Blake Earned the Right to Be Booed in L.A.

I do not know why Bill Plaschke continues to embarrass himself with incoherent hockey columns, but I am most grateful for the laughs his writing brings. Rob Blake has been booed at the Kings’ playoff games because he chose to make more money rather than accept the Kings’ offer. He chose to turn down their offer and leave Los Angeles. End of story.

Misguided Dodger fans may have cheered Gary Sheffield and allowed his one home run to offset his many caustic comments, but King fans recognize a greedy athlete when they see one. Would you rather see the Kings’ owners just give the players whatever they want to earn, and then jack up the prices so the fans can pay for the errors of their ways?

Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller were not booed in their return to Colorado because they were not holding their team ransom in search of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Every simplistic point Plaschke raised on May 1 is so obviously refuted by the facts that it defies logic as to why his puff piece was even given space.

ART WARREN

Redondo Beach

*

Bill Plaschke’s whiny, maudlin, hand-wringing plea for King fans to stop booing Rob Blake is positively nauseating. What’s next? Should I expect Plaschke to come out of the press box and challenge booing King fans to a fight? Will Plaschke demand to be called King Boy?

Someone needs to clue Plaschke in to the fact that, much like the unwritten code of hockey enforcers (or that of “The Sopranos”) the booing isn’t personal, it’s business. It has been eight years since the Kings went this deep into the playoffs, and King fans are simply trying to give their team any edge they can in their own building.

This isn’t Centre Court at Wimbledon or the 18th at Pebble Beach, where polite applause is de rigueur; this is stubble-growing, teeth-losing, bone-crunching, blood-and-sweat, bigger-than-life-and-death NHL playoff hockey, something that transcends the sport and the sporting world, a concept far beyond Plaschke’s limited grasp.

I suggest leaving coverage of hockey to the very knowledgeable and capable Helene Elliott and Elliott Teaford, and restricting Plaschke to something far more simple, something within his span of understanding, say USC-Notre Dame football.

MATTHEW L. DADAY

Rowland Heights

*

Monday night’s game at Staples Center was an example of how much King fans respect Rob Blake. They booed him because of how great a player he was for the Kings. Fans know how much he meant to the Kings’ success and what he did for this city. Rob was Kings’ hockey for a long time in this town. However, these are the Stanley Cup playoffs and the fans were emotional for their team. Blake can’t take it personally. He’s been in this game long enough to know that puck fans are die-hards.

DAVID SINGER

West Los Angeles