19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER

A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
Sir:
You did it again with Kenya Top This? (Feb. 8). Do you realize it's 20° below zero here in Colorado, and we have a foot of snow on the ground with more coming, and our skies are gray, and we can't even tell women from men because of the multilayers of clothing we're wearing, and it has been so long since we've seen any kind of skin that isn't frostbitten, and, oh well, I guess we're doomed.

Talk about cruel and unusual punishment, but I love it!
KEITH F. DUNBAR
Judge
Rio Blanco County Court
Meeker, Colo.

Sir:
Here in Indiana the snow is a foot deep and more is on the way. The Bengals lost to the 49ers; George Foster is leaving the Reds; income taxes and license plate fees are due; and last night, Feb. 4, the Hoosiers were hammered by Iowa in basketball. Is there any hope? Yes! I opened my mailbox today and found Carol Alt on your cover. Wow! I think I can make it until spring now.
TOM BARTLETT
Bloomington, Ind.

Sir:
That swimsuit issue melted the snow here in Pennsylvania. Excellent job by Photographer John G. Zimmerman. The swimsuits weren't bad, either.
CHRIS BURGER
Bellefonte, Pa.

Sir:
Your sunshine issue provided a lift for all of us Kansans digging out of two feet of snow. All we need now is the baseball preview and spring will be here.
GARY L. BIRNEY
Ford, Kans.

Sir:
John G. Zimmerman's photographs, especially those of Kim Alexis (wow!), have helped this angry Dallas Cowboy fan forgive SI for the seemingly endless run of pictures and print on Joe Montana and the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers.
DAVID B. WARSTLER II
Fairfax, Va.

Sir:
Judging by the three preceding covers, I half expected cover girl Carol Alt's swimsuit to be adorned with a 49er insignia. Actually, the color of the suit came close to 49er red.
DENNIS DIVYAK
Chicago

Sir:
Carol Alt is finer than a 49er.
FRANK A. PEÑA
New York City

Sir:
Question: What do Carol Alt and 49er Coach Bill Walsh have in common? Answer: They are models of perfection.
RON RAISEN
Asheville, N.C.

Sir:
Thank you, Jule Campbell, John G. Zimmerman & troupe for Kenya Top This? I appreciated the beautiful swimsuits and the breathtaking scenic photography even more when I read the LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER in the same issue describing how this year's act was produced. I hope you can top it next year!
MARTHA BARCHIK
Huntington Mills, Pa.

Sir:
"Kenya top this?" Yes, ya ken—by bringing back Christie Brinkley!
RODGER WINE
Chicago

Sir:
An SI swimsuit issue without Christie Brinkley? Please, say it isn't so!
JOHN MITCHELL
Hamilton, Ohio

Sir:
My feelings that Christie Brinkley was the most beautiful lady ever to grace an SI swimsuit issue have been Alt-ered.
THOMAS GOODWIN
Georgetown, Mass.

Sir:
Christie Who? Carol, woo!
KEITH KEPLEY
Cincinnati

Sir:
Concerning your question, I'd probably faint if you did top this.
JAMES KELLY
Agoura, Calif.

Sir:
You've outdone yourselves with the '82 swimsuit issue. Carol, Kim, Charissa and Kathryn are the most beautiful girls in the world. Really outasight!
JEFF STIEFEL
New York City

Sir:
My, my, are winter sports so dull that the editors of SI have to throw in some girlie stuff to leave our sports-loving men with their tongues hanging out? I thought there were other magazines for that. What is your reason for this annual porno issue? And don't you dare say it's just a special winter resort edition. We know better. If that were so, we wouldn't have to see Kim's topless number, would we? I don't think my husband really cares about the price of that little rubberband of a bikini, either. So snap out of it and get back to serious sports.
ANGELA DALLO
West Islip, N.Y.

Sir:
Amid the avalanche of praise for all the visible skin in your latest issue, let me say, "Cheap shot!" Sex, that's what sells, right?

There are plenty of girlie mags, and if I had wanted them for my children, I would not have subscribed to SI. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED implies sport of the athletic type. So illustrate that and not the see-through-bikini type. Try stimulating the youngsters of the country with basketball, hockey, sailing, skiing, etc.
JAMES W. OGILVIE
Hinsdale, Ill.

Sir:
I'm not sure what 16 pages of scantily clad women have to do with the sports reported in your Feb. 8 issue, but I am sure I would not have subscribed to your magazine for our home if I had known you put out such an issue. I will not make the same mistake when the time comes to renew.
KATHRYN LONG
Blanchard, Pa.

Sir:
I received my Feb. 8 issue and was disgusted with what I saw. I did not order a magazine expecting to see women who are 98% naked. I resent this coming to my home. I am ashamed for my wife and children to look at the pictures in this edition. I have been subscribing to your magazine for many years off and on, but I will never read another issue. Please cancel my subscription immediately.
THE REV. DON RICHARDS
Pastor
Corinth Baptist Church
Stone Mountain, Ga.

Sir:
From a Christian family viewpoint, your Feb. 8 issue is garbage.
MRS. BILL COPPENGER
Tellico Plains, Tenn.

Sir:
Gee, SI. I went out to the mailbox yesterday in my old sweater, displaying a winter pallor, a neck like crepe paper and chapped lips and hands. I was just thrilled to see the bathing suit issue. Since the end of the football season, there hasn't been a glimmer in my husband's eye. I was hoping the next one would be for me. Now that hope is dashed.

Have a heart. Carol Alt I'm not, but can't you run the article in July or August when we girls at least have a fighting chance?
KAREN MATTHEWS
Vienna, Va.

Sir:
Come on, guys. I don't mind the annual fetish that compels you to feature swimsuits, but what really gets me is the fact that the last time I can recall your featuring a female athlete on the cover it happened to be a horse! Now, I know we've come farther than that. Please, give us a fair representation on your cover.
JANE C. HOGSETH
Elm Grove, Wis.

Sir:
How in the world could you put a lady in a bathing suit on the cover when, during that same week, the best players in the NBA appeared in the All-Star Game? I hope your playoff coverage is a lot better!
CRAIG TOWER
Coraopolis, Pa.

Sir:
This is my annual letter to you concerning your annual swimsuit issue. Is it necessary to spend all those big bucks on nudity? Nudity can be seen every day in other magazines. The reason I subscribe to SI is not for skin. Why not channel those funds into reporting some good sports news? How about more articles on small colleges like those in the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference? We have good sports to view!
TOMMIE HENSEN
Springdale, Ark.

Sir:
I just thought of a good reason, besides the fact that it sells a lot of magazines, for the existence of your swimsuit issue: It provides an opportunity for your photographers to showcase their work. John G. Zimmerman's photography was superb, notwithstanding the fact that in Carol Alt & Co., the Kenya coast and what there was of the swimsuits he had some pretty breathtaking material to work with.
RICHARD MURPHY
Andover, Mass.

Sir:
After seeing your stunning cover with Carol Alt, we were terribly disappointed with the inside portfolio. SI, you are too conservative!
JEFFERY S. ANDERSON
JEFFREY T. NELSON
Bloomington, Ind.

Sir:
I would like my subscription re-nude.
BRETT K. MATHESON
Provo, Utah

Letters should include the name, address and home telephone number of the writer and be addressed to The Editor, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, N.Y. 10020.