Letters to Sports: MLB allowing Dodgers to play unfair against small-market teams

I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks the deferred payment deal stinks. How can small-market teams expect to compete when MLB allows bogus deals like this one?

Dave Thoma
Ventura

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I’ll bet the Dodgers don’t structure season-ticket payment plans to allow fans additional cash flow flexibility by deferring 97% of the annual cost until 2034.

Steve Ross
Carmel

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$2 million a year sounds about right as Shohei Ohtani will probably be injured for most of the next ten years.

David Marshall
Santa Monica

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Now that the Dodgers have spent millions to acquire and sign Ohtani, can they please do something about those boring, tasteless “Dodger Dogs”?

Rob Parra
Rowland Heights

As the Dodgers celebrate the signing of Shohei Ohtani, I can’t help but think that they could’ve signed Corey Seager for less than half of the $700 million that Ohtani received. Not only is Seager a great hitter, he plays the toughest position in baseball and was the Dodgers only World Series MVP in the last 35 years. Ohtani doesn’t play in the field and Dodger fans have no idea who is going to play shortstop this coming season.

Mike Gamboa
Buena Park

So now not only is Joe Kelly a Dodger hero for life, his wife is one too? A round of applause for her inspiring recruiting efforts. Maybe she can give some tips to Lincoln Riley next.

Danny Balber Jr.
Pasadena

The Chargers did two things wrong. They didn’t fire Staley after his first bonehead fourth-down call months ago or they didn’t fire him as, Richard Sherman suggested, at halftime last night.

Russell Morgan
Carson

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Brandon Staley and Tom Telasco were finally fired by Dean Spanos on Friday. The Spanoses always seem to be a day late and a dollar short. Staley should have been fired last year after the playoff debacle against Jacksonville. Staley’s decision to play his starters in the meaningless last game in Denver where Mike Williams was injured was appalling. It’s beyond me why us Chargers fans were subjected to another year of coaching incompetence.

John Borrego
Safety Harbor, Fla.

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Hey Chargers step up...and for once...make a big move. Going forward I suggest you give the “keys to the car” to Bill Belichick. No, not as your next coach...but make him the President/CEO of all football operations. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. In my opinion he’s the man to trust and move your floundering organization in the right direction.

Richard Whorton
Studio City

As much as it annoys me to see athletes and coaches disregard their contracts and either jump teams or demand trades, it’s time for Justin Herbert to do just that. The Chargers are a sad sack organization that will never build a team worthy of a talent like Herbert.

Jeff Heister
Chatsworth

The greatest franchise in the NBA wants to hang their in-season-tournament banner alongside the 17 championship ones?

Why not have UCLA basketball memorialize their Maui Invitational banners at Pauley, USC football their Holiday Bowl victories or the Dodgers their Freeway Series wins?

Royalty acts like it belongs and has been there.

Maddox Rees
Santa Barbara

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I’m glad the Lakers won the in-season tournament, but if they are going to put a banner up for winning seven regular-season games, there needs to be a banner for the Lakers’ all time NBA record of 33 straight wins in the 1971-1972 season

Ken Feldman
Tarzana

”Latu to sit out as Bruins try to plug holes.” ‘Tis the season to be reminded that the idea of the “student athlete” is now a pious fiction. Top athletes now have no loyalty to or appreciation of teammates or their university in pursuit of their own interests. With transfer portals and NIL income and NFL drafts, better players have in effect become independent contractors that use the other members of their team, their university affiliation, and even their $6 million dollar coach as assistants in achieving their personal goals. If it makes things difficult for their team, too bad. There is no “team” in “I.”

Henry A. Hespenheide
Hermosa Beach

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is a traditional sports page, one with the standings, the box scores and brief summaries of all the games. Please, Santa, I know this will make a lot of readers very happy.

Stuart Rosenberg
Anaheim

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