Letters

Miami Nice
After we've heard about the saintlike character of Dwyane Wade for the hundredth time, don't you think your readers may have tired of this angle (Leap Year, June 12)? I sure hope not! After once again reading of his humility and commitment to his beliefs, it only gives us hope and reminds us there is an ideal role model for young people.
Charles Johnson, San Augustine, Texas

The Debate Rages
Thank you, Steve Rushin, for explaining to American sports fans who think they know sports how amazing international soccer truly is (Air and Space, June 12). As a former U.S. national team member, I constantly try to explain to the public that although Allen Iverson, Jerry Rice, Derek Jeter, Muhammad Ali, Sheryl Swoopes, Karrie Webb and Lisa Fernandez are amazing at their sports, they all participate in games that are based on hand-eye coordination. Their skills and agility are analogous to many tasks we learn as kids: how to use a pencil, fork or toothbrush. Soccer players do those types of things with their feet. I appreciate Rushin's challenging people to face the facts: Soccer players are and should be held in the same high esteem as other sports talents.
Brandi Chastain, San Jose

After reading Rushin's column, I immediately checked out all the soccer videos he recommended. And guess what? While I admire the athleticism and skills on display, I still don't like soccer. Why must Americans be lectured every four years about our lack of enthusiasm for someone else's national pastime? We tried it; we don't like it.
Phil Winters, Pittsburgh

Any sport looks good in highlight form. How is it the rest of the time? I'll take any 10 minutes of any regular-season game in the NHL--where the object of the game is roughly the same--over 10 minutes of highlight footage from soccer.
Jerry Payne, Tampa

I'm an avid fan of football, basketball and baseball, but it's time to embrace a beautiful sport that unites the world for a month with incomparable pageantry and unparalleled drama. It's a shame the World Cup only comes around once every four years.
Ben Sciacca, Birmingham

I'll take Rushin's challenge to name a U.S. male athlete with a ponytail. How about SI's April 10 cover boy, Joakim Noah?
Anil Adyanthaya, Brookline, Mass.

Anger Management
After I wrote Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson an angry letter because Steve Smith (Playing with Fire, June 12) beat up teammate Anthony Bright, Richardson and Smith visited me and my son. They drove four hours round-trip and stayed for several hours--an incredible commitment by both men. I learned that day that Steve is very much as you described him: a good man who made a bad mistake and who has since worked on the aspects of his character that led to it.
Gary Bradt, Summerfield, N.C.

While Smith should be applauded for seeking counsel to tame his temper, he should also get some training on how to coach children. The prevailing training methods frown on exercise as a punishment for children, and Smith's expectation that his team should be punished the first time they fail to successfully complete a drill is inappropriate for eight-year-olds. He appears to emphasize teamwork and camaraderie when he tells his son to celebrate a well-conceived goal with his teammates, but he still has a way to go.
Justin D. Stein, Princeton Junction, N.J.

Driving Lesson
In an otherwise thoughtful and thought-provoking piece (Scorecard, June 12) on sports fans' thirst for disaster, Richard Hoffer asks, "Do you think NASCAR has become today's money sport because it's so much fun to watch cars turn left?" Why, yes, I do. There are racetracks on which cars turn left and drivers have never been killed or seriously injured, and fans still flock to them. Why? Because two or more cars locked in a side-by-side battle is so much fun to watch. It's a battle on the edge of control and, yes, the potential for mayhem is there every instant. The thrill, however, is there because the drivers are trying to avoid the mayhem, not become victims of it.
Thom Ring, Pascoag, R.I.

High Praise
As Rick Reilly points out, the quest to climb Everest is big business, it costs a lot of money, and it still takes lives (Life of Reilly, June 12). These facts only increase my admiration for Dan Mazur and his fellow climbers--Andrew Brash, Myles Osborne and Jangbu Sherpa--who gave up their quest only two or three hours from the peak to save left-for-dead climber Lincoln Hall. Better yet were the later comments by the climbers that the decision to give up their quest to help Hall was not only an easy decision but also the only decision.
Robert Harvie, Lethbridge, Alberta