Letters: Everyone has a cure for the curse of the Clippers

Bill Plaschke writes of a “post-Donald Sterling Curse”? Curse was a Boston thing. The disrespectful way in which Sterling and the Clippers organization treated [former team executive] Elgin Baylor puts karma in play, pure and simple.

Bob Ginn

Arcadia

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It’s hard to feel bad for a billionaire, but my heart goes out to Steve Ballmer.

And I don’t think there’s any kind of curse. I blame the new uniforms.

Hank Rosenfeld

Santa Monica

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The Clippers should ditch their name and logo, then be known as the L.A. Producers, L.A. Directors, L.A. Bodyguards, or perhaps the L.A. Fast Lanes.

As long as they’re not the L.A. Clippers, their luck will change for the better.

Sean Broderick

Sherman Oaks

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Even before the Clippers’ two best players went down during the first round of the playoffs, did anyone seriously consider the team a title contender? For much of the season the team struggled to find its “identity.” The last handful of regular-season wins were unimpressive. This is a good but not a great team and certainly not among the NBA’s elite teams, and Doc Rivers a good but not great coach of less-than-average talent in constructing the roster.

Great teams put a stamp on every single game, play furious defense and grab rebounds, and have reliable scoring and a deep bench, then turn it up another notch in the playoffs — not a description of the Clippers, who time and again have wilted under playoff pressure.

Eric Marchese

Santa Ana

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The absolute worst scenario for Clippers fans moving forward is to have the organization use the loss of their top two players in the first round of the playoffs as an excuse to keep this core together for yet another so-called “run.” It’s time to revamp the roster and see what kind of player personnel skills Doc Rivers really has, other than barricading his free-agent center in a Houston house.

Larry Herrera

Redondo Beach

Bye-bye, Byron

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What a crock! Byron Scott had an impossible job, but he did it with style and determination. That’s more than I can say for Jim Buss, who really should be the one to get fired.

Ed Masciana

Torrance

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The Lakers can be forgiven for a downturn in performance that eventually afflicts every team. They certainly can be forgiven for David Stern improperly meddling in the Chris Paul trade, which sent the team into a downward spiral. They can be forgiven key injuries over recent years.

But they cannot be forgiven for this coaching carousel. That characterizes a floundering organization.

Rick Wallace

Malibu

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I think Bill Plaschke’s article regarding Byron Scott’s firing was insightful and created an aura of hope for Laker fans for the future. However, then I realized that Jim Buss is calling the shots. Does anyone have confidence that this is all part of a master plan with Jim as its brain trust? Jerry West, yes, but Jim?

Jeffrey L. Patterson

Chatsworth

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I was never a fan of Byron Scott, but Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss should be ashamed for making him the sacrificial lamb by allowing Kobe Bryant to play when it played into his ego and for not support the young players by not even showing up for practices. Scott should have realized long ago that with a friend like Bryant, who needs an enemy?

Robert C. Thompson

Marina Del Rey

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Why does Mitch Kupchak continue to get a pass as general manager of the Lakers? He has done a miserable job the last four years, missing the playoff in each of those years. and having just finished the year with the worst record in team history. Mike Brown, Mike D’Antoni and Bryon Scott are all coaches he has hired. As long as he attempts to run this team, the fans will receive more of the same.

John O. Atkinson Sr.

Long Beach

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Three head coaches in five seasons. Anyone think that maybe it’s not the coaching?

George Tabata

Whittier

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If Byron had been Byron instead of a Pat Riley wannabe, he would had more success.

Ben Eisner

Westlake Village

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Reader Carola de la Rocha hopes Kobe haters will enjoy the mediocre teams the Lakers will field without Kobe. Mediocre would be a big step up from the two worst teams in Lakers history Kobe led in his final two seasons as the Lakers’ highest-paid player.

Gerry Swider

Sherman Oaks

Ice screams

I am delighted to see the Ducks eliminated again this year. It is only fitting considering their ill-gotten win of the Pacific Division, passing the Kings by beating a Washington Capitals team that was resting its star players. Make no mistake: The Ducks are losers and always will be. Their announcers spend the entire broadcast whining about the officiating, and perhaps most irking of all is The Times’ insisting on treating the Ducks as if they are a home team. They are not — they are the Kings’ rival, and seeing them eliminated greatly eases my pain for the Kings’ early elimination this year.

