The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is just as violent & ridiculous as ever. It’s sad enough that the bad blood has lead to vehicular manslaughter. But how about a Yanks fan punching a Sox fan, suing said Sox fan - and winning?

The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE jabs up the news of Mario Melendez, a Bronx Bomber supporter who successfully sued Boston backer David Sanborn after the two engaged in a quick brawl at a SoCal bar.

Melendez & Sanborn were both at the Grand Avenue Bar & Grill in Carlsbad back in July 2006, rooting for their respective teams, when both men stared to exchange words:

Melendez said Sanborn, Sanborn’s wife – a waitress at the restaurant – and two other men taunted him, yelling a profane version of “Let’s go Yankees,” a popular chant in the Bronx.

Then words soon switched to fisticuffs:

Melendez testified last week that he injured his right hand on Sanborn’s teeth during the fight, saying he was acting in self-defense.

“He grabbed me . . . and picked me up,” he told jurors. “I really thought he was going to body-slam me.”

But the Red Sox fan remembered a different version:

Sanborn said Melendez challenged him to a fight, then sucker-punched him. According to court records, Sanborn’s attorneys argued that Melendez “consented” to the fight, which lasted a few seconds, ending when Melendez punched Sanborn.

Although no criminal charges were filed, Melendez soon sued for damaged to his injured hand. (Why didn’t Sanborn sue over his injured teeth?) Now, almost two years after the brawl, the court sided with Mario:

On Tuesday, a Vista jury awarded Melendez $15,297 for medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Yesterday, the jury ordered Sanborn, who hails from Massachusetts, to pay an additional $10,000 in punitive damages.

The saddest thing about this whole spectacle? The Yankees & Red Sox weren’t even playing against each other the day of the bar brawl. And just for the record, the Yanks were scalped by the Indians, while the Sox succumbed to the Devil Rays.

Well, those two teams weren’t the only losers in action that day.