Bruins must pick up pace in rivalry
Before the season, UCLA was said to have the better team, better quarterback, better coach, better schedule and better chance to win the Pac-12, but after their latest epic fail, in the form of a thorough beat-down administered by the far superior and more talented Trojans, it’s clear the Bruins better get used to this. Steve Ross Beverly Hills
The Nation of Bruins is bitterly divided. Half want Jim Mora fired immediately and half don’t want him fired ... until after the Cal game. Wes Wellman Santa Monica
While UCLA could gain only eight yards running the ball in the final three quarters against USC, the Westwood fans set a record for rushing for the exits early in the fourth quarter. After the worst loss of their season, would “Woes Bowl” make a more fitting name for the Bruins’ most recent Fall of Futility? Brian Robinette Van Nuys
Feat of Clay?
Whether the 2016 version of USC resembles 2002 or 2011 remains to be seen. 2002 was the beginning of a great run under Pete Carroll. In 2011, we won a huge game on the road in Eugene and lit up UCLA, 50-0, only to relapse the following season. Sam Darnold, Adoree’ Jackson and JuJu SmithSchuster were recruited by the previous staff. Can Clay Helton recruit like Carroll? Until that question is answered, we won’t know if this year was a fluke or the start of something great. Brian Ohno Whittier
Debut taunts
Jared Goff did a decent job in his first start, but with this team, it doesn’t matter how good he is. Tom Brady couldn’t win with this Rams team and coach. Robert Cole
Bellflower The way the Rams played the final five minutes against the Dolphins, it would not surprise anybody in the slightest if we found out Bill Plaschke got a message to the coaches: Start playing for a high draft pick. We need an offensive line! Fred Crane
La Cañada
Week in and week out, Jeff Fisher explains another loss because of other people’s shortcomings.
Meanwhile, he’s lost 162 games, his teams consistently rank among the most-penalized, and he loosely commands a lackluster program of underachievers.
Jeff Fisher is, at best, a mediocre coach. Cut him loose. The fish always rots at the head. David Griffin Westwood
You know it’s bad when the referees are having to ice their shoulders after working Rams games. Dave Eng Thousand Oaks
Hooray, hooray! Finally, the Lakers are competitive and we can stop obsessing over losses, lotteries and draft picks.
Now along come the Rams. Anthony Moretti Lomita
Math problem
I have been watching the UCLA basketball games very closely, and I’ve come to a conclusion. There are seven players who are rotated in and out of the lineup. Four of the players are playing beautiful team basketball, and three of the players are primarily playing for the their own stats and recognition. I’ll let you connect the dots, but I predict that this team will be hamstrung in the league and the postseason because of this dynamic. David Waldowski
Seal Beach
Wrong message
America may never become a soccer nation, but we just lost an opportunity with the firing of Jurgen Klinsmann.
Being a big dog in CONCACAF is like being a star in MLS. It’s seconddivision mentality. Just like a baseball player has to come to MLB to be taken seriously, a soccer player has to go to Europe.
Klinsmann’s attempt to get this country to realize that was sabotaged at every level. It started with Landon Donovan’s refusal to play in Europe and preferring to be a big fish in the MLS pond. This sent a message undermining Klinsmann all the way down to the recreation level. Jonathan Vaughn Long Beach
Center stage
As a lifelong Yankees fan I can only hope that the title of your article comparing Mike Trout and Mickey Mantle [“Trout and Mantle in the Same Ballpark,” Nov. 19] is a prescient one. Robert Impellizzeri Moorpark
There is no comparison between Trout and Mantle.
Mickey was a switchhitter who invented the term “tape-measure home run.” He brought electricity to the crowd just stepping into the batter’s box. He had four rings in his first six years.
Trout has zero playoff wins.
Mickey and his boys partied in New York with celebrities.
Trout watches the Weather Channel. Frank Lucelli Rancho Bernardo
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