Don’t Read This Now, CBS Will Show It All Tomorrow

Now we know why in the 500 B.C. Olympics, we never found out who won the events.

CBS had the broadcast rights.

MELVIN KIFER, Los Angeles

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What will I miss about the Nagano Olympics? Let me count. I can’t get beyond zero.

ALAN MATIS, Sherman Oaks

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I think it was a terrible thing for you to blab the winners of Olympic events before the people had a chance to see the events. You people can print the winners the day after, not the day before.

AL VANDER SOMMER, Lakewood

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The unmitigated audacity of CBS to change the pronunciation of the city hosting the Winter Olympics and then insist their people, some who should know better, pronounce the city as “NA-ga-no” was a disgrace. For someone raised in Japan as a boy, I winced every time that pronunciation was used. Ask any Japanese the correct way to say it and they will put the accent on the second syllable.

The natives are just too polite to say anything. Would a Californian feel the same way if their favorite park was called “YO-sem-might”?

E.G. SAMMANN, Pasadena

Editor’s note--A Times reporter in Nagano for the Games questioned six Japanese on the correct pronunciation. Five responded that NA-ga-no was correct. The sixth said the pronunciation was flat, with no accent anywhere, na-ga-no.

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I thought the Olympic coverage was lousy, the times were unclear as to when each event would be on, and the commercials were impossible.

I, for one, gave up after a short time, because I don’t think anyone really cared whether we saw what we wanted to see or not.

TONI JACOBSON, Monterey Park

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The dismal ratings for CBS’ Olympics coverage are no mystery to me. I’m not going to plow through a bunch of commercials tonight to catch glimpses of an event that I read all about in this morning’s Times.

I’m for live broadcasts of key events at whatever local time. So we offend some soaps fans. Hey, it’s their turn.

BOB WARNOCK, Eagle Rock

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Those who suffered between 9:45 and 11:15 last Friday night saw nine women complete their free programs at around five minutes each, including the time during which they received their marks. Most of the remaining time was spent watching a few features and, mostly, commercials. Once, there were three commercial breaks surrounding no skating at all, only a story and a promo for the local news.

That Nagano coverage wasn’t live wasn’t a problem--that Nagano coverage was difficult to find was.

JOHN TEDFORD, Los Angeles

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Dear CBS: I fully understand the right of Olympic telecast sponsors to increase the number of “messages” to compensate for your low ratings. But does this right extend to the blasting sound levels you chose?

By the way, take the poor dog off the recliner--can’t you see the look of fear in its face?

TERRY CLARK, Northridge

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How dare the Japanese give our beloved hockey team weak chairs to sit on. The host country is lucky the players did not retaliate by ripping out the whole village. One good thing, the actions of the U.S. hockey team will not do anything to hurt the image of the “sport.”

D.M. CATES, Ventura

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The USA’s “dream team” obviously had some pretty second-rate players. Too bad we didn’t send our top college team--they probably would have beaten somebody.

I certainly hope the players are going to be charged for the damage they did to their hotel rooms. Unfortunately, the damage they did to American prestige and sportsmanship can’t be repaired. Once again, we look like a bunch of spoiled brats who can’t take it when we don’t win.

TOM REINBERGER, Glendora

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Maybe even the USOC can figure this out now. Stop sending the spoiled prima donnas from the NHL (and the NBA for that matter) to the Olympics and send some amateurs who value the experience.

TOM WUESTHOFF, Newbury Park

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We don’t need a Dream Team. We need a team with dreams.

RICHARD K. CHECK, Covina

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I just wanted to thank Mike Downey for his article in last Saturday’s paper about Michelle Kwan. Even though she did not win the gold medal, I was so proud of how she handled this disappointment. She showed what a gracious individual she really is. Way more mature than her age!

I think we in the United States tend to place too much importance on winning and not on stressing the importance of doing the best you can. It is a honor to her parents on the fine job they did raising such a grounded and exceptional individual. No matter what color the medal, I am proud of Michelle and what she has accomplished!

GENEVIEVE CHU, Pasadena

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I have a new Olympic hero: Nicole Bobek.

Sure, she spent as much time on her butt as on her skates. But there she was at the closing ceremony, laughing, dancing, having the time of her life. She celebrated the joy of sport, the fun of the Games, precisely what the Olympics should be about.

We should all be such losers that we would finish 17th in our event--at the Olympic Games. Thank you, Nicole Bobek, for showing us what is good and decent about the Olympics.

MEL POWELL, Los Angeles

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Advice to the Olympic Committee for 2002: To make the “sport” of curling more exciting, get rid of the brooms and use leaf blowers.

STAN KAPLAN, Garden Grove

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If Winter Olympic athletes thought they had an unusual lifestyle to get used to in Nagano, wait until they get to Salt Lake City.

BETTE HENNING, Redondo Beach