Drama Critic Doesn’t Like Plaschke

Bill Plaschke, I’m writing this letter for the mechanic of Norwalk, the milkman of Torrance, The Times sports section reader of Panorama City.

I’m writing this letter for the journalism teacher who taught you to repeat the first words of several consecutive sentences as an easy trick to add drama to an article.

I’m writing this letter for Jerry Bruckheimer, whose dramatic subtlety you have emulated so well. I’m writing this letter for Kobe Bryant, Jason Allison and that dreadlocked homeless MAN who just wanted to feel the glow of the Olympic torch of hope that you so dramatically carried.

But most importantly, oh you writer of articles, I’m writing this letter for me because I’m tired of being bludgeoned over the head by your constant over-dramatizing of sports.

By treating every free throw, every single, every completed pass and slap shot as an event to heal the wounds of humanity, you cheapen the truly dramatic moments in sports that are special enough that we don’t need to read about them to understand their significance. Please give us a break.

If the front-page journalists of The Times can cover devastating events with delicacy, I’m sure you can find a way to cover a Kobe Bryant pass the same way.

Jesse Saivar

Los Angeles