19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

Sir:
What the hell is going on with your magazine? I spend my hard-earned bucks on SI in the hope of getting some interesting sports articles, but no, you put in a 14-page article on some damn lake that's polluted! The cover of your Sept. 21 issue says SPORTS ILLUSTRATED not Field & Stream . I'm getting sick and tired of your putting sportless articles in the magazine. I mean, who reads that? Who? Tell me.
BARRY BROCK
Maricopa, Ariz.

MAC
Sir:
Thank you for giving John McEnroe the credit he has always deserved (Another Big Mac Attack, Sept. 21). By beating Bjorn Borg in three major-championship finals in a row—in the last two U.S. Opens and the 1981 Wimbledon championship—he has shown who is the superior player.

The behavior of the fans at Flushing Meadow, however, was far more disgraceful than any McEnroe outburst I've ever seen. I was at the Open final last year and heard the rude New York crowd cheer when McEnroe double-faulted and remain silent when he made an incredible shot. These boorish New York fans who consider themselves tennis experts are the same ones who applaud Borg for his gentlemanly conduct and mild manner.

I strongly suggest that the Flushing crowd get its act together or the Open be moved to a more deserving city next year. We in New York should be proud that the world's greatest tennis player comes from nearby Douglaston . Surely a champion deserves better treatment than this.
SCOTT COLESANTI
New Hyde Park, N.Y.

Sir:
I agree that Bjorn Borg doesn't seem to have the total game necessary to beat McBrat on a hard court, but such an exemplary player and sportsman as Borg deserves to be written about with more respect. Frank Deford also failed to mention a factor that may have hindered Borg 's play against McEnroe and prevented him from appearing at the awards ceremony—namely, the threats that were made on his life.
PIERR JOHNSON JR.
Iowa City , Iowa

Sir:
John McEnroe is good at the net, but in my opinion Bjorn Borg has the game's best passing shots. And anyone who has a match with the still great Jimmy Connors has to come down some the next day. To me and many others, Borg is still No. 1.
KARL MCDONNELL
Hampton, Va.

Sir:
As much as it pains me to write this, I must respectfully submit that Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion John McEnroe is the best candidate for SI 's 1981 Sportsman of the Year award.
JOHN NAGLE
Gaithersburg , Md.

LEONARD-HEARNS
Sir:
SI 's prefight insights into the Sugar Ray Leonard - Thomas Hearns showdown (Sugar Should Frost Him, Sept. 14) are evidence that you truly do publish the best magazine in any land. The drawings that accompanied your preview of the fight are almost identical to the AP Laserphotos of the bout that appeared in my local newspaper. In fact, one picture of Leonard slipping a Hearns jab is astonishingly close to artist Bart Forbes ' depiction in your magazine. Also, it's great that you could show me a picture of my favorite boxer jubilant in victory even before the fight took place. You've done it again, SI .
ED CURTIN
Meadville , Pa.

Sir:
Your cover did it again! It proved to be a jinx to one of the best boxers to come along. Thomas (Hit Man) Hearns . Would you please do me and thousands of other Hearns fans a favor? Keep him off the cover when he gets a rematch with Ray Leonard .
MARK DIMINUCO
Fayetteville , Ark.