Magazine readers react to story about sports betting – The Boston Globe

Ads for sports betting (and prescription drugs, and personal injury lawyers) pollute our lives. I am tired of someone trying to sell me something 24/7. Consider how disingenuous it is, inundating the airways with sports betting and the lure of easy money, then saying, Oh, by the way, bet responsibly. I have pretty much turned off the TV, and I feel better for having done so.

Reg Grover, Old Saybrook, Connecticut

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The article was an eye-opener. Gambling is becoming more and more popular with our younger generation because its splattered all over the place.

Gina Marie Costanza, New York

Excellent, long overdue example of the devastating social and cultural impact of expanded gambling triggered by greed and massive profits for the industry and its sports franchise owners and the state coffers that feed on the remnants, without regard to the addictive impact on public health and integrity of the sport or anything resembling effective oversight and regulation. Shame on the industry and its profiteering enablers.

Scott Harshbarger, East Orleans

The writer is a former attorney general of Massachusetts.

Hopefully the online bettors come around to understanding why sports are important, before they have impressionable children of their own.

Dean Koulouris, Reading

Long ago, as a kid, I realized betting ruined the game as I put $5 on a friendly tennis match. How soon is a whole professional sports season going to blow up and be canceled due to players, coaches, or others being caught influencing the outcome of a game in order to win big money? I feel badly for anyone who gets sucked into this and loses control. Sad to read about the new form of heckling that players have to deal with when they dont deliver in a way needed for fans to win money.

Peter Reed, Maynard

Natick has been long overdue on this list (Top Spots to Live 2024, April 21). However, despite much longer descriptions for better-known, trendy suburban towns, Naticks narrative was brief and totally missed the mark. There was no description of The Center for Arts in Natick (its an amazing concert venue attracting top singer-songwriters from all over the country); its organic farm, which is a huge part of the local community; Belkin Family Lookout Farm, which in addition to fruit picking, has outdoor music all summer, weekend jazz brunch, and great outdoor and indoor food options; a wildlife sanctuary; and a thriving farmers market that attracts diversity traditionally reserved for the city. We appreciate the shoutout, but some of these key features are what make the town special.

Jeremy Whyman, South Natick

I have myself explored the Charles River, from land, as it flows from Millis to Medfield, to Sherborn, to Dover, to Needham, and Newton (Conquering the Charles, April 28). Gerry Browns descriptions of the river are entirely accurate, and it is interesting to get a boaters view. The other view, from land, reveals something different. The river and the surrounding Charles River Valley present a stunning picture of nature and community development in sometimes-successful juxtaposition. As MetroWest continues to develop, it is important to appreciate and to preserve both the Charles River and the spaces that surround it.

Maurice Rick Laurence, Newton

Kudos to Gerry Brown, Gene Hurley, and Jim Grant, for their intrepid paddle of the length of the Charles. Imagine how much easier and more pleasant it would have been without the numerous defunct dams in the way. And hopefully they didnt paddle right after a rainstorm, which is when raw sewage is still released into the river. The 1972 Clean Water Act promised fishable, swimmable rivers by 1983. The US EPAs Clean Charles Initiative of 1995 promised a swimmable Charles by 2005. Yet today it can still not be safe to swim in most stretches of the river. Hopefully their trip will inspire more Charles River lovers to join us in advocating for dam removal, habitat restoration, and an end to sewage releases!

Emily Norton, executive director, Charles River Watershed Association

Sometime in the 50s, my father and his friend decided to canoe the length of the Charles. They spent their first day paddling the shores of a lake with no outlet that they could locate. Ultimately, they did pick a source and paddled to Boston Harbor. Everything was very different then. More obstacles. Certainly no kayak rental docks. No Zakim Bridge. A totally different Boston Harbor. Still, separated by about 70 years, the author and his friends experienced the same adventure.

Lindsay W. Murphy, Bellville, Texas

Conquering the Charles nicely captures how different our familiar world feels when we experience it from a river, and how you can have a grand adventure in nature while staying close to home. Massachusetts is rich in rivers, and I encourage Globe readers to explore them. My organization, the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance, has created Explore Your Rivers, a web resource with information on recreational opportunities in every watershed in the state. You can find information on kayaking, fishing, swimming, or simply enjoying a peaceful stroll along the rivers, at massrivers.org.

Julia Blatt, founding executive director of the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

While this article was quite interesting, kayaking the Charles in small bits over a few months period is hardly conquering it. I did the same trip with a fellow paddler in 1984 in a two-man touring canoe and we took just two days. We camped in a small tent in what was then the Dedham marshes.

Peter Bowers, Jamaica Plain

Revisiting the Past

I just finished Peter Zheutlins Return to 1953 (Connections, April 28). What a great story [of revisiting his birthplace], and the color and subjects in the picture [of him as an infant] were amazing. How wonderful to have this moment captured and to have it on hand!

Kathy OKeefe, Weymouth

In the paragraph where the writer realized he was at that spot [where he had been with his family as a baby].... I somehow knew and felt just what his reaction would be. I felt the same way, as I read it. And such a sweet picture of the three of them.

Erik Jarvi, Fitchburg

Great job on Have the Perfect Cape Cod Day (April 28). You hit a lot of our favorites as residents, including several of our favorite ice cream shops. My only addition would be Ice Cream Smuggler in Dennis. Great people, rich and creamy ice cream just perfect!

Jennifer Andrews, Centerville

Thanks for this list; I want to check out the Paww and a Great Marsh tour. But why no whale watching? The Cape is one of the best places on earth to go see whales. Its not too late to update this list to 31.

Beth Collins, Beverly

Are you kidding? You didnt include what are probably the most award winning ice cream shops on the Cape! The Sundae Schools in Dennis Port and Harwich Port are THE BEST!

Jerry Guthro, Medway

I would add one more: sunset at Rock Harbor Beach. Its free and every night Mother Nature deserves a standing ovation.

John Fanning, Hackettstown, New Jersey

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Magazine readers react to story about sports betting - The Boston Globe