Barren Bullpen
Showboating NBA steals MLB's black base: I was pleasantly surprised with your article and found it to be fairly well written and researched. I was somewhat confused by some of your statistics, in that you seem to not include black players who are also of Hispanic descent. But that is relatively irrelevant to the overall theme and quality of your article.
I had noticed the same trend a few years ago, but had forgotten about it until I read your article. Baseball also suffers, at the high school and college ranks, from a dearth of coverage or hype. Even high-school wrestling is vastly more popular and well known than baseball.
I was impressed with the emphasis you placed upon baseball being a team sport. This concept, at least in my opinion, has become lost to NBA basketball with the advent of "isolation" offenses that allow the Jordans and Jameses to control the game. I long for the old Boston Celtics form of team during the Bird-McHale-Parish era. That is probably why I have become such a strong baseball fan over the years. It might also be due to the fact that hotdogging and showboating are rarely seen in baseball. That might also be one of the reasons that baseball has lost its popularity in certain neighborhoods.
The true shame is that there are obviously many black boys and girls in the country who are missing the opportunity to enjoy this sport. I am certain that there are many potentially gifted students who could be groomed into top-notch baseball players, in the same way that Ted Ginn Sr. has developed Glenville football players.
Dave Riehl
Taking The Cure
We can't even spell erudition, let alone write with it: This was a very poorly conceived article. The writer knows nothing about the Cure and yet attempts to write with erudition on the subject. Thank the gods that don't exist that Robert Smith is not a cock-rock diva, the likes of which probably make the writer of this article squeal with girlish glee.
The Cure are mesmerizing to see in concert because they sound so damn good. It's about the music — something sorely lacking in today's vapid landscape. Get a clue about the Cure before posing as a scholar on the matter and before ripping to shreds a band that has more talent in its little toe than all other bands collectively possess in their entire bodies.
Clockwise Cat
Atlanta, Georgia
Really, it's that the damn record won't sell: Whoever wrote this slop of an article evidently didn't like the Cure from the git-go. I have been to lots of live shows, and they have always been better than any other I've ever seen. This writer has issues. Maybe he didn't get a free record for him to turn around and sell on eBay, and he is feeling huffy.
Suzanne D
Salamanca, New York
Maybe the dog ate our homework? OK, so I'm confused. You seem to explain or complain in great detail about seeing them for the 2004 Curiosa Festival, and how "Smith stormed the stage with all the verve, pep, and vitality of Jabba the Hutt," blah, blah, blah . . . But have you actually caught a gig on the current 4Tour? Your review seems to be based on set lists and a few songs that have been released as singles. No mention of any other new ones that have been played, but not released yet.
Just wondering why: a) one would write such a lame review if they apparently don't like the band? b) one would write such a lame review if they didn't do their homework?
Ms. Jabba the Hutt
And now from our well-mannered fans in Brisbane: This is the worst article I have ever read. You should be proud: You are officially the worst journalist ever. You don't even have to be a Cure fan to see you are full of shit. Maybe go to their shows? Or use your great mind-power to put two and two together to realize that if they sucked so bad, they would not be around for 30 years.
Go find a new job. You can't write, and you obviously are writing shit, which you shouldn't be paid for. This is so pathetic I'm in shock. My dog could write better than this. I hope Robert Smith kicks your stupid ass. Fucktard.
Amanda
Brisbane
