Letters: Blake Griffin’s week of breaking bad

Whining, crying and flopping are one thing, but beating up an equipment manager is quite another. Maybe Blake Griffin needs a timeout. Hopefully the authorities, the Clippers and the NBA can help with that.

Marty Foster

Ventura

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Bill Plaschke’s comment that video of the altercation between Blake Griffin and Matias Testi will most likely show up on some website completely overlooks the fact that Griffin, based upon previous incidents, would have most likely attacked whomever had the nerve to film him beating up Testi.

Jim B. Parsons

Carpinteria

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“The team may suffer, but Clippers must send a clear message and severely punish Griffin.” So says Dr. Bill Plaschke. It appears the doctor prescribed the treatment before he was aware of what and how this illness occurred.

Jack Buss

Banning

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What is it about the Clippers — and Blake Griffin in particular — that makes it so tough for them to close out games, even with massive leads? It’s certainly not a lack of talent. Well, now we know. Griffin is so insecure that he can’t even take a little teasing from a close friend without pummeling his buddy in the face. Think how that lack of confidence affects him in the fourth quarter against NBA talent. It helps to explain why Griffin collapses under pressure, and it points to why the Clippers perform better without him.

Chris Boyd

Redondo Beach

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Dear Doc Rivers:

My daughter is a middle school counselor and is faced with resolving conflicts between young teenage students. She is also a Clippers season-ticket holder and would be more than willing to accompany your team on your next trip.

Wayne Muramatsu

Cerritos

Losing it

So Kobe Bryant wants his teammates to accept responsibility for all the losing this season? Of course, the kids are all lining up and saying that they heard his message loud and clear because they don’t want to get him angry at them. The best thing that could ever happen for the kids is when Kobe retires and Byron Scott is fired. Maybe the Lakers’ next coach will gain more respect from his players when he doesn’t have to be Kobe’s shill.

Cal Teraoka

Costa Mesa

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No question Shaq deserves his statue. I’m sure Kobe will get one. However, we’re still waiting for the man who made pro basketball big time in Southern California to get his replica outside of Staples. Where is Elgin Baylor’s statue?

Fred Wallin

Westlake Village

Blue men group

Mr. Plaschke, thanks for trying again, but it looks like while select fans will be driving on Vin Scully Avenue this year, the rest of us will again be stuck on Blackout Alley.

John Thompson

Downey

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Here we go again: Bill Plaschke is harping on about the Greater L.A. area not being able to watch Vin Scully’s final season of Dodgers broadcasts because of Time Warner Cable and the greedy Dodgers.

The last time I looked, the two corporations made what they both considered to be a good business decision. The Dodgers fans were happy that the Dodgers now had money to compete and TWC had an entertainment package they could resell.

Plaschke, at worst, must have a grudge to keep blaming the Dodgers for the situation, or at best is just naive to think the Dodgers are going to give money back to TWC.

Philip Franco

Yucaipa

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Wonder if there was a sportswriter in ancient Rome who bemoaned the fact that only a privileged few were able to witness the events that took place in the old Colosseum?

Ed Freeman

Moorpark

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The naming of Vin Scully Avenue as the entrance to Dodger Stadium is a wonderful tribute to the most admired man to ever live in Los Angeles. In addition, the city should rename an exit from the stadium “Guggenheim Partners Avenue” and hopefully they take this route out of the stadium and out of town, for good.

Marshall Yagan

Laguna Woods

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After reading Andy McCullough’s Jan. 27 piece on Dave Roberts and Yasiel Puig, it is confirmed that contract and ego weren’t the only things about Puig that have been bloated during his first 2 1/2 years in blue.

Bud Chapman

Northridge

Scout’s honor

What an inspiring story about Claire Dundee [“Showing her merit,” Jan. 24], the Girl Scout who willed a basketball court to fruition for children in a transitional apartment complex who were there as a result of domestic violence. Look what one teenager accomplished when she set her mind to complete a worthy cause. Imagine what could be completed if adults had as much determination as she did. The world would be such a better place.

Deborah R. Ishida

Beverly Hills

It takes a village?

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who frequently said education of our young people is his top priority, is not walking the talk.

UC students have trouble graduating in four years because of cutbacks in funding and course offerings. Many times, summer school is the only way to catch up.

So what happens to the Session C summer session students in August and September who are living in campus housing?

Garcetti and LA 2024 would have UCLA cancel 2024 summer sessions altogether. And Chancellor Gene Block, shame on you.

Andrew Ko

San Marino

That’s just Super

I sat in my $5 seat at the closed end of the Coliseum for the first Super Bowl that, by the way, wasn’t called that. I bet a buck on Lombardi’s Green Bay over Stram’s Kansas City.

I will go out on a limb and bet two bucks on the Panthers, who in my opinion are the easiest pick to win in 50 years.

For those who like football, win or lose, watch and see. Broncos fans go do something else, don’t punish yourselves.

Ken Johnson

Pinon Hills

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Last night at dinner, I said to my wife that I really like Camelot. The musical, she said? No, the quarterback.

James Caro

Irvine

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Was it just me, or did Tom Brady look a little deflated after losing Sunday?

Bob Paniagua

Susanville, Calif.

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