Letters: A flop of a World Cup final

If the NBA Finals were run like the World Cup:

The umpteenth flop by Paul Pierce finally gains the referee’s eye: Derek Fisher is assessed his second yellow card and ejected from the game. Kobe, Pau, Ron, and Lamar, the remaining Lakers in the game, put up a valiant fight but eventually succumb to the 5-on-4 superiority of the Celtics as Boston claims its 18th NBA championship on the floor of the Staples Center.

Thank you, America, for getting it right.

Paul Brown

Newport Beach

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The most exciting thing to happen in this entire World Cup was Paul the Octopus’ perfect record.

The final? Let’s review:

Almost 120 minutes of breathtaking tackles, yellow cards, blown shots, and blown calls resulting in a “spectacular” 1-0 win for Spain. Wonderful.

Want to make soccer watchable and relevant? Get rid of that stupid offsides penalty within the penalty box area, and, utilize instant replay to legitimize a win or loss.

Soccer is not steeped in tradition — it’s drowning in it.

Please tell the international soccer powers that be to get in the 21st century. Maybe then, the “beautiful game” will not be so boring!

Rick Solomon

Lake Balboa

Soccer is criticized for lack of scoring.

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The World Cup had 145 goals in 64 matches. That’s 2.25 goals per match.

On Tuesday the All-Star game score was 3-1. That’s four runs total.

A soccer game was 90 minutes and the All-Star game was 180 minutes.

World Cup soccer thus had more scoring per minute than baseball’s showcase.

But maybe both should adopt the NFL’s exaggerated scoring and make every score worth six points.

Bob Munson

Newbury Park

Stadium wars

Bill Plaschke, each and every one of your comments comparing Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium [July 10] relies upon simplistic reasoning. It seems you are more interested in going to a game for superficial and consumer reasons, rather than actually watching the game itself. If you want fireworks and fountains, I suggest going to Disneyland. If you want to participate in grand history of watching baseball, then Dodger Stadium — with its beautiful setting and near perfect sightlines — is the place to visit.

You may call them “low ceilings, dark corners, and claustrophobic concourses,” but I am proud to call them the best place to watch baseball in all of America.

Andrew L. Kubasek

Santa Ana

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Dodger Stadium has something that Anaheim Stadium will never have. It’s got soul. Tearing down Dodger Stadium for the sake of efficiency, or scoring an All-Star Game would break the heart of a city. It would break the heart of this girl, who moved to the OC seven years ago. I still make the trip to Chavez Ravine to wait in the lines, cheer in the narrow concourses, and slip in the bathrooms of the greatest living baseball stadium on earth.

Amanda Erlinger

Laguna Beach

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I disagree with Bill Plaschke’s conclusion that it’s time for Dodger Stadium to be turned into a heap of waste and rubble. I vigorously applaud the Dodgers for their environmentally and culturally sound decision to “mend it, not end it.” For beauty, warmth, and history, no stadium surpasses “the House where Koufax pitched” — and certainly not Plaschke’s preference, sterile Angel Stadium. After 50 years, I’ve never lost the wonder of walking into those “claustrophobic” (!?) Dodger Stadium concourses and seeing the bright colors of the playing field open before my eyes.

Joel Reynolds

Los Angeles

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Nice hatchet job by Bill Plaschke on Dodger Stadium.

Unfortunately, it’s all true. Plaschke didn’t even mention the overpriced mall food, or the disgrace of Dodger Dogs (average a few years ago, they’re all but inedible now). I also seem to recall Frank McCourt promising to build a beautiful new concourse entrance. Instead, we get a tacky merchandise tent blocking what used to be a main entrance, making fans walk up, down and around to get to their seats.

The McCourts bought the Dodgers as a moneymaking enterprise. Well, in a few months their lawyers will have all the money. Too bad Dodgers fans keep getting stuck holding the bag.

Bonnie Sloane

Los Angeles

Growing in Jersey?

Pop quiz: Which one of the following in this list does not belong?

Taft High, UCLA, two-time NBA champion Los Angeles Laker, New Jersey Net.

Jordan Farmar may want to have a conversation with Devean George before he says, “This is an opportunity to grow in my career.”

Tucker Sandler

Los Angeles

Who are these guys?

Last weekend I went to Chavez Ravine and an Albuquerque Isotopes game broke out. The starting catcher, third baseman and left fielder modeling Dodger blue (Messrs. Ellis, Carroll and Paul) had a combined total of zero homers in 2010. Ronnie Belliard, the starting second baseman, was six years and 30 pounds beyond his prime. And the trio of underpowering arms trotting to the mound were, in order, John Ely, Travis Schlichting and Carlos Monasterios, names even Peter Gammons would have trouble identifying.

Joe Torre must be a miracle worker because the lack of minor and major league talent in the organization is startling.

Jeff Green

Long Beach

Bye, George

If George Steinbrenner had owned the Dodgers I guarantee they would have won at least one World Series since 1988. The man wanted to win and used his big-city revenue to build “the best team money can buy.” What is the Dodgers’ excuse?

Mike Gamboa

Buena Park

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Two elderly icons of great sports success recently died. John Wooden and George Steinbrenner. Both of them representative of winning. However, they represent the opposite ends of the spectrum in their approaches. Wooden did his with understatement, attention to detail, a focus on process, an expectation, and respect for maximum effort, and pursuit of excellence. Excellence was the ultimate goal. This made him the winningest college basketball coach in history. And every athlete of his has testified that he never mentioned winning as a goal, just giving the effort that would allow you to hold your head high — win or lose.

Steinbrenner did his winning with bluster, threat, public embarrassment of players and managers, public demands to win or else, and throwing gobs of money at the players. If you weren’t a winner, you were a loser, plain and simple. To be disdained. And no doubt he created an all-time winning franchise with that philosophy.

I much prefer the Wooden way.

Franklyn Ajaye

Los Angeles

L.A. law

Asked about a possible boycott of the All-Star game in Arizona next year to protest perceived racial profiling, Tom Lasorda said, “Are we condoning people who are here illegally? What’s going on here? They broke the law.” Asked about convicted felon George Steinbrenner, Lasorda said, “All he was was a winner.”

It reminds me of the guy who sped past me at 80 mph last week in a 65-mph zone with a bumper sticker reading, “What part of illegal don’t you understand?”

Brian Fodera

Los Angeles

Falling stars

The day of the relevance of the All-Star games has passed. If they can no longer attract fans or sponsors without dunk contests or home run contests or FanFests, then let them die a quiet death.

MLB has made the worst choice of a bailout by linking their game to the World Series. They have not enhanced the All-Star game. They have injured the World Series.

Kevin Minihan

Los Angeles

He’s a doll

A Manny Ramirez action figure? Isn’t that an oxymoron?

Keri Scaggs

Topanga

Recruiting tool

Are you telling me not one person in the Clippers organization thought to show LeBron James the Photoshop-enhanced pictures of bikini-clad beauties that frequent Donald Sterling properties?

David Look

Newport Beach

The other decision

Dear Mike Garrett:

Just in case you’re wondering, there won’t be any outrage if you reveal via an interview with Jim Gray that you’re leaving USC. I promise.

Mark Backstrom

Redondo Beach

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