Letters To The Editor

MARINERS

Yes! The M’s are staying

What a relief! King County approved this portion of the plan for a new ballpark. The Mariners are staying! That was the real question: Do we want the Mariners to stay in the Pacific Northwest or not? Unfortunately, the current ownership had put it as an ultimatum: “Build us a new stadium or we’ll sell, and the new owners may will move the team.” So the only choice is to build it, or risk losing our team. We are going to build it and our team will be staying.

A lot of letters lately have expresed dismay with the state legislature for its approval of the stadium plan. Many folks east of the mountains have objected to a statewide plan for a new stadium, as if the Marienrs “belong” only to Seattle and the western park of the state. However, the Mariners are more of a regional team than an exclusive “city” team. They are called the Seattle Mariners, but perhaps they should be the Evergreen Mariners, or the Northwets Mariners. At any rate, they are the only major-league ball club in the entire region. They are our team, regardless of whether we live in Seattle or Spokane.

What a relief! The Mariners will get a new stadium and stay in the region! And following their remarkable winning season, the Mariners should have the magic to become and remain a force in major-league baseball. Our team! On par with the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Indians! Finally! What a Relief! David A. McChesney Spokane

Mariners photo misleading

I was disappointed to pick up this morning’s paper (Oct. 18) to find pictures of a head-down, defeated Randy Johnson walking off the field on the front page and a crying, despondent Joey Cora sitting in the dugout on the front page of the sports section. What were you thinking?

The Mariners displayed unparalleled dignity as they persevered without their star player for a great part of the season and on through arguably the most exciting playoffs in baseball history. Why didn’t you picture the 57,000-plus fans giving a respectful standing ovation to Randy Johnson or to the other players for providing us with such an outstanding season? The theme of your pictures should have reflected that they had lost, but were not defeated.

The Mariners raised the level of enthusiasm for a sport that had been severely tarnished and brought back countless disillusioned fans to the game. Although the lost to a superb team that had won 100 games during the regular season, the Mariners won the A.L. West and came within a few timely hits of going to the World Series. Your pictures did not reflect the feeling of what the Mariners meant to millions of new and old basball enthusiasts. Bob Little Spokane

Top 10 reasons to keep the M’s

In response to the many people who have expressed misgivings about the plan to build a new ballpark for the Seattle Mariners, I present the Top 10 reasons to keep the Mariners in Seattle (with apologies to David Letterman):

10. The Mariners - Washington’s team. And Idaho’s, Oregon’s, Alaska’s, British Columbia’s, etc.

9. Better to see tax dollars going to a beautiful new ballpark than to see them wasted on social programs that don’t work.

8. Jacobs Field in Cleveland. The Ballpark in Arlington. Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Coors Field in Denver.

7. Wisconsin saved ITS team.

6. Who wants to listen to a bunch of whiny, sniveling baseball haters anyway?

5. The most exciting family entertainment we’ve seen in a long time.

4. As often as it rains in Seattle, how many people are going to want to spend 3 hours indoors when the weather IS good?

3. Do you really think fans in Florida or Northern Virgina would be half as loud as fans in Seattle?

2. Wait ‘til next year! The World Series is now within the Mariners’ grasp.

And the Number One reason to keep the M’s in Seattle: Junior, Edgar, Tino, Jay, Vince, Randy, Norm, Lou and the rest of OUR TEAM! Patrick M. Braden Coeur d’Alene

High price of little boys’ game

According to former player Pete Rose, baseball is just a little boys’ game. You would never know it by the ticket prices the fans have to pay to see it being played.

At times when you read of the various inappropriate actions by players, managers and owners, it isn’t difficult to see why it is still referred to as such, for they act so infantile.

Evidently sportswriters associate wealth with authority or knowledge rather than rationalizing that the average player, in baseball, has little more than a high school education (if that), yet they are quoted as if they were professors of science.

