Re: Bruins

[Dib9@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-06-17 05:48:24 EDT, Doug Broda writes:

<< Whether hoops is more popular than hockey in Maine is debatable. :) Maybe
Celtics hoops (the Celts toured Maine in the preseason in the 60s), but in
general,
 probably not.
 
<<snip>> 

 BTW.... who was the first play-by-play man of the Maine Mariners? Mike
Emerick,
 who moved on to TV for the Flyers, Devils and Fox. >>

I stand my earlier statement that basketball is more popular than hockey in
Maine.  Attendance at high schools basketball games is much greater than
hockey games and TV ratings also show basketball is stronger.  (Personally, I
prefer baseball and football.)  Despite the cold climate, there is not much of
a hockey tradition in the state.  Most high schools did not add hockey
programs until the 1970's and 1980's, the Maine Mariners did not come along
until the late 1970's, and the University of Maine did not have a hockey team
untill the late 1970's.  There were also very few indoor rinks in Maine until
recent years.  Basketball, on the other hand, has a long tradition at the high
school and college levels.  In recent years, the University of Maine Women's
Basketball team has actually surpased the Men's Hockey Team in popularity. 

Do you know who replaced Mike Emerick as play by play man of the Maine
Mariners?  Dale Arnold.  Dale had the job for several years before moving on
to the New Jersey Devils.  Dale graduated from the same high school that I
did, Mt. Ararat School in Topsham, Maine, though Dale graduated about 12 years
before I did.

Dan Billings
Bowdoinham, Maine

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