THEY weren't booing Paul Mara inside the Rangers locker room. Rather, his teammates were going, "Yoook," as in Kevin Youkilis, the first baseman of Mara's beloved Red Sox whom the Blueshirts defenseman resembles when he shaves his head and lets his beard get bushy as he did at the start of the season.
"But Paulie didn't like it much, so we stopped," Chris Drury, captain, resident agitator, and among the biggest Yankees fans in all the land, said of Mara. "Of course, he liked it even less when we signed CC (Sabathia) and A.J. (Burnett)." The banter and chatter goes on daily. It's all Baseball all the time. Check that. It's all Yankees-Red Sox Baseball all the time.
Mara, who grew up in Belmont, Mass., has had season t ickets up the third-base line at Fenway since his 2000-01 NHL rookie season.
"There's one thing you learn growing up outside Boston, and that's to hate the Yankees," Mara said. "Playing and living in New York, I can appreciate the way they go about their business and are willing to do anything to win, and I love how passionate their fans are, but I still dislike them intensely.
"It's in my blood."
Drury, who grew up in Trumbull, Conn., basically was born with a pinstriped spoon in his mouth. Had he been born a few years earlier, however, he would be part of Red Sox Nation.
"We were south of New Haven, so we got WPIX and the Yankees and not Channel 38 and the Red Sox," Drury, 32, said. "It's funny, though, because my brother, Ted, who's five years older, is a Red Sox fan because he was getting Channel 38 when he was growing up."
Ted Drury played for Harvard before embarking on an eight-year NHL career. Chris Drury played for BU, a traitor not only in Fenway's shadow.
"My freshman year, I could see the Green Monster from my window," Drury said. "I lived right below the Citgo sign. I could hear the cheering."
Since Drury became a Ranger at the start of 2007-08, the bragging rights have belonged to Mara. But Drury is sure the Empire is back, with Sabathia, Burnett and Mark Teixeira added to the mix.
Mara, meanwhile, has been fuming about how the Sox allowed Teixeira to get away to their hated rivals.
"Come on, it's ridiculous how much money they spend," Mara complained to Drury just the other day. "Even you have to admit it."
"Sour grapes, Paulie," Drury responded. "Sour grapes."
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Rangers
PAST FOUR GAMES
DATE OPPONENT SCORE
Dec. 20 at SJ L 3-2
Dec. 23 vs. Wash #L 5-4
Dec. 27 vs. NJ L 4-2
Monday vs. NYI 5-4
NEXT FOUR GAMES
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Tonight* at Wash 7:00
Monday@ vs. Pitt 7:00
Wednesday* vs. Mtl 7:30
Friday* at Buf 7:30
TV: *MSG; @Versus ^overtime; #shootout
