Letters: What a comeback for Bruins! What a comedown for Dodgers!

After watching the Trojans and the Bruins this past weekend, can someone please remind me why Los Angeles “needed” two mediocre NFL franchises?

Brian Lipson

Beverly Hills

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Well, if you are too young to have seen the legendary 1963 Rose Bowl, chin up; you just saw a game about as good there.

Andrew Sacks

Riverside, California

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Wasn’t it just a few years ago after the 4 a.m. firing of Lame Kiffin at LAX that Kirk Herbstreit, the so-called “best” college football analyst, said that the list of coaches USC should be interested in hiring after the season begins and ends with Kevin Sumlin?

I have not seen that many deer-in-headlights since leaving a concert one late night at the Greek Theatre!

Howard P. Cohen

North Hills

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Being a true-blue fan, that’s why I never leave a game early. You might see history.

Steve Shaevel

Woodland Hills

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I left early.

Jeff Black

Los Angeles

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How many loyal UCLA fans will reminisce years from now on being there for the exciting comeback victory? But the real question is, how many were actually in attendance at the end of the game? Looked like a lot of empty seats from the announced 64,000, and keep in mind a lot of the fans that stayed were heartbroken Texas A&M supporters. From the looks of things, the remaining fans couldn’t even have filled StubHub Center.

Richard Whorton

Studio City

Two wins for Trojans

After O.J. was paroled, and the new Cowlings Residential College opened on campus, who could be surprised that USC needed a very fast Carr to finally chase down the Broncos?

Steve Ross

Beverly Hills

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As a die-hard UCLA fan, I am loathe to give any credit to USC. But after reading the story of Jake Olson — the Trojans’ blind long snapper — I was compelled to give credit where credit’s due.

In getting Olson into the game against Western Michigan last Saturday so he could make a perfect long snap that led to a converted extra point, the Trojans personified what is best about collegiate athletics.

And in allowing one hard-working, inspirational student-athlete to realize his dream of overcoming a serious disability and playing in a major college football game, they made their school and its athletic program proud.

Gino Cirignano

Playa del Rey

Dodgers’ long slide

For nearly three decades, I have often used the euphemism “snakebit” to describe the Dodgers as they fail time and again to advance to the World Series. It seems that this year, the Diamondbacks are determined to put a much more literal spin to that term.

Dan Ferris

Monrovia

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I must be in the movie “Groundhog Day,” because every day I open up the sports section, the Dodgers’ magic number is still 13. In the words of Yogi Berra, “It’s like deja vu all over again.”

John Toth

Palmdale

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The next Sports Illustrated cover the Dodgers are on will have “Biggest choke ever.”

Steve Owen

San Diego

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I hope the Dodgers don’t pull a Texas A&M.

Vaughn Hardenberg

Westwood

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Two weeks ago I switched to Spectrum so that I could finally watch the Dodgers. I’m not saying I’m responsible for their recent losing, I’m just sayin’.

PJ Gendell

Beverly Hills

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So Dave Roberts has assured anyone who will listen that the Dodgers will win the division. I feel so much better now! If they don’t, I want Roberts to walk into the GM’s office after the season and hand in his resignation. Championships are not won in May, June and July. They are won in October. Nobody will remember their winning fortune. All they will remember is blowing a 22-game lead and seeing the World Series only on television.

Geno Apicella

Placentia

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It seems to me that by trading for Yu Darvish and Curtis Granderson, the Dodgers broke a basic rule of life:

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Marty Foster

San Francisco

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After watching my favorite team play all season with such exciting clutch play and a true bonding of team chemistry, it’s all of a sudden been yanked away from us. We don’t want to be watching spring training games in September. We don’t want to see Ethier or Gonzalez. We want that 43-7 team with Puig in his normal eighth spot.

Daryl Rosenberg

Sherman Oaks

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Even with Arizona owning the Dodgers number of late, still, it seems inconceivable that they could overtake Los Angeles by season’s end. But listen; that rumbling you may hear is Arizona pay-by-play announcer, Steve Berthiaume, clearing his pipes, poised to exclaim: “The D-backs win the pennant! The D-Backs win the pennant! The D-backs win the pennant!” Yeah, and no one thought it could happen in ‘51 either.

John R. Grush

Mission Viejo

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Be on alert Los Angeles, Hurricane Diamondback is heading toward Dodger Stadium. Should hit the area in October. Will cause significant damage.

Jim Amormino

Rancho Palos Verdes

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116 wins? Over .700 winning percentage? Best team ever? Get real. Let’s face it. Our guys were playing way over their heads for most of the season, and now we’re back to reality. Seager, Bellinger, Turner, Kershaw, Jansen, etc. are enough to get us into the playoffs and the World Series. So I say to all Dodgers fans, just enjoy the moment. We can go all the way. We just gotta get back the confidence (and the pitching and hitting). It’s a long season. See ya in October.

Marty Zweben

Palos Verdes Estates

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Dear Dave Roberts,

Just so I understand, the plan is to lose 34 of the last 35 games to send a message to the rest of the playoff-bound teams that the Dodgers have forgotten how to win so they will be overconfident? We will do that by continuing to audition September call-ups while we dot the lineup with regulars who can’t hit, like Forsythe, Granderson, Pederson and Grandal, and if by some chance the game is still close late we use our ace in the bullpen, Pedro Baez, to implode, guaranteeing the loss?

Then we roll through the playoffs, beating these overconfident opponents and win the World Series for the first time since 1988 and you get back-to-back manager of the year awards? Brilliant strategy.

Larry Weiner

Culver City

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The Dodgers stormed to their spectacular record because the pitching staff kept games close enough that the offense was able to post 10 come-from-behind victories. But with Dave Roberts leaving in starters who obviously don’t have their best stuff, coupled with choosing the wrong relievers at seemingly every turn, L.A. has surrendered an average of almost six runs a game during this slide. The Dodgers’ flirtation with MLB’s best-ever record has gone down the drain, and Arizona, the team L.A. is most likely to face in the postseason, has now beaten the Dodgers six straight times. Roberts may not be worried, but this fan is.

Brian C Gura

Redondo Beach

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This entire season the Dodgers have been unwatchable. But that was because with my TV system I literally could not watch them. Who would have guessed they’d become unwatchable even to those who can?

Josh Clark

San Gabriel

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If Dave Roberts needs to use a Baez as a relief pitcher, use Joan!

Don Kipper

Los Angeles

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Is it possible that this pathetic, four-year, Dodgers TV blackout is festering into a karmic curse? “The Spectrum Curse” “The 70% Curse” “The Sold Your Soul Curse?”

David Waldowski

Laguna Woods

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I think it is time for Dave Roberts to pass out to his team literature about the Brooklyn Dodgers’ season of 1951.

Alan Abajian

Alta Loma

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The major league baseball season has been likened to running a marathon. If that’s the case, the Dodgers appear to have “hit the wall.”

D.G. Artis

Woodland Hills

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In a season that has been so improbable, I’m praying the unthinkable doesn’t happen.

Anthony Moretti

Lomita

Soccer blahs

Once again the U.S. soccer team shows where they stand in the world. They’ll more than likely qualify for the World Cup in spite of the horrible home loss to Costa Rica. They will probably get out of the first round of the World Cup next year but no further. So nothing will change for our status as also-rans. Until this country decides that mediocrity is not acceptable nothing will change.

Jonathan Vaughan

Long Beach

Big driver brand

The article on LaMelo Ball mentioned that he “drove his shiny new Lamborghini.” Please correct this misprint. There is no way that a responsible father like LaVar Ball would corrupt his 16-year-old son’s value structure like this!

Bob Lentz

Sylmar

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