This shot was something to see
LeBron might have seen three basketball rims after getting poked in the eye while making the winning shot against the Warriors, but what I saw in my mind was Kobe making that shot. Steve Shaevel Woodland Hills
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Anybody else see the parallel between the injured LeBron James’ play-in game miraculous shot and Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series home run? Let’s hope Lakers coach Frank Vogel can pull out his “inner Tommy Lasorda” and have his players ride this moment to another unlikely championship. If we only had Orel Hershiser as our point guard...
Allan Kandel
Los Angeles
The Pujols pickup
Dylan Hernández, you’re kidding, right?
Utley and Freese were mobile, still excellent fielders, and could still play when the Dodgers got them. Albert Pujols is 41, moves like a statue, and actually started all this when he balked about being a part-time player. Now suddenly, he is a willing parttime player?
When I was younger, the Mets brought back Willie Mays under the same pretenses. An eternal Hall of Famer stumbled around like he was lost and hit .211, almost tarnishing a legacy.
Couldn’t we all agree it is time for Pujols to take his $300+ million and retire gracefully? Or is he just another crowd draw that people pay to see as a curiosity instead of the hitter he once was…
Bob Goldstone Corona del Mar ::
Plaschke, put a sock in it! If you’re lucky the sock won’t be on Pujols’ foot! To call Pujols a malcontent who will disrupt the clubhouse is unnecessary but what else can we expect from a writer who makes predictions that never come true and is the kiss of death when he makes them.
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From a purely financial perspective, the Dodgers would be better served in committing Pujols’ $570,500 salary to increased security, so as to prevent additional parking lot brawls like the one at their April 27 game.
Bill Waxman
Simi Valley
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My father, Bob Kelley, and Gene Autry did not care for the Dodgers. I have an obligation to not care for the Dodgers too. But as much as it makes me feel uncomfortable, I respect the Dodgers for retrieving future Hall of Fame inductee Albert Pujols from MLB’s waste bin. Go Albert! Patrick Kelley
Los Angeles
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Before the season started, the fans were told that the Dodgers had so many good starting pitchers that they were contemplating a sevenman rotation (while Early Wynn was rotating in his grave). Wha’ happened? Yesterday (May 16), they pitched a “bullpen game.” As usual in these games, the first syllable is appropriate, the second needs to be tweaked. Andrew Rubin
Los Angeles
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Jay Slater Los Angeles
The Dodgers did it again, 10 strikeouts against the Marlins last Saturday night. But are we going back to Jack in the Box? No, not after paying almost $7 for two large drinks. And the “burgers” I would compare to the silver dollar size some company came out with a while back. Not even their proudly advertised bacon was in them, and very dry. When you tout something make sure it is your best effort.
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Leo Miller Tujunga
Dylan Hernández’s comment about the Dodgers battling both the Padres and the Giants made me laugh out loud. Let’s see how the overachievers from the North are doing in August — not a quarter into the season with two journeyman pitchers sure to drop out of the Cy Young race.
Between the doom and gloom of Hernandez and Plaschke’s eternal optimism, it seems like The Times is following Whitey Herzog’s adage about baseball statisticians: that if you had one foot in a bucket of ice and one foot in a bucket of coals, you should be just right. Maddox Reese Santa Barbara
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Anyone think Anthony Rendon wants to reconsider the Hollywood lifestyle? Vincent Martinez South Pasadena
Good story
Regarding “The worst loss of Gregg Popovich’s life:”
What a well-researched and beautifully written piece by Chris Ballard that featured the rather inauspicious beginnings of Gregg Popovich’s coaching career. Having captained Les Nagler’s first Pomona team in 1964, I can verify that he was a wonderful gentleman; however, it sure would have been great to play for Pop, trash buckets in the gym corners or not. Regardless of the winloss record, there is no doubt that Coach Popovich had a powerful impact on the fortunate members of his first
Sagehen team.
Dave Sanderson La Cañada
Must reading
Rob Blake, did you read Bill Shaikin’s May 21 article? It included this quote from the Giants’ Farhan Zaidi: “We’re in the business of trying to sell a compelling product today, not three (or five) years from now . . . competing has always been a priority for us.”
A compelling product. Competing as a priority. Wow, what great concepts, Rob! The Kings certainly don’t embrace them under your leadership.
Try it. Call Zaidi for a primer. Maybe if you follow his lead, the L.A. Times will stop printing short boring AP articles on how the Kings blew another game. Instead, perhaps next season Kings fans will hear from a real live beat reporter, informing us how the team won.
Jeff Pollak La Crescenta
But who’s counting?
Wow! My Sunday Times had a 12-page tribute to Kobe and an eight-page sports section with two full pages for Popovich and three big stories on Pujols. In 20 pages there was a total of six sentences allotted to women’s sports coverage. Get your priorities straight! You could have used those six sentences to report on some male star’s hangnail.
Gail Rock Santa Monica ::
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