I was extremely angry after reading the column by Rory Flaherty titled “A rough ending to a rough season” in the March 3 issue of the Daily.

First of all, Rory, if you’re going to write an article with such a spiteful message, you may want to get your facts straight.

The Cyclones have only lost two straight to the Cowboys, both on the road. I’d be interested to see what the outcome would have been had the game been at Hilton. While the nice pattern of threes you created was an effective parallel, this mispresented fact discredited your whole article.

I’m particularly upset by the statement “… the Cyclones were cursed by farfetched and unearned status in the rankings.” Excuse me? I believe a 24-9 record(9- 5 in the conference), a Big Eight Tournament Championship over No. 4 rated Kansas, and a game short of the Sweet 16, all accomplished by a team of five juniors, is enough reason to earn such a high pre-season ranking.

Sure they’ve had a rougher season then anticipated, but what do you expect from a team with the distractions and the injuries of its leader? I think they’ve handled the pressure great. Rory, I think your expectations have become a little too high when you can’t appreciate a 19-7 regular season record. And how about concentrating on the positives of the season, such as the great play turned in by freshman Stevie Johnson or the improvement of Tony Rampton, instead of the negatives?

Rory, I don’t know if you’re a Cyclone fan, but from reading your article, I have a pretty good guess. I hope that the team members don’t read it because I’m sure it wouldn’t instill in them a lot of confidence heading to Kansas City. Let’s just hope they play better than you write.

Jackson Lashier

Marshalltown