Lou Filliger

Woodland Hills

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Sharks fans insist on using the uncreative, insipid “Beat L.A.” chant endlessly during every Kings game. Though it is tired, the most annoying thing about it is the reference to our city as “L.A.” I doubt people who live in towns named after St. Joseph and St. Francis, would appreciate their cities referred to as, “S.F.” and “S.J.”

I submit the actual name of our city for their chant in future use: “Beat El Pueblo Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula!”

But congratulations to their hockey team. The Sharks played sharply, with purpose and great desire and deserved to win.

Dan Johnson

Burbank

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I guess when the Kings experience one of their usual mid-eason slumps, we can longer use the excuse, “Well, they’re built for the playoffs.”

Jeff Davine

West Hills

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Any chance the Kings and Ducks could play a consolation freeway series to determine the least disappointing team? To have any chance of winning, the Ducks would have to get home-ice disadvantage.

Ron Reeve

Glendora

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After the Ducks’ loss Wednesday night against Nashville, a more appropriate headline would be, “Another one bites the Ducks.”

Bill Borland

Torrance

School daze

Please. Jim Mora wants to “make sure they’re not racing through life.” But he has no problem having kids race through their academics in high school so they can get more reps in spring practice and get started in the UCLA strength and conditioning. So instead of enjoying their last days of really being a kid, Mora and all other major programs rush these kids to get into their systems for one simple reason: to help millionaire coaches and multimillion-dollar programs profit on the work of gifted kids. Let’s just be honest about why they get them to enroll early. Follow the money.

Jeff Heister

Chatsworth

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Every year there are high school athletes who choose high schools that will best help them get college scholarships.

Every year there are athletes like Max Browne and Sam Darnold at USC who choose their college not by the best ability to get a pro contract, but based on their own ego.

When will people learn that the old Pete Carroll line of “Come to USC to compete” was in Pete’s best interest, not necessarily in the athlete’s best interest.

Mike Smith

Huntington Beach

Dodger town

Having attended a game at Dodger Stadium this week, I offer advice to Dodgers’ management. If they increase the size of the scoreboards, they will be able to bombard fans with even more advertising.

Richard Raffalow

Valley Glen

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So Donnie Baseball has found joy with the Marlins. I saw his beaming face in the dugout Monday night and I too found joy. My joy was came from the fact that his smiling face was in the first base dugout.

Larry Weiner

Culver City

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On the heels of the Marlins’ four-game sweep, the Dodgers announced a new giveaway, “Don Mattingly T-shirt Night.” The front of the T-shirt shows a photo of Donnie with the caption, “Still Think It Was Me?” This will be available to the first 4 million fans who wanted a new manager.

Rich Sperber

Woodland Hills

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Quote of the week from Chris Hatcher: “He got the pitch he was looking for. He put a good swing on it. That’s baseball. You can’t win ‘em all.”

How about saving or winning one game?

Lee Tanaka

Studio City

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Question: Currently, if you had to choose today whom you would want to come in and pitch in the eight inning of a close game, would it be: A. Mickey Hatcher (star of the 1988 World Series), B: Teri Hatcher (Star of “Desperate Housewives”), or C; Chris Hatcher (an E ticket with a 7.27 ERA)?

Answer: Not really sure, but I narrowed my selection down to two.

Wayne Kamiya

El Segundo

All the rage

In his last 24 starts, Jake Arrieta of the Cubs has a 20-1 record with an ERA of 0.86 and has hit the only three home runs in his career and Huston Street doesn’t understand why other players are whispering about it. Really, Huston?

Dave Moore

Santa Ana

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Dee Gordon’s statement indicating that he had no idea that he had ingested two banned substances was far worse than his crime. Too bad Dee didn’t just fess up and say, “Hey, it got me a batting title, a stolen base title, a Gold Glove, an All-Star game appearance and $50 million! What the hell would you have done differently?”

Ray Hill

Northridge

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