Letters
After reading Rick Reilly's terribly cruel and ruthless article
about Los Angeles, I couldn't stop laughing for hours. Shame on
both of us.
--TERRY HERRINGTON JR., Dallas
Proposed Roster Changes
I was disappointed by the absence of one player from your
college football alltime team: Barry Sanders (Team of the
Century, Aug. 16). As a junior in 1988 at Oklahoma State, he won
the Heisman Trophy playing for a team that seldom appeared on
television, and during his career he broke or tied 24 NCAA
records.
JOHN BALDWIN, Connellsville, Pa.
You left off two of the greatest college quarterbacks: Jim
McMahon and Steve Young from Brigham Young.
STEVE SCHMUTZ, Kaysville, Utah
Not including Archie Manning is ridiculous.
BOB MIMS, Memphis
Tom Harmon, Michigan 1938-40, was a superb two-way,
triple-threat back who dominated most games, no matter the
opponent.
DAVID W. CARTER
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Not so much as an honorable mention for two of the game's
alltime best defensive tackles, Jerome Brown and Russell
Maryland of Miami?
DEREK SMITHERS, Bellbrook, Ohio
How in heaven's name does Jim Thorpe, All-America, AP greatest
athlete of the first half of the 20th century and single-handed
slayer of the likes of Army and Notre Dame, rate second to
anyone on defense, let alone Nile Kinnick?
KARL GINTER, Carlisle, Pa.
How could you leave off Texas Christian's Bob Lilly?
CLARENCE E. CANAFAX, San Antonio
To leave Tom Osborne off the coaching staff is laughable. Either
you haven't been watching college football for the last 25
years, or a 255-49 record, 13 conference titles won or shared,
and three national championships don't mean much to you.
CHRIS SWEARINGEN, Lincoln, Neb.
Legend Before His Time
LaVar Arrington may be one of the most talented players ever to
put on pads at Penn State, but being talented and being one of
the Nittany Lions' best ever are two different things (Say It's
So, Joe, Aug. 16). Let's wait for him to play his junior season
before he's mentioned in the same breath with Jack Ham.
BILL KESSLER, Seattle
Your story states, "Arrington played on the North Hills
ninth-grade grade football team as an eighth-grader." I'm the
wife of LaVar's eighth-grade football coach, Nelson Erb, and I
remember the day my husband came home and dejectedly said, "The
ninth grade took LaVar." For the week LaVar played for the
eighth grade, we kidded Nelson that every page of his playbook
should read, "Give LaVar the ball!" When Lavar is home, he never
misses a chance to visit all his coaches, even his eighth-grade
coach.
LISA M. ERB, Valencia, Pa.
G'Day, Football Fans
As an Australian living in the U.S., I enjoyed Gary Smith's
comparison of the NFL and (real) football in Australia (Aussie
Rules, Aug. 16). I have the same criticisms as my countrymen
quoted in the article, and I wonder why NFL coaches don't
incorporate more rugby-style passes or, as you would say,
laterals. The lack of passing tends to make plays predictable.
JEREMY SMITH, Berkeley, Calif.
I lived in Australia for three years. I've seen rugby.
Pul-leeze! The collisions in rugby are at half the speed of a
free safety's closing in on a wide receiver.
RICK WEBER, Fort Myers, Fla.
L.A. Love Letters
Rick Reilly hit the nail on the head with his "Welcome to Los
Angelose" article (THE LIFE OF REILLY, Aug. 16). L.A. is a town
that has been cursed with some of the laziest, most overpaid
athletes in the world. If Los Angeles teams would get rid of
overpriced talent like Raul Mondesi and his .250 batting average
and Shaquille O'Neal and his 50% foul shooting, maybe they might
win. Until then, the city will be the town where so-called stars
come to lose.
KEVIN JOHNSON, Fountain Valley, Calif.
Professional sports is so pitifully corrupt and morally
contemptible that it isn't deserving of our time or our money.
On the other hand, more then 90,000 people showed up to see a
women's soccer game. I regularly attend high school football
games where 5,000 people are in the stands, and I had to go
through a ticket broker to secure a ticket to the state high
school basketball championship. L.A. is still a sports town; it
just isn't a pro sports town (unless you count UCLA).
VERNE MASON, Camarillo, Calif.
COLOR PHOTO: JOHN IACONO
Get Him on the Team!
How can you have an all-century team without Bo Jackson as a
running back? This is the same Bo Jackson that you named as one
of your 20 Favorite Athletes of the Century.
BOB TAYLOR, Montgomery, Ala.