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19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER
JACK'S FIFTH
Sir:
My golf cap is off to Dan Jenkins for a beautiful story on the Masters (You're All Right, Jack, April 21). He came up with a great angle and a strong ending, but about that movie he and Manny are working on, I wouldn't call Jack Nicklaus winning at Augusta an original plot. It is already in the rerun files of the Late Show.
Oh, yes, is Nicklaus really color blind, or does he "suffer" from chloropsia, which results in the victim seeing only one color—green?
RUSSELL RAWLINGS
Wilson, N.C.
Sir:
That was one of your best golf stories in a good long while. Jenkins reveals all the pressure, hardship and glory involved in winning the Masters. As he says, "Nothing has ever equaled what happened when Nicklaus bagged his fifth Masters." He describes the entire event wonderfully and does a great job of telling his readers that Jack Nicklaus is indeed No. 1. You're all right, Dan.
MILES KIRSHNER
Pittsburgh
Sir:
Having watched the Masters tournament, I was particularly interested in your excellent article, which vividly described the drama of the final round. But I noticed a seeming discrepancy. The statement was made that it is possible for the entire field to make the cut, "for the rules state that anyone within 10 strokes of the leader [after 36 holes] is eligible to hang around Saturday and Sunday." But you also state that Johnny Miller, at 146, was 11 strokes behind Nicklaus. Did the tournament committee bend the rules to keep Miller in?
SIDNEY V. JOHNSON
Bethpage, N.Y.
•Not at all. The rule states, "At the end of 36 holes of play, the field will be reduced to the 44 lowest scorers, plus those tied for 44th place, as well as any other players whose total for the two rounds shall not exceed by more than ten strokes the lowest total returned for these two rounds." This year's cut fell at 148.—ED.
Sir:
Your article on the Masters, Jack's win and Johnny's string of six straight birdies was very interesting. To give a little more due credit, I would like to mention the finish of Ralph Johnston on Saturday. Ralph had birdies on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th holes, a par on the 16th and birdies on the 17th and 18th. Six birdies on the final seven holes at Augusta is pretty fair golf.
LEO G. BECKMANN
18th Green Announcer
Savannah
Sir:
Really! Three columns on Johnny Miller's 65 at Augusta, and only a few words about Hale Irwin's course-record 64. Irwin finished fourth at the Masters for the second year in a row. That might have been worth noting.
CANDACE NORTON
Shaker Heights, Ohio
OPENERS
Sir:
Larry Keith's article on Henry Aaron (Back Where He Belongs, April 17) proves that heroes are not dead. Aaron has meant very much to baseball. The turnout of 48,160 fans at County Stadium acknowledged his contribution to the game and also paid tribute to him as a person.
TOM P. MALKUS
Long Beach, Calif.
Sir:
The addition of Henry Aaron to an exciting young Milwaukee Brewer team is a dream come true for a whole lot of Wisconsin baseball fans. It's great to have Aaron back. And it is even sweeter to think that it was Bill Bartholomay and the Atlanta Braves from whom he was secured.
GARY E. BUERSTATTE
Waukesha, Wis.
ANTIBLACKOUT LAW
Sir:
I was interested in the prediction attributed to me in connection with the Sports Antiblackout Law in SCORECARD ("Permanent Experiment," April 21) both as a reader of your magazine and as the author of that law.
While I feel that the adverse impact of the law on professional sports continues to be minimal, I have at no time predicted that Congress will make the legislation permanent. Such a determination can be made only after full hearings and after considering testimony from all parties concerned (making it now would show what could be construed as a closed mind).
As for the point you made about Congress not waiting for the third year of the experiment before making up its mind as to the extension of the law, we already know what the revenue will be to the NFL from its network television package for the coming season. And by the time our subcommittee holds its hearings, the league should have supplied us with information on season-ticket sales for this year. Thus, we will have the essentials before us, although the NFL will still be making noises about the no-shows who have already paid an average of $12 for their tickets.
TORBERT H. MACDONALD
Chairman
Subcommittee on Communications
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
WOMEN AT THE MIKE
Sir:
Re the article Getting into the Picture (April 21), many of the female sports commentators interviewed seemed to have chosen the opportunity to rise to the defense of Jane Chastain's inept performance during a nationally televised football game on CBS. Let's face it, girls, in this instance she bombed out. Personally, I think she should stay out of sportscasting for good. Granted, there are a lot of male commentators who are better qualified to be butchers, but in Ms. Chastain's case, I've heard other female sportscasters whose talents far surpass hers. It's like having Howard Cosell doing the color for a fashion show.
STEVE G. HARRIS
Baltimore
Sir:
Having endured the arrogance and boorishness of Howard Cosell, the babbling banalities of Curt Gowdy, the mealy-mouthed mumblings of Chris Schenkel and the phony pedantry of Tony Kubek and Al DeRogatis for the past decade, I think just about anyone would be an improvement. And that includes almost any female commentator, whether she be Jeannie Morris, Jane Chastain, Bella Abzug or Katharine Hepburn. How could they possibly be more inept than what the networks have been forcing on us?
WILLIAM E. CARSLEY
Chicago
Sir:
I'm one of those rarities you talked about, a woman sports commentator, for WVOX AM-FM radio in Westchester County, N.Y. I have only once experienced any of the problems the women in your story describe. On the contrary, my daily sports show has almost an all-male audience.
I've reported on everything from football to bocce, interviewed such diverse sports personalities as Rocky Graziano and equestrienne/actress Jennifer O'Neill. Recently I talked with Ron Swoboda, who remarked that women should avoid football commentary because they haven't played the game. What I didn't tell Ron was that in second grade I was the star linebacker for my Scarsdale, N.Y. grammar school. But then, Ron's game is baseball, so what does he know about a post pattern?
JUDY FREMONT
Creative Director, Sports
WVOX
New Rochelle, N.Y.
Sir:
True, there are inept male announcers, but women sportscasters who laud "Pete Maraviock" or, worse, analyze a la Jane Chastain are still the rule rather than the exception. Until this situation is reversed, you'll find me watching the lovely Liz Bishop with the sound off and the local radio sportscast on.
RICHARD C. WEINBERG
Pittsfield, Mass.
Sir:
Women sportscasters are on a long, tough road to total acceptance, and these courageous women represent their league well.
JEFFREY L. PEACE
Dayton, Ohio
Sir:
Why did it take women so long to get into broadcasting?
WHITEY MARTENS
Ridgewood, N.Y.
ONE FOR SONNY
Sir:
Regarding Curry Kirkpatrick's piece on women sportscasters, his put-down of Sonny Hill demonstrates the myopia he shares with the CBS Sports executives who gave us Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson. Sonny Hill is not a famous ex-jock. He is merely knowledgeable, fairly eloquent and familiar with the term "original statement." He does not break into an operatic solo (a la Oscar) after every thrilling basket, parrot the play-by-play man or knock the refs left and right. In short, he is a sports analyst, not a fan with a mike.
MASON AMES
Boca Raton, Fla.
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