The original column can be found at the Sun-Times website, by Neil Steinberg

The cops play the firemen in a football game this Saturday at Brother Rice High School. . .

Oh, all right — the police officers play the firefighters this Saturday, for the first time in recent memory, in the First Responder Memorial Game.

Frankly, I like my version better. Political correctness grates under most circumstances, but when you’re dealing with the guys (sigh, AND gals) who arrest criminals and put out fires, well, there’s little room for that kind of thing.

So who’s gonna win?

Based on the size of the respective talent pools alone, the cops should prevail — 15,000 in the CPD vs. 5,000 in the Fire Department. That isn’t quite Ohio State vs. Northwestern, but the concept is the same.

But there’s more to it than that. There’s also the physical fitness aspect. I’m not going to say that the average cop has a beer keg’s worth of fat strapped to his stomach while the average firefighter can walk on his hands up stairs. But the police have no fitness requirements, other than a pulse, so the CFD has the edge here.

Plus, the firemen have youth, according to the police, which point to the hiring the CFD began last year.

The firefighters view it differently.

“We’ve got a 52-year-old center,” said Charlie Bliss, the CFD’s offensive coordinator. “So you tell me how young that is.”

Whether or not the cops — who haven’t been hiring nor working under a contract in recent years — are indeed older, they felt the need to bring in a few ringers: several Cook County sheriff’s police and a suburban cop.

The police already have a big experience advantage. Their squad, the Enforcers, has played for five years in the National Public Safety Football League, while the Fire Department team, the Blaze, is in its first season.

“We helped them get started,” said Sgt. Tim Kusinski, a detective with Area 3 and defensive coordinator for the Enforcers.

Though newer, the CFD does have an ace up its sleeve, in the form of Bliss, whose skills as offensive coordinator at Maine South built a dynasty there, and a tough head coach in Lt. Ron Michi.

What else? The firefighters have a stellar quarterback, John Welch, who played at Mount Carmel and for Idaho.

“He makes things happen for us, offensively,” said Bliss.

Finally, since this is football, there is the . . . how shall we say this? . . . the emotional aspect, the explosive brute force factor. Here the duties of a police officer — the need to occasionally convey some large bad person from standing aggressively vertical to sprawled humbly horizontal with his face in the dirt –translates directly to football.

Let’s give the emotional advantage to the cops, though the occasional need to go charging up a ladder and fling somebody over your shoulder no doubt has its gridiron benefits.

“Some of these guys are completely crazy — in a good way,” said Bliss.

This is not flag football, remember, but helmet and pads football.

“This is real football,” said Kusinski. “Full contact, NCAA rules. There’s going to be some monster hits in this game, a lot of aggression, a lot of pride at stake.”

Toting up all the pluses and minuses, the cops have to be a safe bet here, though I could see putting money on the firefighters, as underdogs and sentimental favorites.

The game is 3 p.m. Saturday at Brother Rice, 10001 S. Pulaski. They’re expecting up to 5,000 people — the game might have to move to Soldier Field next time.

Admission is $10 for adults, children 12 and under get in free, and needless to say every penny goes to worthy charities — the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, the Gold Star Families, the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, Ignite the Spirit, which helps firefighters and their families, 41 & 9 Foundation, a cancer research fund, and others.

Charity is nice, but both the police and the firefighters are also thinking about the bragging rights at stake here.

“This is the real deal,” said Bliss.

“This is a big one,” said Kusinski. “There’s a lot of rivalry. They’re always confident; we’re confident too.”