Give Waner his due

It is not often when I can say I agree with Bob Smizik, but in the case of Paul Waner he is dead on. I went to the Pirate game Saturday night and I think it is great that the city and the Pirates celebrate Bill Mazeroski, but it is time to give Waner his due.

Waner currently holds the 18th all-time career batting average and holds the major-league record for consecutive games with an extra-base hit (14 games) and is a member of the "All-Century Team."

At the very least, his number 11, should be retired (in a perfect world he would have a statue around the park).

We have Billy Meyer's number retired in the ring around PNC Park and most fans do not know who he is (a manager when the Pirates were very bad). Waner's should be there too.

I realize the Pirates have to market to their fan base (most of whom were not around in the 30's when Big and Little Poison were playing) but if they want to stress the history and the legacy of the Pirates team then let's include Waner.

ROBERT WEISMANN
McCandless

"The Wizard of Cros"

I loved the story on Sidney Crosby by Dave Molinari. For a youngster, (still 17) he's interesting. The feats on the ice are awesome and the way he handles himself off the ice is something special. According to The Hockey News, after returning from Europe from a tournament, Crosby's agent said he could fly to Rimouski, his junior club, but Crosby declined so he could take the train, which would give him nine hours to study. How often do you hear a 17-year-old say that?

Maybe, if we're lucky and he does become a Penguin, we'll see the sign hanging in the rafters of Mellon Arena: "The Wizard of Cros."

FRANK SEVCIK
Blawnox

Average is no goal

The Pirates are average! The Pirates are average! Let the celebration begin!

It made me sad when Pirates fans were interviewed at Piratefest this spring and many of them said their hope was that the Pirates could reach .500. What a sad state of affairs for baseball is in this town when average is a goal.

The problem is if the Pirates actually ever reach "good" status, that would mean a few of their players will reach "good" or better status, and we all know what that means.

It means those players would command a high salary that the Pirates cannot afford, and the cycle of losing and trying to attain "average" starts all over again.

ED GRAHAM
Mt. Lebanon

No trades, please

Dear Mr. McClatchy,

Please don't touch the Pirates. We're having a lot of fun right now.

ZACHARY And LUCAS HERRINGTON
Steubenville, Ohio

Event misrepresented

I am writing this letter in reference to the article that appeared in the Sports section June 5, 2005, titled "Pals Schwartz and Taylor advance." The article was in reference to the Senior Olympics tennis competition. I speak for many tennis enthusiasts when I indicate that the article misrepresents the significance of this event from the perspective of a national competition.

As a player who has participated in many national tournaments including national clay, grass, and indoor tournaments, I can tell you that winning this entire tournament is akin to winning one round in a national tournament.

I, nor any of my colleagues, would never denigrate the accomplishments of any tennis player. However, this article misrepresented the difficulty and level of the competition. Players Gary Schwartz and Chuck Taylor have never come close to winning a national tournament.

I do not think that Gary Rostein intended any misrepresentation but we cannot say that for the players, especially Gary Schwartz.

Mr. Schwartz said, "Wouldn't that be something, the two of us from Pittsburgh playing in the national finals." Mr. Schwartz and all of the readers must be reminded that this event is not a national event, regardless what the tournament is called. A national tournament has nationally ranked players from the United States and has a draw size of 128.

We are proud of all of the competitors in this fine event and are not down playing anyone's efforts. But, please in the future, do not represent an athletic event like this.

LAURENCE A. LENCZEWSKI
Carrick

Advertising campaign a joke

I remember lighting and lumber and the lumber company etc.

But come hungry is a joke. Are the Pirates now in the sports-theme restaurant business and giving up on baseball altogether? Can you imagine the cost of a family of four going to a Pirates game and having dinner there with parking included. I can no longer keep up with them, I don't know where they're going. It certainly is not baseball any more. Yeah, come hungry and go home broke. Later Kevin.

JOHN KRIZAN
Bell Acres

Pirates are the Clippers

As a born and bred Pittsburgher who moved to Southern California eight years ago, I have been exposed to the NBA on a daily basis for the first time in my life; with not one but two teams.

The Lakers are almost always at or near the top of the league. The Clippers, on the other hand, are owned by Donald Sterling, a real estate billionaire, who owns the Clippers simply to profit from them.

The team does what it can to look respectable, and has flirted with the .500 mark the last few years. But once players become too expensive, bye-bye.

