Letters: A quantum shift in L.A. basketball?

With all due respect and deference to Kobe Bryant, it is truly a joy and privilege to witness the torch of L.A.’s reigning basketball superstar slowly pass from his longtime grasp into the capable hands of Clippers rookie Blake Griffin.

This young athlete is truly a sight to behold; a skilled, hustling competitive, old-school marvel and his already prodigious talents remind me of how lucky we’ve been here with rookies who arrive and remain: Jerry, Magic and James, Kobe … and now Blake.

Mr. Sterling, for once take a cue from your crosstown rivals and do what it takes to ensure Griffin spends his entire career in L.A. — uniform colors are flexible.

Cy Bolton

Rancho Cucamonga

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It’s nice to see that there’s an NBA team here in L.A., with a young superstar, who, if he can stay healthy, has a chance to become one of the all-time greats, and another young player, in only his third season, who has a chance to be a perennial All-Star. A team with affordable ticket prices. A team that’s had a small, but loyal, fan base over the years and whose fans are classy, humble and civilized, and not cocky and obnoxious. A team that has a bright future.

Yes. That team would be the Clippers, not the Lakers, and, unlike the Lakers, they’re definitely an L.A. team that I could cheer for, and support.

Michael Lipofsky

Burbank

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I don’t watch a lot of pro basketball, but I have to admit I’ve been tuning in to the Clippers’ games. Watching Blake Griffin and the rest of this exciting young Clippers team is entertaining.

It’s a shame that in a couple of years he will head back to Oklahoma saying, “I’m taking my talents back home to Tornado Alley.”

You know Donald Sterling will find a way to screw this up. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the people of Oklahoma can’t wait to start hanging those championship banners up by beating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. I’d advise Eric Gordon and the rest of these young Clippers to follow him.

Scott Bryant

Lake Forest

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How many times do you see the winning team dribble out the clock when the game is “over”? So much for playing hard all the way to the end. Blake Griffin is a great talent, but his fighting for a rebound at the end of the Lakers game was classless. When Kobe said the team got “punked” maybe he really meant they lost to a “punk”. In the long run, I think this type of play by Griffin will come back to haunt him one day.

P. Joseph Gendell

Beverly Hills

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I was puzzled by the T.J. Simers interview with Blake Griffin. The writer seemed to be saying that Blake is boring to interview and that his comments do not measure up to his on-court performance.

I think we can be grateful to have a tremendous star in Blake Griffin. What I’ve heard from Griffin tells me he is an humble young man who is here to play basketball — a team player who is quick to credit his teammates and let his skills speak for themselves. I find him refreshing and a new reason to follow the Clippers.

Miller McMillan

Santa Monica

Sinking Kings

When I first saw the cover photo and story on Orange County high school hockey [Jan. 15], I was shocked that a bunch of teenagers can get the attention of the local media that always seems to overlook the Kings. But the more I thought about it, I realized that these kids are more deserving.

After all, the Kings are mired in last place, the players are in serious need of a heart transplant, management is paralyzed by inaction and AEG has their attention on getting an NFL team rather than helping the NHL team they already own. Credit is due the Ducks’ owners, the Samuelis, for helping the O.C. kids get their league started while the Kings owner, Phil Anschutz, remains in hiding in Denver. Given how poorly his sad sack team has performed lately, maybe Phil is waiting to emerge on Feb. 2 to see the shadow of playoff revenue sliding away and alert Kings fans that summer vacation will begin in April this year.

Gary Matzel

Culver City

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When Terry Murray was hired as the coach of the Kings, he was said to be a man with a calm demeanor who would help the young players on the team in their development and bring them up the right way. He did just that, helping young stars like Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty find their way in the NHL. However, the time for growing is over and it seems more and more apparent that the tired, old, predictable system that Murray has put in place is no longer showing results and the players, like the fans, no longer trust it. Thanks for all you have done, Terry, but it is time to move on.

Sawyer Fox

Thousand Oaks

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As the Kings’ season spirals downward into oblivion, Kings fans continue to listen to GM Dean Lombardi tell us that he is ready to make a deal for the right guy. We have been waiting five years to acquire “the right guy.” Someone needs to tell Mr. Lombardi that Wayne Gretzky has retired and Sidney Crosby is not available.

Scott Maiman

Agoura Hills

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When did the Kings change their motto from “Pride = Passion = Power” to “Errors = Embarrassment = Early Vacation”?

Andrew Watters

Santa Barbara

Not excited

Bill Plaschke, are you really asking me to get excited about Jay Gibbons starting in left field for our Dodgers this year? No offense, Bill, and I’m sure Jay Gibbons is a really nice guy, but Gibbons has about as much chance of saving the Dodgers this season as I do. Actually, we both have two chances … slim and none. And Slim just walked out the door.

