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Letters
Scrambling quarterbacks, rugby scrums and John Wooden's Pyramid
of Success. --DAVID ODOM, Auburn, Calif.
ON THE ONE HAND
Thank you for the 76 reasons that I still love sports (What's
Right about Sports, Aug. 10). You do, however, have two people
to add to One Team Careers: John Stockton and Karl Malone, both
without championship rings.
BENN BUYS, Salt Lake City
The Ohio State band performing Script Ohio at halftime. The
sousaphone player dotting the i is always an exciting sports
moment.
GEORGE STEPHAN, Lima, Ohio
My wife pointed out that conspicuously missing from your list
was Michael Buffer's "Let's get ready to rumble!" which more
often than not is more entertaining than the boxing match Buffer
is introducing. She is right.
SCOTT MATIS, Oak Park, Calif.
There are two things that are right about sports that you omitted
from baseball: the inside-the-park home run and the too rare
triple play.
ANDREW FLINK, Alpharetta, Ga.
Wooden bats. I'll take the thwack of a double hit over the ping
of a homer any day.
ROBERT MCDANIEL, Atlanta
Kirby Puckett, No. 1 versus No. 2, intrastate rivalries,
chipping it in, full count with the bases loaded, the Chicken,
the fifth set, the two-minute offense, trick plays, Boris
Becker, the pile-on, the rally, international competitions,
radio broadcasts, the fingertip catch, Cal Ripken Jr.
GARY FRASER, Las Vegas
Two-way football players.
KYLE JACOBS, Rockbridge, Ill.
Division III sports.
ANDY SHERMAN, Mequon, Wis.
Thanksgiving Day football.
SPENCER E. HELMUTH, West Chester, Pa.
ON THE OTHER
Here's a few more things wrong with sports to add to Rick
Reilly's article (The Flip Side of What's Right about Sports,
Aug. 10): artificial turf; owners threatening to move teams,
blackmailing the taxpayers into paying for their new stadiums
and then rewarding the fans by gouging them by forcing them to
pay for personal-seat licenses; Al Davis.
TOM CAMMALLERI, Newbury Park, Calif.
Hometown officiating, ties in any sport, fan interference in
baseball.
TODD BETZAG, Brooklyn
The changing of ballpark and stadium names to those of the
corporate sponsors/owners or the teams that play in them. The
ballpark in which the Cincinnati Reds play, for example, will
forever be Riverfront Stadium to me.
ERIC STRAWSER, Fort Myers, Fla.
Commercial breaks so long that you miss the first pitch, play or
serve.
JEFF ORNDORFF, Eldersburg, Md.
Free agents who always sign with the highest bidder and then try
to convince us that it "wasn't about the money."
DARREN WALKER, Winnipeg
Rookie holdouts and exhibition games in which teams charge fans
full price for only a shadow of a game.
NATHAN BIERMA, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Day-night doubleheaders.
JOE GRIPPO, Westbury, N.Y.
May God and all other sports fans forgive Reilly and the SI
editors for their grave error. They mistakenly put the return of
the Dawg Pound on the what's-wrong-with-sports list instead of
the one that's titled What's Right about Sports.
DAVID L. CUMMINGS, Toronto
COLOR PHOTO: RICHARD MACKSON More That's Right About SportsPuckett, the Chicken, Toms River players piling on to celebrate a World Series title and Becker. [Kirby Puckett]
COLOR PHOTO: MANNY MILLAN [See caption above--sports mascot The Chicken]
COLOR PHOTO: SIMON BRUTY [See caption above--Toms River little league baseball players celebrating]
COLOR PHOTO: DAVID WALBERG [See caption above--Boris Becker holding trophy]
