19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

And if he really wants the respect—let alone love—of others, why doesn't he give up his soap operas and start running free clinics for ghetto kids? Or volunteer to run the state's United Way campaign? Until Barry decides to join the adult world, maybe Jim Palmer could get him a job modeling underwear.
KAY SCHAEF SCANLAN
Brattleboro, Vt.

PADRE GARVEY
Sir:
I'm no baseball fan, but I am a Steve Garvey fan (It Was Too Good To Be True, April 25). As a mother and a teacher, I feel our society should promote men like Garvey as real-life, modern-day heroes. Children need to see that there still exist people of fame who have principles and integrity. It doesn't matter whether Garvey wears "American" red, white and blue or "taco" brown, we could use more of what he is—even if that is, as Steve Wulf wrote, a little "hokey and Hollywood and hammy and cheesy and wonderful."
CATHERINE E. SPENCER
Hacienda Heights, Calif.

Sir:
If Steve (I'm Just a Simple, Dedicated Man) Garvey loved the Dodgers and their fans so much, why did he reject $5 million for four years? It seems to me the Dodgers made a generous offer to a man who claims, "In the end I felt they didn't want me."
RICK MARRIOTT
Arcadia, Calif.

NOT JUST FOR PEETE'S SAKE
Sir:
As a longtime Masters golf tournament spectator, I was struck by Kenny Moore's timely and accurate portrayal of Calvin Peete (His Was a Great Act of Faith, April 25). Although Peete had a terrible time at Augusta, shooting a horrendous 87 in the third round, he provided one of my most treasured memories of the tournament.

Stepping to the first tee on Monday morning as the first starter, playing alone and in last place, Peete turned to address the gallery and the two players who would follow him and said simply, "Play well, everybody." He is an exemplary figure and a shining example of why golf is one of the grandest of games.
DEREK H. DETJEN
Haughton, La.

Sir:
Thank you for writing about someone we can all look up to, Calvin Peete.
RICHARD HILSKE
Elkhorn, Neb.

SABAN AND CENTRAL FLORIDA
Sir:
Many people at the University of Central Florida have expressed disappointment at the tone of Douglas S. Looney's article on Lou Saban's arrival in Orlando (If the Hat Fits, Wear It, April 11). Not that we can quarrel with facts. Saban has been extraordinarily peripatetic, and some doubt as to whether the butterfly has landed to stay is understandable. Ironically, your article may well serve to remove such doubt. I think you have given Lou almost as much of a challenge as the university has handed him. But please permit me a few comments:

I believe the record will show that in its brief football history Central Florida has had an attendance record that compares well with most Division III and Division II schools. I think that last season, while disappointing—a friend at Kent State points out that it is possible to exceed an 0-10 record ( Kent State went 0-11)—had its heartening aspects. Our final game, against 1-AA national champion Eastern Kentucky, was impressively close: We lost it in the last quarter by 12 points.

I also think the record shows that Florida does not have a problem with having another engineering-oriented university: Central Florida's College of Engineering, with its four doctoral programs, has some 2,500 majors and alumni who have competed successfully with those from Georgia Tech and MIT. Our Computer Science Department is now among the 10 largest in the nation and has recently completed funding of a million-dollar endowed chair—probably only the fourth such chair in the U.S.

In short, we may be a young university, but we are no longer "struggling." We are delighted to have Saban with us. We have no secrets, and he knows our liabilities and our assets. He has already added to the latter: He has recruited some outstanding student-athletes, and he has brought a sense of pride, discipline and opportunity.
TREVOR COLBOURN
President
University of Central Florida
Orlando