<P> The major professional sports teams in New England are based in Massachusetts: the Boston Red Sox, the New England Patriots (based in Foxborough, Massachusetts), the Boston Celtics, the Boston Bruins, the New England Revolution (also based in Foxborough), the Boston Breakers, and the Boston Cannons . Hartford had a professional hockey team, the Hartford Whalers, from 1975 until they moved to North Carolina in 1997 . A WNBA team, the Connecticut Sun, are based in southeastern Connecticut at the Mohegan Sun resort, which is also home to the professional indoor lacrosse team the New England Black Wolves . New England is also home to the Boston Blades, Boston Pride and the Connecticut Whale, which represent three of the five professional women's hockey teams in the United States . </P> <P> There are also minor league baseball and hockey teams based in larger cities such as the Bridgeport Bluefish (baseball), the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (hockey), the Connecticut Tigers (baseball), the Hartford Yard Goats (baseball), the Hartford Wolf Pack (hockey), the Lowell Spinners (baseball), the Manchester Monarchs (hockey), the New Britain Bees (baseball), the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (baseball), the Pawtucket Red Sox (baseball), the Portland Sea Dogs (baseball), the Providence Bruins (hockey), the Springfield Thunderbirds (hockey), the Vermont Lake Monsters (baseball), and the Worcester Railers (hockey). </P> <P> The NBA G League fields a team in New England: the Maine Red Claws, based in Portland, Maine . The Springfield Armor in Springfield, Massachusetts, previously played in the region . The Red Claws are affiliated with the Boston Celtics and the Armor were affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets, prior to relocating to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to become the Grand Rapids Drive . New England is also represented in the Premier Basketball League by the Vermont Frost Heaves of Barre, Vermont . </P> <P> Thanksgiving Day high school football rivalries date back to the 19th century, and the Harvard - Yale rivalry ("The Game") is the oldest active rivalry in college football . The Boston Marathon, run on Patriots' Day every year, is a New England cultural institution and the oldest annual marathon in the world . While the race offers far less prize money than many other marathons, the race's difficulty and long history make it one of the world's most prestigious marathons . </P>

Forms of government in the new england colonies