Letters: Watching Bruins play is a grind

There is a glaring difference between how Washington’s Lorenzo Romar coaches his Huskies and the manner in which Ben Howland coaches his Bruins. Romar lets his athletes be athletes while Howland recruits McDonald’s All-American greyhounds and insists on walking them around the track. While at Pittsburgh with lesser talent, Howland used a grind-it-out style to successfully compete against the more talented beasts of the East. Coaching with that same underdog mentality at a program like UCLA just doesn’t cut it.

Jerry Leibowitz

Culver City

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The UCLA basketball team continues to lose big late-game leads on the road because Ben Howland continues to stubbornly make them change their offense down the stretch. They stand around with the ball on the perimeter, and clumsily try to run an offense in the last five seconds of the possession. Appropriately, it happened again on Groundhog Day.

Alan Abajian

Alta Loma

Not so Super

Another year and another “Madison Avenue Bowl” this Sunday, with over 3 1/2 hours of exciting commercials, intermittently interrupted by a game that takes about 15 minutes when the ball is in play.

I can hardly wait.

Kenneth Johnson

Pinon Hills, Calif.

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If they say that imitation is the best form of flattery, then the NFL must have been tickled with the BCS championship game.

Just like that thrilling BCS game, The Super Bowl pits two teams from the same division (the Northeast) and tells the rest of the country this is good, this is really good.

Sorry, but New England vs. New York has about as much appeal as the LSU-Alabama borefest. Wake me when Madonna starts to sing ...

Bart Bogy

Whittier

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The Times reported this week that more than 7,000 fans paid $25 each to be present at Super Bowl media day.

Observation: P.T Barnum was right!

Jack Wolf

Westwood

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Tom Brady’s supermodel wife solicits prayers for the Patriots, to have friends and relatives send the team “positive energy” in the big game. If positive energy were sent to a college team in a bowl game, would the NCAA investigate for a possible infraction?

If it got out that some Trojans fans had been praying for USC, would that extra energy disqualify USC from bowl games ad infinitum? Surely God would be a bigger influence on sports that an agent with cash and a car.

David Eggenschwiler

Los Angeles

Battle of L.A.

“Thunder is Good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning [Chris Paul ] that gets the job done.”— Mark Twain

Roll on, mighty Clippers.

Bob Ginn

Arcadia

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With the Clippers’ recent dominating win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, it is apparent that the Clippers are better than the Lakers so far this season. The thing that probably hurts Lakers fans even more is that the Clippers have the better play-by-play and color commentators too.

David Hawkins

Anaheim Hills

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Does T.J. Simers work for the L.A. Times or the Clippers? We get it! Enough already! He likes the Clippers and hates the Lakers. So what? Who cares? (Except maybe the Clippers’ ownership). Honestly, the Clippers have been transformed into a great team, and that’s fabulous. But this writer’s sneering innuendo and sarcastic put-downs of teams and individuals in his columns is old-hat, boorish, classless, childish and demeaning.

Chet Chebegia

Long Beach

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So people say the Clippers are L.A.’s favorite NBA team now. Well, one thing is right: They are the L.A. Times’ favorite team. After only 18 games they have moved up to the top rung on coverage, while the Lakers are seen as also-rans. Donald Sterling has been running obnoxious self-aggrandizing half-page ads in the sports section every day for years. Is he the philanthropist of the century, or does he merely like seeing his name in print?

This is my town, and it’s still a Laker town, as it is a Dodger Town, a Trojan town and ... ah, not so sure about hockey or soccer. Sixteen NBA titles, and all the feel-good memories make it so. The Clippers have made the playoffs twice in 20 years, so cool your heels L.A. Times, sports-talk hosts and Clippers fans until you have actually done something.

Bruce Alan

Granada Hills

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An athletic 6-11 center, all arms, legs, and elbows, a relentless shot blocker and punishing rebounder, a left-hander who jumps out of the gym, patrols the paint, sweeps the glass and wears a stylish goatee and No. 6 on his uniform. For old school NBA fans, does this sound familiar?

If DeAndre Jordan grows into the legacy of a modern day Bill Russell, surrounded by Clippers teammates Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Mo Williams, Chauncey Billups, and Caron Butler, the NBA may be watching the birth of a new dynasty.

Tom Lallas

Los Angeles

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The next statue in front of the Staples Center should be the one of David Stern, paid for by the Clippers. Sorry, Kareem.

