Los Angeles Times

Readers find their Super powers

- Steve Ross Beverly Hills Vaughn Hardenberg Westwood

Lost somehow amidst the incalculab­le media hype is the irony of Tom Brady taking center stage in Super Bowl LI(E).

Bill Plaschke is casting the Super Bowl as Good (Falcons) versus Evil (Patriots.) I guess pumping in crowd noise is good? Also, politics should have nothing to do with the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning is a Republican. Who cares? May the best team win!

I was planning on rooting for Atlanta to beat New England until I read Bill Plaschke’s Jan. 27 diatribe about Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Coach Bill Belichick and quarterbac­k Tom Brady being Donald Trump’s friends and supporters. Because Plaschke was so far off base in demanding they address this game-distractin­g issue, I now fervently want the Patriots to kick the Falcons’ butts Sunday. No other reason needed. Roy Reel

Culver City

So Patriots owner Robert Kraft is overjoyed and excited (as well he should be) to play the Raiders in a regular-season game next year in Mexico. The question I have, has he informed his good friend Donald Trump about his feelings? Richard Whorton

Studio City

God bless six-time New England Patriot Pro Bowl player and UCLA alum Matt Slater. Slater is described as a person who should be one of Coach Jim Mora’s best recruiting tools, except apparently he’s not. Times readers (and a presumed sub-set of Bruin fans) are advised that Slater reportedly twice shared he would love to help out, “if [only] they reached out to me.” The amazing thing about today’s phone technology is these devices can both make and receive calls. Konrad Moore

Bakersfiel­d

Magic moment

Based on Magic Johnson’s dismal record as a Lakers coach, I wouldn’t get too excited about his becoming an advisor to Jeanie Buss. John Severinsen

Arcadia

It’s a good thing Jim Buss is a man of his word and will step down as the head of basketball operations for the Lakers after

Wrong move

Getting Carmelo Anthony is not the answer to the Clippers’ problems. Getting rid of Doc Rivers is. Loaded with the talents of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers are an annual bust in the postseason.

Rivers has been given a pass for years after winning a championsh­ip in 2008 with a Boston Celtics team loaded with future Hall of Famers. I think it’s time that pass gets revoked. Gary H. Miller

Encino

The pajama games

They might as well call the NHL All-Star game the “No Defense Scrimmage.” I was going to use the same term for the Pro Bowl, but they actually played a little defense this year. Based on the ridiculous uniforms though, how about the Pajama Bowl? Ron Reeve

Glendora this season. Gino Cirignano Playa del Rey

The Pro Bowl was very entertaini­ng and I am sure Pajamagram was very happy with the uniforms provided to the participan­ts. All they had to provide was a helmet. Mike Miller

Playa del Rey

Priorities

I see the St. Louis Cardinals were fined $2 million and former scouting director Chris Correa was (previously) sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for hacking into the databases of the Houston Astros. Contrast this with former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner’s sentence of $0 and six-month jail sentence for sexual assault. I guess white collar crime allowing a potential “sporting advantage” needs to be dealt with much more harshly than violating and potentiall­y ruining another human being’s life. Ralph Martinez

Arcadia

Not grrrreat

Perhaps, Tiger will finally get the message? I hope he is as tired of his ineptness as we are. Perhaps he’ll finally realize what separated him from the rest of the golf world is gone for good. Goodbye, Tiger. And don’t even try the Senior Tour. Bob Hudson

Porter Ranch ::

I think it’s time for Tiger Woods to begin preparing for the Senior Tour where he may have a chance to win. Vincent Carollo

Upland

Zeroing in

Could it be that Bruce Arena is exploiting his honeymoon period when he says he was happy with the men’s soccer team’s nil-nil draw against Serbia? After all, according to knowledgea­ble play-caller Ian Darke, the U.S. was playing Serbia’s second or even third team. Arena’s devil-maycare attitude seemed to be reflected in his demeanor on the sideline. The lack of urgency is puzzling. It’s not like the team has all year to prepare for the World Cup; they are already behind the 8-ball and have two critical matches next month. Mario Valvo

Ventura

Front-page news

Following Serena Williams’ impressive championsh­ip at the Australian Open, where she set a record for the most Grand Slam titles in the Open era, I fully expected to see her picture and an article on the front page of Sunday’s sports section. After all, not only has she solidified her position as the greatest women’s tennis player of all time, she was raised and started her career right here in Southern California.

I was amazed to discover that the front page had articles about, among other subjects, a Clippers loss, Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill, and California Chrome’s disappoint­ing performanc­e in the final race of his career, while coverage of Serena’s victory over sister Venus was relegated to Page 3.

California Chrome rates Page 1 and Serena gets tucked away on Page 3?

Seriously? Nancy Joujon-Roche

Culver City ::

UCLA groundhogg­ed D1 and USC was relegated to D5 with a comeback victory, and Bennie Boatwright returning? Haven’t the Trojans beaten the Bruins four in a row? Fight on! David Marshall

Santa Monica ::

The Los Angeles Times welcomes expression­s of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republishe­d in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used. Mail: Sports Viewpoint Los Angeles Times 202 W. 1st St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 Fax: (213) 237-4322 Email: sports@latimes.com

 ?? Larry W. Smith European Pressphoto Agency ?? THIS IS NO LIE: New England’s Tom Brady, who was suspended for the first four games of the season, has a chance to win his fifth Super Bowl ring.
Larry W. Smith European Pressphoto Agency THIS IS NO LIE: New England’s Tom Brady, who was suspended for the first four games of the season, has a chance to win his fifth Super Bowl ring.

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