19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

STAR BILLING
Sirs:
I want to call your attention to a glaring inaccuracy in your cover story on O. J. Simpson (Ready If You Are, O.J., July 14). It is stated that the Buffalo Bills didn't book an attractive exhibition schedule until after they drafted O.J. This is not true.

All our exhibition games, except the game with the Rams, were arranged last fall, long before we had any idea we were going to draft Simpson. You were as far from the truth here as you were in the statement that Simpson would put $400,000 extra into the Buffalo till. The assumption that the game would not draw unless O.J. played is absurd. The doubleheader in Cleveland, particularly, has been an automatic sellout since long before O.J.
RALPH C. WILSON JR.
President
Buffalo Bills
Detroit

Sirs:
I don't think it has ever occurred to Frank Deford that O.J. might not even make it in pro football.

Personally, I think O.J.'s lucky if he gets $100,000.
PAUL EBERSOLE
Butler, N.J.

TWO EARS
Sirs:
Thank you for the article on bullfighting by John McCormick (The Sound of Hooves, July 7). Although I respect Mr. McCormick's opinions, I disagree with him about El Cordob�s (Manuel Benitez) and Sebasti�n Palomo (Linares). Mr. McCormick said that El Cordob�s is an "evil influence" on young matadors, and that "Linares, next to Cordob�s, is the most vulgar character ever to put on a suit of lights."

I have seen El Cordob�s and Linares fight on five different occasions and, while they are not "classical" matadors, I have found them to be fantastically brave and talented in their profession. Unlike the author's hero, Antonio Ord��ez, who won't give his best when he's not in the mood, both of these matadors give their all with every bull. In the words of the late great Juan Belmonte: "Tell me who is the highest paid matador, and I will tell you who is the best. In the end, it is the public who decides." El Cordob�s is the public's choice.
KATHY WALLACE
Ridgewood, N.J.

Sirs:
Two ears and a tail and a vuelta al ruedo, (a lap around the ring) for John McCormick. For those of us who must remain here at home and can make it back to Spain only every few summers, such articles provide a welcome summary of the bulls. Mr. McCormick is an author who knows the art of bullfighting thoroughly. His book, The Complete Aficionado, is primarily for the expert fan, and his article is on the same level.

One summer, through arrangements by Ernest Hemingway, I traveled through Spain with Antonio Ord��ez, the finest bullfighter of our time. It was therefore gratifying to see Mr. McCormick call Antonio's work with one bull "one of the finest things I have ever seen in the plaza." Ord��ez is nearly 40 now, and slowing down somewhat, but he still retains that majesty of presence which only a very few men possess.

In all the years of its existence, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED has never had a poorly written or unfair article on bullfighting, and The Sound of Hooves, which recaptured so magnificently the magic of the madness of Pamplona's feria, joins the group.
JEFFREY LYONS
New York City

CASH AND CAREY
Sirs:
With so many unusual names in baseball this year, some interesting trades might occur. For instance, we could see Norm Cash and Jimmie Price of the Tigers traded for Don Money of the Phillies. Or maybe a pitcher trade involving Bill Hands, Phil Knuckles and Rollie Fingers of the Cubs, Padres and A's respectively?