Letters to Sports: Transfer portal is part of the messed-up process

On Tuesday, The Times published a long hit piece by Bill Plaschke on UCLA and Nico Iamaleava for his late transfer from Tennessee to UCLA. He says he is all in favor of NIL but bemoans the fact that this transfer was made in the spring instead of the winter when Tennessee could better deal with it. But the NCAA rules committee, composed of member school athletic directors, specifically extended the transfer period to the end of the spring practice period. All schools know that and many have eliminated scrimmage games to avoid showcasing talent. Plaschke should criticize the rule-makers instead of the kids and institutions that follow them.

Alan Abajian
Alta Loma

Plaschke’s opinion is right in the new quarterback’s name “I am a leava” so the Bruins must be aware of this about him and wary in dealing with him. Wisdom is knowing the right path to take. And taking it is integrity.

Mark Sherwin
Los Angeles

Plaschke’s column on Nico Iamaleava is interesting and maybe a little mean spirited. However, one thing it did accomplish was to peak my interest in UCLA football and see if a Long Beach kid can thrive back home in SoCal.

David Waldowski
Laguna Woods

I may lose my well-worn Kings fan card by admitting this, but late in Game 1, I feared that my team’s alliterative accomplishments — the “Miracle on Manchester” and the “Stunner at Staples” (a.k.a. “Frenzy on Figueroa”) — would soon be joined by the antithetical “Collapse at Crypto” … “Monday Night Meltdown”?

I “Danault” what I was thinking! Whew!

Cindy McMahon
Manhattan Beach

The birth of his first child has apparently given Shohei Ohtani granddad strength.

Hans Tesselaar
Saugus

Did the sports section of The Times miss the memo that the Lakers are not the only team in town anymore? It’s about time to give the Clippers a second reporter to Broderick Turner. As a die-hard, longtime Clipper fan, I am sick and tired of opening the sports section and seeing dual full page coverage, including pictures of the Lakers in action and the Clippers coverage relegated to a small corner two pages in. The Lakers are not the prima donnas they used to be and the Clippers are not the stepchild they used to be.

Beverlyn M. Jackson
Rialto

What an impressive performance so far by the Clippers in this playoff series against the Nuggets. This is more like a Western Conference finals series rather than Round One of the playoffs. Game 3, the first playoff game ever at Intuit Dome, was amazing. People were likely a bit skeptical when owner Steve Ballmer talked about “The Wall” before the arena was ever built. But now you see the brilliance behind it. It was so loud the alarm on my friend’s Apple watch kept going off with “Warning: you are in a very loud environment!” Let’s go Clippers!

Dave Ring
Manhattan Beach

While trying to appear sincere, Aday Mara comes off anything but genuine. Like during a romantic break-up he used the “it’s not you, it’s me” approach. Let’s be truthful here ... any time I hear it’s not the money, of course it’s the money. Put on your big boy pants, muster up some intellectual honesty, Aday, and just tell us after the Bruin coaching staff made you into more of a polished player than even you anticipated, you couldn’t resist the additional NIL.

Ron Yukelson
San Luis Obispo

After reading Ben Bolch’s article about why Aday Mara left UCLA, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I can understand why he would want to go to a school that he believes can better develop his skills as a basketball player. On the other hand, it sounds like sour grapes when he says that he never had the opportunity to show that he was able to play. How much opportunity should a player get who admits that he would get tired and need rest after six minutes of playing time? He attributes this to the fact that he was going 100% during that time, but don’t players give 100% all the time they are on the floor? I wish him well but the Wolverines have a lot of work to do.

Mark Kaiserman
Santa Monica

As I watched Sarah Ashlee Barker hit three consecutive free throws to tie the score with less than a second left in the first overtime of Alabama’s NCAA tournament game against Maryland, I thought, “If I ever have to have heart surgery, I want her holding the scalpel.” Her poise and confidence under pressure were out of this world. Kudos to the Sparks for drafting her.

Will Tomlinson
Santa Barbara

Really enjoyed the article by Kevin Baxter about Wes Parker. It was wonderful to reminisce about life in the early 1960s that included the classy Parker. In 1963, I was privileged to see him play at old Laguna Park in downtown Santa Barbara for the California League team Santa Barbara Rancheros. Truly one of a kind in that era.

Jerry Carlson
Camarillo

What a great article about Wes Parker — a breath of fresh air! Super guy! I remember all the Dodger first basemen from the early years: Hodges, Larker, Parker, Garvey, even Greg Brock (ugh). However, I can’t remember anybody after Brock. Weird, right? Maybe Brock broke my brain.

Mike Schaller
Temple City

I have to admit, I felt a little disgruntled upon hearing that yet another player from my favorite college basketball team had entered the transfer portal. Maybe it’s time for me to jump ship. Perhaps there’s a college basketball program out there that has something to offer to new would-be supporters like me. You know, autographed jerseys, free tickets and a parking pass. So I decided to enter the Fan Transfer Portal, but quickly discovered that ... the line was too long.

Joe Kevany
Mount Washington

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