to the sports editor derek jeter is a throwback to the yankees of old heres hoping he enjoys a full 162game season so the nation can give him a proper farewell sportsletters to the editor 15 2014to the sports editorre yankee who lived a dream says its near end feb 13 my dad had joe dimaggio i had mickey mantle and my sons have derek jeter for one more season jeter has been a great yankee and an admirable man he is worthy of being another link in the yankees chain that connects the generationspaul mendelowitz park ridge njto the sports editori have been a diehard mets fan all my life but as a baseball fan i have to admit that derek jeter is perhaps the best middle infielder i have ever seen at the many yankees games i have attended jeters greatness was obvious in terms of baseball instincts clutch hitting acrobatic fielding and team leadership tony veneziamamaroneck nyto the sports editorthe retirement of derek jeter after this 2014 season draws yet again a sharp contrast between him a yankees superstar respected and admired on and off the field a likely firstballot hall of fame choice and alex rodriguez once another yankees superstar now relegated to a disgraceful exit from the game perhaps permanently barbara ringelnew yorkto the sports editorfrom a lifelong bostonian and red sox fan yankees players come and go but they are not usually revered here derek jeter is the exception he is a throwback to the yankees of old he will be missed and i hope the folks at fenway will pay him special honordavid curtisbostonto the sports editorheres hoping derek jeter enjoys a full 162game final season so the nation can give this living legend a proper farewell r p smith marshfield masssams impactful stepto the sports editorre nfl prospect proudly says what teammates knew hes gay feb 9 next year i will proudly buy a michael sam jersey for my son i am a pittsburgh steelers fan and i am raising my son as a steelers fan if we are lucky sam will end up with the steelershe exudes the kind of courage and selfconfidence that i hope my son will aspire to ben fussinerculver city califto the sports editorat the risk of sounding homophobic i wondered why missouris michael sam or anyone else announces that he or she is gay who asked who cares its nobody elses business these public proclamations are really getting tiresomejack braycullman alato the sports editorwomens teams acknowledge gay players without creating so such turmoil but openly gay male professional players are still a rarity with every person who has the courage to come out our society is one step closer to embracing them as normal felicitas heinenfairfield conn