Letters to Sports: Readers join in lament of Lakers situation

The article by Bill Plaschke revealed more about Jeanie Buss than I anticipated. Yet, she also revealed exactly what I anticipated. Misguided and misdirected loyalty toward Rob Pelinka, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, firing Mitch Kupchak and the ill-advised trading of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, et al.

Jeanie Buss insists that, about LeBron, “I want him to feel confident in the team, that we have the pieces to win a championship. He has to be happy … I want to make sure that he is happy.”

The Lakers have become a team of me (LeBron), not we.

Phil Jackson is the only apparent “proven” advisor added to the revised Lakers. Jerry West has been overlooked.

The new Lakers coach needs to have complete control. LeBron doesn’t need to be placated.

Erne Garcia
Redlands

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Maybe if Linda Rambis was making basketball decisions the Lakers wouldn’t be in this mess.

Loren Coleman
West Hollywood

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Reading of the apparent devastating financial situation Jeanie Buss finds herself in as boss of the Lakers, I sure hope Plaschke had the courtesy to buy lunch.

Marty Zweben
Palos Verdes Estates

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With input from Rob Pelinka, Kurt Rambis, LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Phil Jackson, it’s like the Lakers are being designed by a committee. We all remember what a camel is. A horse designed by a committee.

Vaughn Hardenberg
Westwood

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Thanks Mr. Plaschke for sending a subliminal message to the Lakers owner.

What do you do when you’re in pain? Call the doctor: Doc Rivers. With the Lakers roster, fans and Doc, it’s a slam dunk for next season.

Patrick Kelley
Los Angeles

Disparity dilemma

With all due respect, Ms. Colas is just wrong. Not about the difference in pay between women’s and men’s salaries in the sports world. There is no disputing that. What is in dispute is why and the answer is simple. The money flows to the sports and athletes that the public care about and will pay to watch. Simple as that. Former Lakers star and Sparks coach Michael Cooper said this week that the product on the floor needs to be better. The quality of the product currently get the games slotted right after Cornhole on ESPN2.

Jeff Heister
Chatsworth

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I’ve long been a fan of Brittney Griner since her collegiate days at Baylor. But to posit that “economic disparity” is somehow to blame for her detention in Russia, and that “we have to acknowledge our shared responsibility” for it, is spinning a bridge too far. The women’s game is never going to generate Steph Curry dollars for its stars; that’s just a fact. Still BG’s salary for half a year’s work puts her in the top 5% of U.S. earners, not counting ancillaries. The idea that she is therefore forced to play for the teams that pay the most is ridiculous, it’s her manager’s choice.

Meanwhile, the lowest-paid, starting WNBA player makes ten thousand more than a starting teacher at L.A. Unified, who gets no endorsements, no shoe contract, no waiting color-analyst job at ESPN. We’re 15,000 teachers short in California, but there’s no dearth of hoopsters.

Mitch Paradise
Los Angeles

Managerial style

What a difference in management styles between Dave Roberts and Joe Maddon when it comes to handling their pitchers. The Dodgers manager takes out one of their all-time best pitchers, who is close to pitching a perfect game, because the pitch count was getting high and he did not want to overextend his pitcher but rather have him fresher for later in the season and the playoffs. On the other hand, the Angels manager stuck with his young pitcher who was throwing a no-hitter, but had never pitched more than six innings in any of his major league starts. Reid Detmers wound up throwing 108 pitches and completing the no-hitter, much to the joy and excitement of the 39,313 fans in attendance and those watching on television.

Dennis Lifton
Cypress

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Previously, I thought that Joe Maddon was the best manager in baseball, but when he failed to take Detmers out in the seventh inning and allowed him to complete a no-hitter, I realized that he has a sophomoric understanding of the game.

David Waldowski
Laguna Woods

Speedgolf respect

As a devoted Speedgolfer, it was heartening to see some coverage in The Times. Unfortunately, the great Rick Reilly went overboard with lame anti-fitness cliche humor to marginalize an incredibly impressive and legitimate sport. The world’s top players shoot under par on championship courses in around 40 minutes. All golfers can benefit from the attributes of Speedgolf that eliminate harmful over-deliberation and the huge problem of slow play. Hopefully readers can sift through the lame jokes and create their own experience of playing faster, reducing unnecessary formality (14 clubs for a 28 handicap?!), and getting a bit of a workout on the golf course.

Brad Kearns
Stateline, Nev.

Rendon return

Among all the hullabaloo over Anthony Rendon’s left-handed homer, anybody notice that he’s hitting under .200 for the season? Last year, in his oft-injured first year with the Angels, he hit .240. Don’t ask me to calculate the return-on-investment for his $36-million contract.

Ralph Martinez
Arcadia

Not so powerful

The Kings are a gutsy hockey team, but their power play is so weak that, if hockey were like football, they might seriously consider declining the opponent’s penalty.

J. Peter Rich
Los Angeles

Mater Dei mess

It now appears that Ukraine is the second-most dangerous place in the world, right after the Mater Dei High football locker room.

Doug Thomson
West Los Angeles

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