Letters: NFL continues with tale of two (or three) cities

The problem with Bill Plaschke’s argument that the Chargers should stay in San Diego [“It’s no charge for second team,” Jan. 20] is that it relies on facts and logical reasoning. Meanwhile, the Chargers are led, so to speak, by the children of a successful businessman who bought the franchise. As virtually every L.A. basketball fan already knows, it’s a formula that often produces bad decision making.

Konrad Moore

Bakersfield

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Mr. Plaschke, comparing the impact of the present-day NFL to the situation in 1960 makes no sense. Please stop acting as if no one cares. Ironically, I became a Chargers fan after my beloved Rams left town as I decided to support the only pro team left in Southern California.

I live in Calabasas and have indeed driven to games in San Diego to watch them play. I look forward to being able to do that much more often once they are in Inglewood. Also, in case you haven’t been paying attention, the Chargers have already become our local team as far as television rights are concerned — they are on every week as per NFL rules.

One last thing, who would you rather watch every Sunday, Nick Foles or Philip Rivers? Let’s go Los Angeles Chargers!

Todd Bublitz

Calabasas

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If the Chargers want to come to Los Angeles, at their own expense, I say let them come. I will ignore them here, just as I ignore them in San Diego. With their present owner, they will always be a loser.

Robert Cole

Bellflower

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L.A. Rams vice president Jake Bye and Magic Johnson somehow manipulated the season-ticket deposit and Ticketmaster protocol to allow Magic the very first spot on the team’s waiting list. How did they do that? Also, the team is not shy in announcing 5,000 deposits at $100 a pop were taken in the first five minutes. This sad scenario could lead the rest of us fans to wonder how many more rich (1%) folks were equally “connected”’ and “lucky” to get to the very top of the coveted waiting list, unfairly and before the thousands of regular fans hitting their keyboards at 10 a.m.?

Danny J. Marquez

Redlands

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Kudos to Bill Plaschke for his wonderfully touching story about “Bootin’ Ben” Agajanian [Jan. 17]. I had forgotten about Ben all these years and had no idea he was now 96 and still here in Southern California. My dad used to take us to many L.A. Dons and Rams games at the Coliseum in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s. He would pay $5 to a local resident on 39th Street and park in their yard or driveway along with a dozen other cars. We could always get out quickly after a Dons or Rams game.

Toeless Ben was a legend way back then, and it’s cool he still has that fighting spirit we came to love.

Roy Reel

Culver City

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As an airline captain flying out of LAX for 25 years, I couldn’t help noticing the Jan. 13 caption: “Inglewood Stadium will let the sunshine in, along with a view of planes heading for nearby LAX.”

I can foresee an outcry from the fans the first time an audible on the field is drowned out by a passing aircraft. Landings (about every two minutes on the south runways) cross the stadium at 7,500 feet. North runway arrivals cross at 9,800 feet. During Santa Ana winds requiring departing to the east, aircraft will be much noisier, climbing over the stadium under full take-off power.

I noticed the stadium will have a roof. Let’s hope that includes noise mitigation. And, as an L.A. native (who last saw the Rams play live at the Coliseum), I’m thrilled they are back and hope these issues can be resolved — but please remember: the airport was there first.

Larry Hazard

Huntington Beach

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In response to cheers from Angelenos, Stan Kroenke states that the team’s return to L.A. “is about the great history of the Rams.” He fails to mention that after buying 30% of the team in the mid-’90s he was the point man in moving the team to his home state of Missouri. Twenty years later, as the principal owner of the team, he declares he has to flee from St. Louis to escape becoming an economic victim — in spite of being offered more than $400 million in taxpayer funding for construction of a new stadium.

Isn’t it ironic that the Rams are brought home by the person most responsible for their earlier flight from the Southland for alleged greener pastures?

Noel Johnson

Glendale

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I see that a real estate firm has been hired to help the relocating St. Louis Rams players find homes in L.A. It would be precious to hear what they say when they find out that the $350,000 that bought them their dream house in St. Louis won’t even buy them a dump in L.A.

Dick Terrill

Torrance

Flipping out

No doubt there is some rationale for the rules which govern overtime NFL games but logic and basic fairness cannot be part of it. An entire season teeters on the rotation of a flipped coin, and the “heads I win, tails you lose” edict proves decisive without the team losing the coin toss (Green Bay, for example) ever being afforded the opportunity to touch the ball, let alone even the score. By comparison, the Hunger Games seem fair and balanced.

Gary Jay Miller

Encino

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Yes, the Hail Mary toss by Aaron Rogers to tie the game was impressive. But I’ll take the Hail Larry by Carson Palmer for the win.

Gary Zarubick

West Covina

Hard and clean

Matthew Dellavedova a dirty player? No way! I follow LeBron James, so I’ve seen Dellavedova a lot. Hustler? Gritty? Hard nosed? Yes, yes and yes. Notice that all his “dirty play” takes place on the floor because he’s the first to dive for a loose ball, just like NBA players used to do when they weren’t making $100 million a year. Give the kid a break. I don’t believe he’s ever been ejected nor even had a technical foul. I’ll take him on my team any day.

Richard Garrison

Laguna Hills

Exit strategy

Suggestion: Lakers fans should take up a collection and buy Kobe a solid-gold selfie stick and a world tour package (U.S. excluded).

This will allow Byron Scott the opportunity to coach and develop our Lakers without all these unpredictable and too-often interruptions.

As a going-away gift, that last contract for Kobe was generous to a fault.

Dick Ramirez

Valencia

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So the Dodgers sign retread Joe Blanton. Next thing you know the Lakers will be adding Metta World Peace, wasting a roster spot that could be filled by somebody who resembles an NBA player. Wait, you mean they already did that?

Robert Fulton

Murrieta

Entitlement

Dear Hyundai,

Congrats on title sponsorship of the PGA tournament at historic Riviera Country Club. Let’s keep the PR ball rolling on the region’s newfound sports relevance by going back to its original name, the L.A. Open. Just add your name before or after.

Monte Whaley

Redondo Beach

Your point is ...?

How will the Dodgers do this season? Great!

Attendance: More than 3 million.

Payroll: Cut more than $100 million.

TV contract: $8 billion.

Oh, wait. Did you mean the team?

Mike Witkowsky

Torrance

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