Because of the profit the Clippers make, Sterling has found no reason to invest further in his team. If the Clippers were a baseball team, they would be the Pirates.

Just hope Sterling doesn't buy the Pirates from the McClatchy group in 2007 as an "investment." It will just be more of the same.

TOM WALSH
Burbank, Calif.

You might be a Pirates fan if ...

If your favorite baseball team brings up the rear in almost every major offensive category, you might be a Pirates fan.

If your starting pitcher gives up three runs in six innings and is almost a lock to lose the game, you might be a Pirates fan.

If your team has a rich history that is clouded by 12 consecutive years of failure, you might be a Pirates fan.

If your team claims it was forced to trade away star players and fan favorites, and received a minimal return, you might be a Pirates fan.

If you are more concerned about the third-string quarterback race on the football team than your baseball team's record in July, you might be a Pirates fan.

If your team is in the ninth year of a five-year plan, you might be a Pirates fan.

If your team does not have a realistic chance to finish above fourth place in the division in the near future, you might be a Pirates fan.

If your team's ownership refuses to discuss the financial state of the franchise, but complains about poor attendance in the publicly funded stadium, you might be a Pirates fan.

I am a first-time partial season-ticket holder and am disgusted with the ownership. I cannot understand why they want to own a major-league club and operate it as a minor-league club.

JESSE WISNOUSE
Hagerstown, Md.

Sell the Pirates to Cuban

After reading the May 1 story on the Pirates finances, I have come to the conclusion that Pirates' fans demand the team be sold to an owner that wants to be competitive. The current McClatchy ownership group bought the team for about $90 million and its now worth $218 million according to Forbes Magazine. Can the McClatchy ownership group please sell the team to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban who is a Pittsburgh native?

JASON S. BAUMGARTEN
Brentwood

Littlefield is to blame

All the buzz about the Pirates losing is a result of Lloyd McClendon's managing is not fair. Lloyd is not the one who drafts, signs or trades the players.

Dave Littlefield and his staff should be the ones getting the blame. In his nearly four years as the general manger he has produced only one decent trade and a lot of nothing with his drafts and Rule 5 fiascoes. All the players you hear as the future of this organization were drafted by Cam Bonifay: John VanBenschoten, Sean Burnett, Brad Eldred, Ryan Doumit, Chris Duffy, etc.

And the trades, those are worse than the drafts. I know he got a few decent players in the Brian Giles trade, but how hard was that. The best general managers are the ones who give away nothing and get something in return. Littlefield's deals rank right up there with the Louisiana Purchase -- all the other teams are getting great deals whenever they trade with Littlefield and his staff.

ANDREW DENNIS
West Homestead

Media must pressure McClatchy

I thought your article questioning the Pirates' finances and intentions of McClatchy, Nutting & Co. was right on the mark. I believe the entire Pittsburgh sports media must apply constant and unwavering public pressure to get McClatchy/Nutting to sell the team.

Granted, most of us know they won't do that until they get at least one final payday with the All-Star Game in '06. Still, they should know what they are doing is not appreciated by us, the few loyal fans who are still in existence. Do they really expect us to believe that attendance has increased for any other reason than that All-Star Game?

MICHAEL SIMONETTI
East Greenwich, R.I.

Who can blame him for trying?

I have been a regular reader of your sports coverage since attending Pitt in the early 1990's and have usually found it very informative and fair. But I have to tell you that I found the April 29 column by Ron Cook embarrassing, insulting and unnecessary.

Mr. Cook spent his entire column criticizing Chevon Troutman for "wasting his time" by trying out for the Washington Redskins because, in Cook's opinion, Troutman lacks the desire needed to succeed. Strangely, Cook made no mention of any contact with Troutman about the tryout (he mentions on off-hand remark made by Troutman 14 weeks ago while still playing for Pitt).

He merely feels comfortable ripping Troutman's competitive spirit based on nothing. It's hard to read this as anything other than a cheap shot.

I can hardly think of a Pittsburgh athlete less deserving of that kind of treatment. For his entire career at Pitt, Troutman was a consummate team player, a winner and a tireless worker. At 6 feet 6, he routinely took on -- and got the better of -- the best big men in the conference. Troutman conducted himself with class as a Panther, always gave 100 percent and represented the university very well.

CHRISTOPHER MUMOLA
Bowie, Md.