Letters

Only twice in the past five years have teams in an NFL division finished in the exact order as the year before--the 2002 and '03 NFC North and the '04 and '05 NFC West. Therefore, it will be amazing if Dr. Z's predictions for this season (2007 Scouting Reports, Sept. 3) come true. He projects five of the eight divisions to finish in the same order as they did last season--and, remarkably, the other three divisions as only a flip-flop away from doing the same thing.
Jonathan Ruppel, Mount Juliet, Tenn.

Vick Vitriol

Charlie Leerhsen writes in The Fall and Rise of Michael Vick (PLAYERS, Sept. 3) that "if Vick's case has taught us anything, it's that it is dicey to face trouble during a slow news cycle." Leerhsen adds that the crime's coverage expanded to fill available media space. In fact, the scale of the coverage was exactly right. Vick is one of the nation's most gifted athletes, and tens of millions of people were creeped out by the details.
Bob Frost, San Francisco

Vick's redemption is not "inevitable." Many sports fans are disgusted by the criminal behavior of once-revered pro athletes.
Ken Steuernagel, Dallas

Ironically, after everyone is through punishing Vick, the word that might well describe him when he returns to football is underdog.
Hwun Yee Chen, Burlingame, Calif.

Breath of Life

My wife and I cried together after reading Rick Reilly's article about Korinne Shroyer's family, her suicide and how her donated lungs gave life to a stranger, Len Geiger (LIFE OF REILLY, Sept. 3). The image of Korinne's mom touching the chest of the recipient of her daughter's lungs--to feel her dead daughter breathe again--is one that will remain with me for a long time.
Curt Eisenhower, Ashburn, Va.

If this story doesn't make you run out and get an organ donor card, I don't know what will.
Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb, Toronto

By Reilly's simply mentioning Alpha-1 (the disease that led to my need for a lung transplant) in his column, readers have gone to www.alphaone.org to research this treatable, inherited condition. Increasing awareness of Alpha-1 is a cause to which I've dedicated my life. But beyond this broader benefit, Rick's column gave me a chance to publicly thank the family whose unselfish decision saved my life.
Len Geiger, Jacksonville

Reilly's bittersweet column shared an amazing story about saving lives and healing through organ donation, yet it missed an important opportunity to discuss youth suicide prevention. In 2004 there were 1,983 suicides among adolescents ages 10 to 19 in the U.S., of which nearly half were firearm-related. Basic steps--such as locking up guns and educating families to look for warning signs of suicide--can save many young lives each year.
Lauren Raskin Ramos, Alexandria, Va.