REPLY ALL

Not just the mail.

Rainer Hosch

"Jeremy Shockey is the best tight end in the NFL¹ (Second Life, Sept. 22)." -PHATTY641

"Get over yourself, Shockey. You're a lousy teammate, and you drop too many passes."² -WALSHIE1919

"Saints fans appreciate him. You'll see a lot of his No. 88 jerseys³ around town." -RED_STICK_SAINTS_FAN

"Everyone talks about Shockey being selfish. What about Jerry Rice? He wanted the ball all the time!"⁴ -ANIMATEDMD

1. Not quite. Shockey's career average of 11.4 yards per catch is eighth best among active TEs, behind league leader Alge Crumpler's 13.3 yards.

2. As a Giant in 2007, Shockey caught 61% of the passes thrown to him. In the first two weeks of 2008, he caught eight of the nine balls that came his way.

3. It's about time. After No. 88's previous owner, Derrick Doyle, was cut in 2007's preseason, the jersey was unworn in the Big Easy until Shockey arrived.

4. Exactly, and his QBs were happy to oblige. Rice retired with an NFL-record 1,549 catches for
197 TDs. See? It pays to be vocal.

ROAR OF THE CROWD
An approximate breakdown of commonly held opinions sent to us by you over the past two weeks:

• 63% have dreamed about stumbling upon a T206 Wagner baseball card at a yard sale.
• 30% plan to take a second job so they can send their kid to Steve Clarkson's QB school.
• 4% believe the fun-loving Euro Ryder Cup team belongs in Animal House, not the clubhouse.
• 2% agree with Stephen A.: N.Y. Giants GM Jerry Reese is a keeper.
• 1% guessed correctly that the Cards' Stan Musial and the Tigers' Al Kaline were the only players to homer on their 20th anniversaries in MLB.

FEATS OF CLAY
Mastering 10 events would seem like more than enough even for Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay. Still, when the world's greatest athlete (and Wheaties cover boy) dropped by The Mag, he admitted that his competitive streak might actually extend beyond the track-and-field parameters of the decathlon:

GYMNASTICS "I'd like to try the one where they run and hit the horse and do all the flips and stuff."

TENNIS "I play a little racquetball when my season is over, but I kind of like tennis, too."

DANCING "Dancing With the Stars is my wife's favorite show. Maybe I could do a waltz?"

NONE TREE HILL
It took almost two years, but the tree-dwellers (and the last redwood) have been cleared from a grove near Cal's Memorial Stadium (Upset in the Making, Nov. 5, 2007). On Sept. 9, campus police convinced the four remaining protesters, who were opposing the construction of a $125 million athletic facility on the grounds, to leave the site they'd occupied since December 2006. As of Sept. 18, three of the holdouts are out on bail, but one cohort remains jailed on charges of violating a court order and illegal lodging. All four will go before a judge on Oct. 3. Bright side: Berkeley officials might give the demonstrators any leftover timber. So don't be shocked to see more tree houses on campus. -TIM KEOWN

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