Letters

Your story on Buck Showalter had two photos that show why he is the perfect man to revive the Orioles. In one he is on the mound instructing seven pitchers, who are rapt with attention. In the other he is jawing with two umpires, reminiscent of Baltimore's managing great Earl Weaver. Showalter has clearly taken charge, and hopefully wins will follow.

Tom Smith, Atlanta

I enjoyed Tom Verducci's piece on Showalter (Buck to the Future, March 28). People tend to harp on the constant recycling of undeserving coaches and managers in sports. Showalter is proof of how, if one stays involved with the game and never stops learning the craft, there will always be another job offer.

Matt Baker, Vancouver

Tall Order

I was elated to see your story on Brittney Griner (Towering Power, March 28). Since 1972, Title IX has been helping to bring female athletes like Griner further along in sports. If she decides to go pro maybe her talent can help set the standard for female athletes, who should be making more than a fraction of the salary that male athletes make. Then Title IX will have truly succeeded.

Lisa Markland

Germantown, Md.

Trial and Errors

I agree with George Dohrmann's position in The U.S. vs. Barry Bonds (SCORECARD, March 28) that the prosecution has ill served the people. While the government has allocated $6 million to the Bonds trial, the California State University system has been forced to reduce its budget by $281 million and cut enrollment by 10,000 students. One has to wonder if trying Bonds is a valuable use of time and money.

Teva Brender

Monte Sereno, Calif.

I find it difficult to put a dollar amount on justice. While it may seem that the federal government is putting extraordinary resources into the Bonds case, who else is supposed to bring some measure of justice? Using steroids and then lying under oath about it is cheating and committing a crime.

Al Albergate

Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Barry Bonds a victim? Hardly. No matter how you slice it, the only thing Bonds is a victim of is his own arrogance, selfishness and stupidity. Regardless of the outcome of his court case, I still won't consider him to be baseball's alltime home run leader because of his steroid use.

Mike Wohlhaupter, Largo, Fla.

Celtics Pride

I found it odd that Dan Patrick asked Larry Bird if he could have teamed up with other superstars. (SCORECARD, March 28). What about Robert Parish and Kevin McHale? They were voted among the top 50 players in NBA history. Or Dennis Johnson? Bird once called him the best teammate he ever had. I'd take that Celtics team in a playoff series over the Heat's superstars.

Sandy Bucknam, Hudson, N.H.

Atonement

It was chilling reading Michael Vick's statement (SCORECARD, March 28) that he would change nothing if given the chance to do everything all over again. That means that he would again subject innocent animals to fight to the death for the sole purpose of entertainment and gambling. Apparently the dogs Vick treated so inhumanely were collateral damage in his search to make better choices and find meaning in life. Although some of the dogs that were abused were saved and rehabilitated, in my opinion Vick still has not been.

Paulette Carollo

Winter Park, Fla.

Perhaps we would have fewer young Michael Vick types throwing their lives away in jail if we had more men like the older Michael Vick, who has been humbled and is willing to learn from his mistakes.

Thomas S. Muri

Whitefish, Mont.

Lockout Humor

Phil Taylor's A Mockery of a Lockout (POINT AFTER, March 28) was funny and right on. I don't think the NFL owners and players know just how much they are hurting their fans with this greedy work stoppage. Everyone is losing money, not just them. Most fans don't make millions a year so it hurts us a lot more.

Brian Jones, Akron

After reading your story on the NFL lockout I had to thank you for making me laugh so hard. I'll never attend another children's recital without visualizing the Dawg Pound showing up.

Bruce May, Westbrook, Conn.

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