What about the Boston Bruins and the Memphis Grizzlies?
Also the Nashville Predators mascot is a saber toothed tiger.
Well, I thought I’d start with a real sport like football but the Bungles got nothing. So I widened the net to add baseball, which is much more sedentary than either hockey or basketball. 
This
Hell, however it should also be noted that Tigger routinely beats the snot out of that stuffy pooh bear.
Word. And Calvin, he wouldn’t want to mess with Hobbes! (Image - https://www.google.com/search?q=calvin+hobbes&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=isnv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjrgrSXsKvQAhVmwVQKHfmoAyQQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=672#hl=en-us&tbm=isch&q=hobbes+wrestles+calvin&imgrc=YWreaIZS9yvPeM%3A)
Hey, I’m not talking historically, just this year. The Bears lost to the Jaguars, and I’ll take a Bengal Tiger over a Jaguar any day.
Baloo is a sloth bear:
Maybe 300#, not very aggressive.
"Bengal tigers occasionally prey on sloth bears. Tigers usually give sloth bears a wide berth, though some specimens may become habitual bear killers[22] and it is not uncommon to find sloth bear fur in tiger scats.[23] Tigers typically hunt sloth bears by waiting for them near termite mounds, then creeping behind them and seizing them by the back of their necks and forcing them to the ground with their weight.[24] One tiger was reported to simply break its victim’s back with its paw, then wait for the paralysed bear to exhaust itself trying to escape before going in for the kill.
So, the Tiger. 9 times out of ten.
Now if we bring over a 1,500 lb Kodiak or a big Grizzly- then you have a fight.
That was my first thought as well, that it would heavily depend on which types of tiger and bear. I’d give the edge to the polar bear though against ,say, a Siberian tiger.
Adult polar bears have been seen lifting 600 lb seals and walruses out of the water and carrying them in their jaws, not to mention the power of their fore paws. Videof a polar bear taking out a walrus. Way bigger than a tiger.
Getting back to being serious, I still think the bear generally wins, a grizzly over the biggest, meanest kind of tiger. However in the woods or where there is cover and concealment available, I would give the stalking edge to the tiger. Cats are smarter, stealthier, and that can be a winning advantage over the biggest, baddest bear. In that situation the bear may prevail but the tiger has the advantage because of its cunning.
But in an arena, fenced in and enclosed, I’ll take the bear.
What about a fight between a Grizzly Bear and a gorilla?
Grizzly Bear. Gorillas are very strong but they aren’t that aggressive. I might even vote for a psycho-chimp over a gorilla. Those smaller guys can really throw down if they want to.
I went to a wildlife rescue center in Arkansas this past summer where they care for former exotic pets. They have lots of tigers because they are fairly popular pets in some areas but one person had a pet Grizzly that had to be taken away for some reason. The bear seemed sweet enough but, damn, he is HUGE especially when standing on his back legs and those claws are incredible. Tigers are big too overall but I can’t see one taking a fully grown Grizzly.
If the gorilla has a shotgun it’s even money.
Pound for pound the tiger wins. Brown bears can be much larger than tigers and would probably win in a fair fight if they had enough size advantage. If one of them gets the drop on the other he probably wins.
What constitutes cheating in a bear-tiger fight? Pulling a knife? (J/K, I know what you meant.)
To be fair, Baloo was kinda old and vegetarian.
For some reason I am reminded of the start of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where Butch is the tiger. Seriously though, it’s about how the ref calls the match.
My money’s on the Tiger in a Baloo/Khan match-up or an “average bear vs average tiger” one. I’d bet on a bear in the biggest bear vs biggest tiger matchup…
Unless you intend to fight the hypothetical, you have to restrict yourself to the average Indian bear versus the average Indian tiger, in the area in which The Jungle Book is set.
In other words, a common sloth bear versus a Bengal tiger.
As DrDeth pointed out, and as I pointed out 18 posts before him*, the average Bengal tiger outweighs the average sloth bear by at least 100 pounds, is an actual apex predator instead of a foraging omnivore (mostly insectivore – termite eater), fights from an ambush start, and is known to actually prey on sloth bears.
The only way the sloth bear wins in a fight the tiger would actually participate in is if you give the bear body armor and a sniper bodyguard in overwatch.
*Seriously? Does no one actually read the thread? I’m half expecting this post to go invisible as well.
I think you’re mostly right, but IIRC sloth bears are remarkably fierce and occasionally successfully defend themselves from tigers, even killing them rarely.
I can give you that. If I were laying odds, it wouldn’t be 20-to-1 against the bear. More like 5-3 against, or maybe 2-1.
If the tiger get in the bear hug he’s done for. 