Letters: Having college seasons during pandemic is foolish

Nov. 27, 2020 5 PM PT

The Fake College Football season reared its ugly head with the cancellation of the USC-Colorado game. Someone, anyone, please tell me the point of playing this season. Excuse me — handful of games. By the way, if you think this is bad, the college basketball season will be 10 times worse. The utter greed of the NCAA and the universities is what is wrong with this country today.

Geno Apicella
Placentia

Time will tell but the damage done by a few inconsiderate and selfish USC players may prove to be very damaging to the team, the university and the fans. All the team had to do is beat a totally overmatched Colorado team and then cruise to play a beatable Oregon team for the Pac-12 championship and possibly a major bowl.

Now Colorado has a patsy schedule while USC will be tested and has no room to fail. This again shows the lack of leadership as the players can’t seem to buy into the system. The fact that Clay Helton does not punish this type of selfishness is why it continues to happen under his reign.

Flora Perry
Los Angeles

As pictured in last week’s cartoon (Helton’s game face), was there any significance in selecting the #20 Trojan — a long retired number of the great Mike Garrett? “ 00” might have been more appropriate.

David Marshall
Santa Monica

Rob’s on the job

What a week for Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. Reloading the team with a roster that looks better than this past season’s championship squad. Has NBA Commissioner Adam Silver handed out his 2020-21 Executive of the Year Award to Pelinka yet? Congratulations Rob on a job well done.

Chris Sorce
Fountain Valley

Rob Pelinka did a masterful job in reconstructing the Lakers in this offseason. He was also very gracious in including Magic Johnson in the postseason celebration even though Johnson threw Pelinka under the Laker Buss when he did his Magic disappearing act.

Ken Ng
Monterey Park

Holy cow, if the Lakers acquire any more floor-spacers, they’re gonna need a bigger building.

Steve Tye
Diamond Bar

The Clippers are still in need of a playmaking point guard. Why not bring back the player-coach days of Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics? The Clippers have two coaches, Tyronn Lue and Chauncey Billups, sitting on the bench who were point guards during their playing careers.

Wayne Muramatsu
Cerritos

Reading the list of 100 NBA players to sign in free agency has me scratching my head. Dwight Howard signed a one-year deal for a paltry $2.6 million, while dozens of guys I wouldn’t recognize if they were standing in my kitchen were signed for ten or twenty times his deal. I hate the three-point shot game where some skinny kid shoots 50 three-point shots a night.

Kevin Park
Westlake Village

Very cool to find out that five NBA players flew to Rome to have an unprecedented meeting with Pope Francis. But I must admit I was disappointed when the Vatican announced that there would be no one on one with the Pope.

Joe Kevany
Mount Washington

Dodgers dogged

Stan Kasten states that the Dodgers lost “well north” of $100 million during the 2020 season. Dodgers fans lost six years of television access to Dodgers games during his tenure. So, Stan: I’d say that makes us about even.

Bill Waxman
Simi Valley

J. Brady McCollough writes “... can the [College Football Playoff] committee take its champion seriously with a maximum of seven games?” Well, Major League Baseball completed barely a third of the games it would play in a season and yet the Dodgers are the rightful champions. Aren’t they?

Evan Puziss
Mar Vista

Charged up

The Chargers were a play away from extending their season of one-score nightmare losses to eight. Only the fact it was the winless Jets stopped that from happening.

Second-half conservative play-calling, poor clock management, awful special teams play, bad penalties. No longer is it bad luck or the players’ fault, Anthony Lynn. You are the Weakest Link. Goodbye!

Bob Goldstone
Corona Del Mar

Tom Brady, regarded by many as the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), displayed after last Monday night’s defeat against the Rams that he was nothing more than a poor sport by walking briskly off the field and not going out to congratulate Jared Goff, who was seen on television apparently looking for him and expecting a pat on the back from a man he deeply admired.

Perhaps Brady has played one too many seasons at an age when most players come to accept retirement. Like several athletes in the past who continue to compete when their skills decline, Brady’s skills seem to be on the downside, but he needs to realize he may also be remembered for his behavior when things don’t go his way on the field.

Edward A. Sussman
Fountain Valley

Wow, what a Thanksgiving NFL treat, watching the Washington Placeholders win their game, which vaulted them to the top of the powerhouse NFC East with a 4-7 record. (Insert face-palm emoji here.)

Richard Turnage
Burbank

Advantage, Cali

Lakers over the Heat, Dodgers beat the Rays, Rams victorious against the Bucs .... Dang! L.A., you’re sure beatin’ up on Florida these days.

Rick Henderson
Covina

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