Letters To The Editor

Rypien should be thankful

Mark Rypien needs to wake up and face reality. Whenever he talks about “his” Super Bowl victory, he should try leaving out the word “I” so often. He should be praising Joe Gibbs and one of the best offensive lines and receiving corps ever assembled. Rypien has never carried a team like Marino, Elway or Kelly.

Mark Rypien is not even in the same class as those three quarterbacks. He may mention them when doing an interview, but when Jim Kelly is at the podium at the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies, he won’t be mentioning Mark Rypien.

Vince Tarr Spokane

Hendrickson a class act

Having arrived several years ago at an age where I am closer to 100 than 50, it has occurred to me that if I have anything to say, I’d better say it fast!

I had never heard of Mark Hendrickson when he came on campus as a freshman. But if memory serves me well, he has started every game of his college career when he wasn’t forced out by a fractured leg or a badly broken shooting hand and thumb.

In looking back, it seems he was the fabled “franchise player” almost from the start. Though his size and skills are obvious, it is his character and leadership from the time he left Mt. Vernon and stepped onto campus that really set him apart.

He always put the team first. He never indulged in “how great I am” histrionics. His interviews have always been gracious and thoughtful. He never ripped a teammate. He never called a press conference to straighten out his teammates, the coaches, the student body or anybody else. He kept his mouth shut. He went to class. He played basketball and he played like few other Cougars have ever been able.

He could take a physical pounding under the basket or deliver the soft touch from 3-point land. He plays offense like a man possessed; then, as big as he is, hustles the length of the floor to set up on defense. He’s played that way game after game after game for four years.

We took him for granted because we could take him for granted. In the 60-some years I have followed Cougars sports, I can recall no one who had a more wholesome impact on his team for four consecutive years. Bill Hopkins Spokane