Letters: What was the point, Trojans?

Hey, Lane Kiffin, would you just let Charlie Brown kick the extra point?

Mark Fedde

Sierra Madre

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Point 1: The only time you should see a 12-0 score after two touchdowns is in a high school game.

Point 2: Keep going for two, Coach Kiffin, and high school is where you may find yourself coaching.

Brian Cashion

Marina del Rey

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Lane Kiffin’s expression and demeanor didn’t change between halftime and the end of the game. How are his players supposed to know when their coach is pleased with their work? Maybe his players figure they can’t please him, so why bust their buns in the second half? Where’s Pete Carroll in the locker room when you need him?

Tom Turner

Dana Point

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Lane Kiffin gives up two free points on PATs and passes up on two legitimate field goal attempts? OK. Lane’s offensive strategy must be to give up as many points as possible to make the fourth quarter much more interesting for USC fans and to test that young defense. If Lane isn’t careful, his strategy will run him out of his dream job a month into this season. Take the points Lane and win by 10.

Dana H. Corrough

Newport Beach

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Sour Grape Kiffin’s postgame remark stating that he has only “two good players on offense” is unacceptable and sophomoric. While spending a good portion of the game with his nose buried in awe at the depth of his own depth chart, Kiffin would not shoulder the responsibility as to why the Trojans were skunked by Minnesota in the second half.

Nancy Spinelli

Redondo Beach

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Lane Kiffin’s playbook is over 400 pages but weighs less than a pound. The middle 80% is cut out of every single page.

Mark Backstrom

Inglewood

Kicking him when he’s down

Is T.J. Simers’ vault of scandalous story lines so bankrupt that following the UCLA-Houston game he could do no better than pursue a predatory attack on an emotionally fragile teenage kicker who had just suffered a humiliating collegiate athletic debut? I am surprised that, immediately after Kevin Prince suffered a concussion, T.J. forfeited the opportunity of demanding that he solve the Sphinx’s riddle.

Wes Wellman

Santa Monica

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If I was Kip Smith, I would ask T.J. Simers for help with a few practice kicks and ask him to bend over. Simers’ column on the UCLA kicker should have been edited for unnecessary roughness.

Jeff Fleming

Dana Point

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If there were a Pulitzer Prize awarded for cheap shots, Simers would have won it for this year and probably retired the trophy forever with his column on the UCLA kid who missed the field goal near the end of the Houston game. The missed field goal had no more to do with losing that game than I did watching it on television. The same old Bruins were 10 points (two scores) down with about six minutes to go, and hadn’t once stopped Houston from scoring when it mattered. Had that kick been good, Houston was going to score at least once and maybe three times in the remaining six minutes. UCLA just could not stop them.

Paul Ascenzi

Pomona

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I knew for the UCLA-Houston game that Kevin Prince would get hurt, Kip Smith would miss easy kicks, and the UCLA linebackers would tackle horribly. What I didn’t know was that first-year defensive coordinator Jim Tresey would, without ever adjusting, insist on repeatedly blitzing when his team was being beaten by wide receiver screens, halfback screens, and draw plays. Can we please get some competent coaching over there?

Alan Abajian

Alta Loma

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After 11 seasons, I did not renew my four season tickets for UCLA football.

Until UCLA is ready to put some serious resources into the program and hire a coach like Urban Meyer, I expect I’ll stay away. Heck, it’s not been much fun any year since Bob Toledo got the ax.

Rod Hersberger

Santa Barbara

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UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero expresses his displeasure about a video clip showing the USC Trojan drum major planting a sword in the UCLA logo. No wonder the Bruins have lost 11 of 12 on the football field. Guerrero has his priorities and focus miscued, and everyone blames Coach Rick Neuheisel.

Wayne Muramatsu

Cerritos

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In light of Maryland’s gaudy and hideous uniform/helmet design scheme, UCLA should dump Adidas for Under Armour and have the company design something just as atrocious for the school. Perhaps a “California Republic” flag design on one side of the helmet, and the L.A. County logo on the other? For an added starry touch, maybe a smallish Hollywood sign in the front above the cage. With these odd features, maybe it will distract several Bruins opponents just enough to translate into a few more UCLA victories this season. Heck, it worked for the Terrapins (beating Miami) on Monday.

