Letters

Re Cycling

I very much enjoyed your story on Lance Armstrong (Magnifique!
Aug. 6). Indeed, he has delivered, as your cover line says. As a
rehabilitation physician I have worked with cancer survivors,
many of whom struggle just to get through routine activities of
daily living. I don't think most laypeople have any sense of how
fantastic Armstrong's accomplishments are. They rank among the
most phenomenal of all human athletic achievements.
GREG CARTER, Centralia, Wash.

Of all the people to take cheap shots at Armstrong, I would not
have guessed Greg LeMond. Considering LeMond's miracle win at the
1989 Tour de France after he had been shot in the back two years
earlier, one would think he would have more respect for
Armstrong, who also stared death in the face and beat it.
DAVID ELAM, Ypsilanti, Mich.

I ride a LeMond bike. Someone rides better than I do. Although I
have no proof, I am sure he is using illegal components. It can't
be that he is a stronger rider. I also need to take my LeMond
bike in for repairs because it makes a whining sound.
LARRY KAY, Albuquerque

Will you finally give Armstrong his due and name him Sportsman of
the Year?
KEVIN KAY, Easley, S.C.

Rick Reilly (THE LIFE OF REILLY, July 30) has again captured the
essence of sport and of heroism. Kids, don't look to
the NFL, NBA or major league baseball for inspiration. Look no
further than Armstrong.
SCOTT FEIGHT, Kennesaw, Ga.

Reilly's article moved me to tears. Armstrong is the pure
embodiment of sport and competition. The male passengers on the
El looked on curiously--a female reading SI and tearing up? "I
thought you were reading Cosmo," said one onlooker. Later that
day, as I was training for the Chicago Triathlon, a strong wind
blew off the lake, slowing my bike down significantly. I thought
of Armstrong and pushed on even harder.
DEANNA MCCLUNG, Chicago

Sermons on the Mount

After reading Rick Reilly's selections for the lacrosse version
of Mount Rushmore (THE LIFE OF REILLY, Aug. 6), I wondered why he
rightly picked four Syracuse alumni--Jim Brown, Casey Powell and
the Gait brothers, Gary and Paul--and then placed the monument in
Baltimore.
ED HEFFERNAN, Syracuse, N.Y.

Sorry, Rick, turn the car around. I've got to point out a few
glaring omissions: In baseball you missed Cy Young; in pro
football you left out Walter Payton; in auto racing you need Dale
Earnhardt; and in mascots the Phoenix Gorilla doesn't come close
to the Phillie Phanatic.
TOBY ANDERSON, Weaverville, N.C.

What? No Sidd Finch on Mount Fiction? That guy threw 168-mph
cheese while wearing one hiking boot.
JON MICHAEL ERISEY, Akron

John Elway on football's Mount Rushmore instead of Joe Montana?
It's a crime.
ANTHONY AGOGLIA
Pacific Palisades, Calif.

A baseball monument featuring the profane and vicious Ty Cobb and
not Jackie Robinson? Say it ain't so!
TYLER ROUSH, Rainier, Ore.

In his list of sports Mount Rushmores, Rick Reilly forgot to
mention:

Bowling (Akron)--Dick Weber, Earl Anthony, Walter Ray Williams
Jr., Fred (Twinkletoes) Flintstone.

Horseshoes (Churchill Downs, Louisville)--Walter Ray Williams Jr.,
Walter Ray Williams Jr., Walter Ray Williams Jr., Mr. Ed (of
course, of course).
DOUGLAS R. CHUNG, Ledyard, Conn.

COLOR PHOTO: GERARD RANCINAN (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED)

COLOR PHOTO: COURTESY OF PLAYBOY

Bicycle Built for Two

The cover shot of Lance Armstrong gave me a sense of deja vu.
With a little research I discovered why. Clearly the inspiration
for Gerard Rancinan's photo is the August 1971 cover of Playboy
shot by Dwight Hooker. Thirty years to the month! Congratulations
on being so clever yet so subtle.
PETER SMITH, Green Bay

--Rancinan says he'd never seen the 1971 cover and then adds,
"I'll be more prudent in the future and read all the issues of
Playboy from the start." --ED.