Letters

Time and Tide

Hey, Crimson Tidefans, be careful what you wish for. Your school just hired the Larry Brown ofcollege football (In the Nick of Time, Aug. 27). If Nick Saban is successful inAlabama, three or four years from now he'll say, "Show me the money" tosomeone else and be gone.
Dave Ayrault
Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.

Rick Bragg's NickSaban story is the best I've read in SI. Bragg transports us into a world wherea tailback runs "like something bad is after him," a coach's aura can"turn a stick into a snake," and fans "spun cotton all week forpocket change." I felt as if I was reading a football article written byJohnny Cash.
Anthony La Pira, Demarest, N.J.

So you putquitters on the cover now? Seven pages of how great Saban is and two sentencesabout what he did to the city of Miami and the team he left in disarray? Pleasestop the comparisons between Saban and Bear Bryant. Bear would never quit onhis team after only two years.
James Duff, Philadelphia

Your cover storygave me a major case of déj√† vu. A couple years ago wasn't I reading about howSaban—wearing the same lame hat—was going to rescue the Dolphins? That wasbefore he failed and quit on Miami, fleeing to greener pastures. How does thatP.T. Barnum quote go?
John Lanteri, Middlebury, Conn.

I have to ask whatis more impressive: the fact that 92,000 'Bama fans showed up, free of charge,to watch a Crimson Tide practice or that 75,000 Ohio State fans showed up (at$5 a ticket) to watch a Buckeyes practice?
Josh Eick, Coshocton, Ohio

I read whereAlabama had 92,000 in attendance for the spring football scrimmage. I guessWal-Mart was closed.
Steve Burris, Atlanta

After Auburndefeats Alabama on Nov. 24 for a sixth straight time, are you going to write anice big article about Tommy Tuberville's dominance of Alabama?
Chris Marshall, New Market, Ala.

Head Games

Ha-ha, I'mlaughing, but I'm not sure everybody got the joke—that is, SI's raising thepossibility of Tennessee renaming The Summitt (PLAYERS, Aug. 27) if coach PatSummitt goes back to using her maiden name after her divorce. With all duerespect to a great coach, I don't think UT would want its basketball court tobe known as The Head.
Andy Remson, Spring, Texas

Katrina'sAftermath

Alexander Wolffwrote about the reporting he did for his story on local athletics in NewOrleans (Two Years After Katrina, Aug. 27), "I suppose a lesson here isthat man-made tragedies can be man-fixed—and that those Mother Nature visitsupon us are harder to get a handle on." Actually, Mother Nature can befought with Mother Nature, by restoring Louisiana's protective barrier islandsand wetlands.
Cathy Cole Hightower, Metairie, La.

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BOB ROSATO