Letters: Just another sorry, mediocre, average week in the NFL

Richard Sherman, songwriter: “It’s a Small World, After All.”

Richard Sherman, defensive back: “It’s a Gall World, All About Me.”

Dave Sanderson

La Cañada

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As a lifelong fan of both sports and dignified humility, I resent being labeled as hypocritical [Bill Plaschke, Jan. 21] because I thought Richard Sherman’s it’s-all-about-me sideline spewing was pathetic. The majority of true fans want to see quality plays made by athletes with class and respect for the game and its traditions. Today’s culture of trash-talking is just that ... trash.

Bob Cunningham

Riverside

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As Richard Sherman bounded off the field and had a microphone stuck in his face, he said exactly what he was feeling at that moment. I watched with mouth agape. When he was done, I jumped up and yelled, “Yes! Finally one of these guys gives us a taste of what really goes on down on the field! Good for him!”

Sure, it was crude. But that’s what the game is. I am so sick of world-class athletes having to cover up their emotions all the time. A guy hits a towering home run and then looks glumly at the ground as he circles the bases, acting as if he couldn’t care less. Inside, you know he wants to jump up and down and celebrate. But he knows that if he does, everyone will criticize him as a show-off.

Tell you what: All those fans who criticize Sherman should get down on the field and take a hit or two from an NFL player. See if you can hack it. Try to catch an NFL pass. Better yet, try to knock one away like Sherman did. If you can handle it, you can criticize him. Otherwise, shut up.

Crista Worthy

Boise, Idaho

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So Richard Sherman refers to Michael Crabtree as a sorry receiver and calls him mediocre. Wow! And everybody freaks out. Sherman didn’t curse at Crabtree or talk about his family.

No, this is the Super Bowl and the media always needs an angle and Sherman dropped it right in their lap. Last week it was Brady versus Manning, now it will be Manning and his receivers against the Seattle defense spearheaded by Sherman — the perfect hero-versus-villain scenario. And there’s an added bonus too. We won’t have to listen to the incessant weather reports all week!

Rodney K. Boswell

Thousand Oaks

Super stuff

So with 40 seconds left and two timeouts from Seattle’s 18-yard line, I’m guessing San Francisco could have had time for six or seven plays, and yet Colin Kaepernick throws into double coverage....

It seems the ghost of Alex Smith is playing tricks on Jim Harbaugh.

Fred Wallin

Westlake Village

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Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks and their 12th man. Who knew the 12th man was a zebra?

Sam Rizzardo

Harbor City

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NFL players are uniquely gifted athletes, deserving of the best stage on which to perform. “Football is a game to be played in the elements” is not only cliched, but as antiquated as leather helmets. The epitome of the season should not hinge on the weather or on conditions that limit the players’ performance. They are the best. Give them the best. No more cold-weather, outdoor, politically motivated Super Bowls.

Bob Therrien

Mission Beach

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“Some of our most memorable games were played in unusual weather circumstances.” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in 2011.

“It was one of our most unusual cruises.” A Titanic survivor in 1912.

Jack Buss

Banning

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It looks like New England is going to have to start spying on opposing teams again if the Patriots ever expect to win another Super Bowl.

Vaughn Hardenberg

Westwood

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NFL, don’t kill the PAT. Move it back to the 15-yard line. Make the kickers sweat a little.

Robert Bubnovich

Irvine

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For heaven’s sake! Can we just start using “Super Bowl 48” instead of the incomprehensible, archaic and silly “Super Bowl XLVIII”? It’s the 21st century, not the 1st.

David Svoboda

Fountain Valley

Purple pain

So Bill Plaschke wants Kobe to give it a rest [Jan. 19]. If The Times can’t say it, I will: The Lakers’ dream is over. A new one will come someday, but let’s be honest: The era has ended. Magic, Shaq, Kobe, Chick Hearn, Jerry Buss, Showtime … it’s all behind us now. With L.A.’s major-market money, it should return someday — but then again, a cynic might cite the New York Knicks or Chicago Cubs. But for now, we should stop trying to put lipstick on a pig, admit that it’s history and move forward with dignity, thankful that it ever happened.

Peter Howard

San Luis Obispo

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Kobe Bryant says basketball evolved from the “smash-mouth, old-school “ physical style of play that defined the NBA in the 1980s into the soft “finesse game” it has become today, and that he prefers the physical style that he watched growing up in the 1980s.

Kobe’s memory of those blurred images on the TV screen with rabbit ears probably left him with the wrong conclusion regarding the style of play.

I watched the games in the 1980s — and I believe the game was played with finesse then; not the physical, smash-mouth style as Kobe remembers it.

Rogelio Peña

Montebello

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I’ve supported Mike D’Antoni from the minute he was hired by the Lakers, but that has come to an end. A coach who plays Ryan Kelly for 34 minutes while giving Wesley Johnson 14 minutes, Chris Kaman 0 minutes, and especially Jordan Hill 16 minutes, clearly doesn’t understand what his players are capable of.

Ray McKown

Los Angeles

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The Clippers are in first place in the Pacific Division. Kobe has been hurt almost all year. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have popular commercials running. They just won five in a row while the Lakers just lost 12 of 13. And you’re running comments about Nick Young? Something does not add up.

Donald Crawford

Pomona

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Just read the Lakers are worth $1.35 billion, the second-highest-valued franchise in the NBA.

My question is: To whom?

Marty Zweben

Palos Verdes Estates

Icing

To paraphrase Ernie Banks, “It’s a great day for a hockey game; let’s play two!”

Drew Janer

Los Angeles

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