It's a testament to the timeless power of money, branding and lush, green grass.

Tiger? No. Think Moose and his friends.

Yes, America, the Yankees and Red Sox are back, dominating TVs from Boise to Boylston Street, like it or not.

The numbers suggest viewers do like it, which is why TV executives are addicted to a rivalry that keeps on giving, turning a Northeast Corridor obsession into a national pastime.

"One of the few certainties in television is the Yankees and Red Sox," said Len DeLuca, ESPN's senior VP of programming.

It begins tomorrow on Fox. Technically, it's a regionalized broadcast, but the game will be seen by 95 percent of the nation. Only Denver and Phoenix will get Rockies-Diamondbacks, a mere NLCS rematch.

Mike Mulvihill, Fox's VP of research of programming, said he cannot recall a regional game sent to so high a percentage of markets.

"No matter how early they meet in the season, Yankees-Red Sox is always more than just a regular-season game," Tim McCarver said in a Fox news release.

(He also dropped this nugget: "The Yankees have too many question marks in their pitching staff. If the young pitchers take time to get established, like most do, they will not make it to postseason play.")

Fox is allowed to show a team nine times and as always will load up on the Yankees and Red Sox (and Mets, too).

In addition to tomorrow, Yankees-Sox is on Fox's slate for July 5 and 26, and the Sept. 27 game is a juicy late-season target.

No wonder. In each of the past three years, the highest-rated weekend of Fox's season was anchored by Yankees-Red Sox, including a 2005 game that drew 4.2 percent of households, 62 percent above the season average.

A big part of Mulvihill's job is strategizing about scheduling, but he called Yankees-Sox "the layup of all layups" and "the most blindingly obvious thing we do all year."

ESPN will jump in Sunday night, seeking its own ratings magic. Last season, its national exclusives averaged 2.2 percent of homes with ESPN.

For the Red Sox's four appearances, that figure rose to 3.7. For the Yankees' five visits, 3.6. For three games featuring both teams, the figure was 4.0. (Teams are limited to five Sunday night games.)

Is there a danger of overdoing it for a national audience? "I think not," said DeLuca, who grew up a Yankees fan in Providence and was a roommate of Giants president John Mara at Boston College.

"What you have here is Ohio State-Michigan. What you have here is North Carolina-Duke."

DeLuca added the rivalry is "good for all of baseball, because in this case the Yankees and Red Sox are the rising tide that raises the MLB boat."

TBS is allowed to show a team 13 times for its new, non-exclusive Sunday afternoon package. From April 27 to May 25, the Yankees, Red Sox or Mets will be on each week, but not against each other.

ESPN and TBS thus far are scheduled only through the end of May, meaning there will be opportunities for more Sox-Yankees games to come. Count on it.