The Poll Rhode Islanders weigh in on sports*
Favorite major league baseball team:
Boston Red Sox............64%
New York Yankees..........13%
Favorite NFL team:
N.E. Patriots.............63%
Miami Dolphins.............4%
New York Giants............4%
Favorite NBA team:
Boston Celtics............52%
Los Angeles Lakers.........5%
No favorite team..........28%
Favorite NHL team:
Boston Bruins.............54%
No favorite team..........30%
Favorite pro team:
Patriots..................30%
Red Sox...................26%
Yankees...................10%
Celtics....................6%
Bruins.....................4%
State's biggest rivalry:
R.I.-Providence...........38%
Red Sox-Yankees...........33%
Brown-Rhode Island.........4%
What state is your biggest rival in sports?
New York..................45%
Massachusetts.............26%
Connecticut...............11%
Favorite announcer:
John Madden...............16%
Jerry Remy................12%
Bob Costas................10%
Favorite sport to participate in:
Fishing...................13%
Baseball/softball.........11%
Basketball................11%
Bowling...................11%
Golf......................10%
Swimming..................10%
Which is more important to you, sports or sex?
Sex.......................58%
Sports....................13%
Declined to answer........29%
Enthuse-o-meter
On a scale of 1-100, how would you rate your state's enthusiasm
for sports, relative to other states'?
76.5
ENEMY OF THE STATE
George Steinbrenner.......42%
Roger Clemens.............17%
Bill Parcells.............14%
When asked to name the No. 1 enemy of their state's sports fans,
respondents proved loyal to Beantown. Rhode Islanders' most hated
teams? The Yankees by far (71%), followed by the Jets (6%) and
Boston College (2%).
*Harris Interactive poll, conducted online, of 400 Rhode Island
residents who identified themselves as sports fans. Margin of
error +/-4.9%.
WHO & WHERE
1 Nap Lajoie
R.I.'s greatest athlete, Hall of Fame second baseman was a native
of Woonsocket, where Cooperstowner Gabby Hartnett also was born.
2 Mount St. Charles
Woonsocket Catholic school has won 26 straight state and 10
mythical U.S. high school hockey titles under coach Bill Belisle.
Its 19 NHL draftees include No. 1 picks Bryan Berard and Brian
Lawton.
HOT SPOT
3 McCoy Stadium
Sixty-one-year-old home of Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox, whose
players have included Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs and Mo Vaughn.
The park is expecting its 10 millionth paid fan in early August.
4 Davey Lopes
Canny base stealer and four-time All-Star second baseman is from
East Providence and has a recreation center named in his honor.
5 Glenna Collett Vare
LPGA award for lowest season scoring average is named for this
six-time U.S. Amateur champ (1920s and '30s) from Providence.
6 Mark van Eeghen
Bruising Oakland Raiders fullback from Cranston earned two Super
Bowl rings ('77, '81).
7 Brad Faxon
Barrington resident has seven PGA Tour victories, the most among
a state contingent that includes Billy Andrade and Brett Quigley.
8 Newport
The sailing hotbed and home of the International Tennis Hall of
Fame is also the state's SI Sportstown, for having Rhode Island's
best community sports programs. Offerings range from surfing to
fall baseball, with no-cut policies and an emphasis on
sportsmanship.
9 University of Rhode Island
The Kingston school is home to the International Scholar-Athlete
Hall of Fame and a strong hoops tradition. In the '20s coach
Frank Keaney honed the fast break. Jim Harrick's 1997-98 squad
made the NCAA Elite Eight. NBA stars Cuttino Mobley and Lamar
Odom are former Rams.
GREATEST MOMENT
Providence has never partied as it did in 1961. After the Friars,
led by 5'8" Vinnie Ernst, beat Saint Louis 62-59 for the NIT
title, fans lined Route 6 to cheer the team bus home. School
president the Reverend Robert J. Slavin would later say, "Seven
hundred years of Dominican scholarship, and nobody ever heard of
us until we put five kids on the floor at Madison Square Garden."
COLOR PHOTO: JEFF CHRISTENSON/REUTERS (STEINBRENNER)
COLOR MAP: MAP ILLUSTRATION BY JOE ZEFF PROVIDENCE
B/W PHOTO: THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL (NIT) THE FRIARS' TIM MOYNAHAN