Letters

Thanks for the Memories

Thanks for your Where Are They Now? issue (July 2-July 9). It
was great to see what the Bad News Bears are up to, but please
let Gabriela Sabatini know that no warm-blooded male in his
right mind cares if she smells like a rotting banana in a dirty
sweat sock. You have my permission to give her my phone number
if she doesn't believe you.
DAVE HOADLEY, Plymouth, Minn.

What a great idea! I especially liked the story about Dom
DiMaggio. I never realized what a terrific ballplayer he was. It
must have been tough to play in the shadows of Ted Williams and
brother Joe, but it sounds as if he was and still is a classy
gentleman. Here's to you, Dom DiMaggio--hope you make it to the
Hall.
ROBERT GLASSBERG, Boca Raton, Fla.

I applaud you for featuring Mark Fidrych. He is what a superstar
should be--humble and talented, with a love for the game. It's no
wonder that he continues to be a fan favorite in Detroit 20 years
after he left baseball.
LARRY SLABOTSKY, Detroit

Tim Layden paints a sad picture of Rick Mount, but his article
made me smile. I was 11 in 1970, and I was in Purdue (now Mackey)
Arena when the Rocket lit up Iowa for 61 points (still a Big Ten
record). If the three-point line had existed, he would have
scored more than 70.
MICHAEL R. ADAMS, Bloomington, Ill.

I wasn't particularly interested in knowing where they were then.
Why would I want to know where they are now?
DON GHAREEB, Glendale, Ariz.

Are you guys tough or what? You mention Rick Wise for probably
the first time in 30 years, and it's bad news. Why not in the
same breath also mention one of his great achievements--perhaps
the greatest performance in baseball history. Remember? A 1971
4-0 no-hitter against the Reds in which he faced 28 batters, gave
up only one walk and also hit two homers.
MARK LONCAR, Honolulu

Fantastic! The Cowboys Cheerleaders look stunning to this day.
This was better than the covers of the last five swimsuit issues
combined, and unlike many of the athletes on your covers, not one
of them has been involved in a contract dispute. Hire those
ladies for a cover shoot yearly.
MARK PAPAGEORGIS, Vancouver

Golfer Karrie Webb completes a career Grand Slam and gets a
picture and 34 words. You put the 1972 Dallas Cowboys
Cheerleaders on your cover, and they get an article. What were
you thinking? Or shouldn't I ask?
J.J. JENNINGS, Nassau, N.Y.

O.K., here's the deal: Feature cheerleaders, any cheerleaders, on
the cover ever again, and you can consider my long-running
subscription canceled.
BILLY FAIX, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Jimy's My Leader

As a longtime citizen of Red Sox Nation, I would like to cast a
vote of confidence for their maligned manager, Jimy Williams
(Hubbub, July 2-July 9). Although he is obviously not the
favorite of Dan Duquette and some of the players, Williams has
consistently done more with less than any manager in my memory.
The Sox have been competitive every year since 1998, and he has
scraped together a winning team in spite of injury and
dissension. Regardless of whether Jimy is the manager when the
curse is finally reversed, he deserves better than he is
receiving from the organization.
STEVE PAUL, Wyncote, Pa.

Islands in the Sun

Kostya Kennedy missed the boat in his analysis of the Alexei
Yashin trade (INSIDE THE NHL, July 2-July 9). For the first time
in years the Islanders have a bona fide No. 1 center and a player
the fans will come to watch, and they got him without giving up
any offense. More important, while they may not win the Stanley
Cup next year, the franchise is back on the map in the NHL.
MARC NICOLS, Farmingdale, N.Y.

B/W PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS

A True Original

Your cover story on the "original" 1972 Dallas Cowboys
Cheerleaders overlooked the first Cowboys cheerleading squad, in
'61, of which I was a member (front row, second from right). It
was called the Cow Belles and included the head cheerleader from
each high school in Dallas. We may not have been as glamorous as
subsequent Cowboys Cheerleaders, but with free tickets to Cowboys
games at the Cotton Bowl and Neiman Marcus-designed uniforms
(which weren't ready in time for our squad picture), we sure had
fun.
PATTY SAUNDERS TAGUE, Oklahoma City