Letters: Rick Neuheisel on the hot seat

Rick Neuheisel would be a great college football coach if he’d just fix a few of the little things … such as his win-loss record, meaningful bowl appearances, excitement around the program, embarrassing home losses, and describing every major flaw as simply a little one.

Larry Yells

Hermosa Beach

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A note to Dan Guerrero: Now, with the Bruins humiliated by Texas at the Rose Bowl, and Rick Neuhisel’s demise as coach a certainty, please make sure that the new coach is not one of the heroes of the 1984 Rose Bowl. The game’s two biggest stars — Neuheisel and Karl Dorrell — have left a once-proud program in absolute shambles, and, arguably, as the Pac-12’s worst.

Jack Wolf

Westwood

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Most all coaches and players should know that if you play smart, error-free football, you might not win every game, but you certainly give yourself a shot!

Apparently, the Bruins players and coaches haven’t figured this out yet. Examples?

--You don’t start a recently injured, rusty quarterback over a proven winner who obviously manages the team and offense more successfully.

--You don’t continue to employ a failing offensive game plan. If run, run, pass is not working, you change it up. It’s called adjusting.

--You don’t spot Texas 21 points on three consecutive interceptions.

--You don’t have 12 men on the field after a timeout.

--You don’t fumble at crucial moments

If Neuheisel and Co. don’t get smart soon, Dan Guerrero may be forced to do the only wise thing and hand Coach Rick his walking papers at season’s end.

Rick Solomon

Lake Balboa

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Bill Plaschke illustrated how Rick Neuheisel has always done his best coaching with the previous coach’s recruits. If UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero cannot see the obvious, he is seriously enjoying the Kool-Aid. As a USC alum, I urge Mr. Guerrero to do the right thing; extend Slick Rick’s contract. In doing so, he will guarantee SC’s dominance for the next decade and be listed as a major USC donor.

Willis Barton

Los Angeles

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With punter Jeff Locke’s success in kicking field goals (51 and 49 yards) in an otherwise disappointing UCLA performance against Texas, could it be that other personnel are playing out of position, too? Kevin Prince, who knows something about throwing interceptions, might be tried at cornerback; the defense, which doesn’t put much stock in tackling, and the offense, which does a lot of holding, might simply switch sides.

Rick Neuheisel might be better suited to water bottle duty, “Don’t drink like that! Drink like this!!!”

Mario Valvo

Rancho Mirage

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The song says, “Some day my Prince will come”, but it won’t be in time for Rick Neuheisel. If the Bruins coach can’t read the writing on the wall, perhaps he will see it on the door on his way out.

Roy Reel

Culver City

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It appears as if it wasn’t Norm Chow’s fault after all.

Ron Yukelson

San Luis Obispo

Pulling rank

While such rankings are subjective in nature, it is surprising and disappointing that Helene Elliott’s article (Sept. 20) ranking the commissioners included inaccurate and misleading commentary on a sport that is thriving.

Baseball is more popular today than ever before. This success is a credit to the work of Commissioner Bud Selig, who has brought solidarity to an industry that was in chaos when he took over in 1992. Since that time, he has shown a unique ability to be a relentless consensus-builder who understands the landscape of baseball better than anyone. There has been more change during his tenure than during all eight previous commissioners combined, and he has delivered fan-driven ideas such as the wild card, interleague play, expanded playoffs and the World Baseball Classic.

Despite the difficult economy of recent years, fans continue to turn out in record numbers.

Baseball now has the greatest competitive balance in its history. In the last five seasons, 22 of the 30 major league team have participated in the postseason. Nine clubs have won the last 10 World Series, which is unsurpassed by the other pro sports leagues during that span.

This competitive balance was achieved because Selig restructured the economic system of the sport in the ‘90s to bring it into the 21st century. Revenue sharing has gone from nearly zero in 1992 to more than $400 million each of the last two years, and baseball now has a competitive balance tax.

MLB has emerged from an era marred by a long labor history of lockouts and strikes to 16 years of labor peace, an era unparalleled in the modern history of baseball. The health of the national pastime has never been better. Without doubt and without debate, Bud Selig is responsible for this era, the greatest in the history of the game.

Richard Levin

Marina del Rey

(Richard Levin recently retired from MLB after spending 25 years as an executive, primarily as their chief spokesman.)

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How can any rating of sports commissioners list anyone beneath Bud Selig? He canceled a World Series. Bud Selig allowed PEDs to take hold in MLB. Selig is responsible for the wild card and, along with it, World Series champions who weren’t good enough to win their watered-down divisions. Selig shrugged his shoulders and looked annoyed that anyone would have the gall to ask him what they should do in an All-Star game after both teams ran out of pitchers. Of course, he “fixed” that problem by having an exhibition game decide home field for the World Series.

Selig, in his zeal to keep spending down so small-market teams could compete, purposely handed the Dodgers an owner too leveraged to give the second-largest sports market in the country the kind of team it deserves.

Bud Selig is the worst sports commissioner in the history of sports commissioners.

