19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

MATCHUPS
Sir:
Thank you for the brilliant cover photograph of Dr. J and Larry Bird (April 28). They are perhaps the best forwards ever to play the game. Each is great in his own way. You couldn't ask for a better scorer and team player—a rare combination—than Larry Bird, and I don't think anyone in the game has or had more natural ability than Julius Erving.

Whom would a coach pick if he could have only one of them? I wouldn't be able to decide. This matchup really gave fans a lot to cheer about.
BOB BRIDGEMAN
Camden, N.J.

Sir:
The beauty of a Larry Bird jump shot over the outstretched hand of should-be MVP Julius Erving makes your April 28 cover the best I've seen on any magazine.
ED RUTKOWSKI
Auburn, N.Y.

Sir:
Finally you decided to put the game's best player on the cover, but you blew it. The Doctor plays even better at the other end of the court.
DAVID SYMMES
Indianapolis

Sir:
In regard to your article on the Bucks- SuperSonics playoff series (Super Series to the Sonics, April 28), I am surprised and upset that Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee's unsung rookie, was left out. In the second game of the series he scored 16 points, six of them in overtime, to lift the Bucks to victory.

Moncrief didn't get the kind of recognition accorded this season to other rookies like Larry Bird, Earvin Johnson and Bill Cartwright, but surely he deserved it.
TIM BURNS
Shreveport, La.

Sir:
I assure you that the title of the Bucks' theme song. Green and Growing, in no way describes "some type of fungus." It describes a young, talented and exciting NBA team. The seven-game thriller against the Sonics proved to all that, with a break here or there, the Bucks are as good as the defending NBA champs.
PATRICK BURKE
Grafton, Wis.

DREAM TOUR
Sir:
Daniel Okrent's baseball adventure (26 Teams in 13 Days, April 28) is every fan's dream. My congratulations to him, and thanks to you for printing his story. In 1977 my brother and I saw a game in each of the 26 major league parks in 31 days. Unlike Okrent, we drove across the country, from stadium to stadium: 26 games. 26 ball parks, 31 days and 14,000 miles.
CARL CLICK
Vancouver, Wash.

Sir:
Daniel Okrent captured the hold baseball has on America, especially when he told of walking into a park during batting practice and hearing the sound of bat meeting baseball. I almost enjoy that pregame ritual more than the game itself. The sounds of batting practice are one of the game's great attractions.
RICHARD P. HENNIG
Milwaukee

Sir:
Congratulations to Daniel Okrent, and to Sandy Huffaker for his cartoons. They depicted the fans to a T—especially Chicago Cubs rooters, who are truly devoted to their team.
MARTY O'BRIEN
Rockford, Ill.