Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________FIELD OF PILLS BY TOM McNICHOL (09/03/98)

Tom McNichol's piece on Mark McGwire tells us less about the ballplayer than it does about a self-styled high-brow media culture unwilling to let the opportunity to shit on everyone's fun pass by. The hoi polloi are engrossed by McGwire, but fear not, here's some fellow sitting in San Francisco to set 'em straight, to unmask their hero as a fraud. Inevitable, I suppose, but no less sad and no less pathetic.
McNichol doesn't even attempt any new reporting on the issues, nor does he offer new insights into the use of supplements by athletes. He resorts to anonymous quotes told to anonymous reporters ("speaking off the record, a Seattle Mariner veteran told a reporter") to back his specious claims. He engages in baseless speculation ("Others point to McGwire's early career ... as proof that McGwire has long been taking steroids, but has only recently gotten the dosage right"). He contorts a perfectly reasonable and accurate denial of charges into something suspicious ("Act offended that anyone would even dare to question your character, while reminding everyone that you didn't break any law"). Finally, he offers an utterly disingenuous caveat ("Of course ... no pill, however potent, can be responsible for his prodigious output"), but otherwise interrupts this excuse for journalism or commentary or whatever it purports to be only to engage in a vicious attack on everything about McGwire, right down to his personality. As if he knows anything about Mark McGwire's personality.
I say cheers for McGwire, for his brilliance and the hard work that has brought him to this point. And I say cheers for those souls, happier and more gracious than McNichol, who are reveling in his feats.
-- Pete Danko
Applegate Valley, Ore.
I was a bit shocked by Tom McNichol's hatchet job on Mark McGwire, which not only questioned the man's totally legal use of common supplements found in any health food store, but questioned his personal character as well -- i.e., he ain't no Babe Ruth. McNichol seems to prefer that McGwire show up for work drunk, like the Sultan of Swat after a night of chasing skirts, instead of being a serious athlete and utilizing every legal advantage at his fingertips. And to repeat or make assertions that McGwire uses illegal steroids -- based on his thin waist and nothing else (aside from nasty rumor) -- is just another reason that the media is loved second to dentists and perhaps lawyers.
-- Jeffrey Abelson
New York
I will accept that Mark McGwire should have an asterisk next to his name noting his use of steroid supplements if you will accept that Babe Ruth should have an asterisk next to his name for playing in an all-white league that saved him from ever having to face some of the best players of his day.
-- Wendy Caster
Normally I don't take the time to reply to articles (except those that are related to "Judge" Starr's vendetta) that piss me off. However, Salon's San Francisco Treat Tom McNichols has gone beyond the pale with his poison-penned diatribe. Why? Could it be that he feels cheated that the next home-run record will be hung on a Mississippi River city rather than San Francisco Bay's Oakland? If so, he should squirt his venom at the A's, who, after all, traded McGwire to the Cardinals.
Now that McGwire (and Sammy Sosa) will out-homer both Babe Ruth and Roger Maris, this misguided oracle has to take it upon himself to make this historic accomplishment seem trivial. Does this article stem from some self-evident shortcoming on his own part? Or, is it just the words of a modern-day "journalist" who can't stand to see a real accomplishment recognized for what it really is. Thankfully, Mr. McNichol is in a minority of writers and Americans alike. My only advice is, get a life of your own.
-- Bill Kelley
I'll admit to being a touch chagrined by the revelation that Mark McGwire has been taking androstenedione, but Tom McNichol wanders into all kinds of weird territory in his self-righteous commentary on McGwire's record chase. McGwire is a bit dour, while Sammy Sosa is a breath of fresh air. So what? Does McNichol think that Sammy is on the Babe Ruth training plan? He looks like he's about to burst out of his Cubs uniform. If he's not on androstenedione, he's probably on creatine, and no doubt he's pumping tons of iron, both of which McNichol also denounces.
