Letters

GAME 6
Thanks to Peter Gammons for an exhilarating recapitulation of the sixth game of the 1986 World Series (Game 6, April 6). I read every word and turned every page as if the outcome were unknown. I still get shivers when I see replays of Ray Knight leaping onto home plate with the winning run.
RICHARD DEAGAZIO
Edison, N.J.

I read the last three paragraphs of the story to see if the outcome had magically changed, or if the pain had at least dulled. No such luck.

Sometime in the future—perhaps after another World Series has passed—I might be able to read the rest of the piece, but not now. Indeed, "there are just some things you never forget," and some hurts that even time may not heal.
ALAN J. DOKSANSKY
Cranston, R.I.

THE 64-TEAM QUESTION
I was beginning to believe that I was the only human being left on the planet who felt that the NCAA basketball tournament field is too big at 64 teams—until I read Frank Deford's essay (POINT AFTER, March 30). That at least makes two of us.

Incidentally, I am in no way related to U.S. Senator Roman Hruska, whom Deford mentioned.
MARY ROMAN-HRUSKA
New York City

Deford is right about one thing: Mediocrity in sports and in life deserves no special recognition; let the real champions be praised.
ANDREW B. CAMPAGNA
New Orleans

Every college basketball team understands the NCAA tournament system, and the best teams learn to adapt their style of play and their mental toughness to that system. No one should make excuses for teams like Illinois, Purdue and Pittsburgh, who were knocked out of this year's tournament by supposedly lesser opponents. If they can't accept the pressure of single-elimination basketball and beat "Northeast Cupcake Tech" in the first or second round, then they certainly don't deserve to be the NCAA champion.

Cinderella teams will always exist. These are adrenaline-filled college athletes, not predictable NBA businessmen-players. Indiana and Syracuse are examples of teams that survived the onslaught. The cream rises to the top. On paper the winners may not always appear to have been the best, but when it really mattered, they were. They won the tournament.
CHRIS STEPHENS
Castalia, Ohio

THE THOMAS TOUCH
Debi Thomas is a miracle (Thou Swell, Thou Witt-y, March 23)!

Figure skating demands so much of our athletes, and at such an early age, that balanced lives have become almost too much to hope for. These young athletes are the products of years of incredibly demanding, time-consuming, wallet-gobbling training. That many of them consequently exhibit limitations similar to those of laboratory animals is no surprise.