Letters: In defense of Derek Fisher

I’m a little out of sorts, what with not seeing all those letters from the folks who had been writing The Times and telling Phil Jackson and everyone in L.A. how Derek Fisher was washed up and “Doesn’t Phil have enough sense to bench Fish?”

Hmm? Do you think maybe Phil actually knows a little bit more about what constitutes talent in the NBA than all those armchair shooters?

I’m laughing out loud at the greatly exaggerated demise of D-Fish and his detractors getting their comeuppance in the form of tenacious defense and swishing three-pointers.

Mark Kilgore

Mar Vista

Bill Plaschke’s article calls hypocrisy a family value in Utah. Such a comment is extremely offensive. He takes events in a BASKETBALL GAME and uses it to criticize a much larger group of people than a group of basketball fans. I find this an irritating display of arrogance. How many Utahans does Mr. Plaschke even know personally? Booing a basketball player is not commensurate with booing a father and family man. So please try to refrain from allowing articles that unjustly criticize an entire group of people based on the actions of a few.

Nathan Harris

Sandy, Utah

Plaschke and Simers were as extreme in their slashing and burning of Utah fans as those fans were in taunting Derek Fisher at last Saturday’s Lakers/Jazz game. The locals were not “ripping a man for leaving town to care for his cancer-stricken daughter,” as Plaschke said. No, they were “ripping” Derek for leaving their Jazz to become a Laker. No doubt the Lakers are the Jazz’s prime nemesis. Add to that the Lakers’ perceived arrogance as reigning NBA champs, and there is no shortage of extreme emotions. In sports, emotion will always crush reason — isn’t “fan” short for “fanatic”?

Joseph I. Bentley

Corona del Mar

Do I think Fish is a great player? Yes. Do I think Fish is a great father? Yes. Did I boo Fish every time he touched the ball? Yes. Do I think I’m a hypocrite? Heck no.

Fish left the Jazz for his daughter. He went to L.A. for himself. Fish used to fly 5+ hours from SLC to get to the very best doctors for his daughter. Very commendable considering there were good enough doctors in L.A. If Fish went to N.Y., he would have fizzled faster than Stephon Marbury with his 0.4 seconds of fame. However, he saw an opportunity to play with Kobe again and chose L.A., where he still would be considered a great player.

It’s just a bit sad, and some would say hypocritical, that the best doctors are now even farther away.

Sam Nelson

Las Vegas

And the pitching problems continue

Watching the Dodger debacle in the 8-0 loss to Colorado, I felt sorry for Charlie Haeger as he didn’t retire a hitter, but felt angrier and angrier at management for trying to do it on the cheap.

Most of the time in baseball you get what you pay for, and since the McCourts own seven homes, paying their mortgages trumped signing a Wolf, a Lee or a Halladay!

Fred Wallin

Westlake Village

Charlie Haeger has inspired me to believe that I can become a major league pitcher.

Ron Reynolds (age 60)

Van Nuys

The First Axiom of baseball is “Good pitching beats good hitting.” The Second Axiom is “To win championships, you must have good pitching and good defense.” One wonders what might have been if the Dodgers or Angels had gone after Roy Halladay last July when he was available from the Blue Jays. That summer, Manny Ramirez and Torii Hunter, two guys who should know, pleaded with management to get some pitching before heading into the playoffs. Nothing was done! Both teams were stopped short of the World Series and this year are floundering with bad and inconsistent pitching. Maybe the third axiom should be, “To win championships, you have to have SMART people in the front office!” Like the Lakers.

Paul L. Hovsepian

Sierra Madre

Everyone loves to bash Ned Colletti for the Dodgers’ pitching woes, when it was Frank McCourt who refused to allow Colletti to spend the money necessary to sign a front-line starter.

What he did was to bring in two relatively inexpensive players, Jamey Carroll and Reed Johnson, without whom the team would be in deep trouble.

Give the guy some credit for doing an almost impossible job.

Ralph S. Brax

Lancaster

There’s just no comparing them

Those that compare high school football coaching salaries unfavorably with science or math teacher salaries miss an important point. Coaching salaries are established in a competitive environment with no job guaranty.

Salaries of math and science teachers are established by unions, and it’s the union leaders who get the spoils. For non-union teachers, the unions still set the benchmark, just as coaching salaries are benchmarked against the open marketplace.

Also, it’s very doubtful that those coaches would be paid what they are if the programs they run did not contribute, directly and indirectly, to the economics and image of the school.

Coaches compete fiercely to win; teacher’s unions compete fiercely to secure benefits and job security, and just as fiercely to avoid any performance measurements.

You get what you pay for.

Kip Dellinger

Santa Monica

What could he have been thinking?

Dear Grahame Jones,

I don’t know any football/soccer fan who would NOT list Diego Maradona’s second goal against England in the June 22, 1986, World Cup match as the greatest moment in World Cup history (the one where he majestically dribbled through the whole English team as if they were all just a bunch of little schoolgirls).

You didn’t even list it in your top 10! What gives?!

You must be an Englishman holding a grudge! (That may be the reason for “Devil’s hand” being listed in second place.)

Roy Maclean

Santa Monica

Re: “For fans of Mexico’s national soccer team, one true love”

As a proud American, I wholeheartedly root for the Mexico national team. It has always been a struggle for me to understand why I’ve always cheered for El Tri and not for the U.S. or why I watch Liga Mexicana soccer and not MLS. Although the U.S. is rapidly growing as a soccer market, it is impossible for me to love them like I love the green team. I walk in the same shoes as Juan Tovar as a Mexican American and as a Mexico fan. The reason, I believe, for our loyalty for futbol and not soccer, is that since childhood we were brought up by our parents to love futbol and to live by it and let it become part of our lives. We were taught to play by watching Campos, Hermosillo and Blanco as we were taught manners by our parents. As we have one love for our parents, we have one love for El Tri.

Miguel Rodriguez

Los Angeles

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