Letters: The suckers continue to get what they deserve

In 1869 a petrified man named the Cardiff Giant was presented to the public. They clamored to pay to see it. It was a fraud. Several years earlier, P.T. Barnum offered a new exhibit to the public called the Egress (another word for exit). Those who entered (exited) his museum had to pay again to re-enter. Last Saturday, Floyd Mayweather offered up his boxing match against someone who has never boxed before. The public once again clamored .

Those who ponied up over a half-billion dollars for this fiasco should be ashamed. Mayweather will be laughing at you for a long time.　

Bruce N. Miller

Playa del Rey

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We have to give Mayweather a lot of credit. We knew he was robbing us without a gun, but he doubled down by wearing a mask into the ring. Brilliant!

Rod Lawrence

Los Angeles

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The fight proved:

1. A great effort by a 5-1 underdog.

2. The best Mayweather fight we have ever seen.

3. The poor status of boxing, with an aging boxer on a two-year layoff vs. a rookie as your top attraction.

Vic Bulaich

Inglewood

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I think there should be a rematch between Mayweather and McGregor, only this time they fight for real.

Loren Coleman

West Hollywood

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BREAKING NEWS: Floyd Mayweather just announced a deal to fight “King of the Forest” Brown Bear Ben, the 500-pound ursine champion of North America. In breaking his retirement yet again, Mayweather stated, “The fans want it, they’ll pay a billion, so let’s give it to them.”

For the promise of a massive payday that inexplicably continues to accompany Mayweather fights, Ben agreed to be declawed and defanged. “He’s got skills Mayweather’s never faced,” says Ben’s team.

The fight will be staged at Las Vegas’ legendary boxing venue, Circus Circus.

Cy Bolton

Rancho Cucamonga

Best slump ever?

Call me superstitious, but, in the course of all this great praise, the Dodgers have recently gone on a losing streak and robbed Rich Hill of a no-hitter because their bats went silent for 10 innings, stranding 11 runners.

So, please! Let’s save these accolades for the Dodgers until they actually get to the World Series and win it. They are not the “greatest Dodger team in history” until they actually win it all. Until then, it’s just puffery.

Richard R. McCurdy

Burbank

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Loaning money to a friend is usually a bad idea, but you only learn if it ruins the friendship after making the loan and the friend runs into trouble. Andy McCullough’s article celebrating how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and aging star Adrian Gonzalez subordinate their friendship to team performance is premature. Let’s see if Roberts plays Gonzalez over Bellinger in the playoffs when significant tests of team and personal loyalty occur.

Konrad Moore

San Diego

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So what if the Dodgers lose a few games in a row? It’s not like finishing above .700 should be the team’s goal. Prepping the team for postseason success matters most. Remember, the two best MLB season records over the last 100 years were compiled by teams that didn’t win the World Series.

Go ahead, test some reserve players, see who might be catching late-season fire. To lose half of the remaining games matters not if L.A. ends its World Series drought.

Gary Dolgin

Santa Monica

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In light of the Dodgers’ recent losing streak, one has to wonder whether there is more to sports psychology than meets the eye.

Acquiring Curtis Granderson, who has not been part of the season’s success, and sending Joc Pederson, who has been part of it, to the minor leagues may be part of the recent Dodgers doldrums. Yes, that Joc was not hitting his weight was a problem, but he was part of the clubhouse that had built a positive camaraderie and a winning attitude. Does replacing Pederson with someone who has not been part of the winning culture tell others that their job is in jeopardy? This may be especially important with a team that is talented but young, as loyalty may be more important than home runs.

Douglas Laube

Madison, Wis.

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Forget the hype about newcomer Yu Darvish being the Dodgers’ No. 2 postseason pitcher behind Clayton Kershaw. Darvish is beginning to resemble the pitching disaster he became in Texas. The Dodgers have two excellent and well-regarded starters in Rich Hill and Alex Wood, not to mention the consistent gems being thrown by Hyun-Jin Ryu and Kenta Maeda. It is ridiculous to suggest these longtime pitching stalwarts may not even be in L.A.’s October starting rotation. Until Darvish shows much better command of his pitches, he should be warming the bench with many other Dodgers players.

Roy Reel

Culver City

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It is clearer now than ever before this season that Cody Bellinger should be the favorite to be National League MVP. Without Bellinger the Dodgers are now 15-17. However when Bellinger plays the Dodgers are 76-21. No one in baseball except Bellinger has these kind of numbers to demonstrate his value to his team’s success.

Richard Sherman

Margate, Fla.

Really, Nick?

Hard to believe that Nick Saban would complain about Power 5 conference teams playing weaker teams to get a good record. In the last two years Alabama has played Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Monroe, Charleston Southern and Chatanooga. This year they play Mercer and next year Louisiana Lafayette and Arkansas State. These are also all home games for Alabama.

Richard Fay

Palos Verdes Estates

A little love

Tom Keiser’s suggestion in Letters last week, that Little League kids are exploited, is cynicism run amok. My twin 13-year-old nephews had the time of their lives playing for Northridge and winning two rounds this summer. After seeing their dream end in the regionals at Long Beach, they went to San Bernardino to watch Rancho Santa Margarita play for the chance to get to Williamsport. Particularly with the level of discontent we have in so many areas in 2017, it is wonderfully refreshing to attend a game in person and yes, watch these kids on TV compete for the sheer joy of the game.

Ken Feldman

Tarzana

Gleaming the QB

It’s time for Sean McVay to decide if he is Jared Goff’s coach or mommy. Like Jeff Fisher before him, McVay is a coddling and overprotective guardian of the young quarterback, pulling him from games when he struggles and dishing out endless excuses for poor performance. In fairness to the coach, Goff is heavy footed and lacks situational awareness, qualities that will make him a coaching challenge.

Mario Valvo

Ventura

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Van Brocklin-Waterfield, Munson-Gabriel, Harris-Hadl, Harris-Jaworski, (could not get away with a “Polish Rifle”moniker in today’s world) Haden-Ferrragamo..... When is the L.A. Times going to stir up a Goff-Mannion battle? I saw Mannion play in college and he’s very talented. He has arguably had a better preseason than Goff and looks more composed and game ready. We may not know for many years if Goff is a bust, but how about Sean giving Sean a chance for the Rams to win some games this year?

Mike Anderson

Sherman Oaks

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What a great deal! We get a lousy football team back that will have a stadium in about three years and to top it off, the fans will have to take out seconds on their homes to be able to attend the games!

There must be a loophole somewhere so we can send the team back to St. Louis.

Steve LaRochelle

Simi Valley

A fan frowns

Bill Plaschke’s non-article on the Lakers’ $500,000 fine is what the reader gets during a slow sports week. Among his gems is this statement about Magic Johnson. “Johnson and his relentless smile are slowly restoring the Showtime brand.” Really, Bill? A smile? I thought teams had to actually perform on the court to achieve greatness.

Gary H. Miller

Encino

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