Marty Zweben

Palos Verdes Estates

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In January 1961, Leonard K. Firestone, of Firestone tires, joined the Angels as a V.P. and part-owner. It’s obviously apparent that Firestone’s presence has continued to influence Angel management throughout their entire 50 years of existence. What else could explain the long Angel tradition of so frequently putting nothing but retreads on the field? Happy anniversary!

Jack E. Oakes

Santa Ana

Bad moves

In a Jan. 14 article “Fairfax’s Taylor is Declared Ineligible,” by Eric Sondheimer, Brendyn Taylor’s father decreed that his son being declared ineligible was “a travesty.”

This may be understandable from a perspective of the individual student athlete; however, there is a greater travesty at work that affects thousands of prep athletes and schools. The recruiting and subsequent transferring of star players to the same small handful of schools year in and year out, decade after decade, douses the hopes and dreams of 99% of Southern California’s high schools ever being able to compete for league and, ultimately, sectional championships.

No, the true travesty in local prep basketball is that the spirit of fair competition has been devoured by a gluttonous system that rewards only the few.

Jerry Leibowitz

Culver City

A role model

In the back of his mind, Mark Sanchez may know this, but may not acknowledge it. So I will for him.

Sanchez is not just a starting quarterback in the NFL who, for the second consecutive season, is one game away from the Super Bowl.

No, Sanchez is more than that. He’s a cultural icon. He’s Fernando Valenzuela for a new generation of fans not fortunate enough to have seen “Fernando-mania.” Not just football fans or Jets fans — no, Sanchez, like Valenzuela, is an icon to Latinos, Hispanics and Mexican-American people.

Orly Rios Jr.

Laredo, Texas

Troy story

Jio Fontan must have the best publicist in the world. He seems to be the Trojans’ only player, or at least it seems that way based on the photos you run in the paper.

Shin Furukawa

Torrance

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So the basketball Trojans might be short on experience and who knows if they’ll ever have a knock-down shooter?

But lack of consistent effort and competitiveness at the defensive end is a crummy excuse (ever hear a good one?) And lack of competitive character will bring 3,000 fans into a 10,000-seat arena every time.

Jack Von Bulow

Temple City

Horsing around

Bill Dwyre’s column on Jan. 19 eloquently makes the case for the splendid Zenyatta’s horse-of-the-year award.

Now that Zenyatta has won the award, my faith in “the sport of kings” has been affirmed. The wonderful horse that won our hearts is truly, to use trainer John Shirreffs’ words, “a miracle.”

David Tulanian

Los Angeles

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Did The Times take a poll and find out that most sports fans are interested in horse racing? If not, will someone please tell Bill “Zenyatta” Dwyre that he might want to find another topic to write about?

Richard Adams

Long Beach

Bruin grid-lock

Holy Toledo! S.O.S.! The good ship Gutty Little Bruin is going down by the bow and Captain Rick is tossing assistant coaches overboard like so much excess ballast. Loyal sailor Norm Chow is tied to the mast while recruits, longtime supporters and loyal fans are jumping ship. Admiral Guerrero is on shore with his head buried in the sand and the UCLA administration is too busy counting their doubloons to notice all is almost lost.

I fear it’s become a rudderless mess here for the UCLA football program. It may be time for a mutiny!

Mike Dieterich

Irvine

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I read your Monday’s article by Jerry Crowe regarding Superfan Jackson and his “Never Miss a Super Bowl Club”, and frankly I don’t understand why it is such a big deal.

I am a charter member of the “Never Miss a UCLA Football Loss Club” and I have attended more than 100 of those miserable games, including too many during the last three years, when UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and Athletic Director Dan Guerrero obviously don’t give a hoot. Superfan Jackson gets to observe real football coaches and mingle with happy fans. Our members have individually spent more money than he has and we don’t even get to observe a real football game.

Dave Pick

Solvang

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Dear Mr. Neuheisel,

In case you were not aware, spring football practice begins very soon and I presume you are also in the process of recruiting for the following season. No defensive coordinator, no receivers coach, no named offensive coordinator, and Norm Chow in limbo. What kind of message does this send to players, fans and the athletic director? I have supported you as head coach for three years. Now I’m having doubts.

Stephen Cooper

Hidden Hills

Support team

I think I figured out why we’ll never get a pro football team in L.A. What organization in its right mind would want to set up camp next to Simers and Plaschke?

Rich Holland

Aliso Viejo

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