Letters: What a marvelous week in sports

The Rams score a touchdown, the Raiders have a winning record and Vinny rocks Bette Midler. Now, if our Dodgers can win the World Series, we will have truly once again witnessed the year of the improbable, where the impossible has happened.

Marty Zweben

Palos Verdes Estates

Trojans tumble, Bruins bumble

Every year I read about USC signing one of the top recruiting classes in the country. If you have great players and they continually underperform, the blame falls on the coaching staff and especially the head coach. Ted Tollner has returned to USC, but his name is now Clay Helton.

Jack Dietz

Los Angeles

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It is fair to say that for most of us that love the USC football program got spoiled by the results of the Pete Carroll, John Robinson and John McKay and now we are forced to accept the hard reality that does not reflect the existence of great talent in the team but does reflect the lack of proper direction or strategies utilized by those responsible.

Alfonso Izurieta

Fountain Valley

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Jim Mora has tried coaching in the pros and in college. He’s on course for his next likely destination: high school.

Wes Wellman

Santa Monica

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There is a famous quote that Dean Smith was the only person who could stop Michael Jordan. Similarly, Jim Mora is the only one who can stop Josh Rosen. With Stanford using to backup cornerbacks because of injuries, Mora inexplicably played not to lose by conservatively running the ball, and he was rewarded with yet another signature loss.

Clay Helton must be thanking his lucky stars Mora is in town to deflect his well-deserved hot seat.

Mark S. Roth

Los Angeles

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Bruins fans, there is no need to adjust your glasses or TV set. Jim Mora is in fact, the conservative reincarnation of former coaches Terry Donahue and Karl Dorrell. When a run is expected, Mora runs. When it’s fourth down and the game is on the line, Mora punts. He takes predictable and conventional play to another level.

Scott Lorentz

La Canada

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It seems that your writers gave offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu a free pass when breaking down UCLA’s loss to Stanford. With 4:33 to go, UCLA had the ball and the lead and desperately needed to eat up clock. Polamalu, who is also running backs coach, called four straight runs right into the gut of the Stanford line. He got lucky on the second one when the runner bounced off a lineman, broke outside and improbably gained 23 yards. Great, but two more misguided runs led to an obvious passing situation, fourth down, and defeat.

Note to Jim Mora: If Polamalu likes the running game so much, why not make it his full-time job and bring in a real offensive coordinator?

Mario Valvo

Ventura

The westernmost in quality

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Thanks for the great Scully section, but did you have to pull at heart strings on every page? Dang it, I even cried at the Farmer John ad.

John Thompson

Downey

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Dear Dr. Scully,

We, the University of the Fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers, do hereby award you with an honorary Doctorate in Baseball, with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto. You have taught us more about the game, its history, and its players than any other. As I sat yesterday and watched the game with my kids, I realized how much we have learned from each one of your “lectures.” I don’t think there has ever been another educator, in any field (no pun intended), whose students have hung on every word for so long and storied a career. Never underestimate the value of what you have done for so many. All the best in retirement, Dr. Scully!

Chad Barber

Thousand Oaks

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It has been said that baseball is a metaphor for life — the hope of spring, the dog days of summer , the triumph of fall, and too often the cold defeat of winter.

Like many Dodgers fans I have immersed myself in nostalgia the past few weeks reading, listening, and viewing everything I could about Vin Scully. And like many I’m sure, I yearn to preserve that magical connection he has with me all the while knowing it is a fleeting thing and will soon be no more.

I will long cherish the memories of the happy times that came to life against the backdrop of his play-by-play. Although unthinkable at the moment, in time those memories will fade, but they’ll never be forgotten. His perfect synthesis of words and voice shall remain timeless — like the cycle of life. Like baseball.

Thank you, Vin. Thank you for everything.

Tim Stapel

Rancho Palos Verdes

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The high regard in which Vin Scully is held is not simply attributable to his competence and longevity, but to his essential decency. It’s what also drew us to John Wooden over all those years. This also says something about us, about what we really value in people. Perhaps we should set that standard for our politics as well — that we promote those who are driven to act out of their own essential decency rather than those who merely distinguish themselves in the adversarial milieu.

Siegfried Othmer

Woodland Hills

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Two and two to Vin Scully. One strike away. Father Time into his windup. Here’s the pitch. Swung on and…It’s a high fly ball into deep right field and he is …

As Scully rounds third base in our hearts and memories…

Innnn comes the red haired boy that once hit bottlecaps in the streets of New York and listened to the radio and dreamed of becoming part of the game. Innnn comes the red-haired man with a voice smooth as velvet, strong as oak, who is definitively the best at his craft that ever was, that isnow, and ever will be in any sport. Heeere comes an honorable man loved and revered by millions the world over. As he touches home plate, looks up, and gives a final wave to the cheering crowd, we all wave back and bid you, our friend, Vin Scully, a very pleasant rest of your life.

Richard Matson

Hermosa Beach

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If I could sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with any Dodgers great, my first choice would be, of course, Jackie Robinson. My second choice would be Vin Scully. Nobody else even comes close to those two.

Michael Henderson

Huntington Beach

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I know, I know, there’s no crying in baseball.

But with Vinny’s farewell and Jose’s passing, it’s been difficult not to.

Richard Agata

Culver City

That would be fair, eh?

If the NHL would like to level out the playing field for the World Cup of Hockey so that someone other than Team Canada wins the championship, they might want to consider forcing Team Canada to be coached by John Tortorella in future World Cups.

Ryan Madden

Huntington Beach

Give it a rest

This is the time of year when baseball fans are treated to one of the sport’s grandest traditions: the boisterous champagne celebration for winning the . . . wild card berth?

Bennett Beebe

Westwood

Farewell to the King

Simply put, how refreshing it is to have had an Arnold Palmer.

Gino Cirignano

Playa del Rey

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