LETTERS

Going Long

I enjoyed the NBA Playoff Preview (April 25). When the playoffs end--that would be sometime in August, right?--I'm sure I'll enjoy the championship issue as well.

Anthony Jayamanne
Columbia, Mo.

I noticed that of the five players Ian Thomsen saw as keys to the postseason (Right Place, Right Time, April 25), three are former Cleveland Cavaliers. In fact, eight of the last 10 NBA champs have featured at least one ex-Cavalier. Meanwhile, the Cavs missed the playoffs this year for the seventh straight season. Go figure.

Matt LaWell, Independence, Mo.

Familiar Ring

Your piece on Charlie Weis's attempt to resurrect Notre Dame's football program (Charlie in Charge, April 25) is just the beginning of the usual cycle. From here it goes like this: Hope springs eternal as Weis leads the Irish to an early victory over a national power; the Irish go 7--4 and the season ends on a positive note with a close victory (or narrow loss); national glory looms as Weis's second campaign starts 5--0; three straight upsets wreck a hopeful season; Weis fired after he goes 5--6 in his third season. I believe I speak for the majority of college football fans when I ask that you please focus instead on a program relevant to this century--you'll find one in Los Angeles, Norman, Baton Rouge or Columbus.

Tom Gibeaut, Cleveland

Capital Gain

No one should be surprised by the warm reception baseball's getting in Washington, D.C. (The Vote Is In, April 25). I'm a native of northern Virginia, and I have many fond memories of attending Senators games as a youngster. I still have my Louisville Slugger from Bat Day and my red plastic replica helmet from Helmet Day. We were not Orioles fans by choice, but because we were given no alternative.

Marie A. Edwartoski, Falls Church, Va.

Technical Foul

In Dr. Z.'s Mock First Round of the NFL draft (April 25), he made an error. Safety Thomas Davis played for the University of Georgia, not Georgia Tech.

James Fitzgibbons, Cordele, Ga.

EDITOR'S NOTE: SI regrets the error.

Radio Daze

Steve Rushin touched on one joy I discovered as a young baseball fan--finding a broadcast of a very out-of-town baseball game (AIR AND SPACE, April 25). Rushin's use of XM satellite radio to catch these games, however, misses out on a big part of the fun. I still enjoy fine-tuning the AM radio dial until I recognize the crackling broadcast of a game hundreds of miles away, then desperately trying to determine what team and station I'm listening to before the fickle signal disappears.

Jim Casazza, Danbury, Conn.

Sticking It

As a former high school, college, winter- indoor and summer league lacrosse player--and current high school coach and Major League Lacrosse season-ticket holder--I'd like to say welcome to the lax family, SI (Get on the Stick, April 25).

Aaron Caruso, Auburn, Mass.

What a different game lacrosse is than when my grandfather played. His team pictures from the 1920s are scattered throughout the campus at Penn State, where he played goalie in the era before pads, helmets and face shields. He has at least one black eye in every picture. He had never played before college but was offered a partial scholarship to play goalie, something few were willing to do in those pad- and helmet-free days.

Mark Harkins, Middletown, Pa.

While on vacation on Cape Cod last summer, I was lamenting with another father our kids' lack of interest in baseball. Then a teenager walked by wearing a T-shirt that said, a day without lacrosse is like 900 innings of baseball. Baseball better get the message.

Michael Getman, Oneonta, N.Y.

Dual Threat

While many consider Syracuse's and Cleveland's Jim Brown to be the best football player ever, he also may have been the best lacrosse player of all time. He is the only athlete to have been inducted into the Halls of Fame for pro football, college football and lacrosse. He was named second team All-America in lacrosse in his junior year at Syracuse and first team his senior year when he shared the national scoring title with 43 goals in 10 games. It may not be true, but it has often been said that the rule requiring players to keep their sticks in motion while carrying the ball was implemented with Brown in mind. It seems that it was the only way to slow him down.

Steven Berr, Danbury, Conn.

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