MMQB Mailbag (cont.)

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• BELICHICK AND SUN-TZU, PART I. From Mike Royzer, of Baltimore: "I thought this was where the Sun-Tzu reference was going, from his book: 'Warfare is the art (tao) of deceit.' "

Which leads to ...

• BELICHICK AND SUN-TZU, PART II. From David Elstein, of New Paltz, N.Y.: "In the last chapter in The Art of War, the author says the most important thing in ensuring victory is having foreknowledge of the enemy's plans. This foreknowledge is obtained through the use of spies. I'd say Bill Belichick learned quite a bit from this book."

History is a great teacher, isn't it?

• PATRIOT NATION EVIDENTLY HAS NO PLANS TO FORGIVE JOHN TOMASE. From Jean Bissonnette, of Guilford Conn.: "It figures that you would stand up for Tomase. He gets half the nation in a frenzy ... ready to hang the Patriots and he gets off with an 'I'm sorry.' So he wants to rebuild our trust. Good luck."

He's hardly getting off by saying he's sorry. He knows he's never going to be forgiven by most Patriots fans. What would you like him to do? Slit his wrists?

• THE PENS DESERVE A NOD. From Paul, of Pittsburgh: "Hey King! No mention of the Penguins 6-0 rousing of the Flyers? Destined for the cup I tell ya, destined for the cup!"

Consider the Pens praised. By the way, Pittsburgh in six.

• AND NOW FOR SEVEN GREAT GRADUATION STORIES. From Noel Blyler, of Tacoma: "I'm writing in response to your request for favorite graduation rituals. I work at a school -- Charles Wright Academy, Tacoma -- where seniors can choose which teacher or board member will award them their diploma at graduation. Some choose a favorite teacher, or a coach, or a parent. The kids think a lot about who they'll ask to do this. My favorite memory is from a couple years ago when a girl who was an outstanding member of her class chose her kindergarten teacher to award her diploma to her. She'd had a lot of teachers in the intervening 12 years, but she chose her kindergarten teacher -- that said a lot about the impact that teacher had on a great kid. It's a great tradition."

• AND ONE FROM KENTUCKY. From Paul, of Camp Verde, Ariz.: "At Berea College, in Berea, Kentucky, professors line up on both sides of a long hallway that leads to the graduation ceremony. As the graduates approach, the professors break out in applause. As graduates walk through the line they can stop to thank and be congratulated by their favorite professors. As I look back on my graduation in 2003, these are the moments that stand out, even more than actually crossing the stage to receive my diploma. To hear the applause of faculty, to be congratulated personally by professors I highly respected and to say a few personal thank-yous meant the world."

• NOT REALLY TRADITIONAL, BUT A MEANINGFUL AND BRILLIANT STORY NONETHELESS. From Ken, of Huntington Beach, Calif.: "My own college graduation was probably unique. I didn't go to the ceremony. It was June 1980, and I was already working full time. So I skipped the ceremony. I drove to the college the morning after the ceremony prior to work and picked up my degree from the main office. I remember walking back to my car in the parking lot, getting in the car, looking at the degree for about 30 seconds, thinking, 'So that is it?' I put the degree on the passenger seat and drove to my job. Looking back, what I remember about college was going full time for four years, doing summer school three of those years, working 30 hours per week to pay for college. I took on no debt. No spring breaks. No vacations for all four years. I never took a dime from the taxpayers or my family to pay for college. I did it all myself. Yet, when it was all said and done, it was no big deal. What did I learn? The most important lesson many will miss. I learned when I set a goal, have a good plan, and worked it one day at a time, I can overcome a lot with very little help."

• THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY SOUNDS LIKE A HECK OF A GREAT PLACE. From Matt, of London, England: "Graduate traditions? It's a big deal for everyone, but I doubt that anyone feels what U.S. Air Force Academy grads feel on graduation day (except perhaps West Point and Annapolis grads). When you arrive at the Colorado Springs campus, buses drop you off at the bottom of a ramp and you get off the bus as an 18-year-old high-school grad and line up and march up that ramp to begin four years of your life that entail incredibly rigorous academics, seeing 25 percent of your friends leave or get kicked out, giving up summer vacations, zero frat parties, limited dating and listening to your high-school friends at other schools compare their college experiences. When it's all over and you march down that ramp for your last parade ... and later that day you stand in the stadium and feel the Thunderbirds fly overhead ... you can't explain that feeling, you can only live it."

• HARVARD HAS A GOOD ONE, TOO. From William, of Boston: "Harvard has a tradition of having a Latin oration at graduation; the speech is delivered in Latin. The amusing thing is that a translation of the speech is left on all the students' seats. The students follow along, and cheer (when the speech says something positive about Harvard) or boo (when the speech references Yale). The parents are sitting in the back (with no translation), and listening to a speech in Latin with no idea what the speaker is saying. But the parents see their kids listening and following the Latin speech and are likely thinking, 'It cost me a quarter of a million bucks, but check this out.' "

• I LOVE THIS ONE FROM DELAWARE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT A TRADITION. From Rob Phillips, of Canton, Mass.: "Not necessarily a graduation tradition but a remembrance: June 1987, University of Delaware commencement. I was sitting in front of most of the offensive linemen from the football team. They were being pretty noisy, blowing up beach balls and such, when the retiring UD President E.A. Trabant rose to speak. The rowdiness was continuing until a single voice spoke up and basically told the others to knock it off. 'He's graduating, too,' the young man said. It was Rich Gannon, UD '87. Not a peep out of the big boys for the rest of the speech. True story. Not many young men have that kind of presence with their peers

• AND FINALLY, ONE FROM ARIZONA: From Steve Miller, of San Diego: "University of Arizona graduation tradition: All grads sneak in bags of tortillas under their gowns and throughout entire ceremony little flour (or corn, possibly whole wheat these days) discs are flying up into the air from one side of the capped crowd to the other. I pity the selected speaker, however; the commotion is distracting enough I can't even remember who talked at my graduation nearly a decade ago."

I have the greatest readers in Internet history. Thank you so much for responding to my request for some fishing expedition I had, and I really appreciate the thoughtfulness you put into your responses. I hope all of you who are graduating this spring or have graduates in your families have a memorable day.