McLane/Astros Number 1 in Houston, 11th in USA

Drayton McLane and his Houston Astros are Numero Uno in Houston as far as the fans are concerned, according to an ESPN survey of sports fans.

Some 30,000 fans from around the country were asked questions about their respective pro sports teams in 8 categories.

McLane whomped Bob McNair and his Houston Texans and Les Alexander and his Houston Rockets in every category except one.

The one exception was in the category entitled "Championships: titles already won or expected soon."

Rockets fans expected more in the way of championships than Astros fans, with Texans fans not really expecting much. The Texans, therefore, are meeting their fans expectations and are due congratulations. Or not.

Regarding the ownership category, wherein fans were asked to rank their pro sports owners for honesty and loyalty to players and city, McLane/Astros scored 2nd in the whole country, Alexander/Rockets 13th and McNair/Texans 42nd.

One can't help but wonder if the ownership survey would be different in light of McLane's decision yesterday not to grant salary arbitration to Roger Clemens, which greatly lessens the chances he'll return to the team.

Check back on next year's survey for the answer to that question.

In the big picture, where all pro sports teams (except pro hockey) were ranked, McLane/Astros ranked 11th, Alexander/Rockets ranked 21st and McNair/Texans ranked 79th.

The San Antonio Spurs finished first in the overall rankings by scoring tops in Fan Relations (ease of access to players, coaches & management), Players (effort on the field; likability off it) and Ownership.

The Dallas Mavericks finished 15th, the Dallas Cowboys 27th and the Texas Rangers 41st; Mavs owner Mark Cuban ranked 22nd, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones 24th and Rangers owner Tom Hicks 60th (thanks to the failed A-Rod experiment, no doubt) in the ownership category.

Who's the worst team owner in professional sports? Tom Benson of the troubled New Orleans Saints.


[espn/sportsnation]