Fan Speak 8/19/07

Polling data

YOU DO realize, don't you, that the sports question has not changed in more than three months. Don't you think the sports editor should change it? It is not getting old; it is old.

(The question on everyone's mind for months -- "How will the Cardinals fare?" -- has been changed. Visit semissourian.com to vote on which of the six local high school football teams you think will have the most successful season.)

Love for the Hawks

IT'S NICE to see the Southeast Missourian covering the opening of the new school in the Kelly School District. Too bad you don't cover Kelly's sports. Supposedly, Kelly is in the Sikeston newspaper's circulation area. Come on, Southeast Missourian, cover Kelly sports, too.

(The Southeast Missourian coverage area includes Kelly as one of its 21 high schools, and coverage of all the area teams is always under consideration by the sports staff. The Hawks will be featured this week in the high school girls softball preview, since they were the only local team to reach the final four last year, an accomplishment that generated eight headline stories in a four-week period in October and Novemeber last year.)

Disgusted by steroids

I'M WONDERING how many people are as disgusted by Barry Bonds' supposed breaking of the record as I am. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire both cheated in breaking Roger Maris' record. McGwire's testimony before Congress vacated the record, as far as I'm concerned. Hank Aaron and Musial had their records broken by players who did it illegally. The records should stay with Aaron and Musial. I just wonder how many people are as disgusted with baseball right now as I am.

Coverage critique

I AM so sick of your sports section, if that is what you call it, that I could throw up. The Rams win their first preseason game and are given some silly little Associated Press story that spoke more highly of the losing Vikings than the Rams. Then, you devote about half a page to the Capahas that no one supports nor goes to their games. When will you ever get it into your heads that the only people who care about the Capahas and the high school games are the ones that go to their games? No one else cares. Please devote your sports page to professional sports from this state and lay off the meaningless high school sports.

Oh's record

WHAT IS all the hoopla about Barry Bonds and the players with 700 home runs? None of them are close to the record. Sadaharu Oh played professional baseball in the Japanese League from 1959 to 1980. In that period of time, he hit 868 home runs. That is the record.