OAG Listeners' Comments

For our March 8 program, I interviewed Tommy Tomlinson regarding an article he'd written about former UNC men's basketball coach Dean Smith, who has Alzheimer's Disease. I also spoke with Jeff Pearlman, who has written a book,  Showtime, about the L.A. Lakers of the 1980s.

Erik Roskes was moved to leave this comment on our Facebook page:

"I found it ironic that you ran stories about Dean Smith and the '80s Lakers back to back. Coach Smith in his twilight is seen for what he is – what we all are – human and limited. Watching my mother waste away with dementia, this is what I am seeing in my family and in myself, now in midlife. Then we hear of Pat Riley and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and their narcissism during their peak years. There is no mistaking how great they were, but I was struck by how little they knew of life during those times. One hopes they know now how frail we all are."

"Yo, Bill," a listener named Terry H. e-mailed, regarding our inquiry a couple of weeks ago into the decline of the popularity of Wheaties, once celebrated as the "Breakfast of Champions."

"I looked at several lists of 'most popular cereals,' Terry wrote, "and the top ten had one quality in common: in a word, sugar, and lots of it. Maybe Wheaties needs to come out with some new varieties – honey-coated, cinnamon, or maple-flavored - if they want to move back up on the popularity ranks."

Last week's program featured my conversation with Kostya Kennedy about his new book, Pete Rose: An American Dilemma. We invited you to let us know whether you think Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. Among those responding was Bob Pappanduros, who wrote: "I believe he belongs in the Hall of Fame, and he should still be banished for life from baseball for gambling while a manager."

John Donald Pappanduros, very likely a relative, added: "Yes! Gambling is a national sport! Let him in!"

Our story last week by Saul Gonzalez about agent Leigh Steinberg's attempt to sustain his recovery from alcohol addiction and return to his business inspired numbers of responses, including this one from Ariel Ortiz. "Mr. Steinberg seems to blame all of his travails on external factors. He is delivering a carefully-crafted PR story designed to make him look like a victim of circumstance. He seems like he hasn't changed at all."

On the other hand, Martin Dunn found that story "heart-breaking and inspiring at the same time."

On the Charlie Pierce front, John Lucas of Sparta, New Jersey e-mailed to say, "I've been a faithful listener until recently, but I won't be tuning in any more because of the intolerant attitude of your commentator, Charlie Pierce."

On the other hand, Lore Scurrah wrote to say of a recent Saturday morning, "I was devasted when I overslept and the Charlie portion of the program was just ending. Bummer. But wait. I found every word on my trusty laptop. Wonderful."

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