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Neff missed point

Columnist Andrew Neff seems to have missed the big picture behind PETA’s request that certain sports teams, such as the Packers and the Gamecocks, change their name to avoid promoting violence to animals (“Petty PETA should forget mascot battle,” 7/2/02).

Our requests are made as a way to raise awareness about animal cruelty. Sometimes it’s necessary to make a somewhat silly suggestion to make a serious point about animal cruelty. For example, we asked the Fighting Gamecocks to change their name to something that does not glorify a blood sport. Cockfighters purposely breed birds to be aggressive, then up the ante by attaching razor-sharp spurs to the birds’ feet and pumping them full of stimulants and other drugs to make them fight more ferociously. It’s not uncommon for birds to suffer broken wings and legs, punctured lungs, severed spinal cords, and gouged-out eyes. Not exactly a “sport” to cheer for!

For more information, see PETA.org.

Heather Moore

Norfolk, Va.

Soccer snafu annoying

Twenty-five percent of the world’s population watched the thrilling Germany-Brazil World Cup final live at 7 a.m EDT. But those of us who relied on Bangor’s ABC TV-7 for the event were treated to informercials on flat bellies and chiropractic magic at that hour.

As a Portland-area resident enjoying a weekend in even more glorious northern Maine, I was stunned at my inability to share in a worldwide event as it happened.

I feel sorry for those of you who have to watch a TV station with a program director from the dark ages. Wake up, TV-7, and join the rest of the planet. There is life behind Penobscot Valley, in case you haven’t noticed yet.

Chris Neagle

Cumberland

Williams a true hero

Ted Williams died yesterday. This may not seem an item that should weigh large in the scale of human events. But it looms large for me.

Ted became a major leaguer in 1939, joining the Boston Red Sox when I was a Red Sox fan at the age of nine. He became my hero.

I was luckier than most who have boyhood heroes. I got to meet and talk with my hero when, as a your sportswriter for the Bangor Daily News in the late 50s, I was assigned to interview him when he visited Bangor on a fishing trip. It was just before the World Series, so I asked him what he thought of the coming fall classic. He predicted that the Yankees would win the series in six games and the Don Larson would be a pitching hero. The Yankees won the series, 4-2, and Larsen threw his famous perfect game in that series.

The very next year he came to Bangor to attend a Bangor Daily News sports banquet at Pilots Grill. I was assigned to meet his limousine in the parking lot and escort Ted to the head table. When the limousine arrived, Ted unfolded his lanky frame from the vehicle and looked up at me. “Hi, Hugh!” he said. “How the hell are ya!”

I was impressed.

Since then, in my role as a public relations practitioner at Bowdoin, Cornell, Brown University, and Holy Cross College, I have met and talked with such personages as Dwight Eisenhower, Harry Truman, Nelson Rockefeller, David Rockefeller, Stephen Spender, Carl Sandburg, Robert Frost, Arnold Palmer, Bobby Locke, George Mitchell, Bill Cohen, Stephen King, Lyndon Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson, Thomas Gold, Richard Feynman, Hans Bethe, and many others of such stature. Except for Mitchell, Cohen, and King, hardly any of them would have remembered my name on a second meeting. Ted remembered my name.

There are those who will tell you that Ted was like John Wayne, a MAN’S man. Ted DID remind me of Wayne in many of his mannerisms, but Ted Williams was a genuine Marine fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War. Wayne was merely an actor. There’s a difference. The nation should genuinely mourn the death of such a true hero. I know I do.

Hugh Lord

Enfield

Pelletier a rising star

I was pleased, though not at all surprised, to learn that Jason Pelletier is moving up smartly in the ranks of soccer officials.

When I was coaching soccer and Jason was assigned to our games, it was akin to watching a master craftsman at work. Jason’s knowledge of the laws of soccer is encyclopedic, and his understanding of the game is unmatched. He enforces the rules consistently, fairly, and sensibly. It is no wonder that the powers-that-be have their eye on this talented referee.

The soccer community can take pride in the progress of one of its finest.

David Dean

Sangerville

Note to readers: The NEWS asks that letters be kept brief and reserves the right to edit submissions for libel, taste, clarity, and to fit available space. Letters should include a signature, full name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters may be mailed to: P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402, or e-mailed: bdnsports@bangordailynews.net