Letters

Cover Choices
The Mike Tyson trial and verdict were certainly newsworthy, and you covered both comprehensively. Yet I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I saw Tyson on your Feb. 17 cover. Here is a man (now a convicted criminal) being featured for horrendous behavior when hundreds of Olympic athletes, who had trained for years, are denied one of "their" covers. You said you delayed the swimsuit issue to focus on the Olympics. It's too bad that Tyson blurred your focus.
JEFF RICE
Mishawaka, Ind.

Bonnie Blair looked magnificent on your Feb. 24 cover in red, white and blue with a bold USA on her thigh. But what irony it was, when one considers the jingoistic Japan bashing of late, to see her with the logo of Mizuno Sports, Inc. on her hat!
BARRY SELIGER
Cherry Hill, N.J.

Midseason Rankings
I don't understand why you listed the Cleveland Cavaliers as No. 8 in your midseason rankings (INSIDE THE NBA, Feb. 24). The Cavs sent two players, Brad Daugherty and Mark Price, to the All-Star Game, and a third, Larry Nance, who's the most underrated player in the NBA, should have been voted in. How could you rank one-man teams such as the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks higher than a team with such outstanding depth as the Cavs? The Cavs have played the Knicks three times and won every time. It is time to stop trying to think up new Cleveland jokes and to start thinking of how to deal with the Cavs.
DANIEL M. GINDI
Cleveland

As of March 5 the Golden State Warriors were a close second in the toughest division in the league. Only the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers had better records, yet you ranked the Warriors seventh, behind the Phoenix Suns, whom they led by 2½ games, and the Spurs, who trailed in the woeful Midwest. With Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway and Sarunus Marciulionis, who needs a center?
WILLIAM APHUGH
Auburn, Calif.

Team Nicknames
The Oregonian's recently adopted policy of not printing Native American-derived team names is ridiculous (SCORECARD, Feb. 24). The newspaper has ample opportunities in its pages to push for change in this area without subjecting its readers to a daily sports riddle. Cartoonish depictions like Cleveland's Chief Wahoo and unenlightened names such as Redmen and Redskins must change, but most references to Native Americans in sport are meant to convey admiration and respect.
STEVEN OWEN
Crescent City, Calif.

Cleveland's baseball club was renamed the Indians in 1915 to honor Louis Sockalexis, a Cleveland player and the first American Indian to play in the majors. I will not debate your point that the Indians' logo needs to be changed, but in view of the origin of the team's nickname, you can see that it is not a racial slur.
CHANNING PALUCK
Brooklyn, Ohio

If the worst thing the European settlers and their progeny did to those who met them on these shores was to name a few sports teams after them, no one would have any cause for complaint. Tragically, that is not all they did. There are many things that need to be rectified, but the trivial matters of team names, mascots and cheers are not among them. What those who have raised this emotion-laden and divisive issue need to do is to drop it quickly. Then they can use their time and energy more productively—for the preservation of Native American culture, the creation of job opportunities, the spread of effective educational and substance-abuse programs, etc. Once these goals are accomplished, the rest will fall into place.
H. GEORGE MYERS JR.
Tallmadge, Ohio

Ridiculous Logic
Thumbs-up to SI for giving a thumbs-down to J. Ben Rowe, a member of Florida's Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission (SCORECARD, Feb. 10). Rowe, who recently shot a black bear, defended his action by saying he wanted firsthand knowledge about an issue he must consider—whether the endangered black bear should continue to be hunted. Rowe's statement is ridiculous. Would a legislator kill someone to decide whether murder is a crime? Would he or she drink six martinis and drive to determine whether drunk driving should be a felony?

The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida gives its thumbs-up to those who vote to put hunters' guns down.
CAREN LESSER
Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, Inc.
Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Seven Years Later
The photo of the Knicks' Patrick Ewing rejecting Ed Pinckney (All About Pat, Feb. 10) brought back memories of their meeting in the 1985 NCAA championship game, in which Villanova upset Georgetown. SI ran a terrific shot of those two players that showed Pinckney clutching the ball and yelling defiantly at Ewing and another Hoya, David Wingate. I wonder whether you could run that picture again.
DAN CRONIN
Walnut Creek, Calif.

PHOTO

RICHARD MACKSON

Pinckney lorded it over Ewing (33) in 1985.

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.