Letters To The Editor

Cougars gain a convert in Tucson

I was extremely privileged to have witnessed a classic football game last Saturday (Oct. 14) in Tucson, Ariz. The teams were as evenly matched as I have seen. They fought like Wildcats and Cougars and, almost from the start, you had the feeling the game would go down to the wire.

I was happy when the Wildcats won and distraught that the Cougars lost.

I am a Wildcats fan, but if ever a game deserved to end in a tie, this was it. No one should have an “L” listed next to this game! The game impressed me so much I have felt compelled to write this note of thanks to the people of Eastern Washington, especially the football team of Washington State. I know the loss hurt, but such a loss doesn’t mean you can’t be proud of the effort. You have converted me into a part-time Cougars fan, and I sincerely wish WSU the best of luck the rest of the season. Play hard and play well! Ken Castle Tucson, Ariz.

Let someone else call plays

Quote from The Spokesman-Review sports section, Oct, 16: “It was the play call that was the mistake,” said Washington State football coach Mike Price. “I just pulled it out of my playbook and selected that play.

“And I shouldn’t have.”

He’s talking about the call of the pass that was intercepted by Arizona and snapped defeat from the jaws of victory for the Cougars. Every loss, it’s “I should of, could of, or wish I would of.” I’m beginning to believe he’s stuck on dumb. Do we need a good offensive coordinator to call the plays? It won’t be long before our Coug slogan is “Refuse To Win.” Let (quarterback) Jason Gesser call the plays in the huddle. It couldn’t hurt!

Ed Hollow Spokane

Holmgren overmatched in dual role

I moved to the Spokane area two years ago, right before Mike Holmgren moved to Seattle. Since then, I have missed watching my beloved Green Bay Packers. (I was born and raised in Wisconsin and have spent the last 21 years in the Air Force.)

The local Fox affiliate never played the late NFC game. Instead, they played a worn-out old movie or something similarly depressing. Local residents told me there was a prohibition against showing any game opposite the Seahawks. (Last Sunday), I realized the prohibition was “self-imposed.” I watched the Packers in an exciting game beat the San Francisco 49ers. I guess even the Fox Network realized they wouldn’t lose against the Seahawks.

This brings me to my real point. Holmgren is not the savior Seattle thought he would be. Instead, he has shown his desires to be a head coach and general manager were premature at best.

When he left Green Bay, all Holmgren wanted was to hold both positions. Packers GM Ron Wolf told Holmgren there weren’t enough hours in the day to do the GM job justice, and there weren’t enough hours in the day to do the head coaching job justice.

Holmgren played (quarterback) Jon Kitna one season too long. He did something no GM should do, he negotiated with Joey Galloway in the media. His draft picks raised eyebrows, but everyone thought, “Holmgren must know what he is doing.”

The Packers offered to match Holmgren’s Seattle paycheck, just to be coach, not coach and GM.

Seahawks fans, listen close to coach/GM/vice president Holmgren when he starts calling the Seahawks “them” instead of “us,” like he did halfway through his last year in Green Bay. It is a sign to hire a real GM and a real coach (two different people). David G. Kulasiewicz Fairchild AFB