Letters To The Editor

GU fans exhibit poor sportsmanship

Today I am ashamed to be affiliated with Spokane.

The conduct displayed at the Gonzaga-Pepperdine basketball game (Feb. 3) is absolutely inexcusable and I was mortified to witness the immaturity and racial intolerance that resides in the Gonzaga student body.

I understand a certain amount of trash-talking exists in every sport, but crowds chanting such things as “chia pet,” “ape” and “moron” to the Pepperdine athletes is nothing short of embarrassing. If GU wants to prove its racial tolerance, such slurs should not be allowed at a college basketball match, whether the visiting team is predominantly white or black.

Furthermore, there was a certain individual who sat two rows back from the Pepperdine bench who insisted on loudly chastizing the Pepperdine coaching staff.

The West Coast Conference, as with all athletics, is based on the strong foundation of sportsmanship, which could not have been more poorly displayed at (this) game. I grew up in Spokane, attended GU classes while in high school and graduated from Pepperdine University. I have never been so proud to be a Pepperdine fan. Amy Clark Spokane

M’s fans blessed to have Griffey

It was inevitable. The trade had to be made! After 11 his glorious seasons in Seattle, I was a bit saddened by the announcement that it was official, Ken Griffey Jr. had been traded.

I will never begrudge him for requesting the trade, only the way in which he did it.

Spending time with family and watching your kids grow only goes by once. I would not trade that time with my own three sons for anything in the world.

After hearing Griffey-bashing all day, I will only say “Thank you, Junior” for 11 years of great memories for Mariners fans. Towering moonshots that seemed to never come back to earth, diving catches in the outfield, and bone-jarring catches against and over the fences around the league. And don’t forget the home-run streak of eight straight games. Oh, yeah, and jetting around third base and scoring to send the M’s deeper into the playoffs in 1995. Refuse to Lose!

I will miss him on all those summer nights like everyone else, but I thank the baseball gods for sending him our way in the first place. We got to see The Kid. Junior, grow up and mature as the best baseball player on earth. Godspeed Junior, and Go Mariners! Don Roberts Spokane

Chiefs players exploited

I am mystified as to why players in the Western Hockey League compete in a league of 18 cities (soon to be 19) spread over thousands of miles. There are seven teams, soon to be eight, in the Western Division. Does that not constitute a league in itself, with adequate competition? Most of these kids are students in high school or college. Few of them will make it the professional ranks. So their education is utmost priority in their lives, just as any child.

These kids work harder than any other athletes and get the hell beat out themselves. Their reward a prison sentence of 1,500 miles of boredom on a rickety bus. What kind of studying can they accomplish in that atmosphere? How many classes do they miss while they are on these long trips? Call it child abuse, imprisonment, unfair labor practice, slavery or whatever you like. It is a little bit of each.

The owners of NHL franchises must be envious of these owners. They have to pay million-dollar salaries to their players and fly them all over the country. WHL owners pay zero in salaries. And they still draw 10,000 attendance for many games.

These kids are not amateurs. They are minor league professionals. I have to wonder if in their curriculum, if they’ve gotten to labor laws, minimum wage, unions, and unfair labor practices.

I can understand the extreme travel at playoff time. Is it truly necessary when you have seven or eight teams in a league of your own? I hope that you kids that don’t make it in the NHL, won’t have too many battle scars and grave injuries that will impair your lives, as a reward for being taken advantage of during the best years of your lives. The very least that you deserve, is a full college ride. Allan LeTourneau Spokane

Wrestling coverage criticized

The coverage of wrestling in the Idaho Spokesman-Review has been pathetic. I am an avid wrestling fan and I look forward to reading how local high school teams and athletes are doing. I also have an interest in how regional colleges and universities fare.

I frequently read through the sports pages to find very little reported on teams from the Inland Empire League, the Intermountain League or from the Frontier League in Eastern Washington.

When looking for results regarding wrestling in the section where box scores are often located I also find a lack of coverage.

Are the local coaches failing to call in results?

One would think there would be room in your paper for complete box scores from local high school and regional college and university contests.

The reporting of college wrestling has been miserable. North Idaho has a fine wrestling team that is often ranked among the best junior colleges in the nation. They deserve and sometimes often get good coverage. But other colleges and universities from our region with wrestling teams are seldom ever attended to in your paper.

Teams from the NCAA Division I level such as Pac-10 members Oregon, Oregon State and Boise State University are rarely reported on.

Wrestling is a fine sport in which several local and regional teams enjoy success. Teams like University High School and North Idaho College get arguably good coverage by your paper. Other teams need representation in your paper as well. William J. Bauman Hayden Lake, Idaho