LETTERS

Tiger Woods's performance at the Masters was a splendid
black-Thai affair.
GENE DRYDEN, Sarasota, Fla.

MASTER OF THE MASTERS

After what he did at Augusta, Tiger Woods deserves an honorary
degree from Stanford (Strokes of Genius, April 21).
LLOYD LARSON, Kelseyville, Calif.

Today Tiger Woods wears a green jacket. In years past, his
father wore a green beret. The competition is different, but the
discipline is the same.
PAUL A. FREDERICK, Milwaukee

Though Tiger Woods was 18 under par at the Masters, Rick
Reilly's coverage beat him by a stroke.
GARY PALMER, Torrance, Calif.

Should Tiger continue to play his game and live his life with
the same overwhelming single-mindedness, then we shall have seen
the beginning of something truly special.
JOE MASTROGIORGIO, Atlanta

It appears that Woods's problems in the future will be less of
his own making than of those who wish his coronation. He seems
capable of adjusting as his life and career move forward, but
what will the rest of us think next year if he doesn't break his
own record at Augusta and put on another green jacket?
MICHAEL GAUL, Binghamton, N.Y.

Given Tiger's length off the tee, unless golf wants Augusta
National and other courses to become obsolete, it had better ban
metal woods.
KEVIN G. GOUGH, Aberdeen, Wash.

Instead of an article about what happened over the course of the
Masters' four days, I felt as though I was reading an article
about the progress of minorities in today's society. Woods
didn't stand out because he is black, but because he was so far
ahead of the field and because his drives were 25 yards longer
than those of the next player on the board.
TOM DROGAN, Franklin Square, N.Y.

John Biever's photo on page 41, showing Tiger's graceful,
balanced follow-through and intense gaze, reminds me of another
young long hitter: Ted Williams.
AL TURNER, Arlington, Va.

The article painfully reminded me that women are not only
perceived as less athletic than men but also as less interested
in sports. Reilly writes that "guys all over the country" were
watching the Masters on TV while their wives were planting
rhododendrons. I want Reilly to know that I was watching the
Masters.
MARIANNE N. HALLINAN, Ann Arbor, Mich.

BORN IN THE U.S.A.

I agree that the Pittsburgh Penguins' Joey Mullen should have
received more attention upon his retirement, but I would not be
so quick to agree that he was the most accomplished U.S.-born
NHL player ever (SCORECARD, May 5). He was the first to reach
500 goals, making him perhaps the best U.S.-born goal scorer,
but the most accomplished all-around player? No, that
distinction belongs to Neal Broten of the Dallas Stars. Broten,
a native of Roseau, Minn., is the only player to have won an
NCAA championship (University of Minnesota, '79) and an Olympic
gold medal (Lake Placid, '80) as well as Lord Stanley's Cup (New
Jersey Devils, '95).
DEVERY FAIRBANKS, Tucson

WHITE SOX

The stories about the Utah Jazz, who succeed as a team (Can Nice
Guys Finish First? April 28), and the Chicago White Sox, who
fail as a bunch of pampered prima donnas despite, or perhaps
because of, their $54.2 million payroll (Pop Guns, April 28),
make an obvious point. Chicago general manager Ron Schueler
hires Albert Belle's personal gofer and card-playing buddy as a
security guard because Belle, with a $55 million multiyear
contract, is apparently too poor to hire his own entourage.
Manager Terry Bevington doesn't mind if Belle won't talk to the
press as long as Belle hits 50 home runs. One can only shudder
at what Belle would be allowed to do if he hit 51 homers. Should
highly paid, pampered stars be required to circle the bases
after hitting a home run? Couldn't a security guard do it for
them?
HERBERT S. WHITE, Green Valley, Ariz.

B/W PHOTO: UPI/CORBIS-BETTMANN [Heartley Anderson and Knute Rockne analyzing play diagram on chalkboard]

NOTRE DAME TRADITION

In your article on Bob Davie of Notre Dame (This Old House, May
5) you write, in response to Lou Holtz's saying that Notre Dame
has never hired an assistant coach, "Actually the Fighting Irish
did in 1954 when they hired Terry Brennan, but that's ancient
history." Just to keep the record straight, a number of Notre
Dame assistant coaches have been hired as head coach: Hugh
Devore in 1945 and 1963, Ed McKeever in 1944, Heartley (Hunk)
Anderson in 1931 (far left), and Knute Rockne in 1918 (left).
But that too is ancient history.
FRANK P. MAGGIO, Rockford, Ill.