SOUND OFF.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Glibness draws a flag

I was appalled by the sports section headline, "Droughns atones with big day." Hello, Reuben Droughns was arrested for drunk driving, that's something you don't atone for by having a good day on the football field!

Furthermore, the R-G's glib treatment of his crime wasn't merely limited to the catchy headline. We're also told that Droughns felt sorry for "letting the team down." How fortunate for him and his adoring fans. He can avoid any "lingering shame" or "embarrassment" while "outrunning his problems" in his "cathedral."

How nice that playing football is such a spiritually uplifting experience for this former Oregon Duck, and my, what a reflection on the Oregon sports program he's become.

The whole article so minimizes his actions that they became a triviality, providing a springboard for the creative sportswriter to more clearly illustrate Mr. Droughns' on-field (more important) accomplishments. But surprise ... drunk driving is actually a serious crime in America (though it would be hard to tell from your article).

According to MADD, in 2004 drunk drivers killed more than 16,600 people. Alcohol-related crashes cost the American public $114 billion in the year 2000. And only one arrest is made for every 88 trips taken by impaired drivers, so drunk drivers usually get away.

Why the minimization? The R-G lost an opportunity to address a serious issue here, choosing instead the old "boys will be boys" approach. I'm dropping a flag right here. You've done your readers a disservice, but at least you protected that sacred cow. Let's call it a fumble.

BEN FARRELL

Eugene

Ex-Duck didn't atone at all

I found the headline `Droughns atones with big day' on the first page of Monday's sports section and in shorter form on the front page of the paper itself appalling. The point of the headline and the article is that Droughns `made up for it (being arrested for drunken driving) with his best all-around game of the season.'

One does not atone (make amends or reparation) for serious antisocial behavior such as drunken driving with a superb athletic performance. Too many young athletes have the impression that superior athletic performance can offset inappropriate or inadequate behaviors in other areas of their lives. Sadly, this is allowed to happen all too frequently.

Nonetheless, The Register-Guard should be ashamed for running a headline and an article that bluntly states that drunken driving, and by implication other illegal acts, can be offset by a `big day' on the field. Is this really the message you want to convey to the many young athletes who read the sports pages, as well as their friends, teachers and parents?

DEL HAWKINS

Eugene

Drop and give me 10,000

Land sakes! Is Mr. (or Miss) Jamie all upset? Do you suppose? There are problems, however, with his/her rant.

The Chad Johnson item caught my eye, as well, and therefore I know that he/she is being dishonest with us. Ah, beware the `...' in folks' screaming tizzy fits. Because the rest of the item explained that Chad Johnson was extremely frustrated with the double and triple coverage that other teams were laying on him, and he felt helpless to help his team.

This may ring a bell, even with Mr./Miss Jamie, because lots of very talented wide receivers have expressed frustration, once they attain that `rep' of being a first-class pass catcher. And no doubt, it gets old pretty quick. So they have to work extra hard to elude, if only for a second, those clingy cornerbacks. No doubt that Chad could have expressed himself better, but who are we to say?

Just why Mr./Miss Jamie chose to excise that part and go on a very colorful, full-out attack on Chad, I don't know. But it's evident he/she knows nothing about highly successful athletes but what he/she reads (partially) in the newspapers and hears on ESPN.

This is dangerous, as we've seen, because we don't know the questioner or how the question was asked (context) or the man involved. So Ms. English teacher (me) hereby sentences Jamie to write in a notebook: `I won't be dishonest again in my publicly printed letters' and `I must get a hobby' 10,000 times.

JUDY DAVIS

Eugene

A fine feathered reception

I attended Saturday's Oregon-Cal game, donning my Cal hat together with my Tedhead T-shirted friends. The many Oregon fans who greeted and spoke with us were universally friendly and cheerful before, during and after the game.

I live in Olympia, and have attended many Cal-Washington games in Seattle, and I can assure you this is not the case with Husky fans.

So thanks for the warm reception. It leaves a very positive impression. Eugene is a great city, and I'll be rooting for the Ducks in whatever bowl game they play.

SCOTT BURLINGAME

Olympia

More Seahawks, please

We have one NFL team in the Northwest, and the Register-Guard gives all of one sentence in the Monday paper to the Seahawks. Come on. You can do better than that.

JERRY McCALL

Eugene

Remembering a fine man

A few weeks ago, a brief article appeared in the Register-Guard about the death of Hank Anderson, a very successful coach at Gonzaga University.

Perhaps there should have been a little more written about Hank. He played basketball for the University of Oregon and was instrumental in winning several games for the Ducks in the 1939-1940 season. In the closing seconds of two games, he made the winning baskets.

In the Burns Times Herald, this was big news. Hank's home was in Hines, where his father was the grade school principal. Hank was a volunteer firefighter for Hines. The paper said that in an emergency Hank could be called on to either put out a fire or win a game.

He had a great love for the University of Oregon and revered coach Howard Hobson. Hank was a very fine man, and I was privileged to call him a friend. I can understand why he was successful at Gonzaga and was respected by his players.

PETE PRESLEY

Eugene

Astros don't play fair

What was Houston doing in the World Series? This is not intended to take anything away from a masterful White Sox performance. But the Astros themselves likely were asking how they managed to get there.

That was apparent when the commissioner had to step in and rule Houston could not close the dome to get an unfair advantage for its home games. In every sport at every level, the home field gives a built-in advantage to the home team.

But Houston knew it needed every break it could get. So it tried to have the dome closed. Before the '05 Series, Houston had a 40-17 record when its dome was closed.

Fairness in every sport is diminished when one team is at home. At least in NCAA postseason games, an "even" playing field comes from using neutral sites. For the World Series, Houston proved itself the lesser organization in more ways than one when it tried to sneak by with echoing home crowd noise in a closed stadium.

GEORGE BERES

Eugene