Letters: Tough week for Jay Cutler

Everyone is blaming Jay Cutler for the Chicago Bears’ loss. The real fault goes to George Halas for signing Sid Luckman, who in the seven years between 1940-46 won four NFL titles. What Mr. Luckman did was to forever spoil Chicago fans.

There has never been another Luckman in Chicago and most likely never will be. Grow up, Chicago. Not only is Luckman gone, but so is Michael Jordan.

Robert Silvers

Beverly Hills

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So I see a bunch of reporters and girly men excoriating Cutler for what they deem is a “boo-boo.” Spoken like those whose only association with athleticism has been longing to be a jock since they were 10 years old. In other words, losers who would crumple like a Dixie cup at any physical contact. Cutler, as was noted, is a diabetic who has overcome a debilitating disease to be a starting QB in the NFL. Questioning this guy’s heart is an insult.

Melissa Verdugo

Rancho Palos Verdes

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Hey, did I miss something? Since when did they start giving out M.D. degrees on Twitter?

Wayne Muramatsu

Cerritos

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The heated controversy swirling around Jay Cutler’s decision to leave the playoff game highlights the confusion men have about what constitutes “manly” behavior. What makes a man tough these days? Is it to be reasonable and stoic, or allow intense aggressive and competitive feelings to rule behavior?

Should Cutler have been a passionate warrior sacrificing his health and future career for this team? Yet haven’t men been taught to be “emotionless,” as Cutler was chided for being on the sidelines, as a hallmark of masculinity? Or should caveman mentality prevail for the sake of male egos?

Men are growing more stressed every day by the changing social and economic environment. They can’t even agree among themselves how to reconcile these issues. As a woman, I feel for them even if they can’t feel for themselves. I hope someday soon men will be given the knowledge and room to develop a healthier conception of their manhood that includes just being human.

Dr. Evelyn Kohan, psychologist

Calabasas

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Reading Sam Farmer’s article “Super Bowl tickets are super costly” caused me a chuckle. I had a Rams season ticket for 22 years, and for the 1966 season it cost me $3.90 a game for 10 games. I couldn’t get my regular-season seat for the first Super Bowl in January 1967 between Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers and Hank Stram’s Kansas City Chiefs. I got a seat high up in the corner in the closed end of the Coliseum for an appalling increase to five bucks for the game.

Ken Johnson

Pinon Hills, Calif.

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The teams playing in the Super Bowl could have been named after birds, ferocious animals, Native Americans or even departed spirits. But only two NFL teams represent industries, and they will be playing for the title.

Surely Packers vs. Steelers is an indicator of economic recovery.

Gary Osheroff

Pasadena

Wrong message

Recently, the Angels ran an ad saying that a prospective 2011 fan could enjoy “Celebrating 50 Years of Angels Baseball” by saving up to “68% on Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox games.” Shouldn’t the reason for going to see the Angels be about seeing the home team? Is this a happy anniversary?

Jack E. Oakes

Santa Ana

Puck bias

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman can’t fine me $50,000 (as he did Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi), so here goes …

The Kings were hit by a tragically bad call in the “stick-above-the-crossbar” goal in question last week. What good is replay when it’s not used properly?

Bettman says there’s no bias in the NHL front office. Sure. The head disciplinarian, Colin Campbell, has a son playing in the league. He also played for four NHL teams and is a former coach. I’m sure there’s no bias against anyone who knocked him or his son around!

Hockey operations executive Mike Murphy was a former coach and (Kings) player, possibly disgruntled. I thought all the “clubby” NHL execs left when John Ziegler was booted out as commissioner in 1992.

Discipline is handed out so unevenly, some days a good hit is legal, other days it’s a penalty/suspension.

Jeff Prescott

La Jolla

Not too appealing

USC sends its new president, Max Nikias, and new athletic director, Pat Haden, to the NCAA offices to appeal football sanctions. Pat Haden is quoted as saying the likelihood of any success in reducing sanctions is 10%. Pete Carroll, Reggie Bush, Mike Garrett and a host of others who were on USC’s payroll during the offending years are gone. Because of this the sanctions should be reduced?

