Letters To The Editor

BASKETBALL AND BRAINS

I congratulate Mark Whicker for his incisiveness in recognizing the media's tendency to overplay the intelligence of Duke players during the NCAA Men's Basketball championship (Sports, April 2). Many analysts assumed that what had been accomplished at Duke could be accomplished at any other university.

However, is not Mr. Whicker guilty of the same thing, in reverse, when he praises Milt Wagner for having made the big free throws to win the championship game? Clearly, it is not the fault of a Duke student if he was raised on "manicured lawns and Wall Street Journals," as Whicker writes. Nor is that even true, at least among Duke basketball players. Like Wagner, Duke's David Henderson came from an underprivileged background. I doubt that crabgrass and stock portfolios were of much concern in Drewry, N.C. (pop. 50).

As I'm sure Mr. Whicker realizes, the lack of prestige and position should never function as a premature barrier to accomplishment. Basketball is an equal-opportunity sport in which both types of players - rich and poor - must prove their superiority on the court.

John C. Turnbull

Burlington, N.J.

EDGAR THE BEST CHOICE

Re Edgar endorsement, I loved it! After Ronbo in Libya, and the Pennsyvania National Guard in Honduras, do we need Don Bailey in D.C.? No way! Bob Edgar is the best Senate choice for Pennsylvanians.

Sharon Bembery

Philadelphia

BACK RON BECAUSE HE'S RIGHT

We pulled the rug from under Lyndon Johnson, under-supporting our troops in

Vietnam. This time, let's back our president, not because he's our president, but because he's right.'

Alfred Essex

ANTI-GUN VIEWS

Anti-gun views have been put in my stepson's head by teachers. I thought teachers were there to help children make their own decisions when of age, not to brainwash.

Your editorial, "Taking Aim at Handguns," compares states without taking into account the difference in people in each. You feed uneducated people without true facts and comparisons. It could sway the young.

I have a 16-year-old stepson who has no interest in firearms (maybe from that teacher), but he has his choice. That is what America is about - everyone fighting for what he wants. I am an NRA member. I work for PGW, and I am a law-abiding citizen.

Stephen Strzelecki

POVERTY FOR THE OLD