Letters
Jinx Times Six?
I have never been a believer--or wanted to be a believer--in the SI cover jinx. However as a graduate of both UCLA and Michigan, I noted with great interest that USC, Ohio State, and Notre Dame were featured on three of your six regional covers for the 2006 College Football Preview (Aug. 21). You can now count me among those who embrace this superstition, as I hope to hit a college-football-jinx trifecta this season.
Matt Cravets, Carlsbad, Calif.
The way I see it, the SI cover jinx and the six regional covers put Cal (ranked No. 8) in the BCS Championship Game against Auburn (No. 7).
Vincent Wong, Castro Valley, Calif.
Division I-AA? Nothing. Division II? Nothing. Division III? Nothing. I don't expect the same attention as that given to I-A schools in your preview, but not even a preseason top 25? What happened? It's a dream for a lot of kids to play college football. These other divisions help fulfill that dream while providing an education.
Robbie Love, Atlanta
Name Game
I laughed reading Identity Crisis (Scorecard, Aug. 21). When I was a senior in high school, then Baylor basketball coach Dave Bliss disgraced my name with scandal, and now that I play center at Georgia, I am often asked if we are related. Happily the answer is no. Also, thank you on behalf of the Georgia basketball family for noting the death of teammate Kevin Brophy (Scorecard, July 31), a true friend and a model scholar-athlete.
Dave Bliss, Athens, Ga.
I think I have the four Kevin Browns beat. When I was in college at Pennsylvania, there were four other students who shared my name. We often got e-mail, and occasionally a paycheck, meant for another guy. Once, three of us ended up at the same job interview. Another time we all received an e-mail saying, "One of you is on our intramural soccer team.... We're a bit short for tomorrow's game, so please show up."
Matt Cohen, Cambridge, Mass.
Out-of-Bounds
Michelle Wie breaks, then disses, the Rules of Golf, and you put it in They Said It (Scorecard, Aug. 21)? It should have been a Sign of the Apocalypse.
Harry Briggs, Irvine, Calif.
Lessons in Loss
I used to make fun of my wife for crying during Hallmark commercials. Last night she laughed at me as the tears streamed down my face while I read Rick Reilly's column on the life and death of Cory Lemke (Life of Reilly, Aug. 21). I have an 11-year-old son who is my best friend and favorite golfing partner. He thinks motorcycles are cool and wonders why I tell him that as long as I'm alive, he'll never have one, even though I used to ride. When he wakes up this morning he is going to read the column while he eats breakfast. I'm going to save it and show it to him every time he brings up the subject.
Jamie Rick, Branchburg, N.J.
I've a feeling that because of Reilly's column, tee times at golf courses across the nation for Saturday and Sunday mornings filled up quickly with father-son pairings.
Ken Ries, Greenville, S.C.
As I was driving home from work today, my cellphone rang. My father was on the line, and he asked me if I'd read the new Sports Illustrated. I could tell he was choked up. I said no, I hadn't yet gotten it in the mail. What's wrong? My father said, "I just called to say I love you, son, and to hear your voice. Read Reilly's column. You'll know why I called." My father and I have always had a close, loving relationship. Thank you for bringing us just a bit closer.
Michael Schaltz Jr., Loveland, Ohio
My husband is a good dad and tries his best to spend time with our kids--Anna, 8, and Jacob, 5--but as we all know, there are only so many hours in a day. The evening when my husband read about the Lemkes, he had wanted to take care of some of his own stuff in the bit of time he had left before bed. As Jacob and I were building a promised campfire in our backyard, my husband came outside and told me he'd do the fire with Jake. It was then that he told me to read the column he'd left open for me on the kitchen counter. Within 10 minutes he and Jake had a roaring little fire going and, at least for Jake, all was well with the world. Thank you for bringing a story to our lives that helped my husband decide that building a campfire with his son was really important.
Jennifer Housel, Kingsley, Pa.
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SIX PHOTOS
DARREN CARROLL (LSU, TEXAS); PETER READ MILLER (NOTRE DAME, OHIO STATE, USC, WEST VIRGINIA)
