Letters

In your Feb. 14 SCORECARD you say that Marlin Carlos Delgado will pay zero state income tax if he leaves Florida, which has no income tax, to play in a state that does. This is so, you report, because "a clause in his contract would require his next team to foot his tax bill." But if he ever moves to another state, Delgado will pay income tax because every penny his new team pays to "foot his tax bill" is additional income to him. The new team, however, can increase his gross salary so that after taxes, his net income would remain the same. California's tax collector would love to explain it to him.

Bill Amsbary, Orange, Calif.

Diener Time

I really enjoyed your article on the Diener basketball family of Fond du Lac ( Wisconsin Pride, Feb. 14). The Diener kids are great athletes, but knowing all of them and having taught most of them in school, I can honestly say that they are even better people. It all starts with Grandma Diener.

Steve Zimmerman, Mount Calvary, Wis.

Charles P. Pierce glossed over the fact that Travis and Drake Diener were both held back one year before starting high school partly in order to "physically mature." This sort of parental behavior implies that winning at athletics and getting the almighty college scholarship are more important than normal academic and social progress.

Brian Coughlin, Oak Lawn, Ill.

Twofers

How utterly heartbreaking: The Sacramento Kings had to play basketball two days in a row (Double Whammy, Feb. 14). What would they do if they had to take a 95% to 99% pay cut and do something important and genuinely difficult like teaching children five days a week, or going into a burning building with pounds of heavy protective gear on while trying to save property and lives, then returning to the firehouse and answering another call?

Edwin Cohen, Walnut Creek, Calif.