Letters

Not every bodybuilder looks at himself all day in a mirror and pops steroids in order to bulk up his appearance.
—Steve R. Eckes, Naperville, Ill.

Bodybuilding
William Nack did a great job putting the sport of pro bodybuilding into focus (The Muscle Murders, May 18). But as an amateur bodybuilder, I have to disagree with him on one thing. Anabolic steroids aren't the Wheaties of most bodybuilders; they're the Wheaties of all bodybuilders.
Michael Lee, West Lafayette, Ind.

I used to be a bodybuilder as well as a judge for the National Physique Committee and the American Athletic Union, and drugs are the reason I left the sport.
C.X. Domino, Houston

Every gym rat who worships these synthetic Adonises should realize the fallacy of his thinking: You can't get there from here without the juice! Imagine the size of the heart that services a body with such musculature. You think that's healthy?
Ron C. Johnson, Morristown, Tenn.

Some bad apples should not create the view that bodybuilding is made up of a bunch of low-self-esteem losers. I have been involved in bodybuilding for about three years, and although I do not compete, I feel proud of my physique. The sport is not a crutch to make me feel that I can go around thinking I am invincible.
Chris Stran, Youngstown, Ohio

I can't understand why the federal government doesn't treat steroids in a similar fashion as heroin, cocaine and other controlled substances. This would at least cause greater scrutiny of how these drugs are being distributed and by whom.
Dan Williams, Tucson

Playing Hurt
I was surprised that you did not include Michael Jordan's performance in the fifth game of last year's NBA championship series in your list of athletes playing despite injuries (SCORECARD, May 18). Remember how he suffered through nausea and diarrhea the night before the game, and how during the game he had a fever? Still he made clutch shot after clutch shot.
Andre Mack, Austin

On Jan. 2, 1994, Emmitt Smith, despite a separated shoulder that would require off-season surgery, ran for 168 yards and caught 10 passes for 61 yards in a 16-13 overtime victory over the New York Giants.
Russ Cardwell, Summerville, S.C.

We're No Vandals
In the opening paragraph of More Power to Them (May 18), you said the hockey world is divided it two groups, "North Americans and Europeans...those who vandalize their Olympic dorms and those who don't." In case you don't remember, the U.S. hockey team destroyed its rooms and fled Nagano as soon as it could. The other team from North America, from the country that invented hockey, Canada, bowed out quietly and stayed in Nagano to enjoy the Olympic experience to the fullest.
Michael Paci, Dundas, Ont.

Doak Walker
Rick Reilly's tribute to Doak Walker moved me to tears (THE LIFE OF REILLY, May 18). I was a student at SMU during Walker's All-America years there, and I attended all the home football games. The Doaker (left, running the ball for the Detroit Lions) was the best athlete I've seen in more than six decades of observing sports. About the only thing Reilly omitted was that Walker was also outstanding on the Mustangs' baseball and basketball teams, and had there been a ski team, he would have excelled on it, too.
Lanny R. Middings, San Ramon, Calif.