Letters: What's going on in Westwood?

May 3, 2019 3:38 PM PT

Ben Bolch’s article about “the long, strange trip to bring a coach to UCLA” was certainly informative, but was it necessary? Why insult Mick Cronin by naming seven A-list and Tier II coaches who for one reason or another all rejected the job? What purpose did it serve to again publish the details of the Bruins’ hiring failures? Better journalism would be to examine future basketball plans and goals, rather than to expose dirty laundry.

Irwin Zeke Warsaw

Marina del Rey

Despite the fact that I am a lifelong UCLA Bruins fan, and an alum, I had to chuckle at the fact that the only Bruin taken in the NFL draft was at the very last pick, thus becoming the 2019 “Mr. Irrelevant.” Thus is the state of UCLA football until Chip Kelly can build his program and stock it with his type of players. It won’t take long.

Jim Schweitzer

Brea

Caleb Wilson led the nation in in receptions per game by a tight end. He gets drafted 254th and last in the recent NFL draft. Moses Brown, at best, was considered a disappointment on this year’s UCLA basketball team. Now some people feel he’s a possible first-round pick in the NBA draft.

It must be hard to sell kids on staying in school, when the entry qualifications into the NBA are so low.

Mike Smith

Huntington Beach

Athletic director Dan Guerrero has let UCLA’s track and field program erode so badly that the UCLA-USC dual meet Sunday merited no coverage in The Times. The Sunday edition did, however, devote a full page of photographs to UCLA women’s gymnastics. Sic transit gloria mundi.

Jon Udell

Santa Monica

Blue juice?

With apologies to “sluggers” Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich, MLB’s early-season power surge is obviously the product of an absurdly juiced ball. MLB’s desperate attempt to renew interest in their dying sport has skewed batting statistics and made a mockery of hallowed records by real stars (Mantle, Mays, Aaron, etc.). Let’s hope MLB puts an end to this sham before it completely destroys the game’s integrity!

Mark S. Roth

Los Angeles

If Cody Bellinger ever wandered out to the Mickey Mantle plaque when his dad played in Yankee Stadium, he would have seen that above all his accomplishments, the most prominent words on the plaque describe the Mick as, “a great teammate.”

I wouldn’t put it in bronze yet, but watching Bellinger lead by example, fight off two-strike pitches, beat out infield hits, make contributions with the bat, glove and arm makes you think, man, this guy’s a great teammate!

John Thompson

Downey

Once again the Dodgers took the cheaper route in trying to fix their hitting woes against left-handed pitching by signing an injury-prone A.J.Pollock to a relatively affordable contract. And sure enough, he’s injured again and sure enough, the Dodgers’ risk-averse strategy will keep his loss from delivering a devastating blow to their pocketbooks. So what if it hurts our chances for a championship? We’ll just play the young guys and look for another bargain next year.

Allan Kandel

Los Angeles

A.J. Pollock will now be known as I.L. Pollock.

Arthur Koehler

Huntington Beach

I could have sworn A.J. Pollock would make it to May before landing on the IL. Dave Roberts indicated that there is no timetable for his return, which means he’s hopeful that he’ll be ready for the postseason.

Jeff Hershow

Woodland Hills

Years ago, when Peter O’Malley was running the Dodgers, I wrote him (yeah, a letter) and told him I was a great admirer of Gil Hodges and asked why his number had not been retired . He graciously wrote back and said he too was a fan of Hodges, but that Dodger policy was that only Hall of Famers had their number retired.

I wrote back and told him that really was not a hard-and-fast rule, as Jim Gilliam’s number had been retired. I added they were both fine men, but Hodges was the better player by far and deserved the honor.

Not so graciously, I never heard from Mr. O’Malley again.

Bert Bergen

La Cañada

There could not have been a greater irony during the induction of Don Newcombe as a Dodger legend than the on-field juxtaposition of the plaque honoring Newcombe, a man who gave so much for so long to Dodger fans, and Stan Kasten, co-owner of the team, who has taken away so much from so many of those same fans.

Bill Waxman

Simi Valley

When is this current Dodger roster going to play the Giants with some rivalry-level passion? You can see Bumgarner taking it to the next level whenever he faces the Dodgers. Maybe that’s why the hated ones have three recent World Series rings and the Dodgers have squat for the last 30-plus years.

Ken Blake

Brea

Heaven scent

To loosely paraphrase Buzzie Bavasi, “Why should we sign Dallas Keuchel when we can have Chris Stratton and Travis Cahill?”

Bob Oppermann

Sylmar

The article on the Angels’ missteps in being in no position to compete for Vladimir Guerrero’s superbly talented son is so sad. It only reiterates the continued, ongoing glaring deficiencies at all levels of the Angels organization! That includes management at the ownership, general manager, farm system, and at field management levels.

Joe Bonino

Glendale

Mike Trout could have chosen almost any team, but he chose the Angels. Playoffs and World Series are unlikely. His statistics will likely suffer with average hitters batting behind him. Opposing teams would have to be crazy to give Trout a decent pitch to hit with no great hitters protecting him lower in the order.

Interesting decision. I moved here for the weather too!

David Waldowski

Laguna Woods

Where’s the love?

The big story in L.A. sports is the team that could, the Clippers. And the letters department chose to stink up the place last week with letters about that other, failing, basketball team, the Lakers? Why? The Clippers are the future. The Lakers keep shooting themselves in the foot.

Shame on you for not spotlighting the positive, winning franchise. One token letter did not do justice to the magnificent effort of the Clippers.

Ron Brumel

West Los Angeles

Lakers: [Insert any question here]

Tyronn Lue: “Did I mention that I coached LeBron to a title?”

Monty Williams: “Did I mention that I coached LeBron with Team USA?”

Richard Brisacher

Mar Vista

Fear the beard

James Harden is the only NBA MVP to have more free throws than field goals in his MVP year. He is making a mockery of the NBA rules. It’s cheating and worse, it’s boring. Harden is a legitimate great player, but it’s time he gets back to proving it in a legitimate way. Not 24 free throws a game, three at a time.

William David Stone

Beverly Hills

Harden learned to flop from the best, Chris Paul, who should just retire and stick with his other acting job at State Farm.

Craig A. Nelson

Solana Beach

The Bush push

Here’s one sure way to be welcomed back to campus with open arms after a decade-long ban: publicly campaign for a new head coach, the guy who won 85% of his games and is now ostensibly retired to a career in TV, to replace the one who’s currently in charge even before said incumbent’s first loss of the season.

It seems Reggie’s ill-fated Rose Bowl game lateral is now his second-dumbest decision.

Steve Ross

Beverly Hills

Let the Games begin　

Of the estimated $6.9-billion cost of staging the Olympics in L.A., I’m curious to know what percentage of that bloated excess is earmarked for bribes or payoffs to the notoriously corrupt members of the International Olympic Committee.

Mel Frohman

Los Angeles

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