Letters To The Editor

WSU FOOTBALL

Good Apple Cup story

What a great article (Nov. 17, “A ghost of a chance”) on the 1982 Apple Cup! I normally don’t even read the sports page, but the headlines caught my attention, and I couldn’t put the article down. Your writing brought a sense of nostalgia - and a bit of hope for this season! Brenda Carey Spokane

Story an inspiration

So I picked up my newspaper today and sorted out the parts I usually read, when I happened upon the sports page. Obviously older pictures of the Cougars and Huskies on the front with “A ghost of a chance” in big type.

Being a WSU student, it caught my eye and I started reading. Such a great story that I don’t think any of the students on campus have heard of. I didn’t know about it until I read the entire article. It was such a thrill because I usually lose interest in most articles.

I thank Mr. Carter Strickland for writing such an uplifting story in such a time when the Cougars need some inspiration. Jay Park Pullman

QB situation bad

Thanks to coach Mike Price, WSU has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse in one season.

He recruited a highly touted JC transfer QB named Brian Paul, but instead of using him he redshirts so he can be used as a receiver next year (dah!). He then decides to go with BurnBUM and Mencke, neither one of them are Pac-10 QBs. Picking the best of those should have been a no-brainer. Mencke moves the team and scores TD’s, BurnBUM zilch.

On game day he goes to the revolving QB system. I guess Price can’t stand success. Mencke takes the team and scores. Next series BurnBUM is at the controls. I don’t get it! Mencke should have taken most of the reps in fall practice and started all the non-league games. I don’t think WSU would be in the sorry situation it’s in now. In the words made famous by Cougar fans everywhere, “Wait ‘till next year” help is on the way! Ed Hollow Spokane

SMALL-SCHOOL SPORTS

GNL deserves more

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment in the coverage given the Great Northern League at the State 2A volleyball tournament.

Are you aware that the three teams from our area finished second, third and fourth at the state tournament? I’ll assume that you are not, otherwise you surely would have given them the coverage in the newspaper that they deserve.

This is quite an accomplishment for the young women from Colville, Lakeside and Newport and the GNL was well-represented everywhere but in their regional newspaper. I feel that you owe them an apology for giving them only four inches tacked on the end of another article. Cindy Rux Spokane

Wyborney a winner

I would like to thank Chris Derrick, who does a great job covering small school sports, for the fine article on Wilbur-Creston’s retiring coach Chuck Wyborney and his step-daughter Jamie Schoener (Nov. 12, C4).

Congratulations to Wyborney and the Wildcats as the 24-year veteran goes out a true winner 17 years to the day from his first title as a hall of fame coach. Ron Laughbon Wilbur

OTHER TOPICS

NASCAR ignored

I am very disappointed in the swell paper’s NASCAR auto racing coverage.

I wrote to you last year about your lack of race statistics. I will have to say that in that area you have improved a little. However, you still do not do a really great job, so I pay $50 a year for a magazine that does a lot better.

In the last few weeks your NASCAR news coverage has been extremely poor. How long will it be before you come to realize that there are other sports besides football, basketball, baseball, hockey, volleyball or golf? Motor sports and their fans are generally ignored. For shame! Nancy Harding Chewelah

Fire Erickson, please

I have been a Seahawks fan since their inception.

Through good times and bad I have never been so embarrassed to be a Seahawks fan.

Game in and game out I’ve never seen a professional football team with this much talent more ill-prepared to play the game.

Please Mr. Paul Allen, send Dennis Erickson and his crew packing and look for a replacement so that at least we can finish the season with some pride intact.

George Seifert is available as well as others. Heck, I’d just as soon see Jack Patera come back than see Erickson coach another game. Eric Sperline Spokane

Elk disappearing

Elk hunting in the Blue Mountains in the 1970s was good. Great herds were seen in the winter during the late archery hunt. There were plenty of elk for rifle, muzzleloader and archers.

Anyone who bought a tag had a great chance to have elk roast for dinner.

Today the game department issues five tags for branched antler bull permits in area 166, Tucannon. Rifle hunters get three, muzzleloaders one and archers one.

What event took place to decimate the great herds? The only change was Judge Bolt’s decision to allow the tribes to hunt on land off the reservation. They were allowed to hunt wherever and whenever they wanted, and in vehicles day or night.

Rep. Linda Smith proposed federal legislation to regulate hunting when they are off the reservation. Like all citizens, they should follow the laws of the state, including hunting seasons and license requirements.

According to Billy Frank Jr., chairman of the N.W. Indian fisheries, this is an attempt to accommodate the greed of a few non-Indians. He stated that only 1 percent of hunters are tribal and they only take 6 percent of deer and elk. If that were true, there would still be plenty of elk in the Blues.

There is hope that the state and tribes can agree on a season for all users, and the elk will come back. Gary Hughes Spokane