I am a casual reader of your paper and a casual observer of the SMU women’s basketball team. I am pleased with the team’s 14-5 record. Contrary to the statement in your Jan. 29 column, “Women’s team not meeting expectations,” I am not “wrong.” I disagree with several of your opinions, but these disagreements are what make sports talk so much fun.

Your critical column did get me into a critical mood, though, so I decided to bring up an issue that’s been slapping me in the face when reading your sports section: the writing is atrocious. Some examples from your paper’s story on the women’s most recent game – “Women’s basketball falters late” in the Jan. 29 edition:

1. “Tulsa’s defense came out strong in the second half, keeping SMU’s offense focused more on guarding their strong posts than scoring.” The misstatement: SMU’s offense doesn’t guard posts – a defense guards posts.

2. “The score fluctuated back and forth…” The misstatement: Temperature fluctuates, not the score. Something like “the lead changed hands…” is what is being described.

3. “SMU called a timeout to get the ball back.” The misstatement: A timeout does not give a team possession of the ball.

4. “…several missed jump shots from Tulsa increased SMU’s lead.” The misstatement: A missed shot does not change the score or change a lead.

This and a host of other misstatements jumped out at me like a player not boxing out during a game. To continue the analogy, your writers are making a lot of mistakes when their deadline is approaching – the fourth quarter. So should I conclude that your newspaper “season is a failure”? I won’t be watching a college newspaper writing tournament in March, but I know your sports section would not be invited to the dance.

Think I’m being harsh? I do.

Your staff and the basketball players are both learning how to perform under the pressure of a story deadline or a fourth quarter. During that learning process, mistakes are made. I applaud both groups for putting themselves under that public scrutiny, where every miscue is subject to detailed review.

But I do beg both groups to do the basics. When someone shoots, look for an opponent to box out. Check for misplaced modifiers and brush up on game rules before the daily deadline. By raising your level of play and writing, you enable us fans and readers to raise our level of debate about our favorite teams and staffs.

Randy Willis

Chester, N.J.