Make Wilt letter perfect

PENNSYLVANIA STATE Rep. Ronald G. Waters did his part to coax the U.S. Postal Service into issuing a Wilt Chamberlain commemorative stamp.

The idea for the stamp first surfaced about 2 years ago and has been gaining momentum and support. Waters said the hope is to have the stamp issued sometime in 2012.

To that end, Waters, the Legislative Black Caucus chairman, introduced a house resolution last week urging the Postal Service to honor Chamberlain's legacy.

"When I was a youngster growing up in Philadelphia we didn't have a lot of African-Americans in the sport rising to the level that he did," said Waters, a Democrat. "I knew what he did on the court and [eventually] I found out some of the great things he contributed as a humanitarian, which isn't spoken about enough. The money he gave to people with special needs . . . [and] to the Sonny Hill basketball leagues."

Waters, who like Chamberlain attended Overbrook High, said it was nice to see the overwhelming bipartisan support for the resolution.

"The entire general assembly voted for it unanimously," Waters said. "And, they gave his sister Salina [Gross] a standing ovation."

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin and his European counterpart Colin Montgomerie have banned their teams from using Twitter and other social networks during the competition, which begins Friday at Celtic Manor in Cardiff, Wales.

"We have decided as a whole to not tweet this week," Pavin told the Associated Press. "It can be a little bit distracting sometimes. I think it's important to focus on the Ryder Cup."

Stewart Cink might be the most affected on the U.S. team. He has more than a million followers on Twitter. "We're finally off to Wales!! Won't be tweeting until we get back," Cink tweeted before the team's charter flight from Atlanta on Sunday. "I guess I'll have to pass the downtime actually reading or something."

- Tom Mahon

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