Conspiracy Theories Abound in the NBA

Kobe Bryant should have been suspicious when the tall waiter who delivered that cheeseburger looked an awful lot like Vlade Divac.

Eddie Koblitz

Los Angeles

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Is Shaq Deep Throat or just Big Mouth? I don’t know. But I do know that you did not report the story.

The dominant big man on the championship team did not make what you characterized as “thinly veiled complaints about the officiating.” He alleged game fixing, fraud and a criminal conspiracy to extend the series through biased officiating for the monetary benefit of the NBA.

Hot air? Sour grapes? Another bad hotel meal? Maybe. But it deserves to be taken seriously as a story. Prove him wrong and make him shut up or see if there is a pattern in how early playoff games are called and how referees are assigned.

In any other section of the paper, such serious allegations would not be dismissed without either investigation or commentary.

Jonathan Dobrer

Encino

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Shaq, are you so arrogant and full of yourself that you think the only way your team can be beaten is by cheating? Everyone knows that’s what you meant by your statement. That’s funny, because if anyone can be associated with that word it is you. You are one of the greatest players in the game. Don’t tarnish that by being a whiner. There are enough of those on other teams, including my Kings.

Alan Kinne

Sacramento

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For Shaquille O’Neal to whine about officiating is like Osama bin Laden complaining about airport security.

Colby Carr

Manhattan Beach

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Kudos to Tim Brown for his article on the Robert Horry family [May 23]. Robert has been the heart and soul (and the X-factor) of the Lakers for the last few years.

I have never heard him complain about his daughter’s disease, nor anything else for that matter. I will try to remember that the next time I am feeling aggravated while sitting in traffic or something else as banal. Robert is a true inspiration.

Sean P. Gwin

Hollywood

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As a native Angeleno, I’m pleased to point out that you’ll never hear L.A. fans chanting “Beat (fill-in name of any U.S. city here)!” at our sports venues.

Valley girls? No change of seasons? Fans who leave early? Guilty on all counts. But an inferiority complex? Never.

Ed Hewlett

Los Angeles