I just had to drop a quick line to express how pleased I am to see you predicting that my beloved Denver Nuggets will finish first in their division.

How many times does this silly idea have to be brought up? The last time somebody sounded a call like this, Bruce said "If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve." He doesn't want to be a politician.

"A long touchdown play caused by blown coverage is more fun than a pass sailing over the head of an open receiver or a running back running into his own blocker and losing three yards."

Amen to that!

Excellent letter, Ironclad.

Gary Kamiya's wrong -- we already have more Robert Fisk's than we'll ever need.

...from reading all these letters, but at the moment, the only thing I have to add is a question:

When did Salon start linking to amazon as a place to buy reviewed books, instead of Powell's? That's not a change I can say I'm pleased with.

So King, do I understand correctly that when you say this is "a quick look" at the opening round series, you aren't making predictions? There are some series (like Memphis-Dallas or Chicago-Miami) where I can't tell if you're picking anybody to win.

Hey, take it easy on my Beloved Denver Nuggets! This is the third year in a row they've made the playoffs! (And it looks like it'll be the third year in a row they get beat in the first round, but never mind.) I know they had a year not too long ago where they were on pace to set a record for the most losses ever in a single season, I know they've been a laughingstock any number of times, but come on! There have been plenty of good Nuggets teams over the years, too. Issel the Missle! David "Skywalker" Thompson! Fat Lever! And remember the year they became the first #8 seed ever to advance in the postseason?

Super-Fun-Pak Comix alone is worth the price of my Salon subscription.

I like the letters titled "Sour Grapes" and "The American Dream" but the rest of them so far are terrible. You people sound like you didn't understand the piece at all.

Anyway it's nice to see Greil Marcus in Salon again, if only for a minute.

I just scanned through the Editor's Choices (currently numbering 19) and didn't see anyone who explicitly made this point, so I want to correct Khouri on this statement:

> ... the Hamas and Hezbollah groups whose raison d'être has been to fight the Israeli occupation of their lands.

Wrong. The raison d'être of these groups, certainly of Hamas, is to wipe Israel off the map entirely.

Thank you, Salon, for continuing to publish thoughtful, reasoned, informed analysis by Aluf Benn. It provides a much needed counterbalance to Juan Cole and that utterly dreadful piece by Rami Khouri the other day, and keeps me from cancelling my subscription.

Just chiming in with more kudos to Salon for running this piece, and kudos also to Chantyshira for her excellent letter ("Finally, a Balance").

Super-Fun-Pak Comix RULES!!!!

... what it feels like to be this happy.

Dude, I totally hear you about all this 2-week ridiculousness, but another thing that was on TV last Sunday was Roger Federer winning the Australian Open, and inching closer to Pete Sampras's record for most men's singles titles. Maybe not the most appealing thing to many football fans, but for a sports connoisseur it should be notable.

I just have to ask, are you meaning to suggest that tennis belongs in the same category as curling and sled dog racing?

This one really made me laugh out loud.

I still remember a similar comic he did 8 years ago after Columbine, where an ink blot was responsible for the massacre. Everybody saw what they wanted to see -- "This proves what I've been saying for years! Maybe now you'll start listening to me! We need to [ban controversial music] [stop the culture of bullying] [promote Christianity in the public schools] [have stricter gun control laws][etc] right away!"

I'm with you that it would be great to encourage more public transit usage, but I bristle a bit at the idea of raising the bridge tolls again. It always feels like a form of regressive taxation to me -- it'll make things harder for poorer people who can barely cover the tolls at $4, but won't affect the wealthier folks at all.

Unbelievable -- Ernie Johnson gave him about 4 or 5 chances to retract his "I hate the Bay Area" statements, and he just kept heaping it on! What a bastard!

Very fun to watch, though.

Emotionally, I agree with this entire article, but let me debate the logic of this point:

Once a player has taken a step or two from the bench toward an altercation, there's no reason to stop short of joining in. You're already suspended, pal. Might as well keep going and get a few licks in.

Stoudemire & Diaw leave the bench but don't throw any punches -- they get suspended for a game each. But back early in the season, Carmelo Anthony leaves the bench at Madison Square Garden, travels the whole length of the court, and lands a roundhouse right on one of the Knicks -- he gets suspended for over a month. If Stoudemire hadn't been restrained Monday night, if he'd joined in the fracas, I'm sure the punishment would be worse.

At any rate, as a die-hard Spurs-hater, I'm just going to hope that the Suns get some emotional charge out of this and find a way to pull out a miraculous win tonight.