Mitch Schvab

Sherman Oaks

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I notice Kobe is much more engaged, animated and smiling on court this season. He must be thinking of his coming vacation in May and June.

Monte Whaley

Redondo Beach

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New definition of “optimist”: Metta World Peace, checking to be sure his feet are behind the arc before attempting a three-pointer.

Ron Levin

Pacific Palisades

Sale of the century

The only question I have for these groups lining up to buy the Dodgers. Who in their right mind would want to do business with Frank McCourt?

Brent Montgomery

Long Beach

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After years of disgraceful ownership, it’s disheartening to think of the financial reward Frank McCourt will gain from his sale of the Dodgers. So I’m convincing myself that potential buyers are bidding such great sums because of how much they — like us — just want McCourt out of L.A.

Darren Pollock

Los Angeles

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Dodgers fans better watch out. Ownership “groups” never work out. We are all going to need a program to figure out who the owners are and who will be making the decisions. If you look at Major League Baseball, the most successful franchises are those majority owned by one person or a family.

Whoever does buy the Dodgers will have spent more money for any franchise in the history of sports. Their only interest will be making their money back and turning a profit. Frank and Jamie McCourt will live in infamy as long as the Dodgers are a franchise. They will be the owners that single-handedly brought down the franchise and then KO’d it for the count when they left.

Geno Apicella

Placentia

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After rereading the account of Mr. Loney’s traffic adventure, I only have one question and that is what is the telephone number of Mr. Loney’s attorney? The man must be a genius.

Jimbo Parsons

Carpinteria

Trojan hoops

Bill Plaschke is simply — and unnecessarily — kicking a team when it’s down. There is no need to rip apart the USC basketball program [Jan. 29]. Yes, they are terrible this year. And, yes, that game against Colorado was probably the most pitiful performance in terms of play, fans and atmosphere. But there is no need to rail against the program.

I’d venture to say most USC basketball fans have been pleased with how Kevin O’Neill’s team has played since he got the job. In the first year, he nearly had a team on a postseason ban in contention for the Pac-10 title, until they fell off in the last few games. Last year his team made the NCAA tournament, in a year in which nobody thought USC would be good.

Yes, the other shoe has dropped this year. But O’Neill’s teams play hard. And that’s really all you can ask. USC is fighting an uphill battle created by the O.J. Mayo situation; the wins will eventually come. Even this year’s team has rarely been blown out. Plus, with three of five starters out for the year because of injury, I think he should be cut a little slack. I am glad Pat Haden defended KO, because he has done a good job in a tough, tough position.

Greg Wagner

Irvine

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For the most part, Bill Plaschke captured the mood and tone of ‘SC’s lost basketball season. But I wanted to know more, hoping he’d dig deeper to get to the true heart of what it meant to struggle as part of Trojan Nation. I wanted to hear from ultra-cool band members wearing Ray Bans indoors or a die-hard fan sporting his “50-0” T-shirt. But sadly, nothing.

In future articles, rather than food quotes about popcorn Plaschke might want to address something else being served at the Galen Center: crow.

Mike Kichaven

Sherman Oaks

Getting hit by clubs

Your article [“Playing for Keeps,” Feb. 1] describing what has become of the “privatization” of high school sports, and how the kids are leaving their high school teams for the clubs, etc., is a sad story. I too, like young Tanner Rahier, was an enthusiastic high school shortstop long ago and wouldn’t trade the experience and values gained for anything. Baseball is the essence of a team sport and the enormous growth of club, camp and all-star competition, with emphasis on the individual, can only hurt the sport. There are lots of opportunities for the talented kids today to gain “exposure” without abandoning their high school teams. They are losing a wonderful high school experience they can never regain.

Bob Donaldson

San Juan Capistrano

Tennis and golf

The fantastic 5-hour, 53-minute men’s final in the Australian Open shows the absurdity of the U.S. Open forcing the men to play their semifinals and finals on back-to-back days. The USTA should change the men’s semifinals to Friday afternoon and evening and leave the spotlight on Saturday for the women’s final.

And while they are at it, putting a roof on Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong stadiums will put the U.S. Open back on par with the other majors.

Mike Gamboa

Buena Park

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I noticed a couple of your stories on Tiger Woods last week when he skipped the event at Torrey Pines to take advantage of appearance money in Abu Dhabi. I think you may have wasted a couple of tons of newsprint on that one.

Kevin H. Park

Encino

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