Letters

NEW YORK, NEW YORK
As Reds fans, we were amused by the mention of All-Star Eric Davis in Darryl Strawberry's rap recording of Chocolate Strawberry (Taking the Rap, July 13). Therefore we have decided to add a few stanzas to that infamous tune.

In the big games Darryl gets the flu,
While the Mets look more like the Bronx Zoo;
The Reds are up there in the NL West,
As E, not Straw, is proving he's the best.

E sprays hits all over the park,
On baseball history he makes his mark;
Darryl continues to reap the fans' boos,
While his disposition is nothing new.

Darryl continues to run off at the mouth,
While his team is definitely heading South;
In the East the Cards are way ahead,
And Darryl should regret the things he said.
MILTON LIU
THAD PLUMLEY
Columbus, Ohio

I admit that Strawberry hasn't been a choirboy lately, but he has consistently come through for clutch RBIs and is still a big asset to the team.
CHRIS BASAMAN
Lakewood, N.J.

WIMBLEDON
In the Wimbledon semifinal (Smash Acts on Centre Court, July 13), Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova displayed the kind of courtesy and sportsmanship that should be adopted by all in the sport. The play should do the competitive talking, and afterward the players should be gracious. So, what did Curry Kirkpatrick do? He made fun of Evert and Navratilova for being gracious and for saying that they had played their best match. He decided the greatest rivalry in sport was boring!
ERIC TOMARKIN
Hartsdale, N.Y.

Last year (SCORECARD, Sept. 15) you purged yourselves of all Czech jokes and promised there would be no more. Yet what do I see in my July 13 issue? This picture caption: "Though things looked up for Lendl in the semis, Cash bounced the Czech in the final." The caption is amusing, but you did promise!
BEN�T J. WILSON
Washington, D.C.

OLYMPIC TENNIS
I agree with what Bill Colson (Point After, June 29) had to say about professional tennis players in the Olympics, but the problems that he brought up would be eliminated if the event were restricted to amateurs. The thrill of representing one's country in an Olympics should be award enough for participants.

I should know; I played on the U.S. Olympic exhibition tennis team in Los Angeles in 1984. Don't get me wrong, my ultimate goal is to turn pro and make a living once I graduate from USC. But aside from college tennis, what other stepping-stones do amateur players have to propel themselves into the pro ranks?
ERIC AMEND
Los Angeles

SUGAR RAY
What an outstanding tribute to one of this country's greatest boxing heroes, Sugar Ray Robinson (Bittersweet Twilight for Sugar, July 13). Thanks to Ralph Wiley for bringing memories of Robinson back with such astonishing clarity.
MICHAEL S. HESLIN
Lewiston, Maine