ESPN CHILTON SPORTS POLL: HOCKEY'S RE- RENAISSANCE

     The Sports Poll has been tracking the interest in 12
different sports on a monthly basis (interviewing at least 1,000
U.S. respondents each month).  They have found that the year
since the '94 NHL lockout has "diluted" some fan apathy toward
hockey, particularly among avid fans.  More:
     -- Although the number of hockey fans has dropped almost 5%
among all sports fans surveyed between October '94 and October
'95, the number who named hockey their favorite sport increased
from 3.7% to 4.6%.
     -- The number of fans considering themselves "very
interested" in hockey increased from 18.9% to 23.4%.
     -- Of "avid fans," 26.6% chose hockey as their favorite
sport, up almost 10-points from 1994's 17.7%.
     -- In October '95, only 12% of avid fans claimed to be less
interested in hockey than the previous year, down from 22.4% who
said the same in '94 (THE DAILY).