Of course, not only do McGwire and Sosa use supplements and lift weights, unlike the old-timers, but so do all the pitchers they face. Babe Ruth faced hard-drinking, sliderless pitchers who labored through nine-inning games even when they were getting bombed. McGwire and Sosa face superbly conditioned pitchers with mind-boggling pitch repertoires who get pulled at the first sign of fatigue and replaced by specialists in middle and short relief. McNichol might have mentioned some of these things in order to indicate that he had some actual ideas on the subject, rather than just spleen to vent.
-- Matt Feeney

_______________ASK CAMILLE BY CAMILLE PAGLIA (09/01/98)

I have often agreed with Camille Paglia's critiques of feminism, but I must protest her completely gratuitous and ill-informed swipe at the WNBA. Based on a few minutes of channel flipping, she makes comments about the players "unbeautiful, leaden gallumphing" (which could also be said of quite a few NBA players) and decides that they lack "the grace and panache of high school boys." I have to wonder if we saw the same game and the same players. I'm not even asking if Paglia saw the semifinal games in which the Charlotte Sting's Andrea Stinson drove to the basket for a lay-up with a behind-the-back dribble (a move beautiful enough to watch again and again), the Houston Comets' Sheryl Swoopes sliced through the defense in a dizzying spin move to the basket, the Sting's Tracy Reid had a couple of lay-ups that (in my book) were more graceful and flamboyant than any slam-dunk, Kim Perrot scored on an incredible reverse lay-up and Cynthia Cooper was, simply, Cynthia Cooper.
The WNBA represents feminism at its best: women displaying their strength, skills and drive, not whining about their victimhood. As a self-styled proponent of "Amazonian" feminism, Paglia should be supporting it (ponytails and all), not indulging in her silly fixation on the idea that women's sports are "boring." Tell that to the 16,000-plus fans at the Compaq Center in Houston and the 2 million who watched on TV.
-- Cathy Young
Middletown, N.J.
SALON | Sept. 8, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| REPRESSED MEMORY SYNDROME BY DAVID HOROWITZ

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_______________FIELD OF PILLS BY TOM McNICHOL (09/03/98)
	Tom McNichol's piece on Mark McGwire tells us less about the ballplayer than it does about a self-styled high-brow media culture unwilling to let the opportunity to shit on everyone's fun pass by. The hoi polloi are engrossed by McGwire, but fear not, here's some fellow sitting in San Francisco to set 'em straight, to unmask their hero as a fraud. Inevitable, I suppose, but no less sad and no less pathetic. McNichol doesn't even attempt any new reporting on the issues, nor does he offer new insights into the use of supplements by athletes. He resorts to anonymous quotes told to anonymous reporters ("speaking off the record, a Seattle Mariner veteran told a reporter") to back his specious claims. He engages in baseless speculation ("Others point to McGwire's early career ... as proof that McGwire has long been taking steroids, but has only recently gotten the dosage right"). He contorts a perfectly reasonable and accurate denial of charges into something suspicious ("Act offended that anyone would even dare to question your character, while reminding everyone that you didn't break any law"). Finally, he offers an utterly disingenuous caveat ("Of course ... no pill, however potent, can be responsible for his prodigious output"), but otherwise interrupts this excuse for journalism or commentary or whatever it purports to be only to engage in a vicious attack on everything about McGwire, right down to his personality. As if he knows anything about Mark McGwire's personality. I say cheers for McGwire, for his brilliance and the hard work that has brought him to this point. And I say cheers for those souls, happier and more gracious than McNichol, who are reveling in his feats. -- Pete Danko Applegate Valley, Ore. I was a bit shocked by Tom McNichol's hatchet job on Mark McGwire, which not only questioned the man's totally legal use of common supplements found in any health food store, but questioned his personal character as well -- i.e., he ain't no Babe Ruth. McNichol seems to prefer that McGwire show up for work drunk, like the Sultan