Letters

As the Stanley Cup Playoffs slide toward Mothers' Day, and then Fathers' Day, our listeners have responded to the dangerous and illegal hits that occurred in the early going. One of the more blatantly objectionable of them came courtesy of Raffi Torres of the Coyotes, who leveled Marian Hossa of the Blackhawks in Game 3 of their first round playoff series on April 17. Torres, who has a history of head-hunting, was suspended for 25 games, not quite enough for John F. Reilly who wrote: "Torres left his feet and Marian Hossa was carried out on a stretcher. This guy is poison. Forget game misconducts. He needs to face a career misconduct."

Our stadium-themed show last week irked Mark Mayall, a WBUR listener. He contended that we should have included more about what he termed the "socialize debt, privatize profit mentality that has gripped our society."

On our Facebook page, Paul Head wrote that his favorite sports venue is Clinton Arena, a 2,000 seat facility that the Clinton Comets of the Eastern Hockey League can pack with 2500 fans.

Carolyn Roosevelt voted for Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, where "there was always a chance of somebody hitting a ball all the way to Memphis" if it landed in a passing freight train.

Last week in my conversation with Charlie Pierce about Jamie Moyer becoming the oldest pitcher to win a Major League game, I mentioned Satchel Paige. This provoked Michelle Brooks, who hears the program on WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to suggest that we should further investigate Mr. Paige, and, yes, if we could get a whole theme-show out of just one player, it would be Mr. Paige.

R.W. Tolbert e-mailed to say he felt Charlie Pierce had been flip in his comments about how longtime broadcaster Vin Scully had missed a Dodgers home game due to illness. "A little respect, please," wrote Mr. Tolbert. "There is serious concern the 84-year-old broadcaster will not be heard again."

Happily, Mr. Scully has returned to work. Long may he thrive in the broadcast booth of the currently resurgent Dodgers.

Lots of listeners e-mail or call us with story suggestions, and Charles Eldermire got in touch this week to remind us that the World Series of Birding is coming up, and he should know, because he lives on Sapsucker Woods Road.

You can't make this stuff up, and given his interests and address, Mr. Eldermire should probably follow us on Twitter at OnlyAGameRadio. He, and you, can also find us on Facebook, email us at oag@wbur.org , or leave a message on the listener line at 617-353-1860.