19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

Sir:
Thank you for a delightful report on Appleton. I take exception, however, to the statement in the account of the Fox Cities Amateur Golf Tournament that J.P. Hayes "is still the biggest name in Wisconsin golf since Bobby Brue...." Hayes beat Steve Stricker of Edgerton this year for the Wisconsin amateur golf title, but last year it was Stricker who beat Hayes. In addition, Stricker, as a freshman at the University of Illinois, was Big Ten comedalist, qualified for the NCAA Championship and this past summer was medalist in the prestigious Western Junior Golf Tournament in Durham, N.C. I submit that Stricker is at least as big a name in Wisconsin golf as Hayes.
DALE E. POPE
Edgerton, Wis.

NFL INTERNATIONAL?
Sir:
After reading Rick Telander's piece (Go Downpitch And Buttonhook Smartly, Mate, Aug. 11) on the Bears-Cowboys exhibition game in London, I imagined I was watching Super Bowl XXXIII from Wembley Stadium as the London Broils, under head coach William (the Refrigerator) Perry, were taking on Moscow Dynamo for the NFL championship. The Soviets had made the Super Bowl after slipping past a game but outmanned Brussels Sprouts squad, whose hopes were dashed by some highly questionable officiating by a Bulgarian referee. Tell me: It was all just a bad dream, wasn't it?
STEVEN WINEINGER
North Haven, Conn.

Sir:
Your coverage of the "Jolly Good Show" was great, but before the NFL expands internationally and the London Rippers take on the Tokyo Kamikazes, I think the Bears should be playing teams in cities like Oakland, Baltimore and Phoenix, to name a few.
RICHARD DUFLO
Phoenix

A FAR CRY FROM $1.32 BILLION
Sir:
I was very disappointed by the outcome of the USFL's antitrust suit against the NFL (The Award Was Only Token, Aug. 11). The award of only one dollar in damages was an unjust blow. Now we do not have a choice as we did in the past with the All America Football Conference, the AFL and the WFL. It was the AFL that gave rise to the Super Bowl. Like the three-point shot in basketball (an ABA legacy), the AFL's contributions improved the game. The NFL is a monopoly, and it's time the government broke it up!
DOUGLAS C. BUFFONE
Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Sir:
In your May 19 SCORECARD, you noted this item from the AP wire: "A federal court jury will be asked to determine the future of professional football in America when the USFL's $1.32 [sic] antitrust suit against the NFL goes to trial next week."

Did the AP know something we didn't?
JIM NAGLE
Clemson, S.C.

Sir:
Your article on the trial was interesting but failed to recognize its fundamental message: The USFL brought about its own demise by not producing a product that the American public wanted to buy.

It is inconceivable that, if viewers had wanted to watch USFL football in large enough numbers, a TV network would not have jumped in with both feet.

Just because the USFL took a poor concept and made it worse by paying too much for "talent" and shifting its season to the fall, head-on with the NFL, is no reason to blame the NFL. The NFL is a monopoly because the public dictates that it be a monopoly, not because the NFL legislated it.

The public made its decision on the USFL long ago, and the courts have only now reaffirmed what a good decision it was.
JIM CRUMPLEY
Springfield, Mo.