Readers sound off on unusual crosswords, Tim McCarver and eating plant-based

Douglaston: Thank you, Voicer Mike Gordeuk, for writing about the Sunday, Feb.12, Crossword II puzzle. You were too kind in your clever letter. Let’s just call it what it was: a big mess. It actually took two people to create it and one to edit it. And the numbers you cited — 26, 44, 62, 76, 98 and 115 across — were actually there, hidden within other across clues. I figured out the “hidden within the other clues” but it wasn’t all that much of a help. And let’s not forget the brilliant ploy of attaching parts of those same clues to parts of the adjoining clues.

The point of this, I suppose, was to drive unsuspecting puzzle lovers crazy. I can think of no other explanation. I almost never look up answers but I finally threw in the towel and went to Google. Even the search engine had problems with this puzzle because the answers were so ridiculous and convoluted.

I have written in before about this kind of thing but it reached new heights this time. By the time I Googled 10 down (“Arapaho”), I was worn out.

Thank you, Mike! You validated my frustration. I love Crossword II but every once in a while, the writers decide they should emulate The New York Times. And as I have stated in the past: If we wanted to do the Times Sunday puzzle, we wouldn’t be reading the Daily News. Hopefully, the puzzle will return to normal in coming weeks. A puzzle, and nothing but a puzzle, will be more than enough. Gail Richards

New Windsor, N.Y.: I was saddened to hear about the loss of Tim McCarver, who caught two of the greatest pitchers, Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton, along with having a long career as one of the best baseball analysts in the game. Yes, he stepped on a few toes along the way, but he made his points and spoke his mind. T-Mac once joked to Carlton that when they both die, they’ll be buried 60 feet and 6 inches apart. Great line. Now Tim and Gibby are reunited in baseball heaven. Rest in peace, Tim, and thank you for being a great Mets broadcaster for 16 years. Todd Schuster

Bay Shore, L.I.: Re Bob Raissman’s column on Tim McCarver’s passing (“McCarver was the best! That’s OUR analysis,” Feb. 17): He mentioned Vin Scully also. McCarver loved to talk as an analyst, but Scully never had anyone in the booth if he could help it! He was upset to share the World Series broadcast. John O’Connell

Brooklyn: An Amazon eight-inch tablet is one of the best ways to spend $100 and is an even better buy when it is on sale. Reading view makes reading an article on the tablet a lot easier because you can adjust the font and text size. You can also read articles with a tan background to make it more fun. Shlomo Klein

Manhattan: Why, oh why, are MAGA supporters making such a big deal over President Biden’s age when Donald Trump is only a few years younger? Trump is also obese, eats horribly and does virtually no exercise except get in his golf cart to go from hole to hole. Aside from the fact that Trump is one of the most unsavory characters on earth for reasons that have been enumerated in this newspaper and others, his age is never a factor when MAGA-ites point out that Biden is old, deranged, mentally unfit, demented, etc. None of these have been proved true — just the opposite. Trump’s deranged rants would point to him being deranged and mentally unfit. But to focus on Biden’s age is just absurd when the Trumpster is not very far behind. Marcia Epstein

Allentown, Pa.: Kudos to the Jan. 6 Committee for referring criminal charges to the Department of Justice against ex-President Donald J. Trump, arguably the most corrupt politician in American history. Now it’s Special Counsel Jack Smith’s turn. A seasoned war crimes prosecutor, he will have little difficulty dispatching the former president. But American jurisprudence can go even further. As a former commander-in-chief of America’s armed forces, Trump, as de facto military, should be brought before a military tribunal and charged with the capital offense of sedition and, if found guilty, could be sentenced in accordance with the military’s capital punishment protocols for sedition. If convicted, Trump would either be hanged from a military gallows or imprisoned for life at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kan. If condemned, the name Donald John Trump would lawfully take its place alongside Benedict Arnold, John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald, traitors who will forever live in infamy. Bob Fried

Staten Island: To Voicer Steve Ostlund: I thought they already made a movie about George Santos. It was called “Catch Me If You Can.” Victor R. Stanwick

Rego Park: I watched the Super Bowl and found the touchdowns scored by the Kansas City Chiefs very suspicious. I discussed it with some football fans. They indicated that they saw very similar touchdowns scored by the Chiefs during the regular season. Does it prove the fixing of the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl and someone put a big bet on that outcome even before the season started? Yakov Keiserman

College Point: If British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak somehow manages to hammer out an agreement on the Northern Ireland protocol, something that seemed impossible when he took over after Boris Johnson and Theresa May made a complete sham of it, it would be fitting if his Christian name Rishi becomes an anagram, and he will forever be fondly remembered as “Irish” Sunak. Seán McPhillips

Washington: This year, Lent, the 40-day season of fasting, repentance and Lenten promises, begins on Feb. 22. Jesus shows us that Lent is a time to challenge ourselves to show our commitment to our Creator. Before beginning his public ministry, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert, during which Satan tempted him three times, but Jesus never faltered. This Lent, show God your commitment through the self-love and self-discipline of a whole-foods, plant-based (WFPB) diet. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were plant-based. Eating animals wasn’t condoned until after the flood (Genesis 9:3). WFPB was God’s original intent for us and Lent is a time to show him that we can live the way he intended. WFPB diets are also shown to be very good for our bodies, which are our temples, and for the planet, which God entrusts to our care. This Lent, grow closer to God through a plant-based diet. Addison K. Lantz

Brooklyn: As I walk around a warm Oaxaca, Mexico on vacation, I notice numerous things rarely seen in Park Slope, where I have lived for 47 years. Yesterday, as I often do, I saw an elderly woman with a tray balanced on her head, but this time with a small cup on the tray and a red straw sticking out of it. Then I saw elderly women in the market selling crickets in large bags. I was asked if I would like to taste one and, of course, I refused. Finally, as I walked past a lovely park near my Airbnb, I saw a street payphone, which is rarely seen any longer in New York. Today, however, most Oaxacans can be seen with iPhones, including many of those with trays on their heads and those selling crickets. Lew Friedman

Massapequa Park, L.I.: Instead of imposing congestion pricing, which is nothing more than a scheme between the MTA and our less-than-qualified politicians in Albany to add another toll for drivers, why not have all bicycles, scooters and e-bikes licensed and registered in the state? This would bring in millions of dollars annually and would force bicyclists to follow the rules of the road, thereby decreasing a large number of traffic accidents. Thomas Facchiano