Letters: NBA dominates the week

All is right in the world. The overpaid chipmunk with a bruised tailbone is being sent to the NBA’s equivalent of Siberia. You don’t disrespect Donald Sterling and cash your paychecks without earning them. Coming into camp overweight and out of shape was the last straw. Baron Davis was not loved in the locker room and you could tell that Eric Gordon did not appreciate him playing only when he felt like it.

Good riddance.

Gary Pinson

Sylmar

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Baron Davis may not have been the answer to the Clippers’ prayers, but he and Blake Griffin had formed a nice bond and were clicking on the court. Trading Davis to Cleveland at this juncture was another in an unending series of bad moves by this franchise. Worse, it will serve notice to Griffin that Donald Sterling is a totally inept owner and that his basketball future lies elsewhere.

Charles Reilly

Manhattan Beach

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I suppose now that Donald Sterling has foisted off Baron Davis’ contract to the Cavaliers, we can expect double the number of ads in your paper for his philanthropic and other endeavors.

Joe Cohen

Los Angeles

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Barnum & Bailey couldn’t do it better. The NBA All-Star spectacle has outgrown Staples and needs the L.A. Coliseum to display dunkers shot out of a cannon and over elephants. The only thing missing in this Oscar-worthy three-ring circus was any real basketball.

Troy Ronald

Pacific Palisades

DeMar DeRozan eschews props to enhance slam-dunk competitions? After whining about Blake Griffin winning the event, he apparently used one. Dunking while holding a bunch of sour grapes is apparently a lost art.

Bobbi Carnes-Kelly

Simi Valley

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After Blake Griffin’s name dominated the first two days of the All Star weekend, is it any surprise that the egomaniacal Kobe Bryant would go all out to win the oh-so-important MVP award ? Did Bryant go up to Bill Russell, wearing his recently awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom, and say, “Nice medal, Bill. Where can I get one?” Has Bryant already written, as the first line of his acceptance speech to the Hall of Fame, “First off, I’d like to thank me?” No doubt.

Bert Bergen

La Canada

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The NBA should be ashamed. How could they have Cee Lo Green sing That Song in front of a national audience on Saturday night and then show Kanye West running around holding his crotch on Sunday? What type of fans do they want to attract? I hope that David Stern’s grandkids were watching and asked him what Cee Lo said that had to be bleeped so many times. Even better, I hope they were there so they heard the lyrics and can go to school and sing the song to their teachers and classmates while they grab themselves.

Sophie Perry

Los Angeles

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Would you go to the theater and boo the top actors? Would you go to the Academy Awards and boo a winner? Would you go to any all-star event, of any nature, and boo the best of the best? I guess you would if you lived in L.A.

I was appalled when I heard the boos of the Celtics in the All-Star game. It was an entertaining afternoon. Even the players appeared to be relaxed and having fun. Apparently, the people of L.A. didn’t get the memo. This was the All-Star game — not the Celtics vs. the Lakers. Shame on you.

Mo Levasseur

Rowley, Mass.

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Hey, Vinny Del Negro: In case you didn’t notice, Blake Griffin played in the rookie game on Friday, won the slam dunk contest on Saturday, played in the All-Star game on Sunday, traveled to Oklahoma City for a road game on Tuesday where he had 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and the next day you have the nerve to play him 43 minutes in a back-to-back road game you lost by 11 points. What are you thinking?

I know all you care about is winning at all costs so that you can keep your job, but we would like to have a future star on the Clippers and not another Danny Manning with chronic knee problems, so use some common sense.

I wish Blake Griffin was not such a nice person. Otherwise, maybe he would act more like LeBron and try to run you out of town.

Robert Saltzman

Sherman Oaks

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I feel really bad for the fans and city of Sacramento. This is a typical case of, “If I don’t get my way, I’m going to take my ball and leave.”

Joe and Gavin Maloof should be ashamed of themselves, but of course, they don’t care. I hope that Mr. Stern, along with Jerry Buss and Donald Sterling, put a stop to this nonsense. If the Maloofs are not happy in Sacramento, then they should sell the Kings to someone, and I am sure there are plenty of interested parties.

Bob McLaughlin

San Simeon

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The only team that should move to Anaheim is the Clippers. There, they could establish themselves, be out of the shadow of the Lakers and have a place to hang Blake Griffin’s jersey when he retires.

Alan Matis

Sherman Oaks

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With all due respect to Jamaal Wilkes, his inclusion as a finalist for the basketball Hall of Fame is exactly the reason why the Hall no longer garners the respect that it once did. When did good role players become synonymous with the likes of Magic, Jordan, Wilt and Bird?

