Letters

SANDERS & SON
It's unfortunate that pressure applied by his father helped persuade Barry Sanders to leave Oklahoma State without completing his education (Barry Breaks Away, April 10). Barry's future certainly looks bright, but there's no guarantee that he will have a long and lucrative career in the NFL. The path from college to success in the pros is littered with broken hearts and broken dreams.
ROBIN GRIFFIN
Austin, Texas

I was appalled by William Sanders's attitude toward Barry's opportunity to play in the NFL. William's biggest concern seems to be grabbing his share of the millions Barry hopes to make. To make matters worse, the situation turned racial when William urged that Barry hire black agents. We blacks need to bond and strive for the best, but blacks like William keep us that one step back.
TODD SADLER
Baltimore

How sad. Barry's father's reaction seems indicative of a society that sees its young people as little more than commodities.
GARY A. SHAPIRO
Laurinburg, N.C.

Your story was one-sided. William Sanders's comments were timely. He is obviously doing something right. Including Barry, he has three children in college, he's self-employed and, thank goodness, he knows the importance of African-Americans looking out for family.
MICHAEL LANGFORD
Cincinnati

I have only admiration for William Sanders, and I am looking forward to seeing Barry as a pro. College can wait. Mr. Sanders exemplifies what a head of household should be.
GREG ESQUIVEL
Garden City, Kans.

HOCKEY SNOBS
Austin Murphy's cynical characterization of Minnesota fans during the outstanding NCAA championship hockey game (Minnesota Faces Were Crimson, April 10) rubbed salt in our wounds. Although we may not have been pleased that the Golden Gophers lost to Harvard, we certainly realized that Minnesota was lucky to have hosted a tournament that featured hockey at its best. Labeling Minnesotans "hockey snobs" was a slap in the face.

Murphy failed to report that the Gopher squad consisted entirely of Minnesota boys and that the Crimson achieved its title with the assistance of recruits from Minnesota and other locations far from the East Coast. My guess is that Murphy is a (snobbish) Harvard alum.
SAMUEL C. SEYFERT
Savage, Minn.

•Murphy is a Colgate man.—ED.

DR. PEELE'S ROLE
In his article with Rick Telander, The Nightmare of Steroids (Oct. 24), Tommy Chaikin wrote, "... our orthopedic surgeon, Robert Peele, would shoot up guys who had injured ankles or whatever with Xylocaine, a local anesthetic."

This suggests that I misused the drug Xylocaine. In fact, I have injected spot or trigger points on ankles and feet fewer than 10 times in the six years that I have served as the orthopedic surgeon for the University of South Carolina football team. My injection of the side of Tommy Chaikin's injured great right toe was medically proper for his trigger point.

While Chaikin did not link my name to any use of anabolic steroids. I wish to state for the record that I have never prescribed anabolic steroids for anyone. I have never condoned their use by athletes.
ROBERT M. PEELE JR., M.D.
Columbia, S.C.

•Chaikin used the term "shoot up" in his story as a slang expression, synonymous with "inject." He was not implying that Dr. Peele misused Xylocaine or that he mistreated him.—ED.

SIX-TIME CHAMP
This year's NCAA wrestling championships were notable for more than Oklahoma State's achievement of its first team crown in 18 years (At Last a Title for the Cowboys, March 27). Heavyweight Carlton Haselrig of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (at left in the photo, trying for a takedown against Northern Iowa's Joel Greenlee in the final match) became the first wrestler to win six NCAA titles—three in the Division II tournament, in which the Mountain Cats compete, and three in the Division I tournament, in which Division II champions are invited to compete. His record of 143-2-1 includes a career-closing unbeaten streak of 122 matches. Haselrig suffered both his losses as a freshman, was tied once in his sophomore year and was undefeated as a junior and a senior. Such dominance is even more remarkable because Haselrig's high school did not have a wrestling program. He won the Pennsylvania Class AAA schoolboy heavyweight title in 1984 by training with a private coach and practicing with a team from a nearby high school.
J. PHILLIPS SAYLOR
Johnstown, Pa.

PHOTO

JEORGE TIEDEMANN

Letters to SPORTS ILLUSTRATED should include the name, address and home telephone number of the writer and should be addressed to The Editor, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, N.Y. 10020-1393.