of Swat after a night of chasing skirts, instead of being a serious athlete and utilizing every legal advantage at his fingertips. And to repeat or make assertions that McGwire uses illegal steroids -- based on his thin waist and nothing else (aside from nasty rumor) -- is just another reason that the media is loved second to dentists and perhaps lawyers. -- Jeffrey Abelson New York I will accept that Mark McGwire should have an asterisk next to his name noting his use of steroid supplements if you will accept that Babe Ruth should have an asterisk next to his name for playing in an all-white league that saved him from ever having to face some of the best players of his day. -- Wendy Caster Normally I don't take the time to reply to articles (except those that are related to "Judge" Starr's vendetta) that piss me off. However, Salon's San Francisco Treat Tom McNichols has gone beyond the pale with his poison-penned diatribe. Why? Could it be that he feels cheated that the next home-run record will be hung on a Mississippi River city rather than San Francisco Bay's Oakland? If so, he should squirt his venom at the A's, who, after all, traded McGwire to the Cardinals. Now that McGwire (and Sammy Sosa) will out-homer both Babe Ruth and Roger Maris, this misguided oracle has to take it upon himself to make this historic accomplishment seem trivial. Does this article stem from some self-evident shortcoming on his own part? Or, is it just the words of a modern-day "journalist" who can't stand to see a real accomplishment recognized for what it really is. Thankfully, Mr. McNichol is in a minority of writers and Americans alike. My only advice is, get a life of your own. -- Bill Kelley I'll admit to being a touch chagrined by the revelation that Mark McGwire has been taking androstenedione, but Tom McNichol wanders into all kinds of weird territory in his self-righteous commentary on McGwire's record chase. McGwire is a bit dour, while Sammy Sosa is a breath of fresh air. So what? Does McNichol think that Sammy is on the Babe Ruth training plan? He looks like he's about to burst out of his Cubs uniform. If he's not on androstenedione, he's probably on creatine, and no doubt he's pumping tons of iron, both of which McNichol also denounces. Of course, not only do McGwire and Sosa use supplements and lift weights, unlike the old-timers, but so do all the pitchers they face. Babe Ruth faced hard-drinking, sliderless pitchers who labored through nine-inning games even when they were getting bombed. McGwire and Sosa face superbly conditioned pitchers with mind-boggling pitch repertoires who get pulled at the first sign of fatigue and replaced by specialists in middle and short relief. McNichol might have mentioned some of these things in order to indicate that he had some actual ideas on the subject, rather than just spleen to vent. -- Matt Feeney
_______________ASK CAMILLE BY CAMILLE PAGLIA (09/01/98)
	I have often agreed with Camille Paglia's critiques of feminism, but I must protest her completely gratuitous and ill-informed swipe at the WNBA. Based on a few minutes of channel flipping, she makes comments about the players "unbeautiful, leaden gallumphing" (which could also be said of quite a few NBA players) and decides that they lack "the grace and panache of high school boys." I have to wonder if we saw the same game and the same players. I'm not even asking if Paglia saw the semifinal games in which the Charlotte Sting's Andrea Stinson drove to the basket for a lay-up with a behind-the-back dribble (a move beautiful enough to watch again and again), the Houston Comets' Sheryl Swoopes sliced through the defense in a dizzying spin move to the basket, the Sting's Tracy Reid had a couple of lay-ups that (in my book) were more graceful and flamboyant than any slam-dunk, Kim Perrot scored on an incredible reverse lay-up and Cynthia Cooper was, simply, Cynthia Cooper. The WNBA represents feminism at its best: women displaying their strength, skills and drive, not whining about their victimhood. As a self-styled proponent of "Amazonian" feminism, Paglia should be supporting it (ponytails and all), not indulging in her silly fixation on the idea that women's sports are "boring." Tell that to the 16,000-plus fans at the Compaq Center in Houston and the 2 million who watched on TV. -- Cathy Young Middletown, N.J. SALON \| Sept. 8, 1998