Letters
High Mass
With the Red Sox, the Patriots and now the Celtics (Extreme Makeover, Oct. 29) each gracing the cover of your magazine in October, I feel like I am subscribing to Boston Sports Weekly instead of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Unfortunately for those of us fans in the rest of the country, all three teams deserved the recognition.
Jeff Appelgate, Prosser, Wash.
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Ian Thomsen and the rest of the basketball world are declaring that the Boston Celtics are the Beasts of the East. But Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are all out of their primes; I'm not ready to jump on the bandwagon just yet.
Ben Briggs, Mount Laurel, N.J.
Preview Issues
Leaving Kobe Bryant off your preseason picks for first or second All-NBA teams (5-Minute Guide, Oct. 29) is like leaving Babe Ruth out of the Baseball Encyclopedia.
David Fuchs, Charlotte
In your Bobcats preview a scout says that point guard Raymond Felton is "a little slow." Compared to what? A cheetah?
Matt Young, Charlotte
Measure for Measure
In your listing of the best players at each height (Alltime, All-Size All-Stars, Oct. 29), along with as many as three runners-up, you have a glaring hole at 5' 4": Shawnta Rogers. In 1998--99 the former George Washington star beat out Lamar Odom and James Posey to become the Atlantic 10 player of the year.
Mark Davidson, Pittsburgh
Allen Iverson, Sheryl Swoopes, Tim Hard-away and Louie Dampier? I'd take 6-foot All-America and four-time All-Star Mark Price any night.
Eric Goodman, Mayfield Village, Ohio
Why was Diana Taurasi, arguably the most determined women's player ever, left off the 6' 0" list?
David Mathieu, Phoenix, Ore.
Bob Cousy ahead of John Stockton at 6' 1"? Cousy never even made 40% of his field goals in a single season, while Stockton's career average was 51.5%. Playing against bigger and quicker athletes than Cousy, Stockton was press-proof in his prime and holds the career records for assists and steals.
Mave Hedberg, St. George, Utah
I'm surprised you chose Dave Bing ahead of Steve Nash for players at 6' 3". Bing was a prolific scorer, but Nash has won two MVP awards to Bing's zero, and he has many more assists.
Alex Stewart, Vancouver
How about David Thompson at 6' 4"? In college Thompson was a three-time first-team All-America and a two-time college player of the year, and led N.C. State to the 1974 national championship, stopping UCLA's streak of seven consecutive titles. With the Denver Nuggets he was an All-Star in both the ABA and the NBA and once scored 73 points in an NBA game. The only player as spectacular as Thompson during his era was Julius Erving, with whom he engaged in the greatest slam dunk competition ever at the ABA All-Star Game.
Chuck Stuber, Raleigh
I know that he has only been in the league for five years, but would you really keep the 6' 8" LeBron James off the list? Shouldn't he be ahead of runners-up like Neil Johnston and Dolph Schayes?
Tom Campbell, Columbus, Ohio
Don't tell me that 6' 8" Dominique Wilkins gets overlooked again?
Jeff Davis, McDonough, Ga.
After having to hear endless tales of how Boston is now the sports mecca of the universe, thank you for picking Magic Johnson over Larry Bird at 6' 9". Showtime lives!
Brandon Carter, Half Moon Bay, Calif.
If you had one game to win with the fate of civilization depending on the outcome, would you really take Magic for your team over Bird?
Josh Hall, Terre Haute, Ind.
Hakeem Olajuwon over Tim Duncan for best 7-footer? Duncan already has two MVP awards to Olajuwon's one and has won four NBA titles to Olajuwon's two.
Craig Miller, Dallas
How could you put stumblebum Zydrunas Ilgauskas as the top 7' 3" player over Arvydas Sabonis? Ilgauskas, who grew up idolizing Sabonis, couldn't hold Sabonis's jockstrap if it were stitched into his hands.
Dave Vecsi, Portland
I would argue that in the 7' 6" category "no preference" should have been a clear winner over Shawn Bradley.
David Ferguson, Dallas
Cracking Down
If Islanders left wing Chris Simon is such a good guy off the ice (When He Is Bad..., Oct. 29), perhaps that is where he should stay. Players say good things about Todd Bertuzzi as well, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he ended Steve Moore's career. It's nauseating that NHL players often seem to advocate for the aggressors in these cases, not the victims.
Kelly Robinson, Staten Island, N.Y.
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WALTER IOOSS JR.