Letters: Football fans look for the coffin corner with new prices

I’m a Rams season ticket holder. Today I have been told my new seats at the new stadium will carry a per-seat fee of $80,000 along with my paying $375 per seat.

This will cost me $320,000. The good news in 50 years they will return my $320,000.

I asked the Rams rep to change my address to Hillside Cemetery, as that is where I will be in 50 years. I will be spending Ram Sunday on the golf course, and recording the games.

Harris Katleman

Beverly Hills

::

I fondly recall attending Ram games at the Coliseum in the 1950s with my boss ( I was a paper boy for the L.A. Mirror) under a program where the purchase of one adult ticket allowed for the free admission of five kids under 16 — six individuals watching the game from the peristyle end for less than $10. Tickets at the new Inglewood stadium will cost as much as $375 per game, plus an upfront $100,000 seat license for the privilege of being a season ticket holder.

Wow! So much for trying to grow the game by targeting the general public.

Noel Johnson

Glendale

Fix it, Steve

Steve Ballmer is indeed more than a cheerleader with a real opportunity to change the landscape of professional sports. Adding a paid sponsor name to a uniform is not earth shaking.

At the game Tuesday, the on court host asked fans to hold up signs saying #Iamstrongerwithher. The all-female Clipper Spirit took the floor gyrating immediately afterward. Later we were treated to the Chik-Fil-A fourth quarter. Mr. Balmer, how about being the first NBA team to do away with all female cheerleaders that objectify women? How about cutting ties with companies that work to defeat gender and marriage equality? Don’t Bumble the chance to truly promote cultural change.

Bruce Galler

Palmdale

Can’t watch it

Another heavy-handed “Dodgers TV blackout” article by Bill Plaschke, which again fails to mention that 162 games per year are still available for free on the radio, isn’t going to change that.

Mike Flanagan

Silver Lake

::

Nice article by Bill Plaschke regarding Dodger fan Jim Ballard. Sadly, the Dodgers don’t care.

Dave Toepper

Saugus

::

I almost didn’t write this letter because I realized I don’t give a damn. Dodgers aren’t available to watch on TV? So what? There are plenty of other sports to watch. The outrage Plaschke says appears to be dying out is most likely due in part to people moving on.

Secondly, anyone who follows professional sports, or even amateur sports at this point, realizes it’s mostly about the money. Frontline players not being offered contracts commensurate with their ability this year so teams can take that money to offer free-agent players hefty contracts a year from now? Who can blame the team owners? They have to make money to stay in business. The Dodgers owners took the TV money and ran.

Are they worrying because the great majority of possible viewers in Southern California can’t watch the games? It doesn’t appear so.

John Snyder

Newbury Park

::

I find nothing amusing or redeeming about Yu Darvish’s World Series musings and jokes or how much his friendship with fellow World Series goat Clayton Kershaw blossomed this past off season. But hey, I guess that’s what $120 million will do for a guy while Dodger fans will never forgive him for his pitching failures when it counted the most.

Allan Kandel

Los Angeles

::

Emails to my wife and I notified us of the chance to buy Opening Day tickets for the Dodgers. I planned the day for the 2-5pm slot. She got her e-mail late (I still haven’t received mine). Waited for 37 minutes to see the “Buy Tickets” button light up: It never did. At 2:37pm, after we constantly refreshed during that time, a pink icon notified us that, “Opening Day tickets are “SOLD OUT.”

I’ll be watching my Dodgers on mlb.tv this season, and attending only away games. Just sickens me how lifelong fans are being disregarded.

Duane Mitchell

Escondido

::

The commissioner, and now Kenley Jansen, propose ideas to “speed up the game.” The problem is there are no rules, limitations or time clock schemes that will turn what is essentially a slow-unfolding sport into a fast-paced game. Shortening the game by 15 minutes will not convert those who insist upon fast action into baseball afficionados. Conversely, those who appreciate the interesting strategies and undercurrent of tension in this slow-moving game will not complain if the game takes a bit more time than is absolutely necessary.

Stu Olster

Laguna Hills

::

Now that Kenley Jansen has “found his voice,” looks like he won’t shut up.

Steve Tye

Diamond Bar

Sho time?

Clayton Kershaw welcomed Shohei Ohtani to the majors by striking the Japanese phenom out on a called third strike, which the 23-yea- old youngster exclaimed that he thought was “pretty borderline.” Hey, Ohtani, the umpire who made that third strike call most likely will remember the look you gave him when you exited the batters box.

And to the Dodgers who complained about having to spend time trying to recruit the next unproven Japanese star into the major leagues, to Kershaw, Turner, manager Roberts and Dodgers management, you most likely have dodged a bullet, or it is looking now at least a blessing in disguise that Ohtani did not sign with you as he appears to be not ready for Major League baseball. It is still spring but the future is now for the Angels as his performance to date tastes of bad sushi.

Lou Soto

Trabuco Canyon

::

Pictured on March 7, Shohei Ohtani, swinging with his eyes closed, may be a hint of only one hit.

David Marshall

Santa Monica

Milestone

For the longest time, nobody ever believed that a human being could break the four-minute mile. When English runner the late Roger Bannister finally smashed through that barrier in 1954, it was almost the equivalent of Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay conquering Mt. Everest a year earlier. The famous picture of his exhausted body crossing the finish line will always be viewed as a testament to the power and determination of the human spirit. It was truly an unforgettable moment in the history of sports.

Charles Reilly

Manhattan Beach

Ice it

Drew Doughty may be a great player, but it’s grown-up time. Take the “A” and give it back to Dustin Brown. Drew doesn’t deserve it

Fredrick P. Fruhling

Hermosa Beach

::

How to lie with statistics:

Early this week, the Ducks had 78 points, one more than the Kings. But, in a rational universe, the 36-30 Kings would have been three games ahead of the Ducks.

Craig Lesly

Tustin

And the loser is ...

For Kobe to say winning his minor Oscar felt greater than an NBA championship is absurd. He wrote and performed the voice-over narrative for a short film. Hardly equivalent to a seven-game series versus the Celtics. Kobe won something no other NBA player probably will. That is why he wants to make it more important.

Kobe is no longer in any conversation about the NBA GOAT (and never should have been). But another player is now legitimately in that conversation and he might even come to the Lakers. Kobe hates that. So he says this.

Craig Rosen

Los Angeles

::

Just as he did with Shaq after winning his fifth NBA championship, is it safe to say that Kobe will tell Cruise, Depp, Downey Jr., et al. that he has more Oscars than they do?

Larry Herrera

Redondo Beach

::

One of the more interesting shows on PBS is a series entitled, “How’d they do that?” The shows focuses on extraordinary feats such as the building of Hoover Dam and the Suez Canal. Brooke Lopez, who stands 7 feet tall and weighs 265 pounds, recently played 35 minutes in an NBA game and managed to finish with zero rebounds.

How’d he do that?

Steve Briseno

Mission Viejo

::

The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.

Mail: Sports Viewpoint

Los Angeles Times

202 W. 1st St.

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Fax: (213) 237-4322

Email:

sports@latimes.com