19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER

THE CUBS
Sir:
What a work of art by William Nack and Franklin McMahon (At Last, the Cubs Are First, Oct. 1). No finer portrait of the Cubs could have been wrought by pen and brush as far as this diehard Cub fan is concerned, and I've traveled as long as nine hours, from Tampa to Atlanta, to catch a Cubbie weekend series. Nack got to the heart of why Cub fans pack the house around the country. Win or lose, we love them.
RICK ROBERTSON
Hudson, Fla.

A MATTER OF HISTORY
Sir:
Is the "jinx" back? I see no other reason for No. 1 Nebraska's loss to Syracuse the weekend after Cornhusker I-back Jeff Smith was featured on your Oct. 1 cover. Syracuse had just barely beaten Northwestern and then lost to Rutgers in the two weeks before.

Please keep the Illini off the cover. We have enough problems as it is.
CRAIG DAVELIS
Decatur, Ill.

Sir:
We can never escape the cliché "History repeats itself," even in sports. As evidence of this, I offer the following quote: "Nebraska, believed by many to be the strongest team in the country, went down before Syracuse."

This comes from page 17 of Spalding's Official Football Guide for 1923, from an article written by the legendary Walter Camp, reviewing the 1922 football season.
JOHN A. MORGAN, D.D.S.
West Point, Ga.

TECH'S BULLDOG
Sir:
The bulldog Tuf-as-Hell isn't the only turncoat in the state of Georgia. Norman Arey, Georgia Tech's assistant athletic director for media relations and promotions, who was given credit for having a poster made of Tuf-as-Hell outfitted in a Tech sweater and marketing it (SCORECARD, Oct. 1), was my classmate at the University of Georgia and the Bulldogs' wildest and most avid fan. His statement about the poster, "It's a perfect juxtaposition, like seeing an Auburn man without a plow or a four-year Georgia man with a diploma," is interesting. My best recollection is that it took him about seven years to get his diploma. Surely "Spider" Arey's name will be stricken from UGA history.
JAMES A. GRISMER
Georgia, Class of '63
Lynbrook, N.Y.

•Arey, who spent his first two years of college at the University of North Carolina, says it took him only 2½ more years, including two sessions of summer school, to earn his bachelor's degree in psychology from Georgia. Arey served for nine years as SI's special correspondent in Atlanta before joining the Tech staff.—ED.

Sir:
The greatest juxtaposition of all is that of a Georgia Tech man knowing what juxtaposition means.
BOB WEATHERS
Boaz, Ala.

WITHOUT HOWARD
Sir:
William Taaffe's assessment (TV/RADIO, Oct. 1) of this season's version of ABC's Monday Night Football is correct. It's just not the same without Howard. Taaffe is also correct that the acquisition of John Madden would be the solution. Madden wouldn't replace Cosell—he isn't a Cosell-style announcer—but he would make Monday Night Football an event.
JOSEPH D'AMICO
Pittsburgh

Sir:
The Nielsen ratings and their subsequent impact on network decisions have made Laverne and Shirley and Hee Haw the models of television success. Given this premise, is it any surprise that Monday Night Football ratings have dropped since the departure of Howard Cosell?

Now that Howard is gone, we are left with three announcers who are concerned with the football game itself. I believe this season's Monday Night game analyses are directed toward students of pro football. If this bores some people, so be it.
J.B. ANDERSON
Hotchkiss, Colo.

NOT DR. Z
Sir:
In the article There Was No Bucking These Broncos (Oct. 8), the Packers' well-known wide receiver was referred to as "San Diego's" James Lofton. And this after you told us in the very same issue (LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER) that when it comes to football, Paul Zimmerman (Dr. Z) knows what he's talking about. Come on, SI.
HARVEY NATHAN
New York City

•Don't blame Dr. Z. The goof occurred after he turned in his copy.—ED.

ONE MORE
Sir:
There was an omission from your Ball Park Figures chart of nonpitchers who have pitched in the American League this season (INSIDE PITCH, Oct. 1). On July 3, Royals outfielder Leon Roberts took the mound in the eighth inning of a game in Cleveland won by the Indians 15-3. Here is Roberts's line for the evening:

[originallink:10633216:43764]

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
7/3 Leon Roberts, K.C.	1	4	3	3	1	1

Roberts struck out Mel Hall and gave up a home run to Chris Bando.
MIKE SPARKS
Ashtabula, Ohio

YOUNG OLYMPIAN (CONT.)
Sir:
In his letter to SI (19TH HOLE, Oct. 1) Otto Luedeke says he was the "youngest male participant" in the 1932 Olympic Games, at age 16. According to SI's special preview, The 1984 Olympics (The Rich Patina of Gold, July 18), Kusuo Kitamura of Japan won the gold medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle at the age of 14.
JEREMY JOYCE
Houston

•Thanks for the correction. Kitamura (above) was indeed younger.—ED.

PHOTO

UPI/BETTMANN ARCHIVE

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.