UCLA’s football program might be ahead of schedule

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but then again, the contractors weren’t Neuheisel, Walker and Chow.

Wes Wellman

Santa Monica

Somewhere out there Coach Dorrell is still trying to figure out why Coach Neuheisel didn’t punt at the end of the game.

Brian Haueter

Ventura

For the time being, anyway, I guess Kevin Craft is the Big Cheese at UCLA.

Joel Rapp

Los Angeles

Ricky, in your game of Monopoly, you may have Tennessee Avenue, but Pete still has Park Place and Boardwalk. Fight on.

John Mark

Newport Beach

I guess the Bruins’ move from 100th or so in the nation to 23rd on the AP poll trumps the Trojans’ minor move from No. 3 to No. 1. The Bruins get a front-page story with pictures and quotes while the Trojans are relegated to the last page in Wednesday’s sports page? C’mon, did the Bruins beat the Tennessee Titans or did I miss something?

Robert J. Gagliano

Palos Verdes

Newspaper ads and first-game upsets notwithstanding, the Trojans’ domination of college football in Los Angeles is not over. The Bruins play in Pasadena and as a resident of the San Gabriel Valley, I’m very pleased they do. Now all we need is that NFL team in Walnut.

Ron Reeve

Glendora

Dear gritty little Bruins and your fans: Let’s not get too excited. I hate to pop the balloon, but you just won a shocker, not a national championship.

Dan Jensen

San Clemente

I was truly miffed to see the Excessive Celebration Police make their needless and unwanted return to college football last Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.

A simple scenario: The Trojans score a touchdown and a few players gather in the end zone to high five each other, jump a bit, and perhaps touch helmets. There was no unsportsmanlike conduct directed at their opponents and nothing “excessive” about the so-called celebration, yet the Trojans were called on it and penalized.

Is someone forgetting that this is college football; these players are very young and enthusiastic, and furthermore, sports is an entertainment and the fans in the stands and at home want to see a little show biz, especially from a Hollywood team.

Susan Stoller

Los Angeles

As we start this NCAA football season, I can’t help but wonder how many more seasons USC will be able to win the Pete Carroll way, not by beating the best of the rest, but by stockpiling his bench with the competition. He preys on the egos of high school seniors who believe that they will play for him, only to sit on his bench instead of starting elsewhere. But hey, he kept Mitch Mustain from playing at Oregon, didn’t he? I am sure that you Trojans will blithely refer to this as sour grapes, but isn’t it more satisfying to win on a level playing field? You better get some practice, because these kids are about to catch on.

Alan Abajian

Alta Loma

Maybe he’s tired (“I’m headed home.”) Maybe he is trying to be funny (“He [Thomas Jefferson] initiated the ‘Academical Village,’ leaving someone else to come up with the ‘training table’ “). Either way, T.J. Simers’ reasoning is about as inelegant as Los Angeles strip-mall architecture.

Sure, USC’s football team dominated an outmanned UVA squad on Saturday. But to suggest that Heritage Hall (built in 1971 and groaning with football trophies, I’m sure) and a bronze statue of John Wayne, just west of the bucolic 110 Freeway, somehow trump the most classic and hallowed of University campuses, is more than just a reach. It’s a whiff.

It must have been a mighty, self-congratulatory chest bump Simers and Gary Capata gave each other while they chuckled, as only out-of-their-element Angelenos can do, about “ripping up the Lawn and putting in synthetic grass like they’ve done in Laguna Niguel.” Man, that’s about as funny as O.J. Simpson’s post-collegiate heroics.

Ladd Lanford

Pasadena

Blue review

I’ve figured out why that new Dodgers outfielder is so much fun to watch. He’s the most interesting Manny in the world.

Dan Kelly

Studio City

When I had a bad year at McDonnell Douglas, nobody handed me $18 million and said, “Poor, poor thing, just concentrate on your Christmas shopping, and rest up for spring.” Can you imagine how much the Pentagon would have to pay for a coffee maker if the Dodgers were its supplier?

