Letters: Going all in for Jerry Buss

Jerry Buss was one of those few men who seemingly recognized that owning a sports franchise is different than owning any other type of business. He appeared to disdain the mantle of chief executive, choosing instead the role of shrewd yet generous steward serving the millions of us who have always felt that in some small measure, the Lakers are actually “ours.”

Most teams have fans that feel that way but few of them possess owners so driven to succeed, so willing to invest their money to do so, and then ready to unassumingly stand to the side when the championships arrive and let the fans revel with “our” team.

Southern Californians and Lakers fans the world over owe a huge debt to this gracious benefactor whose actions raised the bar for future franchise owners. He is wholly irreplaceable.

Cy Bolton

Rancho Cucamonga

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What made Jerry Buss such a successful sports figure? He had a doctorate in chemistry. And as the present day Lakers painfully remind us on a daily basis, this remains the most important component in building a winning franchise.

Carlo Fisco

Marina del Rey

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I had the good fortune to have known Jerry Buss pretty much my entire life, as my dad was one of those PhD aerospace engineers Buss teamed up with in the early days because they thought they could do real estate and sports better than the people already in those fields. I’m sure many will write in about what Jerry meant to Los Angeles and basketball, but I want to say that he was one of the kindest, most generous and respectful people around and in general the coolest guy in town. He was always generous and talkative to guests I brought around the Forum or Staples and was extremely welcoming to my family. He was a fantastic, warm individual.

Lakers fans everywhere will miss him, but those lucky enough to have known him know we have lost someone truly special. I repeat, the coolest guy around.

Joey Gold

Redondo Beach

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Jerry Buss captured the feelings of Lakers fans. In 1985 after the Lakers beat Celtics to win the championship, Buss quipped, “One of most odious sentences has been eliminated from the English language: ‘The Lakers have never beaten the Celtics.’”

Thanks for 34 great seasons, Dr. Jerry.

Ken Feldman

Los Angeles

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In a sports town that has suffered at the hands of such owners as Frank McCourt, Georgia Frontiere, Donald Sterling (despite current success), Bruce McNall, and others, Jerry Buss was a true visionary who walked the walk, took the Lakers to NBA heights, and changed the NBA forever. In a world where most local sports owners were self-centered and showed no respect for the city or the fans, Buss stood out, and he left an indelible stamp on the local sports landscape.

His example is a blueprint for what any sports owner should aspire to. RIP, Dr. Buss.

Jack Wolf

Westwood

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I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Buss a few times in the ‘90s, at Del Mar, when his son, Jim was an aspiring trainer. They would both hang out in the infield together, I’d chat Mr. Buss up, as I am a huge Lakers fan. It was amazing how unassuming and down to earth he was. He was a regular guy, just enjoying a day at the races with his son. A remarkable man and owner. RIP, Dr. Buss.

Steve Owen

San Diego

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Sad news to hear the innovative creator of Lakers Showtime has left us. End of an era in Los Angeles. I just hope it’s not the end of the Lakers as we’ve known them too.

Gino Cirignano

Playa del Rey

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Jerry Buss said he wanted Los Angeles to be synonymous with the Lakers. Four years ago my wife and I visited Florence, Italy, when I lost her in a crowd near the Uffizi Gallery. Panicked, I paced back and forth until a young Italian approached with a petition to clean up the environment. I told him I was an American and had lost my wife. He asked me where I was from and I told him Los Angeles. With an excited smile, he shouted “Lakers!” A few minutes later he pointed me out to my wife in typical Italian fashion: “Your boyfriend is over there.”

Michael Halperin

Sherman Oaks

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Jeanie Buss running the Lakers? I first met Jeanie when she was running the Los Angeles Strings of World Team Tennis. Attendance at the Forum was averaging 750, and I met with her with a plan to double or triple paid attendance at minimal cost.

She declined to hear my proposal, stating, “If I was doing a bad job, my dad would fire me.”

Jerry Buss will be missed!

Harris J. Levey

Venice

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Anyone with any remaining doubts about the judgment of Jimmy Buss had them answered by the last-minute performance by his buddy Greg Tomlinson during Thursday’s memorial for Dr. Buss.

Jimmy needs more maturing than the Lakers can afford. What has he been doing these years he supposedly has been in training?

LeEllen Williams

Tustin

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In the immediate wake of the death of Dr. Buss, did Magic Johnson really think it was the right time to fan the flames of acrimony between Jeanie and Jim Buss by rendering his opinion as to who should assume control of the Lakers? Whatever his shortcomings, Jim Buss had just lost his father. Magic should stick to doing as little as possible to run the Dodgers.

Bud Chapman

Northridge

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In attempting to honor Jerry Buss by saying the NBA was boring before Buss, Magic Johnson dishonors the game of basketball and the players that came before him. Loud music, constant noise, DJs and halftime circus acts are not basketball. Bill Russell and Bob Cousy, Willis Reed and Walt Frazier, Julius Erving and Pete Maravich and others were not boring but rather the reason the NBA exists today.

If Magic wants an example of boring, he should watch himself on ESPN.

Bert Bergen

La Cañada

On the court

I’m sick of the Lakers and their fans continued crying over the Chris Paul non-trade. David Stern already aided and abetted their theft of Pau Gasol and two championship rings. What more do they want? Isn’t it enough to have the league scoring champ, the league’s best center, a top-five coach and the richest payroll in the NBA? It’s not Stern’s fault they’re underachievers. Put on your big-boy pants and stop the whining already.

Tom Abrams

Burbank

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Mitch Kupchak’s desperate plea to Dwight Howard that “one day there will be a statue of him outside Staples Center” is hysterical! The fact is Staples Center already has a statue of Dwight Howard: It wears number 12, has a headband and plays center for them.

Mark S. Roth

Los Angeles

Horrible!

I wonder what Coach Wooden would have thought about Bill Walton’s TV commentary of the Arizona and Washington games. I am sure he would have been shocked to find out that the satisfaction gained from doing one’s best is not nearly as important as playing a flashy game style or processing positive body language. The greatest irony of Walton’s diatribes was that they occurred during important games that the Bruins actually won.

Ben Howland deserves better than to be roasted by some over-the-hill, narcissistic grandstander. I will try to remember Bill Walton as the dashing, red-headed center who led UCLA to national championships and not the overbearing oaf he has become.

I have been spared Walton’s rancor the past two seasons by his unfortunate back problems. He gives me a pain a little lower down.

Scott Grieve

Carpinteria

Still cheating

So Lance Armstrong is refusing to cooperate with the USADA. It’s just one more spoke in his wheel of classless acts. For 14 years he lied about taking drugs, and now when he has an opportunity to help clean up the sport of cycling (which he said he would do) he refuses to help. I hope they take every penny he earned from cycling. The only thing worse than a cheater is one who blames everyone else when he gets caught.

Doug Wheeler

Manhattan Beach

They’re coming back

The L.A. Kings are playing hockey like they are the Stanley Cup Champions. Therein lies the problem.

Kenneth Spencer

Pacific Palisades

Meeting his match

Tiger, I am a big believer in karma. Maybe next year you’ll play at Riviera.

John Mueller

Los Angeles

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