Lakers polling favorably

With the Jazz out of the playoffs, the answer to the question "Whom are you rooting for?" is . . . Karl Malone.

The Mailman's quest for a ring with the Los Angeles Lakers won a plurality of votes among the scores of respondents to our poll.

Wendell Ahern seemed to sum up the feeling of most respondents by writing: "I'm rooting for the Lakers because I want to see Malone get a ring, and because I have family in L.A." And Russell Fernelius added: "I am rooting for the Lakers because I don't think anyone deserves a championship more than Malone."

Those who want to see ANYBODY BUT THE LAKERS were similarly intense in their opposition to the L.A. team, best expressed by Fran Black, who wrote: "I hate the Lakers. I would really like to see San Antonio win, if not them, Minnesota."

The Spurs, Nuggets and the anti-Laker contingent all received nearly identical votes among poll respondents.

P. Martin of Tucson, Ariz., wrote: "I am rooting for the Spurs because they are similar in team character (to the Jazz) — low-key players, small market and so on."

Not surprisingly, Jared Szymanski of Temple, Texas, is favoring the home-state team: "I'm rooting for the team that plays hard-nosed defense, runs the pick-and-roll better than anyone since Stockton-Malone and has a superstar who's the type of guy you'd want your daughter to date. Spurs all the way!"

Western teams dominated among respondents' favorites, but many were second- or third-choice teams. The Nuggets, who edged the Jazz for the final playoff spot, polled well because of the ex-Ute contingent of Andre Miller and Mike Doleac.

Robert Clayton of Rexburg had a novel approach for his favorite team: "With the Jazz out, ya gotta root for the Kings, the funnest team to watch in the NBA. And like the Jazz, the roster is an oasis of nice guys in a sea of millionaire hoodlums and self-absorbed egotists."

Contrast that to Tom Calarco, who wrote succinctly: "Minnesota —they've never won anything."

Nancy Henderson of Taylorsville bucked the Western-vote trend: "I'm rooting for the Indiana Pacers. As a former Hoosier with parents who have had season tickets to the Pacers for 30-plus years, how could I root for anyone else?? I even made three of their games myself this season, one of which was here. I hope they can take it all the way and receive the recognition they deserve."

And Steven Vawdrey agrees: "Root for the Indiana Pacers because no one is better!"