Nothing Worse Than a Pele-Come-Lately

Reading Mike Penner’s article on Steve Sampson and the U.S. soccer team [June 18] really got my goat. Your sports department gives soccer very little play, and to have some sportswriter who does not know anything when it comes to soccer second-guessing Sampson after one game against one of the top two teams in the world is a joke.

The 3-6-1 lineup works well when executed right, and it’s not something Sampson dreamed up, like Penner suggests. I’m a big fan of Lalas and Balboa, but they are sloooooow! Burns has speed all over both of them and he still needed help. You want to second-guess, try baseball or football.

GEORGE HIRVELA, Riverside

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Hello, Mike Penner, my name is Dr. Adams. I’m here to make you well. As I understand it, you are a soccerholic. You carry soccer balls in the trunk of your car, and you are addicted to a game where the players run back and forth on a field, kicking a ball but never scoring a goal. Might I say, Mr. Penner, that this is analogous to watching a basketball game where both teams run fast breaks and always miss their shots. It says here you get goose bumps from a nil-nil game. Mr. Penner, you are a sick man, and we will need to continue this treatment for however long it takes to cure you.

That will be $150. Please pay on your way out.

RICHARD W. ADAMS, Long Beach

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Your apology over the “sand soccer” comment to the Iranian community was ridiculous. Read Rosenberg’s column in Monday’s Calendar. Why not apologize to Del Harris; he was called a lizard in a letter. Or the Saudis for comparing them to pastry in a headline.

It’s time we all got a little backbone over all the absurd political nonsense complaints.

NORMAN ROSEN, Rolling Hills Estates