19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

SPRINGING FORTH
Sir:
I enjoyed your article on the rookie phenoms (The Eternal Hopefuls of Spring, March 20), but I was disappointed that you did not include Dennis Lamp, a 25-year-old right-handed pitcher in the Cubs' organization. Lamp, who pitched in the American Association with Jim Wright of the Phillies—whom you mentioned—had a better winning percentage. Lamp was .733 (11-4) to Wright's .700 (14-6) and had a better ERA (2.93 to 3.13).
PAT KEARNEY
Des Moines

Sir:
Your article was great, but you forgot Mike Easier of the Pirates. This 27-year-old rookie played in 10 games for Pittsburgh and batted .444. With Triple A Columbus he batted .302 and hit 18 home runs.
ROBERT J. BESTWICK
Lake City, Pa.

Sir:
How about some of the Minnesota Twins' rookies? Roger Erickson had an 8-4 record and a 1.98 ERA in 16 games at Double A Orlando. Hosken Powell, an outfielder, had five home runs, 51 RBIs and a .326 average for Triple A Tacoma. Greg Field was 14 and 7, with a 2.78 ERA for Orlando.
GREG LEMKE
Moorhead, Minn.

THE WOMEN'S WAY
Sir:
Kent Hannon's article on women's collegiate basketball (Too Far, Too Fast, March 20) was too simplistic, overly condemning and devoid of any sophisticated insight into how the AIAW perceives athletics and how this young organization is striving to find "a better way" to govern collegiate sports. AIAW members have not accepted the rules and methods of the NCAA or any other men's organization as God's will or the only way.

Hannon ignores the fact that the AIAW utilizes correct legal procedure, due process and rules of evidence when conducting its investigations. It has done a legally defensible job of enforcement and has 20 institutions on probation in 1977-78 alone. On the other hand, the NCAA Enforcement Committee, whose investigatory procedures are currently being investigated by Congress, seems to have real problems attempting to demonstrate similar respect for the law and the rights of students and member institutions.

The AIAW's flaws are a result of youth and rapid change. I doubt whether Hannon can make a case that the NCAA, the AIAW's 72-year-old male counterpart, is less flawed. What is important is that the AIAW is committed to searching for a new and considerably saner sports governing model based on sound educational principles and an unbending concern for the rights of student-athletes. A wholesale condemnation of the AIAW or its basketball program will not be justifiable for at least another five or six years, or until we all see whether this organization is successful in finding what it is searching for.
DONNA A. LOPIANO
Director
Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
University of Texas
Austin, Texas

Sir:
Your article on AIAW rules violations, specifically in basketball, touched on some new and important facts. As much as the statement is denied, women's athletics on the collegiate level are following the exact wayward path of men's athletics. Instead of employing their knowledge of the prior mistakes made by men in their programs, the women have become a carbon copy of the men.

Somewhere along the line something has gone awry. Athletics are offered at a university because they are part of a well-rounded education. But how many athletic teams at the university level are anything but professional sports teams that happen to be affiliated with a university? Athletic programs that are separate from the educational scheme of a college have no place on the campus.

Upon coming to my present post, one of the first things I heard about was the transfer to another university of two excellent women track athletes.
NEAL ROBINSON
Head Coach
Men's and Women's Track and Cross-Country
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Milwaukee

Sir:
Kent Hannon has said what some of us—male and female—have been saying for about a decade.