John Purcell

Quartz Hill

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David Stern deserves to be the No. 1-ranked sports commissioner for no other reason than allowing ill-equipped Gary Bettman to leave as his assistant and take over the rival NHL. That one move simultaneously lifted the NBA’s prospects while guaranteeing the NHL decades of mediocrity under a commissioner who still does not grasp the nuances of the great sport of hockey. Talk about addition by subtraction!

Andrew Mackinney

Westchester

Blue stars

I’m not surprised that Clayton Kershaw won 20 games this year. I’m shocked that the Dodgers did.

Paul Feinsinger

Agoura Hills

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I’m tempted to nickname Clayton Kershaw “Special K,” but what do I do with Matt Kemp?

Herbert Schoenberg

Tarzana

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I hate to dignify the comparison of Clayton Kershaw to Sandy Koufax, but dignity has never been my strong suit. Yes, both are left-handed pitchers, both played for the Dodgers and both their names start with K. That, however, is where the comparisons end. Yes, someday we may be able to talk of Kershaw in the same breath with Sandy — after all, good grape juice is often turned into fine wine — but let’s wait just a bit, shall we?

Joel Rapp

Los Angeles

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Say what you want to about this season for the Dodgers, but Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw have raised the bar on what it takes to be a Dodger. Lofty statistics aside, when Matt said he was “excited” before the Giant’s game on Tuesday, that tells you how far he has come this year. When Clayton then torched the hated Giants for the fifth time this year and then deadpanned “that’s too bad” when told that the win hurt the Giant’s playoff chances, that was classic Dodger talk. Thanks to you both for bringing back the Dodger feeling —go blue!!

Ken Blake

Brea

DePo-ball

Bill Plaschke wrote that Paul DePodesta’s legacy can best be remembered in the three-word chant “Hee-Seop Choi … Hee-Seop Choi.” Plaschke’s not even close! The blot of residue evincing DePodesta’s sorry tenure with the Dodgers is summed up in one sentence: “I would take nine Milton Bradleys if I could get them.”

Robert Ostrove

Ventura

Caught short

It would be interesting to see where the Angels would be in the standings today were Mike Scioscia not enamored with supposed “defensive” catchers with sub-.200 batting averages.

Tim Hoff

Huntington Beach

Ouch

Finally, some good news in the sports section. The Pac-12 will stay the Pac-12. Who needs the teams from Texas and Oklahoma polluting our conference? If they get in, the Trojans and Bruins might never win a game.

Ralph S. Brax

Lancaster

Suckered?

When Roy Jones Jr. hit another fighter who was down on one knee, Jones was disqualified. When Andrew Golota kept throwing low blows, he was disqualified. When Victor Ortiz head-butted Floyd Mayweather, a point was taken away.

“Firm but fair” Joe Cortez was looking away when Mayweather sucker-punched Ortiz. The fight was on hold. Mayweather looked sharp and might have won the match fairly. But he didn’t.

Hal Rothberg

Calabasas

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Some might call it a cheap shot that Mayweather delivered against Ortiz. However, the following can not be disputed. Ortiz’s head butt was far more egregious, on a par with Tyson’s ear biting. Mayweather continued to fight when they were allowed to; Ortiz was more concerned with kissing and hugging because he knew he had committed a serious foul that even the UFC doesn’t allow.

Had Ortiz not resorted to this cheap, gladiator, street-fighting misdeed, the rest would not have happened. He was in control at the moment, and then he blew it with primal street warfare, not meant for the professional boxing arena. Ortiz only has Ortiz to blame, in every way. Mayweather earned his victory and shouldn’t even give Ortiz another mention.

Dennis Kline

Irvine

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The old adage that “boxers sometimes get old overnight” can now apparently be applied to referees. Veteran referee Joe Cortez’s lack of attention and focus on the boxers after signaling Mayweather and Ortiz to assume fighting after the point-penalty deduction was a contributing factor in the controversial legal sucker punch.

Dan Anzel

Los Angeles

Not a happy meal

After CBS shockingly cut to a McDonald’s commercial during a thrilling last-second drive for the Bills’ possible winning score in the Oakland-Buffalo game, I assumed Heidi herself was flipping Egg McMuffins on the grill in the background of the ill-timed ad.

Mark J. Featherstone

Windsor Hills

Play-fakers

I was really ashamed of the New York Cosmos players faking injury on Monday Night Football.... Errr, I mean NY Giants players. Man, how did a couple of soccer players end up in the NFL?

Tim Wilbur

Temple City

Sign this

How does Drew Doughty continue to hold out from the Kings and turn down more than $60 million in light of future Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne agreeing on a new Ducks contract in less than 48 hours? Seems like Selanne is focused on the pucks while Doughty is concerned only about the bucks.

Bella Freedman

Los Angeles

Locked in

There is a third party that is left out of the discussion between the NBA players and the owners. Does either side care about the customers, the public that pays for attending the games? If you are not wealthy enough to own a box seat, the average fan who comes with a family of four must pay several hundred dollars for a single game and refreshments. Maybe if they each give a little, the customer might get a little break for a change.

Harry Shragg

Reseda

Peace, out

The more I think about Ron Artest’s decision to change his name to Metta World Peace, and then appear on “Dancing With the Stars,” the more Mike Tyson’s face tattoo makes sense.

David Macaray

Rowland Heights

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