Letters To The Editor

Store owner will be missed

When Larry Bryant locked the front door at the Waterhole on East Francis, the Inland Empire unquestionably lost the finest fishing store in the area.

He didn’t sell designer fishing clothes, overpriced “how to” books, or boots for that matter. His market was honesty, knowledge, and legitimacy. He never asked more than a fair price for his goods, and he prided himself on giving solid information on what was hitting at a given time. Sport fishermen from throughout the Spokane area are going to miss him. More than a salesman, Larry was a friend and a confidant. It’s really sad to see him go.

Thank you for your sincerity, your conversation, and your friendship. You were truly one of a kind, and we were proud to have been associated with you. Ed Muzatko Spokane

Pengelly became a quitter

I would like to take issue with letter writers who have recently come to feel sorry for Blake Pengelly, who quit the WSU basketball team because of the tongue-lashing given to him by coach Paul Graham.

I was not at the game when this happened, but nonetheless, I defend the coach’s actions. When a player gets his rear end chewed out, there is a hidden message from the coach. He is challenging that player to improve, to do better. In this case, rather than take an “I’ll show him” attitude, Pengelly chose to quit. Unfortunately, after Pengelly leaves WSU, he’ll be remembered for the last thing he did: quitting the team. Mark Duclos Spokane

It wasn’t all easy

I enjoyed your recent article on the very diverse and eclectic Panorama League. I played for the early St. George’s basketball and baseball teams (1964-68). As the only private and big-city school at the time, St. George’s did not receive a welcoming reception into the league. Ironically the one exception was Wellpinit. Who would have thought that the wealthiest and one of the poorest school communities would get along? I still remember the grace and courtesy we received from the Wellpinit players, even as they drubbed us on the court. I learned from them the true sense of sportsmanship.

Unlike what your article implied, not every thing was handed to us on a silver platter. The St. George’s players and coaches built the baseball field themselves. I still remember hours of digging up turf. Our friends at Wellpinit faced the same predicament. They used a bulldozer and a scraper to make their field. There wasn’t a blade of grass anywhere on the field that, by the way, ended suddenly before the woods. Our outfielders that year played more like infielders. One Wellpinit line drive carried through the outfield. Joel Ferris, our star center fielder, gave chase down the embankment into the woods. His throw carried all the way back to the infield where it bounced once into the catcher’s mitt in time to tag out the runner. Joel never saw the tag because he was still climbing up out of the woods. Penn Fix Spokane

Mariners fans confused

I love Mariners fans. Even though I’m an “East Side Chicken Farmer” who doesn’t know what’s good for me, I love ‘em.

First, they win one division title and it’s time to build a new stadium to display their destiny - the World Series trophy. Then comes the first leak in the mighty ark: Randy Johnson leaves. Next, Junior decides he wants to be on a winner and be closer to his family, which makes no sense because Fort Knox doesn’t have a ballclub.

After the initial shock subsided, Mariners fans and media all proclaimed that this is great, because the team that gets Junior will go to the next level and the Mariners will get enough players to put them there too. Win-Win deal! Right! As the manager of the Reds put it, “I’ll go from 97 wins this year to 76 next year.” And to think those silly Braves wouldn’t give up two Joneses and a Rocker plus $20 million for one season.

Well now, the Great Junior, lower lip dragging on the ground, says he’ll stay in Seattle for one more season, and fans are saying we don’t need him. What blasphemy is this? You’re going to the Series! You all said it - whoever has Junior is going to the top!

I said it before, and here it comes again. Junior wears his hat backwards because that’s where Seattle, baseball and the fans are. In the back of his mind. Brad Hunter Spokane