Letters

Fifty bucks says that within a year we'll be seeing Kournikova
on "Geraldo," sitting between Jennifer Capriati and Oksana Baiul.
--JEFF WINKLE Evanston, Ill.

REILLY WRITINGS

Rick Reilly's brilliant weekly musings in The Life of Reilly are
an example of how SI continues to reinvent and improve itself,
as well as a constant reminder to me of why I've subscribed
since the early 1980s. His Answer to a Young Man's Prayer (March
23) and The Lipinski Who Was Left Behind (March 2) illustrate
what is right with sports and why we put up with so much of what
is wrong.
DAVID ASHTON, Alameda, Calif.

Reilly consistently brings a unique combination of hilarity and
conscience to sports, which seems less and less able to laugh at
itself or do the right thing.
DANIEL A. MEISEL, San Francisco

Reilly's column is normally a pleasant break from the usual
sports articles, but his piece on Reggie White (Now a Few Words
from Reggie's Maker, April 6) crossed the line. White may have
crossed the line first with his comments, but Reilly had no
right to attempt to grasp what God thinks about White's comments.
JERROD DIETRICH Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

I just finished Reilly's description of a perfect day (Hey, This
Turning 40 Ain't So Bad after All, April 13) for about the
eighth time. I cannot recall a more hilarious piece. I don't
know how anyone could improve one minute of that day.
DAVE VALZANIA, West Granby, Conn.

Rick, please let me spend your 50th with you.
LESLIE L. ALEXANDER
Owner, Houston Rockets

Reilly's comments indicated an "old" 40 mentality. Face it,
Rick, soccer's World Cup will not be canceled. Enjoy many
perfect days, but please age graciously.
AL HERSHEY, Elizabethtown, Pa.

Now that Reilly's life has finally begun, I invite him to come
to the Prefontaine Classic Grand Prix I track and field meet on
Sunday, May 31, in Eugene, Ore. If he does not find it fully
worth keeping as part of his perfect day (and perhaps according
it more than the two minutes it took to cancel both track and
field), I will buy him all the BBQ wings, chili-cheese fries and
Guinness he can consume.
TOM JORDAN, Meet Director, Eugene, Ore.

Reilly's Turning 40 is arguably the worst piece of writing I
have ever seen in a nationally respected magazine. He seems
somewhat sexist and unintelligent, but he probably knows that. I
would like to inform him, however, that he is not funny.
JOSH KADIS, Newton, Mass.

I have two statements to make about Reilly's 40th birthday
article: Who cares? And what a sexist, macho jerk.
CAROL FAUBERT, Alpharetta, Ga.

MOURNING'S OTHER SIDE

Alonzo Mourning's dedication and competitiveness is why Miami is
one of the best teams in the NBA (The Man in the Iron Mask,
March 30). I'm glad someone finally wrote an article on the
positive side of Mourning.
MATT KANE, Miami

If Mourning wants to be recognized as a decent human being, he
need only act like one. Millions can form an opinion of him only
on what he exhibits on the court.
JAMES HARRIS, Iowa City, Iowa

COLOR PHOTO: BILL FRAKES [Anna Kournikova playing tennis]

TENNIS TEMPEST

Anna Kournikova is a refreshing change in women's tennis, with a
wonderful face, a great body, an upbeat personality and
incredible talent (Anna-tude, March 30).
CANDY PHELPS, Scottsdale, Ariz.

It's nice to know in this day of gender equality there can be
female athletes who are arrogant and in love with themselves,
much like many of their male counterparts.
PATRICK HULTGREN, Storrs, Conn.

Thank you for the top-notch reporting that provided us with such
memorable quotes as "They ran all those photos of my butt. But,
hey, it wasn't fat."
EBUN S. GARNER, New York City

After reading the article on Kournikova, I realized how much I
miss such classy champions as Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova
and Steffi Graf. Neither Kournikova nor Martina Hingis will ever
be the respected champion that those three were.
JOE KILGORE, Louisville