Who are the most and least friendly Philly athletes?   Jim Thome is fantastic. Donovan McNabb is boring. Derrick Coleman and Jose Mesa are lost causes. Those were some of the recurrent themes in "On the Air's" survey of what the local sportscasters from the major television and radio stations feel are the most and least friendly professional athletes in Philadelphia. Most friendly athletes Players who got high marks were Jeremy Roenick of the Flyers, Troy Vincent and Ike Reese of the Eagles and Eric Snow ("one of the rare athletes who will speak his mind") of the Sixers. Jim Thome ("a rare exception, a fantastic player and a friendly guy") was by far the most popular Phillie, followed by Mike Lieberthal. Many noted that Pat Burrell has gotten less friendly this season (no surprise considering his .200 batting average). Least friendly athletes The media seemed to be frustrated by Philly's two biggest stars - Allen Iverson and Donovan McNabb. One media member said of Iverson: "The Sixers are scared to death of Allen Iverson, and he is impossible to deal with. He treats members of the media like [bleep] and as underlings. No one gets a one-on-one opportunity with Allen. He is rude and abrasive." Another media member said: "You always want to hear from Iverson, but he is rarely available at practice. But, to his credit, he does talk after every game. I think he'll get better once he realizes that everybody is not out to get him. He's been through a lot with the media, so I can hardly blame him if he has his guard up." One media member said of the Eagles' QB: "McNabb is uptight and says very little." Many complained that when McNabb talks, he rarely says anything. Striking out was Phillies pitcher Jose Mesa. "Terrible pitcher, terrible guy. The sooner he leaves town, the better for all of us," said one media member. Derrick Coleman of the Sixers fouled out with the media. "[Coleman] is virtually unapproachable at practice with a few exceptions," said one media member. "He often sneers at the media, especially at cameras." Most friendly teams The Eagles and Flyers rated the highest among the four major professional teams. The addition of Thome has helped the Phillies. Laura Nachman covers television and radio sports for the Courier Times. She can be reached at bradyresident@aol.com. September 26, 2003 6:25 AM