But the most amazing part of baseball is the managers and the coaches wearing the uniform while performing their duties on the field. Nothing looks more ridiculous than 65-year old man in a baseball uniform.

Yes, in a way basball really is a little boys’ game, so far as the mentality is concerned. But when you look at the ticket prices, there are very few little boys who can afford to get into the ballpark to see the “bigger little boys” perform.

Now it’s even more ridiculous - for they, in additon to charging outlandish prices, want the fans to furnish the ballpark, too.

If it truly is a little boys’ game, isn’t it time for a price schedule that will allow little boys to get into the ballpark? But really, isn’t it also time for those managers and coaches to get out of that ridiculous garb? Andy Kelly Spokane

Bandwagon M’s fans a joke

The World Series is meant to be a seven-game series between the two best teams in baseball. This year, for the first time in a while, the two best teams are facing off. After Game 2 of the World Series, Q-6 News ran a promo for their newscast that said “The World Series, The Mariners aren’t playing, so who cares?” They ran a story where many people said that, since the Mariners are not in the World Series, they weren’t watching and didn’t care who won. Because both the Braves and Indians aren’t near Washington, many people agree with this. I think that is understandable. What I don’t understand is everyone, who at the beginning of the year said they would never watch another game because of the strike, suddenly became die-hard Mariners fans. For over a month they jumped on the Mariners’ bandwagon and called themselves baseball fans.

I’m sorry, but real baseball fans all over are enjoying a great World Series, regardless of the fact that their hometown team may not be playing. A real baseball fan would realize that, although Game 1 had only five hits, it was still very exciting. Greg Maddux was awesome, shutting down the most explosive line-up in the majors.

So, on behalf of the people in Spokane who are not Mariners fans (although a small number), we care about the World Series. Atlanta and Cleveland are the two best teams and they deserve to be playing. A real baseball fan would be interested in watching them. Sheila Donovan Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Bag Davis, bring on Leaf

Washington State University football lacks only one player: a quarterback. Chad Davis gets rattled easily, has tunnel vision and does not seem to excite team spirit. Passes are more haphazard - thrown into traffic and obvious coverage - than studied. In result, the team pays the price.

Time for Ryan Leaf. This is a player WSU fans can bet on. Marc Ramsey Spokane

Coverage biased against women

Being a soccer player at Lewis and Clark High School, I read the sports section in The Spokesman-Review daily. I am disappointed in the biased and incomplete coverage of women’s sporting events.

The majority of the sports given detailed attention in the paper are male-oriented. For instance, football teams all received individual summaries, top-returners reports and complete schedules at the beginning of the season, while the women’s soccer teams received a miniscule section devoted to all nine GSL teams and no schedule was included. Women’s volleyball suffered the same fate. The soccer coverage that does appear is, more often than not, buried in an article with a headline about volleyball or cross country. It is The Spokesman-Review’s responsibility to report on an equal basis, not only because it encourages females to enjoy the limelight the paper presents, but also because the following of soccer in the community is strong due to the popularity of Spokane Youth Sports and club programs.

As the end of the fall season fast approaches, I am looking forward to my next season with high hopes that you will consider women’s sports with a different, less biased perspective. Jessica Dinneen Spokane

Idaho announcer a juvenile hack

At the Idaho-Montana football game last Saturday, I was embarrassed for Idaho. The UI public address announcer was extremely obnoxious, juvenile and unprofessional. On a system tuned far too loud, he would deliberately say things negative about Montana while Grizzlies quarterback Dave Dickenson was trying to call his signals. When Dickenson would pass incomplete or was sacked, the announcer would scream the obvious. But when Dickenson completed a long pass, the system would be silent.

The 2,000 Montana fans didn’t pay their admission to be treated this rudely. I thought the announcer must be a freshman broadcast student; he didn’t even know how to call the game. I was amazed to find that he’s a “professional.” Something needs to be done. Nils Rosdahl Coeur d’Alene

xxxx