Letters: Trojans definitely made errors of admission

Comical, actually, the feigned indignation about corruption in USC’s sports programs (and other schools as well). A coach or two gets fired, although they probably will be taken care of behind the scenes, people will wail and bemoan the lack of ethics, but it will soon blow over and before we can blink an eye it will be the same old song but with different singers.

College athletics is big business and money speaks. Cynical? No, just realistic.

Jay James

Pico Rivera

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This is why you cannot spell scandal without SC.

Neil Snow

Manhattan Beach

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Bill Plaschke obviously hasn’t been around long enough to remember USC’s reputation as a school for spoiled rich kids and thugs that were recruited for the football team. In the last 20 years the academics have been raised, but athletics is the money maker and blaming Lynn Swan is a misdirected joke! The school obviously hired Swann because of his status as a star athlete, not his experience running a college athletic program. Blame the higher-ups at USC for not doing their homework when recruiting an AD.

Cathy Wood

Malibu

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While the revelation of college admission bribery is disheartening, the responses of some close to USC are just laughable. For interim president Wanda Austin to try to spin this as USC being victimized and for Arash Markazi to pine on about the strengths of the school is just cowardly. USC as a “place of higher education” has a chance right now to look integrity and honesty in the face and put an end to this extended pattern of gross institutional negligence.

John M. Clark

Saugus

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If keeping track of such sordid matters at USC, it seems a bribe in the hand is worth two in the Bush. Oh, the shame and hypocrisy of it all — right, Reggie?

Steve Ross

Beverly Hills　

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Mr. Plaschke, USC fans have not given Lynn Swann a free pass. If you follow Trojan fans on social media, or sat anywhere in the Coliseum last season, conversations have been brutal in expressing the need to fire him, Your sports page has been more than thorough in reporting this payoff scandal to get the unqualified students admission into USC. I’m looking forward to your next article about the UCLA booster that entered the “side door” to pay off Swann to retain another unqualified admit — Clay Helton.

Judy Thomsen

Glendora

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Agreed, Swann needs to go. He has been a great Trojan over the years, but when major problems arise within the department, then the head guy has to fall. Probably all the fraud and deceit was kept secret from Swann, so it is a difficult to see Mr. Swann have to pay the price. On second thought, if Mr. Swann can prove that he was deceived by these underlings, then he deserves a chance to prove it. Sticking with coach Helton is not a reason to dismiss him.

Chet Chebegia

San Marcos

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The headline was stunning, the story sending shock waves through the NCAA and jolting the senses of readers who had no idea about the situation. USC has a crew team?

Richard Turnage

Burbank

Nothing to see here

Per Tom Rutledge, CEO of Charter Communications, “We want the Dodgers on every outlet and we are committed to making that happen.” “

Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred stated “We are tracking this complicated matter closely and will continue to do everything we can in hopes of finding a solution that would serve the interest of all parties.”

According to team spokesman Steve Brener, “The Dodgers continue to try to resolve the situation.”

The late Yogi Berra best sums up all the double-speak and greed-driven duplicity:　 “You can observe a lot by just watching.”

Bill Waxman

Simi Valley

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Bill Shaikin’s Dodgers report places the blame for the lack of TV coverage on the Dodgers. Maybe it was Time Warner Cable that overpaid for the TV rights, not the Dodgers asking for $8.35 billion.　

I think that TWC thought they could recover part of the cost by selling rights to DirecTV and others, who were too smart to overpay the outrageous price TWC wanted to charge.

Jerry Davis

Woodland Hills

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Not the first time flame-throwing Joe Kelly was involved in a Dodger-related injury while cooking. This time he was frying Cajun crawfish. Last time he smoked Hanley Ramirez’s ribs.

Paul Feinsinger

Agoura Hills

Off the ball

Congratulations to Chino Hills boys basketball team who won another CIF Division 1 without the Ball brothers.

I wonder how Mr. Ball is thinking now. His youngest son should have been playing for his hometown high school but you know who, took him out of school.

Gee, how is his “plan” working out for his two other sons now? I feel bad for them.

Oh, by the way, how’s Mr. Ball’s shoe and clothing line doing? Thought so.

Imelda Carranza

Corona

Beautiful game

As I read the article, “Fantastic Boosts”, by LZ Granderson, I marveled at the genius behind the LAFC executives’ marketing strategy. Going door to door to sell soccer? Wow! Fascinated, I did a little further research and actually found the sales pitch questionnaire used by the executives:

1) Do you have a good enough arm to throw debris from the second row onto the field?

2) If someone wears a jersey from the opposing team, will you fight them, no questions asked?

3) Last, and most importantly, are you or were you ever a Raiders fan?

Check, check, check! Welcome aboard, please sign here!

Matt Harrell

Huntington Beach

Oh, yeah, the Lakers

Jeanie Buss needs to understand that running a billion-dollar company such as the Lakers is not the same as passing notes in junior high. You can’t just impulsively hire people like Magic and make him president of basketball operations. He is unqualified, just as he was when he briefly tried coaching.

The proof is there as Johnson has already made the Lakers the laughing stock of the league. He is rapidly becoming the new Isiah Thomas.

Finally, Buss has committed the cardinal sin: She has let the Clippers take over L.A.

It’s time for her to sell to someone who knows what they’re doing.

Axel Hubert

Los Angeles

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Lakers need outside shooting? Could have kept D. Russell and Lou Williams. Need rim protection and power down low? Could have kept J. Randle and I. Zubac. Add those four to LeBron James, and you would still have cap space left to shop around. That would have given us two All-Stars and the highest scoring sixth man in NBA history.

David Waldowski

Laguna Woods

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Now that LeBron is a part-timer and Lakers management has decided to throw in the towels and run a purple and gold Washington Generals facsimile out there for the last 15 games, has that same management also decided to refund or discount for these last few exhibition scrimmages to their season-ticket holders?

Roger Sypek

Lakewood, Ca. 90712　

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Jerry > Rob + Earvin

Dean Yoshimura

Yorba Linda

Get serious

Sean McVay deflected a question whether Rams star running back Todd Gurley suffers from arthritis and Les Snead quips if it were arthritis,”‘all you got to do is take Aleve.” Kenley Jensen suffered from heart arrhythmia and the organization was open about his condition and treatment. Either knee problems are more dangerous and private than heart ones, or the NFL continues to prefer burying information regarding player health.

Konrad Moore

San Diego

Strike three

I’m through with MLB in general and the Dodgers specifically. The game this 63-year-old black man grew up loving as a kid in San Diego who fell asleep most spring and summer nights listening to Vin Scully on KFI is no longer something I have interest in.

I don’t recognize the game today and yes, the lack of African American players has a lot to do with it. All of us want to see “us” represented in something we watch. That’s just a simple fact of nature. But, just as I rooted for Maury Wills, Tommy and Willie Davis, Jim Gilliam, Roseboro, etc., I also rooted for Sandy, “Big D,” Osteen, Sutton, Cey, Garvey, etc, etc. I rooted for a team that played great baseball and looked like America.

But even more today, the brand of baseball based on analytics and constant roster churning simply doesn’t interest me. Add in the fact that in order to watch the Dodgers on TV, I’d have to change from a provider I love to one with one of the worst service records in cable history is borderline insane.

RIP Major League Baseball, it was fun while it lasted.

Charles L. Freeman Jr.

Baldwin Hills

Ouch

What do the Dodgers and Lakers have in common? They both play exhibition games in March.

Bennett Beebe

Westwood

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