Letters: Basketball Record and Calvin Trillin

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

It's time now for your comments. We received a number of letters about our conversation with John Feinstein regarding Coach Bobby Knight's record as the winningest coach in men's basketball history.

JOHN FEINSTEIN: Well, the only record in college basketball that means more is John Wooden's 10 national championships at UCLA, which no one is ever going to touch. No one even has five after Wooden.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

Steph Nichovich(ph) of Lynchburg, Virginia writes, Nowhere did I hear the name Pat Summitt. That's the women's coach at the University of Tennessee, with six NCAA titles.

MONTAGNE: Some listeners appreciated hearing from the author Calvin Trillin, who writes about his late wife, Alice, in a new book. In our conversation, he recalled an e-mail Alice sent to friends just before she died in 2001 in New York.

Mr. CALVIN TRILLIN (Author): Toward the end of the e-mail she said she was safe at home in the Village, eating comfort food and about to watch “The Sopranos” and an A.R. Gurney play on television. She closed by saying life doesn't get much better than this.

MONTAGNE: I guess she could say it doesn't.

Mr. TRILLIN: No.

INSKEEP: That interview prompted Kathleen Burgeron(ph) of Reston, Virginia to write, There are all kinds of difficult stories journalists do in war zones or disaster areas. Renee's interview with Calvin Trillin must have been one of her most challenging. Compliment for you, Renee. She says this one touched the heart while not getting morose.

MONTAGNE: Well, Steve, NPR senior correspondent Ketzel Levine set an entirely different tone. She wanted to know why she was seeing so many dogs wearing clothes, so she quizzed her veterinarian about which breeds of dogs need coats when it's cold outside.

KETZEL LEVINE: Beagle?

Dr. CHRISTINE FLETCHER (Veterinarian): No coat.

LEVINE: Jack Russell?

Dr. FLETCHER: No.

LEVINE: Airedales?

Dr. FLETCHER: No.

LEVINE: Dalmatians?

Dr. FLETCHER: No.

LEVINE: Pomeranians?

Dr. FLETCHER: Oh, with that coat? No.

LEVINE: Boxers?

Dr. FLETCHER: No.

LEVINE: Pugs?

Dr. FLETCHER: Pugs, no.

LEVINE: Dachshunds?

Dr. FLETCHER: Now, a dachshund might need a coat.

(Soundbite of laughter)

INSKEEP: Lynn Carson of Lewisbury, Pennsylvania agreed with this, writing, I have two dachshunds, one long-hair and one short-hair. The long-hair doesn't wear a coat but the short-hair does. In fact, he has a water-resistant slicker for outdoor wear and a fleece jacket for indoor wear. He does, however, she adds, sleep naked.

We love hearing from you in whatever condition you're in, whatever you may be wearing, and whatever the topic. Just go to npr.org and click on Contact Us. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.