Training Days
Your Feb. 24 baseball cover picture of the Angels is an instant
classic. At first I thought I was looking at an artist's
rendition of a 1950s training camp but soon realized it was a
photographic masterpiece.
Richard Lorenzin
Whitby, Ont.
I got a warm and tingly feeling from Tom Verducci's spring
training article (Hope Springs Eternal, Feb. 24). For years I've
been listening to friends say baseball has lost its place as the
national pastime, that it's boring and too slow. Reading this
article made me realize just how wrong they are. I'm looking
forward to this season more than ever. Play ball!
Pete Swetkovich, San Jose
Every year, when the headlines read PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT,
I send an e-mail to a few friends saying, "At least for today,
all is right in the world." With a pending war in Iraq, a crisis
in North Korea, ongoing concern over terrorism and a flat
economy, this year's email took on special meaning. In 27 years
as an SI subscriber I've never had a cover story affect me the
way Verducci's did. With the rest of the world seemingly headed
in the wrong direction, this could be--who knows--the Cubs' year.
Alan Register, Birmingham
Girl Power
Two hundred sixty-five yards off the tee (A Woman among Men, Feb.
24)? Loren Roberts--eight PGA Tour wins, 21st on the career money
list with $12 million--has done O.K. hitting the ball that
distance. Anyone who has seen Annika Sorenstam swing a golf club
knows she will probably be playing on the weekend at the
Colonial.
C. Ronald Kersh
Williamsburg, Va.
The comments about Annika's being bland are ridiculous and a
little sexist. She is focused on winning, dresses
stylishly--wearing cool shades even before David Duval--and is a
wonderful role model for young female athletes.
Kirk Neal, Blacksburg, Va.
The pictures of Annika Sorenstam are beautiful, but in an article
that debated, among other things, whether the LPGA should be
taken seriously, SI decided to sex it up just in case.
Disappointing.
Mercy Garland, Valley Cottage, N.Y.
Goodbye, Nolan
Since former Arkansas basketball coach Nolan Richardson (Hog
Fight, Feb. 24) is still living near the Fayetteville campus, I
think he should take a course in Reality 101. He had a great
career at Arkansas and was loved by the community. He basically
told his bosses to "take this job and shove it." Does it surprise
anyone that they took him up on it? Nolan, you were well-paid as
the basketball coach at Arkansas for 17 years. Your departure was
not a racial thing. It was a reality thing, and you have millions
of reasons to feel good about what you've accomplished. Go in
peace, my friend.
Johnny Goode Little Rock
A 10% graduation rate? Richardson--or any other coach with that
statistic--should have been fired a long time ago.
Scott Bryant, Lake Forest, Calif.
Swimsuits Now...
It's not like I need a ton of motivation to go cover-to-cover
(SWIMSUIT ISSUE, Winter 2003), but you also gave me short fiction
by the hilarious Carl Hiaasen (Tart of Darkness) and a special
section devoted to Serena Williams. After 20 years I actually
read an issue!
Jon Feld, Newton, Mass.
Would you please ask Ekaterina Gordeeva if she would let you give
us more of her Swimsuit pictures, either in the magazine or on
si.com? We want more, Katia! And more Katia!
Charles D. Hardin, Newton, N.C.
I'd like to suggest a change from cheesecake to beefcake for a
few years. This would give you guys a chance to experience the
Swimsuit Issue as many of your wives might--you'll see what you
aren't now and won't ever be.
Virginia Werstine, London, Ont.
The sexiest model by far in the latest Swimsuit Issue was Serena
Williams--a real woman with a real body. I hope you'll include
pictures of more real women in future years.
Elliot Tannenbaum, Philadelphia
...and in the Future
So Rick Reilly wants a new idea for the Swimsuit Issue (THE LIFE
OF REILLY, Winter 2003)? How about an old idea--models with
curves? Enough already with the bony Euro-models and
dorky-looking waifs.
Carlos Lebron
Shawnee Mission, Kans.
I have waited all winter for my Swimsuit Issue, and what's the
very first thing I do when I take it out of the mailbox? Turn to
the back page to read Reilly's column, the same thing I do
whenever I get my SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Am I the most pathetic
heterosexual male on the planet or what?
Scott Johnson, Boise, Idaho
COLOR PHOTO: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY V.J. LOVERO
COLOR PHOTO: WALTER IOOSS JR.
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