Letters To The Editor

Harry Missildine back in Spokane?

It is a good thing you mention the actual scores in your articles about Pacific-10 Conference football. Otherwise, after reading about the Washington State Cougars’ splendid defensive effort and Frank Madu’s career-high 143 rushing yards coupled with Mike Price’s pride in his team’s effort and Scott Sanderson’s ringing endorsement of quarterback Chad Davis, one might think it was the Cougars who had just fought the conference favorite to a tie and remained in the hunt for the Rose Bowl.

Similarly, having read that the Washington Huskies played an ugly, smelly game of expedience over honor that somehow resulted in them “losing” a tie, with a reference to last week’s loss against Notre Dame thrown in for spite, one might think it was the Huskies who had just played themselves out of the entire bowl picture with three games left in the season.

We seem to be experiencing a return to those thrilling days of yesteryear when your sports staff wouldn’t say a bad word about the Cougars or a good word about the Huskies. What is the deal? With Halloween upon us, have John Blanchette, Steve Bergum and Jim Meehan all decided to go as Harry Missildine? Terry Griner Spokane

Only Huskies can claim greatness

Your feature of Sept. 22 on Wazzu football, “A Century of Greatness,” makes me wonder if the sports staff has lost its collective minds. By any objective standard of “excellence,” Wazzu football has been mediocre at best, with a handful of good years and a lot of awful seasons. They have one Rose Bowl appearance (1916), that was played in the era of drop-kicks, round footballs and no face masks. They have a few minor bowl appearances in recent years that actually cost the taxpayers money.

If you are talking about greatness or excellence, check the Washington Huskies, the 1991 National Champions with a 70 percent winning percentage, or such programs as Notre Dame, Michigan or Nebraska. The first duty of a journalist, whether in sports or hard news, is objectivity, not cheerleading. John S. Mueller Spokane