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Letters to the Editors

Mizell mailbag

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 26, 2000

Miami-FSU views vary

It would seem you have discounted Washington's victory over Miami as nothing more than a preseason scrimmage. It is incongruous. Their records are identical. They played schedules of comparable difficulty, although it could be argued Washington's was tougher.

If head-to-head matchups don't count for anything, what's next, presidents being elected by exit polls rather than ballots? One wonders if folks in Florida aren't a bit overcome with themselves.
-- Frank Workman, Seattle

As a 'Noles fan, I find it amazing that media can say Miami deserves to be in the national championship game. If you were to pick who is the more deserving, it would be Washington since it beat Miami. If you pick the best, it would be FSU.
-- George Nichols, via e-mail

Thanks for Mizell evenhandedness. It takes some guts for a journalist in upstate Florida to say UM is more deserving of No. 2 in BCS than Florida State.

I agree with you that the Seminoles may be the best, but they did lose to Miami and both schools have a single defeat on their records.
-- Keith Brookings, Fort Lauderdale

You really stink. How can you go for those Miami people? Aren't you supposed to be on the side of FSU or Florida? This is like seeing a Republican vote for Al Gore. Be ashamed, traitor.
-- Tyler Davis, Tallahassee

It's close between Miami and Florida State in the BCS, but the edge should go to FSU. Both teams have one loss, UM by five points at Washington, now ranked No. 4; FSU by three at Miami, which is now No. 2
-- Gary Parker, via e-mail

I must take you to task, but I'm not going to laugh because fellow Floridians can't conduct an election. However, when you say the Florida-FSU rivalry is supreme, I must correct such a misconception. Always your faithful reader in the Pacific Northwest.
-- Gene Sofie, Seattle

Hubert says: With no help from Katherine Harris or the Florida Supreme Count, my idea remains the same: that FSU is better than Miami but that the 'Canes more deserve No. 2 in the BCS. The 'Noles can laugh all the way to the Orange Bowl, but am I supposed to write something I don't believe just because it'll please a majority of readers? As for my pen pals from Washington, call me after you get the regionally biased Seattle Times ranking corrected.

***

What another disgusting no-show by the Bucs offense in a game they should have never lost at Chicago. Tony Dungy is a great guy and a decent coach. He certainly has a penchant for defense. But, offensively, this dude is no Bill Walsh.
-- Malcolm Hawthorne, via e-mail

Hubert says: Amen, Malcolm.

***

What a great article about the history of THE game (FSU-Florida). I was a Times staffer in the '60s and '70s and remember a lack of coverage for FSU. This is a game I wait for. I still pull for the 'Noles.
-- Tom Harp, Atlanta

How about reconsidering retirement. Hubert, it's going to be a vacuum, waking up and picking my Times from the driveway with no hope of reading Mizell, except for those promised Sunday columns from Virginia. My appetite for your work was further enriched by the Gators-'Noles history article the day of the game. Don't go, Hubert. Maybe if all us sent in a dollar a week it would convince you to stick around.
-- Gina Cason, Clearwater

Hubert says: Well, Gina, if you could get, say, 200,000 promises for the buck-a-week deal. ... Nah, your kind words are hugely appreciated, but Section C will continue at superior levels long after Marcy and I have homesteaded just across a hill from the Shenandoah.
--
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St. Petersburg Times
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St. Petersburg, FL 33731
You can also e-mail: mizell@sptimes.com

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