REPLY ALL

Not just the mail …

FROM OUR INBOX

"Jr.'s window of opportunity¹ is closing (All Grown Up, May 19). Doesn't Kerry Earnhardt warrant the same attention?"²
-bgrant62, ESPNthemag.com
"Alan Kulwicki's passing up the chance to drive for Junior Johnson was the ballsiest move ever,³ not Jr. leaving DEI."
-Rob Sneddon, Somersworth, N.H.
"Junior: You'll find the perfect woman when you find one who loves racing as much as you do. My hand's waving in the air!"⁴
-dalejr884ever, ESPNthemag.com

1. Junior's got plenty of time. In 1992, Harry Gant became the oldest driver to win a major championship. He was 52.
2. Uh … no. Junior's 38-year-old half bro has run just three Busch races in the previous three years, and his best finish was fifth.
3. C'mon, wings trump coffee every time. Sure, Kulwicki dissed Johnson's Maxwell House team, but he won the 1992 Winston Cup in the Hooters car.
4. Don't hold your breath. Junior told The Mag he's looking for "somebody who can read me like a book." Hard to do that from the stands.

ROAR OF THE CROWD

An estimated breakdown of commonly held opinions sent to us by you over the past two weeks.

• 42% think Nats slugger Elijah Dukes won't make it through the summer without an "incident."
• 37% guessed correctly that pitchers Mike Maroth and Dave Stewart each started a season 06.
• 14% have already bought a "Jacksonville Jaguars: Super Bowl Champs" T-shirt.
• 5% consider Falcons QB Matt Ryan "overrated."
• 2% think we're idiots not to have included Kerri Strug in our playing-with-pain Hall of Fame.

UNSAFE BET

The railbirds at the Belmont Stakes won't be the only people gambling on race day. This year, jockeys are paying for their own health insurance—and that means some are riding without it. Hobbled by decreasing payments from racetracks, rising costs and bad management, the 1,300-member Jockeys' Guild (Hell of a Life, May 21, 2007) went bankrupt in October. Member fees and a few corporate sponsors have the Guild back in business, but donors haven't ponied up enough to cover the insurance tab. With thousands of race-related injuries occurring each year and most jockeys earning less than $30,000, the stakes, not just at Belmont Park, but at tracks everywhere, are higher than ever.
-Peter Keating

COMING ON STRONG

At 44, Laird Hamilton works out like a linebacker. On a recent visit to our office, the big-wave king revealed three of his training inspirations:

• CHRIS CHELIOS
  "He's the oldest guy in the NHL [at 46], and he's still playing at a high level. No one trains harder."
• DON WILDMAN
  "He's the founder of Bally Total Fitness. If you're still banging iron, running, paddling and biking at 75, you deserve respect."
• WOMEN IN YOGA CLASS
  "They're doing full splits!"

THE MAG GETS (MIDDLE) SCHOOLED

Our recent cover story on disabled athletes (Let 'Em Play, May 5) struck a chord with more than 20 eighth-graders at Memorial Blvd. Middle School in Bristol, Conn. A sampling of their thoughts on the prosthetic revolution:

• "Just because they have a robotic limb doesn't mean they have an advantage."
• "Sarah Reinertsen finishing the Ironman is unbelievable!"
• "Even if they'll have a physical advantage, it's not a big deal!"
• "If a man can dance and kick a soccer ball, I don't know why he's not allowed to play pro sports."

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