Letters

If Rick Reilly writes one more sappy article with a title like
The Real Super Bowl Winner, I suggest you fire him.
--WILLIAM WALLBANK, Howell, Mich.

Scales of Justice

Thank you, Rick Reilly, for reminding us that the Ray Lewis story
is about two real people with real families who were murdered
following last year's Super Bowl (The Life of Reilly, Jan. 29).
Shorty Baker and Richard Lollar are gone, while the men who
killed them were free during this year's big game.
KEVIN ODBERG, Hartford

Not knowing the facts, it's easy to believe that Lewis was a
victim of circumstance, a guy who was in the wrong place at the
wrong time. But I'll accept this as fact: Lewis knows who killed
Lollar and Baker. Lewis either has no conscience or has an
immensely troubled conscience that could have fueled his
extraordinary drive on the football field.
BILL REEVES
Montgomery Village, Md.

Morality Play

Reilly's article on Kerry Collins made me sick (THE LIFE OF
REILLY, Feb. 5). He disses Lewis for not opening up to the press
during the Super Bowl and hails Collins for doing the opposite.
Yes, Collins was much more open, but it took him more than two
years to do so. Maybe if we give Lewis time, he'll do the same.
MICHAEL LITTLE
Clayton, N.C.

As a retired pastor with more than 40 years' experience in
inspiring and sometimes helping to reclaim lives, I felt Reilly's
column on Collins was perhaps his best ever. Giants fans or not,
we who enjoyed Kerry's exploits at Penn State also rejoice in his
recovered wholeness.
THE REVEREND DANIEL W. REID
North Wales, Pa.

I'll take a losing Kerry Collins over a winning Ray Lewis any
day.
JACK WEISS, Wilmington, N.C.

Postgame Analysis

Calling the Ravens "Bullies" is definitely out of line (Cover,
Feb. 5). This is football, for goodness sake! Being rough and
tough is the name of the game. If the Ravens are bullies, then
the Giants are surely sissies. Tell them to wear little ballerina
outfits the next time they play Baltimore, and maybe Lewis & Co.
won't hit them so hard.
DAWN GRANTLAND, Baltimore

A team with a controversial owner, a loudmouth receiver, a
defensive player in trouble with the law and a quarterback who
many experts say is overrated. Thanks to the Ravens, the heat can
now be taken off the Cowboys.
ROGER A. GILBERTSON, Marysville, Kans.

We don't care what you call our Baltimore Ravens, just as long as
you remember to call them champions.
KEN RENEHAN, Finksburg, Md.

Defensive Stand

In his article on the Ravens' defense (No Steel Curtain, Feb. 5),
Paul Zimmerman exhibits the same lack of class he ascribes to
Baltimore linebacker Peter Boulware by using the sour-grapes
quote of Giants offensive lineman Lomas Brown knocking Boulware.
Apparently Zimmerman and Brown equate class with whining by a
losing player to the nearest fawning sportswriter, as if that
would somehow mitigate the thrashing New York received in Tampa.
NELSON COFFIN, Towson, Md.

I'd like to know when "arrogance" became a "right"? I thought it
was a character flaw, the opposite of humility. Any team that
taunts a beaten opponent with comments like Peter Boulware's "get
off the field, losers" has no right to be compared to the great
defensive dynasties of yesterday.
BOB HARLOW, Avondale, Pa.

Zimmerman is right, winning a championship with character and
class is what it's all about. The Ravens have no class because
their owner has no class.
DICK RIPLEY, Centerville, Ohio

For Dr. Z to base the Ravens' purported lack of class in part on
the comments and actions of a few players in the wake of the
biggest victory in franchise history is presumptuous. Let's not
forget the 1985 Bears, whose defense Zimmerman extols. The Bears
indulged themselves in a self-coronation midway through that
season with their infamous Super Bowl Shuffle video.
JUSTIN WARFIELD, Frederick, Md.

COLOR PHOTO: PETER READ MILLER

Down But Far from Out

A standing ovation for Giants quarterback Kerry Collins (above),
who has achieved what few pro athletes are able to do in their
careers: He faced his problems and overcame them.
RICK SWARTZ, Bel Air, Md.