U.S. Is Up to Its High-Tops in Olympic Hoopla

I have no problem with John Thompson’s inability to field a winning team, only with his sour attitude and misplaced blame.

So what if Arvydas Sabonis honed his skills under the tutelage of the Portland Trail Blazers? That’s a tribute to “America’s Game� and its ability to crack the Iron Curtain.

The fact is, we lost a game--it just happened to be our game. We should welcome the challenge of beating the Soviets with our best collegians in 1992, pursuing a few hot shooters instead of renewing the Cold War.

Tapping into the NBA will only be cheap revenge, and do little to reinforce what Soviet Coach Alexander Gomelsky and everyone else already knows--that we do in fact play the game better in the United States than anywhere else.

RON OVADIA

Los Angeles