Hit or Myth
Your debunking of the “myth” regarding Bud Grant’s coaching record needs a little debunking itself (“Everything You Know About Minnesota Is Wrong,” by Tim Gihring, June). You state that “over nine seasons, the much-maligned Denny Green had a better winning percentage than Grant.” Oh really? Which nine seasons were those? Grant coached 17 years and had a winning percentage of 63.4 percent. Green’s winning percentage was 61 percent.
KEVIN HICKEY
Maple Grove
Tim Gihring responds:
Poor Denny still can’t catch a break. The nine seasons I compared were (as stated) Grant’s last—those after Jim Finks, the Vikings’ general manager during the team’s golden age, had left for Chicago. In that time, Grant’s record was 71-60 plus a tie or two, a winning percentage of about 53 percent—significantly below Denny’s over his nine seasons here. Which supports the theory that Finks had as much, if not more, to do with paving the path to the Vikings’ four Super Bowl appearances as Grant. Heck, Finks hired Grant.
Not to take anything away from the big guy. Even though he’s about 102 now, he could still boot a punk like me up and down the field like a piece of pigskin. In any case, something tells me Bud (who’s very much with us despite his appearance on www.deadoraliveinfo.com) could care less about the quibbling. He’s more into the hook and bullet sports these days, even declaring wetlands and wildlife a more important cause for state support than any new stadium.
Wrong Rodent
In your story about Minnesota myths (“Everything You Know About Minnesota Is Wrong,” by Tim Gihring, June), you point out that Goldy Gopher is a chipmunk. I have had a lot of fun with that story because my father, George Grooms, was the artist who drew the wrong rodent. I had never heard the part about seeing rodents at rest stops.
STEVE GROOMS
St. Paul
Primary Concern
I was thrilled to see your focus on women’s health in the Best Doctors article (May)—and I congratulate the physicians on the list. I know many of them and couldn’t agree more that they are great. As a family-practice physician, however, I was disappointed to only see three peers listed for the entire metro area. The list is weighted toward specialty care, with a lack of emphasis on primary care. I ask that you take a good look at who provides the majority of care for women (family doctors, internists, and ob-gyns), and provide adequate references and resources for your readers.
JENNIFER AUGE, MD
Coon Rapids
Put Out
I recently picked up your magazine and read through it. Why do you call this “Minnesota” Monthly? A better name would be Minneapolis/St. Paul Upper Class Magazine. How about doing a story on, say, some small town in northern Minnesota, how East Grand Forks recovered from the flood, the orphanage in Owatonna, or the mines in Harmony? There is nothing that reflects Minnesota beyond the Twin Cities, Rochester, and Duluth. This needs to change. I refuse to purchase the magazine again.
CHUCK VANYO
Owatonna
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