Letters: Will Lakers own up to mistakes?

Jim Buss says he will resign in three or four years [April 20] if the Lakers are not back on top because that will mean he has failed. Dude, you have already failed both the team and its fans by your evident lack of leadership, so why must we wait so long for you to ultimately depart?

How about in three or four months you turn over the team reins to someone more competent than you! Why should we twist in the wind for the obvious to become even more obvious? Goodbye and good riddance, Jim, we won’t miss you at all.

Roy Reel

Culver City

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Jim Buss said if the Lakers aren’t contending for an NBA title in three or four years he will step aside and let someone else run the team and make player personnel decisions. I don’t believe this for one second and if Mike D’Antoni really is coming back next season, April 2018 can’t come fast enough for a team that by then will more closely resemble an irrelevant team like the Bucks or Hawks than what used to be one of the NBA’s premier franchises.

Erik Schuman

Fountain Valley

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Kobe, I am wondering if before you signed your $48-million contract, and declared that you wanted another ring within the two years you signed for, if you had the opportunity to discuss that with Jim Buss? Looks like if you want that ring you better go play somewhere else or sign another extension.

Ron Roberts

Northridge

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Here’s what happens when the leadership of a franchise realizes an error has been made.

David Moyes, the coach of reigning Premier League champion Manchester United, was sacked after only 10 months at the helm. The team is currently in an unacceptable seventh place in the 20-team Premier League standings.

Does the history of Man U look familiar? It is one of the most storied franchises in sports history, a consistent champion willing to spend whatever it takes to land the top talent.

The handwriting was on the wall. Under the terms of his six-year contract, failure to qualify for the 2014-15 Champions League entitles Moyes to take away only one year’s pay from the five years outstanding on his six-year contract. Too bad the Lakers didn’t put that kind of proviso in Mike D’Antoni’s contract.

Brian Russell

Studio City

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Jim Buss apparently thinks that Mike D’Antoni is the right coach for the Lakers. It’s the 18,997 fans who are wrong.

Richard Raffalow

Valley Glen

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So Phil Jackson is hired for $6,000 an hour to return the Knicks to their glory year(s), and his first management decision is to fire Coach Mike Woodson and his staff because the team doesn’t make the playoffs? Mr. Jackson may recall his own teams’ failures even though loaded with much more talent than the broken-down Knicks. Larry Brown is the only coach I can think of who wins at every level even though he had to start from scratch more often than not.

Unless Harry Houdini shows up to coach in Madison Square Garden next year these Knicks are not headed anywhere fast.

Kevin H. Park

Encino

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Going by the Lakers’ recent front-office track record, their new head coach will be Mike Woodson.

Gary H. Miller

Encino

Think blooper?

The greed of Frank McCourt drove me out of Dodger Stadium and now the greed of the new ownership team has driven the Dodgers out of my living room. Thank you, Dodgers.

Rob Erazim

Canyon Country

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Worst Dodgers trade of the century: Loyal fans for Time Warner Cable greed.

Kathi Trivers

Lake Arrowhead

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Although Cox basic cable offers the Pac-12 channel for free here in Orange County, in order to watch it in HD, I had to upgrade to a more expensive subscription. Perhaps Time Warner can also offer two tiers of service with Dodger broadcasts. In order to help with the stalemate, here are some other upgrades that could be considered:

— If you want to watch the Dodgers game live, you’ll need to upgrade, otherwise it’s delayed for one hour.

— If you want to watch the ninth or extra innings, you’ll need to upgrade.

— If you want to hear Vin Scully, you’ll need to upgrade, otherwise Ross Porter will be calling the action.

Don Geller

Irvine

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Magic Johnson is just as full of it as the rest of them! Gimme a stinkin’ break! “If something doesn’t happen soon,” he might have to intervene. NOW, he’s getting mad!?

Who cares if we watch the Dodgers on Fox or KCAL, or ESPN or FSW? It all worked just fine before and we got to watch the games and listen to Vinny. It wasn’t broke, and those idiots “fixed” it. They all will still be fat and happy, even if no one gets everything they want. The only ones not getting any satisfaction are the fans.

Maureen Melvin

Laguna Hills

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How much of the $8.35 billion are the Dodgers going to get when Time Warner Cable goes out of business?

Mistakes were made, both by the team owners and TWC. Why should the fans pay for their mistakes? We don’t even have a “Think Blue” sign anymore out on McCourt’s land. (I wonder why!) We have TV to remind us to be blue.

Keep the government out of it. Let DirecTV and others stick to their guns. We can wait.

It’s just a matter of dollars and cents. No magic required … or wanted (Capitalized or not.)

Enrique Otero

Rosemead

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Every game from now until Vin Scully calls it quits is something to be cherished. Shame on every executive who is involved with the negotiations that denies 70% of Los Angeles a once-in-a-lifetime talent like Vin. And three innings on radio does not soften the blow.

Tom Hansen

Oak Park

One of a kind

I have been watching professional baseball since 1943. That turn and throw to second base from deep right field by Yasiel Puig, against Arizona on Sunday, was absolutely the best play by a baseball player that I have ever seen. It even beats Jackie Robinson stealing home against the Yankees. Then, the three-run winning home run later in the game was not just icing on the cake, it was a whole new cake. The man is a truly exceptional baseball player.

Charles Jenner

Los Alamitos

Dead red

What’s all the fuss about Albert Pujols and 500 home runs when he hit almost all of them in St. Louis with the Cardinals? Wake me when he hits 500 home runs in Anaheim with the Angels.

V.J. Carollo

Upland

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I have a new idea for a defensive shift the Angels can use. When Ernesto Frieri is pitching, they could position the left fielder to play on the other side of the fence against right-handed hitters and have the right fielder do so against lefty batters.

Bob Cunningham

Riverside

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