Letters

Noah's Arc
Here in Southern California we've had rain on and off for the last 40 days, so does it surprise anyone that the Florida Gators--the only team to weather the storm that was UCLA hoops--would be led by a kid named Noah (Go-Go Gators, April 10)?
Axel Kyster, Bradbury, Calif.

Two things about the national champion Florida Gators' basketball team that may have made a difference: The players complemented each other, and they complimented each other.
Ken Clarke, Orlando

Remembering Roberto

Kudos to David Maraniss for The Meaning of Roberto Clemente (April 10). Clemente's physical skills--the rifle arm, quick bat and tremendous speed--have been well chronicled, but his true greatness was shown in his death. Roberto got it right when he said, "If you have a chance to make life better for others and fail to do so, you are wasting your time on earth." No matter what our station in life, we are here to serve, even if that sometimes means making the greatest sacrifice of all.
Gregory L. Daniels, Franklin, Tenn.

It seemed that there was trouble brewing even before Clemente's aircraft took off. When it did take off, matters just kept getting worse and worse. The moral of the story is: There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots.
Steven Phy, Pittsburgh

Clemente's love for children was genuine. When I was nine, he came to our church banquet, and I remember that he spent almost four hours holding kids on his lap, signing autographs and telling stories. I am not ashamed to say that 11 years later, as a 20-year-old, I cried when I heard of his death.
Duane Randa, Cumming, Ga.

There has been talk about retiring Clemente's uniform number (21) from all major league rosters. Reading this article will help anyone understand why this should be considered. As great a ballplayer as he was--and he was as good as they come--he was an even greater human being.
Carlos B. Martinez, Bronx, N.Y.

Highs of the Tigers

LSU gets its men's and women's teams to the Final Four, and they're Not Hot because neither made it to the championship game (Players, April 10)? LSU's young and inexperienced men's team was never supposed to make it past Duke or Texas, but it did and far exceeded most people's expectations. And the women, while top contenders for most of the year, really had only two consistent scoring threats: Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles. Just because they lost to an excellent team in the Final Four doesn't make them a flop. Besides, I didn't see any other school with teams in both Final Fours, did you?
Julie Kammer, Metairie, La.

Brick Wall