19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER

SCREAMS AND SIGHS
Sirs:
From Bart Starr to Marilyn Tindall in one short week is perhaps the most welcome cover change SI has ever made "New Swim-suits in the New Arizona," Jan. 16). Our eyes were just recovering from the electronic searing they received from all the bowl games on TV. Marilyn and her friends were the best balm that could have been prescribed.
TOM ELLIOTT
DON SULLIVAN
Pottstown, Pa.

Sirs:
How come my wife hid your January 16 issue from me?
LARRY R. WESTLEY
Rochester, Mich.

Sirs:
The strength of a nation depends on the morals of its citizens. We teachers are molding the citizens of our great nation, and we do not want the magazines that come into our school libraries to be covered with nearly nude feminine bodies. The human body is a work of art because it was fashioned by a Supreme Being, but its beauty is best portrayed with clothing and not with strips of cloth.

My copy was burned immediately, and the subscription will cease. Perhaps you do not know it, but nudity is more destructive to our youth than an atom bomb.
SISTER MARY EPHREM
Loretto, Ky.

Sirs:
The American sportsman wants to read about the sports events that are going on all the time. He does not want to see the latest fashions in clothes. Please transfer my subscription to my sister.
BARRY J. STELL
Greenville, N.C.

Sirs:
The cover picture of Marilyn Tindall remains etched in my mind like a magnificent sunset. Hundreds of eligible bachelors will undoubtedly ask for particulars concerning Miss Tindall. I, however, wish to be the first to ask for a Jule Campbell reject, which is to say, a girl unquestionably beautiful but merely human.
JOHN E. HAMMOND
Huntsville, Ala.

Sirs:
What's a mother to do? There are more than enough sexy magazines on the newsstands, and there are so many good points about SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Why must pictures like these be included?
FLORENCE E. MOSES
Columbus, Ohio

MIRAGES
Sirs:
That girl on your cover is as pretty as a wren in a saguaro, and Liz Smith's article, The Desert Is Arizona's Ocean, in the same issue accurately captures the pulse of our Valley of the Sun. As a desert rat, I'd like to tell your readers about the sport of surfing in Arizona. Although landlocked, our inventive youth "surf" in rapids formed by the confluence of the Verde and Salt rivers east of Mesa. A long rope is anchored at one end to the limb of a cottonwood near the fork and tied at the other end to a wide, plywood "surfboard." The rider can then hot-dog anywhere within the downstream radius of the rope. Wipe-outs cause the surfer to be carried 100 yards or so in the swift currents before he can reach the bank.

Thank you for bringing back wonderful memories of a great land to this homesick sailor on duty in Hawaii.
LIEUT. JOHN P. FREDERICK, USN
Ewa Beach, Hawaii

Sirs:
Take another look at the caption under the photograph on page 39 of your Jan. 16 issue. Unless they have changed the name of Flagstaff, Ariz. to Falstaff, this has to go down as one of the best Freudian slips in U.S. journalism. Or perhaps The Old Pro has infiltrated your staff? Falstaff, that is.
JAMES R. FISHER
Americus, Ga.

•As Old Pro Shakespeare wrote: "We will yet have more Tricks with Falstaff" (Merry Wives, Act III, Scene 3).
—ED.

OUT OF THE WOODS
Sirs:
Frank Deford has allowed his penchant for the superlative to so obscure his vision that he mistook the tall trees of Florida for the Black and Gold forest at Vanderbilt (Tall, Stoned and Gatoraded, Jan. 16).

Florida was defeated by Vandy. So was Western Kentucky, and those teams were ranked Nos. 2 and 3 in the South by Mervin Hyman (BASKETBALL'S WEEK). SMU, ranked third in the Southwest by Hyman, was also trounced by the Commodores. Northwestern, at the top in the Big Ten, was utterly demolished by Vandy.

And tell Mr. Deford there is a reason Florida's Gary Keller had a bad night against Vandy: he was outquicked. There are no big names on the Commodore team, merely five players averaging in double figures; and one of them is a substitute.
ROBERT A. YOUNGERMAN
Chicago

Sirs:
You have missed the boat in the Southeastern Conference. This is surprising when one considers that Frank Deford is something of a country-music fan (LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER, Dec. 6, 1965). I would think that he would wangle a trip to Nashville—under the guise, at least, of watching Vanderbilt—so that he could see the Grand Ole Opry here in Music City, U.S.A. Surely arrangements could be made to take Frank backstage to meet all the stars.
ROBERT CAREY
Nashville

CALVINISTS
Sirs:
With all the excitement over UCLA's Lew Alcindor, perhaps the achievements of Niagara U.'s diminutive freshman guard, Calvin Murphy (FACES IN THE CROWD, Jan. 31, 1966), have been somewhat overshadowed. A high school All-America from Norwalk, Conn., Calvin has been averaging an incredible 52.8 ppg, while leading the frosh to an 8-1 record. Besides being a deadly shooter from anywhere in the forecourt, he is also a classy playmaker and feeds off for numerous assists, while completely dominating the game. Next year he will undoubtedly lead Niagara to national prominence—and, maybe, a national championship.
HENRY ROMANOVSKY
Trumbull, Conn.

Sirs:
Since you have not done so as yet, I will give your readers something to think about. In nine starts Calvin Murphy has scored 58, 48, 61, 45, 57, 45, 43, 66 and 52 points, for a fantastic 52.8 average. If I remember correctly, Alcindor averaged only 33.1 points a game as a freshman.
JIM HOLLENBECK
Gowanda, N.Y.

CLEAN COWBOYS
Sirs:
Congratulations on the fine article on Dean Oliver and professional rodeo (Dean of the Faceless Men, Jan. 16). My husband and I know many cowboys and almost without exception they are fine, hard-working and sincere men. I am glad they are finally receiving the recognition they deserve. We Idahoans are especially proud that our state is so well represented in this fast-growing sport.
KAY STONE
Salmon, Idaho