Letters

Time Warp

As I watched theconclusion to Game 5 of the World Series between the Phillies and the Rays onWednesday evening, Oct. 29, I held in my hand the latest issue of SPORTSILLUSTRATED—which featured a photo from that very same game on page 34! We maynever see such a journalistic feat again.
Spencer Rosman, Chappaqua, N.Y.

I grew up in ageneration where a teacher or student brought a radio to school to get WorldSeries updates during day games. After school we went home to watch the lastfour or five innings. Those memories last forever. Subsequent generations ofkids never got to enjoy such moments because, given the much later startingtimes of most Series games, most were asleep before the third inning. TheSeries' ratings are so low (Wish You Were Here, Nov. 3) because, with the moveto night games, baseball lost millions of potential baseball fans.
Steve Koreivo, Byram Township, N.J.

We could have hadManny's Dodgers going to Boston. We could have had the Dodgers vs. the Angelsin the first Freeway Classic. Or the Cubs going for their first title in 100years. Instead we got the Phillies vs. the Rays in a cold rain. The dramaticpostgame interview I saw had umpires discussing rainout strategy.
Dave Brannon, Garden Grove, Calif.

Note to the Rays:No team that actually takes the field in hoodies and earflaps, regardless ofthe weather, will ever win the World Series.
Ron Chesbrough, Hastings, Neb.

Brain Power

While it's niceto see that distinguished educational institutions such as Duke, Stanford,Northwestern, Rice and Vanderbilt have attained a modicum of success on thegridiron (PLAYERS, Nov. 3), none of these august universities will ever so muchas sniff a BCS Bowl bid, let alone play for the championship. The day thathappens, Ralph Nader will be named CEO of General Motors.
Bill Bell, Los Angeles

One reason Icheer for my alma mater, Northwestern, on the football field is the school'semphasis on education. If the NCAA really wants to put student-athletes first,perhaps scholarships should be allotted based on graduation rates.
Norman C. Wang, Pittsburgh

The Vanderbiltprofessor you quote uses the term whoop ass. The correct usage in the South iswhupass.
W.H. Verdery Jr., Cornelia, Ga.

Spam Message

To be fair toPETA and its many supporters, you should have explained why the group asked thePhillies' Shane Victorino to stop eating Spam (PLAYERS, Oct. 27). A pig farm inIowa that supplies to Hormel, the maker of Spam, was recently charged withcruel and inhumane treatment of many of its animals. Is it really a sign of theapocalypse to alert someone to the cruelty behind their favorite food?
Amy LeGrand, Keokuk, Iowa

Crean Rising

In trying to digIndiana out of the hole that former coach Kelvin Sampson created in his twoyears there, Tom Crean has made all the right moves (Tom Crean's Big RedChallenge, Nov. 3). He has created excitement at a school where the team ispicked to finish last. Indiana knows that it will be a tough couple of years,but for the first time since Bob Knight left in 2000, Hoosier Nation hasembraced its new coach.
Brad Kamman, Vacaville, Calif.

Indiana, in about18 months, has run off two basketball coaches, an athletic director and auniversity president. Its house spying, alumni posturing and clinging to thepast make Indiana look like a program out of touch and out of control. Youattempt to make the hiring of assistant coach Roshown McLeod, "aninfluential and well-connected figure in AAU circles," sound like a goodthing. "Street agent" is more commonly used to describe that role. Goodluck to Clean Crean, he's gonna need it.
Jeff Leatherock, Oklahoma City

StaphInfections

All athletesunderstand the need to sometimes keep injuries "under wraps" to preventopponents from exploiting those injuries (POINT AFTER, Nov. 3). Butmethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections—virulent staphinfections that have been affecting athletes and are potential public healththreats—are a different story. As a physician and public health researcher, Ihave seen MRSA spread rapidly throughout a location and beyond. To benefit fromavailable interventions, sports teams must inform public health officials whenand where they have an MRSA problem.
Bruce Y. Lee, Pittsburgh

IntelligenceTest

In a story aboutBrett Favre's phone conversation with then Lions G.M. Matt Millen (INSIDE THENFL, Nov. 3), some players questioned the value of having inside information.But such information likely played a significant role in determining theoutcome of a Super Bowl. Jon Gruden (right) left Oakland to coach Tampa Bay in2002, and that season the Buccaneers faced the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. Toquote Tampa safety John Lynch from SI's game story (What a Steal!, Feb. 3,2003): "I've never been involved in a game where everything we ran inpractice played out so identically."
Dennis Brian Caulfield, New York City

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PHOTO

BOB ROSATO

PHOTO

JEFF HAYNES/AFP

INSIDE INFO Gruden's Bucs beat the Raiders 48--21.