Gene Miller

Huntington Beach

Gee, nice to see Andruw Jones acknowledging that the season is “lost” (Dodgers fans have known this all season). Now let’s see what his character is made of to do the right thing: one, give half of his 2008 salary to charity, since he certainly didn’t earn it and two, report to 2009 training camp in top shape so he can start off the year like he should have in 2008. We’ll be anxious to see if he “steps up to the plate” and does something other than whiff.

Ken Blake

Brea

Don’t stop, Angels

It seems Mike Scioscia has started his annual rest program for his players early this year. With Guerrero and Hunter getting a day off against the Rangers on Sunday, Scioscia has again deemed it unnecessary to make a run at the best record in the American League, giving them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. He has done this in years past and we all know the result of that.

Doesn’t he realize that being able to stay home for the majority of the playoffs is a great advantage for a team? Has he forgotten that his team has had a problem beating the Rays in Tampa the last two seasons?

Brian Cooper

Burbank

Colorful writing

What sport or action will Kurt Streeter [“It’s not a wonderful world of color in tennis,” Aug. 31] analyze next week? Could it be the pro golf world? Hockey? How about joining in the analysis of the admittance procedures at the University of California? Maybe the writer cannot recall or is too young to remember Arthur Ashe and his well-earned triumphs.

The Times is a good liberal paper with typical liberal solutions to every problem. The paper will have to set up an affirmative action program for the sports it selects as under-diversified. May I suggest that if Mr. Streeter chairs the committee he should visit other countries in the world and report on their racial complexities and solutions to the eager readers? When he returns from the fact finding trip he can pursue lawmaking to define the nature and solutions for the problem sports. He will also have to look for a venue in which to write such trivia.

Richard Jennings

Bakersfield

Kurt Streeter is guilty of what he himself criticizes, which is racism. Don’t be fooled by what he thinks we are being fooled about. He says, “Why must all British players look like descendants of the Crown?” Racism by any of the L.A. Times writing staff should not be tolerated.

He also exhibits his own ageism (referring to McCain as “the old dude”) and sexism (referring to McCain’s new running mate as “the beauty queen”).

Bruce Rockwell

Pasadena

Kurt Streeter’s article regarding color in tennis brings out some interesting points, but he states that one of the reasons for the lack of color in tennis is because “Tennis costs a mint; there aren’t many scholarships to country clubs.”

While the country club part might be true, tennis is a very inexpensive game to play. Mostly it’s free. Almost all high schools, many parks and many middle schools have courts that can be used for free. All you need is a racket and some balls. You want instruction? Most local clubs offer group lessons at very reasonable fees.

Expense is not a reason for the U.S. not having a lot of top 10 players right now, nor is it an excuse for a lack of minorities. I don’t claim to know the answers, but “Tennis costs a mint” isn’t one of them.

Bob Brobst

San Diego

Bad examples

Letter writer Jeff Drobman writes that the LPGA should emulate Japanese baseball where American players don’t have to speak Japanese.

Drobman forgets that Japanese baseball limits American players to three per team. That would be six per game.

The LPGA has 45 Korean-born players with playing privileges. If only six could play per tournament, then the average Korean player would play only once every seven weeks.

The current LPGA policy to let everyone play is to be admired. The restrictive Japanese policy is the one that is jingoistic and racist.

Bob Munson

Newbury Park

Last I heard, speaking English is not a requirement for being a professional golfer. Shame on the LPGA for even considering members be required to be proficient in English and for threatening suspension for non-compliance. I seriously doubt the current dominance of Korean players on the LPGA circuit (to me, the obvious reason for the English requirement) will negatively affect television coverage of LPGA events. They are already difficult to find on TV, network or otherwise.

In the post-Annika world of ladies’ professional golf, an exciting star from Korea, the U.S. or anywhere would be welcome.

Maureen Discipulo

Redondo Beach

He talks too much

For all of his brilliance, Vin Scully cannot stay away from the one phrase that sends me directly to my radio’s off button: “And as we go to the fourth, here’s Charley Steiner.”

Michael Hawkins

Newbury Park

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