Somehow, Hershiser and Campanis Were Left Off Top-40 List

It is frequently alleged by coaches and athletes that sportswriters don’t know anything about sports. You recently gave that viewpoint considerable credence by publishing a list, compiled by the Associated Press, of the decade’s top 40 sports stories.

A group of sportswriters and broadcasters determined, for instance, that Southern Methodist’s death penalty was the top football story, college or pro, in the ‘80s. And of course, the whole thrilling story of “Dick Schultz Takes Over NCAA” was one that was on the lips of every true sports fan across America for weeks and weeks.

Missing from the list were (among others):

--Orel Hershiser’s consecutive scoreless-inning streak.

--The various America’s Cup controversies, both in the water and in court.

--The shock waves that resulted from Al Campanis’ remarks on “Nightline.”

It’s also hard to believe that there was room for Ben Johnson, but not for the multiple gold-medal performances of Florence Griffith Joyner, Greg Louganis, Carl Lewis or Eric Heiden.

Wasn’t anybody able to remember as far back as the summer of 1980 when George Brett chased .400 and wound up hitting .390? Speaking of Brett, I believe I’d put the infamous pine-tar incident on the list before “Nebraska’s 28th Straight Winning Season.”

On the positive side, at least you sportswriters showed the good judgment to ignore tennis entirely. Your punctuation seems to be improving, too.

TOM REEDER

North Hollywood