Mark J. Featherstone

Windsor Hills

Split ends

Chris Dufresne has it all wrong regarding Pac-16 expansion/realignment. USC and UCLA should block any attempt made by Oklahoma and Texas to join the Pac-16. In fact, USC and UCLA should petition the conference for immediate realignment as follows.

1. Get rid of Utah and Colorado.

2. Expand to 16 teams with two divisions:

a) The Every Other Team Division: Stanford, California, Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona, Arizona State.

b) The Southern Cal Division: USC, UCLA, Whittier, La Verne, Azusa Pacific, Occidental, Redlands and Biola.

Your thoughts, Mr. Haden and Mr. Guerrero? Go Poets!

Brent Montgomery

Long Beach

Plaschke on baseball

Bill Plaschke’s column on the pros and cons of singing “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch was a wonderful piece of writing, clearly outlining both sides of what is a legitimate controversy.

As for me, I fall on the side of those who think it’s a bad idea, especially asking the fans to stand and remove their hats during the singing. It’s a beautiful song which, in my opinion, should replace the “Star Spangled Banner” as our national anthem, but we already show our patriotism at the beginning of every game with the singing of the anthem, and “God Bless America” is patriotic overkill. The seventh-inning stretch should be reserved for the traditional singing of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

Joel Rapp

Los Angeles

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Mr. Plaschke, were you paid by the “tea party” for this column? I am one of millions of patriotic Americans who love their country, but I’m getting sick of “God Bless America” being played during the seventh-Inning stretch. I go to ballgames to have fun, and I don’t have to sing Berlin’s masterpiece to show that I still grieve for those lost on that terrible day 10 years ago. I go to church and pray or fly my American flag for that.

Steven J. Dugan

Upland

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Goodness gracious, Bill Plaschke asserts that Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw should win the NL MVP and Cy Young Awards, and bases it on their numbers.

Aside from Kemp and Kershaw building stats in meaningless games and often against Nos. 3, 4 and 5 pitchers and teams resting their best hitters, Plaschke ignores the production of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun against the very best pitchers.

Ian Kennedy has been almost invincible in games that count and head-to-head with top starters — most recently with Tim Lincecum.

Kip Dellinger

Santa Monica

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Kershaw for Cy Young? Not a chance. Exhibit A, Cliff Lee’s shutout on Labor Day against the same Braves that beat Kershaw the previous day. Of course, Lee is arguably not the best pitcher on his team. And then there’s Ian Kennedy — the stopper of 2011. Kershaw’s had great year, but not a Cy Young year.

Kip Dellinger

Santa Monica

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Answer: 17,064 weeks, 328 years.

Question: How long will it take the average person on unemployment

to make Juan Uribe’s 2011 salary?

Marc Popkin

Brentwood

Fish story

Congratulations to Mike Trout of the Angels for minor league player of the year. Given that Tim Salmon is the only other Angel to achieve that honor, the Angels should draft a player named Bass or Herring.

Richard Sieger

Valley Village

He scored

Grahame Jones’ advocacy for a California soccer museum is on point. What he failed to mention however is that once this museum becomes reality, his name and work should be in it alongside the stars who elevated the status of soccer in California. His contribution and analysis over the 38 years have kept me as a reader aware of the changes of the sport and informed of its latest developments.

Enjoy your retirement Mr. Jones. Your legacy lives on.

Ramsey Hakim

Los Angeles

Bolted

Forbes magazine reports the value of the Chargers will increase when they move to Los Angeles.

However, just to keep things fair, the value of Los Angeles will decrease.

Jim Meser

Simi Valley

Correction: A letter in the Sept. 3 Sports section referred to Bill Burke’s attempt to buy the Dodgers with a Republic of China ownership group and money. The potential group is from the People’s Republic of China.

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