Did someone forget to remind attorneys Pat Haden and John McKay before they left for the appeals hearing that current Coach Lane Kiffin was an integral part of the same USC football staff that looked the other way while Reggie Bush and family took monetary benefits while Bush played at USC? What message did this send to the NCAA? USC should have delivered Kiffin’s firing to the NCAA to show any true remorse.

Johnathan Colin

Redondo Beach

Trouble Bruin

Were Lloyd’s of London or the Vegas books to quote odds against Utah with Norm Chow winning a national championship before UCLA under Rick Neuheisel wins a conference title, I’d have a problem. I haven’t bet serious money since Nashua beat Swaps, but I’d have to get all over that one. Given a program that had nowhere to go but up, Neuheisel rose to the occasion, proved us wrong and turned it into an absolute shambles.

Paul Ascenzi

Pomona

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I have always regarded UCLA as an amazing and unique institution of higher learning, with a football program above the average of other Division I schools. But, while reading the story and getting “that back of the neck feeling,” there seems to be subtleness in the forcing out of Coach Chow.

When comparing the win/loss records of Karl Dorrell to Rick Neuheisel, it would appear that more is in play than football success.

One cannot help but wonder why Coach Chow, and not Coach Rick, is being shown the door.

Harold Swayne

Los Angeles

Two columns

T.J. Simers, I always liked your humor, but for the first time I loved your Jan. 23 article written without any sarcasm and with heart. I am a small-time horse owner and try to follow a dream that the majority of us never achieve. After reading your article about Michael Martinez, the injured jockey, you bet my wife and I will be there to help. Thank you for getting this unfortunate young man the attention he deserves and showing your true humanitarian side.

Michael Neumann

Los Angeles

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In his Tuesday column, T.J. Simers jumps the gun in calling golf a dead sport because names like Kaymer and Vegas are replacing Phil and Tiger as winners. Perhaps these kids are superstars in the making. A better example would be calling The Times a dying paper because its Jim Murrays have been replaced by the likes of T.J.

Alan Abajian

Alta Loma

Inspired

A year ago, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers used a seemingly innocuous declaration by Jerry West about LeBron surpassing Kobe as the best player in the league to ride that bulletin-board fodder all the way to the championship and prove West wrong. Here’s hoping that will happen again now that West has determined the Lakers are too defensively challenged to defend their crown.

Allan Kandel

Los Angeles

Painful

I see that the Rose Bowl management has committed to renovate various facilities, but no mention was made to their outrageous seating structure. Their stadium seats and aisles are much too narrow — a person over six feet has to sit with his knees at his chin. If you are unlucky enough to sit in the end zone and are faced with bleacher seating (no back rest), you should avoid sitting next to anyone over 200 pounds if you expect to be able to move any of your body parts.

Tim Newhard

Irvine

Blue period

As long as we are suffering under what future generations may call the Curse of Murdoch/McCourt, I am starting to resign myself to never again seeing the Dodgers play in the World Series. The Dodgers’ last championship, 23 years ago, seems like ancient history. This is reaching the level of my hope for the Bruins ever getting a BCS championship.

Mark Temple

Huntington Beach

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That blood-curdling scream you heard the other day was the collective sound of every Dodgers fan reading that the Demonic Duo of Parking Lot Boy and the Screaming Meanie could join forces again, to dole out their particular brand of injustice to all the innocent folks of Dodgerville. Say it ain’t so! Where is the commissioner when you need him?

Charles Gillespie

Oxnard

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So Frank McCourt’s divorce attorney, Sorrell Trope, says “I don’t get involved in [McCourt’s] pocketbook.” Say that again, please?!

Gregg B. Hughes

Northridge

Two shy Phils

I must take issue with Gary Matzel’s letter equating reclusive Kings owner Phil Anschutz to that famous groundhog. Punxsutawney Phil actually emerges from hiding annually to update the populace on the current situation.

Anna Warren

Sherman Oaks

Tough call

Trying to determine the greatest Clipper of all time is like trying to determine the worst Laker of all time.

Thomas Hamlett

Van Nuys

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