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Vote: Which Two Sports Figures Would You Like to See Have Lunch Together?

If Barack Obama and Mitt Romney can cordially have lunch together, shouldn’t everyone be able to put their differences aside and meet up?

Obama and Romney will be having lunch together at the White House on Thursday in their first meeting since the election. That got us thinking, which two sports figures should have a similar meeting of the minds to hash our their differences?

The obvious choice would be Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr. As the NHL commissioner and executive director of the Players’ Association, Bettman and Fehr have a lot to talk about at this moment, and it may be better to talk it out one on one, rather than being surrounded by their representatives. The NHL lockout has hit a critical point, and it could be a good idea to trim the fat to get the two sides working together.

One of the biggest rivalries in the Boston area right now is between Kevin Garnett and his ex-teammate — and ex-friend — Ray Allen. Surely if the two got together and talked again like old friends, they could put their differences aside and end all the silly glaring matches that will likely go on throughout the rest of their careers.

What about if Kevin Youkilis and Bobby Valentine met up for a snack? When Valentine called out Youkilis to the press, it put a driving wedge between the manager and his players that never fully got resolved. It’s too late to fix the 2012 Red Sox now, but can’t we all just get along?

Finally, it would be interesting to see a meeting between Bill Belichick and his AFC East counterpart Rex Ryan. The two have very different coaching styles as Ryan is known as the prototypical players’ coach, while Belichick is a bit more hard-nosed and cold. Ryan’s coaching style can lead to media outbursts from players and a hectic locker room, while Belichick’s style can lead to a lot of boring coach speak — and a whole lot of winning. If the two combined their styles, we could get the best of both worlds.

So who you most like to see put their differences aside and meet up together to hash some ideas out over lunch? Vote in our poll below and feel free to put your own ideas in the comments section below.