Letters

It's said that if a ref or ump can get through a game without being noticed, he has done a good job. Perhaps the same should apply to a parent.
—PATRICK DILLON, Hamilton, N.J.

In-Vince-able
Hats off for putting the newest NBA superstar on your cover and publishing an article (Fresh Vince, Feb. 28) that showed Vince Carter is not just a player who can make fancy dunks but also one with big-time skills. He'll be a winner in the NBA very soon. I wish that every time a young talent comes into the league, he wasn't slapped with the label "the next Michael." Let's just let Vince be the first Vince Carter.
MATTHEW JOSEPH, Pittsfield, Mass.

According to Isiah Thomas, all Carter needs is "the kind of publicity machine that Nike's been for Jordan. If he gets that, in terms of his status as a major star, it's going to be Michael all over again." Excuse me, Isiah. Last time I checked, Jordan had six rings, Carter none.
BILL NIEMANN, Dubuque, Iowa

Anyone who follows basketball at North Carolina knows what a talented player Carter was before he went pro. Tar Heels players are well-coached and prepared to play the NBA game, both offensively and defensively.
JIM MAZZEO, Honeoye Falls, N.Y.

You said that after the NBA slam-dunk competition, the Toronto Sun sports section had a photo from the Canucks-Maple Leafs game on its front page instead of one of Carter. Fact is, deadline restrictions forced us to use the hockey picture because the slam-dunk competition didn't finish until after our first edition was scheduled to go to press. For subsequent editions, which would account for 80% of our press run, we had Carter on the cover of the section and rebuilt several pages inside to give the story appropriate play.
SCOTT MORRISON
Sports Editor, Toronto Sun
Toronto

Bench Him
I'm concerned that you gave publicity to an embarrassing event in high school athletics (FACES IN THE CROWD, Feb. 28). I'm not displeased with DaJuan Wagner, who scored 80 points in a game, but with the basketball coaching staff at Camden (N.J.) High. The final score of the game was 122-66 in Camden's favor. DaJuan scored 24 points in the fourth quarter. When the team was winning by that kind of margin, why were the starters still in the game?
KEITH MOLINICH, Pittsford, N.Y.

Mid-Major Mania
Thanks for your wonderful feature on MidAmerican Conference men's basketball (Big Mac Attack, Feb. 28). MAC fans have long known that their teams can compete with so-called major conference powers. Year in and year out MAC teams prove this in the NCAA tournament, despite getting few berths and low seeds.
DAVID SCHAEFER, Hamilton, Ohio

Having attended a small college in the Midwest, I know that excitement and rivalry continue to thrive in college basketball, despite the absence of the national spotlight. The lack of superstars is more than made up for by the passion of hard-working, bus-traveling, hearts-playing athletes. This is not the NBA farm system that the media make the NCAA out to be.
MARK HAGGARTY, San Francisco

My Son, Chris
I liked your Traveling Man article on Billy Owens (INSIDE THE NBA, Feb. 28). However, my son, Chris, has played for seven teams: the Warriors, Heat, Mavericks, Nets, Bucks, Magic and Nuggets. Now that's what I call a traveling man. In one year he played for four teams, but our family is blessed that he is in the NBA—with the Nuggets, at the moment.
REBECCA K. GATLING, Warren, N.J.

Button Their Lips
As a parent who has violated several of Rick Reilly's codes of conduct (THE LIFE OF REILLY, Feb. 28), I've got two words for him: You're right.
MARK SILVER, Timonium, Md.