LETTERS

Support for J.R. Tucker

Sports Editor:

I read Paul Woody's column on May 29 and wish to comment.

I have visited J.R. Tucker in many capacities, including as a track fan and football official. Since 1990, I have coached three sports in the Colonial District - baseball, softball and basketball.

As one of only two city schools in our district, we have established a friendly rivalry with the Tigers. Our team looks forward to playing at Tucker, not just for the competitiveness of the games but also for the atmosphere that embodies the spirit of high school athletics.

Complimenting Joe Mack in track, the enthusiasm and success in Tucker athletics also is reflected in other coaches past and present: football, Rusty Curl and Bob Ryan; softball, Pat McGuire and the late Luke Reid Sr. (the "Voice of the Tigers"); boys basketball, Corey Bradt, Chris Brown and the legendary Ralph Crockett. Baseball coach Ron Atkins' teams won at least three state titles in the 1980s. Girls basketball coach Molly Pawlowski, the senior coach in our district, continues to add to her legacy with numerous victories. She also has been named coach of the year three times in the past six years.

The Tigers are blessed to have the leadership of those coaches noted, as well as their valuable assistants, all working in step with Activities Director John Carroll. It has been my privilege to coach in the Colonial District for the past two decades, and it is my pleasure to be a friend of the J.R. Tucker Tigers. Bo Hobbs Jr. Girls basketball coach Thomas Jefferson High School

U.Va. got a raw deal

The word duplicity comes to mind when studying the recent NCAA baseball pairings employed by the selection committee. Instead of rewarding Virginia for winning the ACC tournament in four days (and against all odds), it chose instead to punish the Cavaliers by sending the team across the United States and three time zones to compete in the toughest bracket. The committee thus rendered the dream of many parents being able to attend the games a financial impossibility.

If you study the brackets, you will see that only Virginia and Georgia Southern (out of 64 teams) were sent across the U.S. There are four possible sites where they could have played as No. 2 seeds, and no team would have had to travel from coast to coast.

Obviously, this committee was operating under its own perceived agenda. Perhaps future committee members should be vetted and sworn in. The NCAA talks the talk. Perhaps it's time for them to walk the walk. Joy J. Spence Burkeville