Letters

Curing the Madness

I don't really like all the shocking upsets, last-second shots and unmatched excitement of the NCAA basketball tournament. College hoops should follow the lead of the BCS: Input some numbers only an astrophysicist could understand and let the computers decide that Texas should play Ohio State!
Brian Jardine, Dunmore, Pa.

Hooray for Grant Wahl for calling out Billy Packer and Jim Nantz on the way they dismissed midmajor schools such as George Mason, Wichita State and Bradley as unfit to be in the NCAA tournament (Once Upon a Time, March 27). Those guys are nothing more than shills for the big conferences.
Bob Youngerman, Brevard, N.C.

Whatever respect I once had for Packer is now gone. He's so embedded in the camps of the ACC and the Big East that I think if someone asked him to name a state west of Virginia, his answer would be " West Virginia."
Nick Burroughs, Wichita, Kans.

I can't speak for all the schools, but part of the definition of a midmajor at my alma mater, Bucknell, is the proper balancing of athletics and education. The Bison have a 100% graduation rate for all entering basketball players, a figure that, sadly, far exceeds that of virtually all other participating schools in this year's tourney.
Craig Holland, Stony Brook, N.Y.

Bars and Stripes

I came home from Iraq during last year's March Madness, but it wasn't until I read Steve Rushin's column on watching the first day of the NCAA tournament at an Irish pub in Hartford (Air and Space, March 27) that I finally realized how lucky I am and what a truly great country we live in. Steve, I hope to see you at Vaughan's next year.
Stephen McLellan, Houston

Rushin's column brought back memories of all the years my buddies and I would extend our lunch hour into the night at our favorite watering hole to watch the first round of the NCAA tournament. This year, however, proved a little different when my wife woke me to say that we needed to get to the hospital to have our first child. I watched the tournament in our delivery room as doctors and nurses came by and discussed their brackets. At 9:50 p.m., our little girl, Cameron Bond Nobis, was born, and basketball became an afterthought. I will always remember the day my daughter was born and my luck at getting to watch the rest of the tournament on paternity leave.
Ben Nobis, Plainwell, Mich.

In Praise of Print

Thank you, Chris Ballard. Writing Up a Storm (March 27) demonstrates why I read SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Because I'm 22, I'm supposed to be obsessed with fantasy sports and blogging, but I'd rather spend an afternoon reading coherent, in-depth writing about subjects that are actually interesting. It's stories like Writing Up a Storm that will keep my subscription renewed.
Aaron Taylor, Beltsville, Md.