Letters

I'm 68 years old and only six feet tall, but if I were allowed to put a forearm into the throat of the player who's guarding me, even I would have a pretty good chance of getting the ball into the basket!
John Lewis, Seymour, Ind.

When I saw the April 13 cover, I remembered your March 10, 2008, cover (left), which also featured Tyler Hansbrough's tenacious play in the paint. The difference is that now we can say that Hansbrough is a national champion (Heavenly Heels, April 13)—and also one of the greatest players in NCAA history.
Gregory Lill, Lockport, Ill.

The final games of the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments were over by halftime. This should put to rest the argument that a playoff system guarantees a competitive, entertaining championship game. College football should save us from another edition of bracketology and keep the BCS.
Tom Madden
Greenwood, Ind.

Kids Overdoing It

Thank you for Mark Hyman's article on overuse injuries in young athletes (PLAYERS, April 13). I'm a physician, and I see the spectrum: adults who are obese and ill from inactivity, and adults whose joints have degenerated from excessive exercise and team sports. On a recent vacation I saw many parents out jogging on a cement path with their eight- and 10-year-old kids. When will we all learn the benefits of moderation?
Emily Guimaraes
Brookline, Mass.

Third Is Best

Detroit did boast the NHL's first set of five Russian starters in the 1990s, when we truly were Red Wings. Now Detroit has been transformed into more of a Team Sweden, but Pavel Datsyuk (The Third Russian, April 13) is the best Russian player we have ever had. I am glad to see the unassuming forward finally get some press.
Jonathan Shazri
Manton, Mich.

Figuring Out Findlay

As a high school student who loves watching high school basketball, I can tell you that Findlay Prep is about as close to high school basketball as an orange is to a shoelace (March Madness Comes to High School Hoops, April 13). High school basketball is all about a community coming together to watch the hometown kids play. When players are coming from Toronto and Nigeria, they don't represent a school or a community; they represent themselves trying to be dubbed the "best team" in the land. The article should have been the week's SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE. As in the end of "real" high school sports.
Blake Tandowsky
San Mateo, Calif.

As a father and a coach of travel, AAU and high school basketball teams, there is no question we are heading in the wrong direction with youth basketball. Call the ESPN-sponsored RISE National High School Invitational what it is—a tryout combine for college basketball.
Dale Florio, Skillman, N.J.