Letters

Tough Love

I'll be framing your Oct. 16 cover and hanging it on my wall at work. I'm in the U.S. Air Force, and wherever I'm stationed, I tell college football fans that the SEC is the toughest conference. I'd like to see Michigan , Ohio State , Texas or USC get through a season in the SEC and come out undefeated.
Tech. Sgt. Mark Godwin, U.S. Air Force
RAF Lakenheath, U.K.

As a Tennessee fan I loved the cover, but, more important, you described the near impossibility of winning the national championship as a member of the SEC (Battle of the South, Oct. 16). Auburn went undefeated—including a conference championship game win—two years ago and did not even get a chance to play for the national championship.
Mike McGowan, Canton, Ga.

Why did Battle of the South ignore how weak the lower part of the SEC is? If it's true that Florida , Tennessee , Auburn, and LSU are the toughest top tier of teams in any conference, then it's equally true that no major conference has a worse lower division than Ole Miss , Kentucky , Vandy and Mississippi State .
Steven C. Silverman, Englewood , Colo.

Maybe if SEC teams stopped playing Wofford, Florida International and Western Carolina , they would not have to whine about being left out of the BCS championship every year.
Ryan Krench, Seattle

Eye on the Tigers

Your story on the American League Division Series was a prime example of why I read SI (Blown Away, Oct. 16). Instead of writing endlessly about the Yankees' "collapse," Tom Verducci focused on the Detroit Tigers—the team that won—a welcome relief for me and many others.
Craig Keeton, Ashland , Va.

Running It Up

I can't believe Dan Lawrence, a high school football coach in Connecticut whose team won by more than 50 points, got a one-game suspension (HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS, Oct. 16). Is it the winning team's job to keep the score close? Good sportsmanship is seen in how the players play the game, not on the scoreboard. I am curious as to what Connecticut plans to do to coaches of individual sports like golf and track. I don't look forward to seeing a sprinter slow down to a jog to "keep it close" or a golfer purposely miss putts to make the opponent feel better. Those situations would be ridiculous, and so is taking a knee in the third quarter of a football game to keep from being suspended.
Todd Schumacher, Pasco, Wash.

What is the coach supposed to do if he is winning by a lot: put in the flute section from the band and have them punt on first down? Maybe Connecticut needs a new rule that requires a mandatory group hug after any game that doesn't end in a tie.
Robert F. Weidman, Newark , Del.