Letters to Sports: A great tribute to the legendary Jim Murray

A million thanks to Bill Dwyre for the great tribute to the incomparable and unparalleled brilliance of Jim Murray. How wonderful it felt to once again share an amazed chuckle as we did for many years while reading his morning column. “Irreplaceable” doesn’t begin to explain his absence from the sports world, and though the newsprint is now quite yellowed, I still savor his “keepers” among my prized possessions.

Judy Strauss
Corona del Mar

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With all the recent negativity surrounding the changes in your sports section, former sports editor “Gentleman” Bill Dwyre saved the day. His special column regarding the 25th anniversary of Murray’s death was not only touching, but it reminded us of the way sports used to be. In this issue, I’m sure no reader was complaining that there were no sports scores or lack of this and that which was not covered the way it used to be.

There have been many that have come after Mr. Murray, but no one has come close to the way he captured readers’ attention and respect for so many years.

Richard Whorton
Studio City

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Murray was to sports journalism what Vin Scully was to sports broadcasting. While there have been and will be many who follow in their footsteps, their shoes are simply too large to fill.

Scholarly, erudite, humorous and humble, the depth of their insight was only eclipsed by their knowledge of the human condition.

Bill Waxman
Simi Valley

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Wonderful tribute to Murray. My favorite line of his was when the Raiders left for Oakland. “L.A. doesn’t belong in a league that has Jacksonville and Nashville in it.”

Paul Zimmelman
Marina Del Rey

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Dwyre’s article on Murray shows how great reporting can be lighthearted while being informative too. I’ve often wondered why The Times can’t find some way to share Murray’s old columns with a new generation.

Skip Dokken
Fallbrook

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Who said that “race walking is like trying to see who can whisper the loudest?” Murray, of course. Murray and metaphors went together like … well, Forrest Gump would say peas and carrots. Given the assignment, Murray would quickly have a dozen from which to choose, all better than those of us mere mortals. Thanks to Dwyre, a superior sports writer in his own right, for the well-deserved tribute.

Dave Sanderson
La Cañada Flintridge

Great article on Austin Reaves, but I wonder whether it is LeBron James or Anthony Davis whom Dan Woike thinks was the Lakers’ third-best player at the end of last season, in light of Woike claiming that Reaves was the second-best.

Ken Feldman
Tarzana

J. Brady McCollough’s article did a wonderful job of showing the cumulative carnage from all the damage the Pac-12 has done to itself since Larry Scott was in charge, ultimately resulting in the end of the conference. However, it failed to reach the obvious conclusion that college sports are now no different than pro sports.

Stephan Teodorovich
Los Angeles

One more reason that Chip Kelly’s plan to leave the geography-based conferences alone makes a ton of sense: global warming. Besides the wear-and-tear on the thousands of athletes, massively expanding the carbon footprint for all of “nonrevenue” sports benefits no one. And certainly all of that extra money from football could be put to better use than cross-country flights for soccer, tennis, volleyball, etc.

Richard Brisacher
Mar Vista

Dylan Hernández’s column on Dodgers pitching asks some good questions. But whether the pitching comes through or not, Dave Roberts’ and Andrew Friedman’s playoff track record is terrible. Their overthinking and trying to be too cute in the 2021 [playoffs] and last year’s debacle against San Diego in the playoffs are all the proof one needs.

Bruce Fischer
Huntington Beach

I am very disappointed in your lack of mentioning the Angels for three consecutive days. Today another photo of Clayton Kershaw, after many, and Freddie Freeman’s back, which is not any better than showing Shohei Ohtani’s back signing autographs. It would be better if you wrote more instead of these endless photos. After all, this is baseball season. You should and can do better for baseball fans!

Ann Cressman
Laguna Niguel

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There is a tiny fish in Hawaii that locals call manini, the Hawaiian definition for small or insignificant. The term manini immediately came to mind when you reported 12 professional Los Angeles sports teams, each worth many millions, “donate(d) a combined $450,000” for the disaster in Lahaina, Maui. How manini, brah.

Milt Valera
Woodland Hills

I believe I speak for many wistful Dodgers fans when I raise a glass to say: Go, Cubs! It’s great to see Cody Bellinger making a spirited comeback, isn’t it?

David Serbin
Panorama City

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