Greg Ersesyan

North Hollywood

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Well, it must be getting close to the NBA playoffs. The letter writers are ready to trade all the Lakers players and replace Phil Jackson with Jerry Sloan, who has never won a championship. Of course by June they will be singing a new tune, as the team has found a reason to play hard, and the same fans will be standing in line to buy overpriced tickets.

Ralph S. Brax

Lancaster

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First Carmelo to the Knicks; then Deron Williams to the Nets. If only Kobe and the Lakers can get rid of that pesky Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki, they would have the top spot in the West and another Finals trip in the bag!

Mark S. Roth

Los Angeles

Local trouble

The Angels’ starting lineup represents the poorest return on salary investment of any major league team. The $140-million payroll sports the likes of Mathis, Bourjos, Izturis and Aybar — all marginal as front-line major league starters. The bench is even worse. Teams with half the Angels’ payroll are just as competitive.

The fault must surely lie at the general manager level. That Arte Moreno approves all of this does not say much for him keeping Tony Reagins or his interest in putting a good product on the field.

Joe Bonino

Glendale

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UZR? VORP? FOX? Perhaps the McCourts could add FAIL to their vocabulary.

Howard Mationg

Gardena

It won’t stop

Thanks to Bill Dwyre for putting Dave Duerson’s horrifically tragic suicide in exactly the right spotlight. Sadly, though, he is mistaken about one critical assumption. The sports-crazed public will never boycott the NFL to bring about a change for the better regarding head injuries. The ethos of the Roman Colosseum still rules — we are a Bud Light/”Jackass” nation. Super Bowl commercials featured nothing if not the selling tool of violence — from a dog smacking down his Doritos-waving tormentor, to a Pepsi can fired into the groin, to Roseanne being cleaned out by a log on behalf of Snickers.

Mayhem for our entertainment is treated today as a God-given right more precious than free speech, and if the mighty are falling on the field of competition, not to worry, there’s plenty more cannon fodder to take their place. If their old age (often our middle age) is one of demented and hobbled decrepitude, so what? That, we don’t have to watch.

Has the news of Duerson’s suicide caused one Bears fan to turn in his/her season ticket? If so, I’ll eat it.

Mitch Paradise

Los Angeles

Day of rest

Couldn’t help but get a kick out of Ben Howland’s comments regarding his dislike for playing Sunday night games. He cited reasons — such as a religious day, and a short turnaround for the following week. All very understandable. But when he says the exposure of people watching his team play Sunday on television is very important for the program, it’s got to make you laugh.

Did anyone inform Ben that his game against Cal (which they lost by the way) was going up against the NBA All-Star game?

Richard Whorton

Valley Village

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Is there some sort of conspiracy afoot among commentators concerning UCLA center Josh Smith? Great hands? Terrific upside? A lot of offensive rebounds?

Hands of brick. Maybe a large backside. Almost all offensive boards after his own missed layups.

At least credit Ben Howland for now trying to give Anthony Stover an opportunity to develop. Recruiting mistakes do happen.

Andrew Sacks

Fontana

Gray area

The story at Riviera should have been less about what announcer Jim Gray said to caddie Bobby Brown and more about why Dustin Johnson didn’t fire him on the spot. Caddies that have the bag of top-10 players can comfortably earn mid-six figures a year. Reading the course rule sheet at a major and remembering your guy’s tee time isn’t rocket science.

Larry Yells

Hermosa Beach

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Jim Gray was only doing his job — to push someone and push some more — maybe to the point where they snap. It’s a pathetic job for pathetic people, and Jim Gray is at the top of the list.

Jack Spiegelman

Los Angeles

Award winning

Tim Leiweke being honored as 2010 Sports Executive of the Year tells me all I need to know about the L.A. Sports Awards and the L.A. Sports Council. This flim-flam man has misled Kings fans ever since AEG took over the franchise. What’s the graphic on his trophy? A large hand reaching into an unsuspecting Kings fan’s wallet while the Stanley Cup is dangled inches away as if the corporation even knows or cares about actually winning it?

Hank Macmin

Westchester

No respect

Duke leapfrogs several teams to reclaim a No. 1 ranking, while a one-loss San Diego State team is anchored in the same position despite higher-ranked teams falling by the wayside. Didn’t the BCS hoopla end last month?

Mark J. Featherstone

Windsor Hills

Smart move

After 26 years and 310 straight losses, Caltech finally won a conference basketball game, 46-45.

Did anyone consider that maybe the scoreboard was rigged?

Jack Saltzberg

Sherman Oaks

21/2 Men Out?

I wonder if the NFL players union will try to get Charlie Sheen to be their representative now that he’s looking for work.

Dave Eng

Thousand Oaks

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