On Tuesday, hours before Little officially benched Ramirez, the Pats cut Milloy. Forget that Milloy was one of the most popular Pats, forget that he was a big part of the Super Bowl championship team. They couldn’t come to terms, so the player was gone. Thanks for everything.

Fact is, the NFL Players Association is as impotent as the MLB Players Association is powerful. On the gridiron, there are no guaranteed contracts. Sign a big contract, but don’t think for a minute it’s a big deal. You’re only as good as your most recent season.

In many ways, that’s a good thing. Nothing wrong with a little accountability. The Milloy case, however, reminds us that this can lead to a total lack of stability. Most fans want Milloy in a Pats uniform this afternoon, not lining up in the Bills’ home blues.

Meantime, the Sox are saddled down with another five years of Ramirez at some $20 million per year. He’s a great offensive player, but you can stock half a roster for that kind of money. You could add Bartolo Colon and renew David Ortiz and Kevin Millar for 2004 at that amount.

Bottom line is, too much power is a bad thing. In baseball, the players’ union holds that power. Therefore, teams will continue to overspend, and then tread lightly around the very players they lavish millions upon.

In football, the owners hold the hammer. Players are more accountable, but much more expendable. A more sensible system? Probably. Just try to remember that if Milloy, Drew Bledsoe, and Sam Gash come out on top this afternoon.

Lewiston native Tom Caron is a studio analyst for New England Sports Network (NESN).