Letters From OAG Listeners

Shortly after I visited Indianapolis last fall and photographed what seemed to me a peculiar sculpture honoring college basketball's most accomplished coach, John Wooden, we invited you to submit your comments about sports-related statues and sculptures. Calton Bolick got around to doing that this week, as a result of which you'll see a photo of a striking baseball sculpture in Tokyo. Or at least it looks as if it's about to throw a strike. Check it out by visiting us on Facebook.

My conversation with Jasha Balcom, who pretends to be Jackie Robinson while running and sliding in the new movie, 42, moved Dr. David Warren to e-mail as follows: "The beauty of the Jackie Robinson story to a young boy was that every time I went to Ebbets Field, Jackie Robinson was treated no differently than any one of his teammates. He hit the ball and caught the ball and so did Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Joe Black, Pee Wee Reese, and big Don Newcomb. It was in this equality that the once beautiful game of baseball was played in my home town of Brooklyn."

The debate we ignited about the designated hitter when we commemorated the 40^th anniversary of the rule last week continues. Steve Derne doesn't like the DH, but felt compelled to write that opinion is split in his home: "My wife chimes in that like everything else in baseball, it's perfect the way it is. If you want the DH, you can be fans of the A's or the Angels or the Rangers. There's chocolate for the chocolate lovers and vanilla for vanilla lovers. Leave it the way it is."

And finally, our coverage of the misbehavior of former Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice moved listener Jeff Cohen to verse. We're biased toward haiku here at "Only A Game," especially when the Super Bowl comes along, but Mr. Cohen is a limerick man, and he's produced an extended effort which, unlike many limericks, is actually suitable for all ages:

A fellow from Rutgers named Rice
Fell prey to a wee little vice:
He thought it effective
To shower invective
And suffered the ultimate price.

From coaching Rice had to recuse,
But he isn't singing the blues;
His patented quirk
Of going berserk
Has made him a hit on Fox News.

Chime in below to clamor for more verse…or beg us to stop. You can follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook, or you can leave a message on the listener line, 617-353-1860.