Letters

Myth Busters

The Red Sox won the World Series after Jonathan Papelbon graced your Oct.�1 cover. The Patriots defeated the Colts to earn their second cover in a month. And the Celtics have started their season with a winning streak. Is it possible for one city to single-handedly destroy the myth of the Sports Illustrated cover jinx?

Alexander Powell, New York City

Suggestions of a Red Sox dynasty (Party's Just Beginning, Nov. 5) are premature. All that separated Boston from watching the Indians play the Rockies in the World Series was one bad call at second base in Game 7 of the ALCS and an even worse call in that same game by Cleveland third base coach Joel Skinner.

Philip Tsung, Walnut, Calif.

Your story attributes the Red Sox' success to "relentless scouting and player development." You've got to be kidding me! How about the $143 million payroll? That's more than their last two opponents, the Indians and the Rockies, spent combined.

Brendan Nageotte, Powell, Ohio

Grudge Match

You write that the 141 points scored in the recent Weber State-Portland State game (Go Figure, Nov. 5) was "an NCAA all-division record for a football game." But while it's not counted as an official record, on Oct. 7, 1916, Georgia Tech scored almost that many points by halftime (126) on its way to racking up 222 points in a shutout of Cumberland College. Cumberland had dropped football before the season, but as legend has it, Tech's coach, John Heisman (of Heisman Trophy fame), was angry about Cumberland's 22-0 thrashing of Tech in baseball the year before and refused to let the Bulldogs out of their contract. So Cumberland threw together a team to play Georgia Tech rather than pay a fine for not appearing. And people think Bill Belichick likes to run up the score!

Chuck Hadden, Arlington, Va.