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Letters: Balls say bye-bye to the Bruins

From left: Brothers Lonzo Ball, LaMelo Ball and LiAngelo Ball with father LaVar Ball at LaMelo's 16th birthday party on Sept. 2 in Chino.
(Joshua Blanchard / Getty Images)
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Under the expert tutelage of their star-maker father, I cannot wait to see LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball when they turn pro. Hopefully they will remember to hold the onions on my Big Mac.

Mike Gamboa

Buena Park

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Now that LiAngelo Ball has been pulled out of UCLA by his shy and demure father LaVar Ball-Kardashian-Jenner, he can spend all of his time getting ready (to be completely passed over) for the NBA draft. He will need to work on his shooting, rebounding, blocked shots and every other aspect of the game except one: Steals.

Erik Schuman

Fountain Valley

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LaVar Ball wants nothing more to do with UCLA? Boy, was Dan Guerrero mistaken if he thought that hiring Chip Kelly would be the high point of his year.

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Brian Lipson

Beverly Hills

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I commend LaVar Ball for removing his son from UCLA and preparing LiAngelo for the upcoming draft. More parents should encourage their children to serve our country. However, the elder Ball obviously doesn’t realize that the military draft ended in 1973. Therefore, LiAngelo should just enlist. I’m sure the Marines would be a perfect fit to instill the proper discipline that the younger Ball failed to receive from his father in his first 19 years.

Richard Katz

Los Angeles

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L—Loud

A—Arrogant

V—Vitriolic

A—Antagonistic

R—Ridiculous

B—Bombastic

A—Abrasive

L—Looney

L—Lost!

(And, we could certainly throw in delusional and ungrateful, but I don’t have those letters in his name).

Rick Solomon

Lake Balboa

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We all know what BBB stands for now...

Big Balling Babies.

Steven DeMont

Orange

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As a Bruin alum who remembers John Wooden-coached teams with great pride, I agree wholeheartedly with Bill Plaschke. It’s far more important to set and enforce high standards for UCLA players’ legal and ethical behavior than to excuse it just to keep a good player on the team.

I feel sorry for LaVar Ball’s sons, who clearly have little to no say in their own life decisions. I wish them well.

As for their father, let him go harangue another college basketball coach. UCLA is better off without him.

Marcy Rothenberg

Porter Ranch

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Thankfully for UCLA, the LaVar Ball Era has officially ended, but sadly for the Lakers, it has only just begun.

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Tom Lallas

Los Angeles

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In Tuesday’s article about LiAngelo Ball leaving UCLA, his father was quoted as saying of his son, “He might as well be in jail.” That is the first time I agree with anything LaVar Ball has ever said.

Scott Daloisio

Chino

On to the Lakers

When is The Times going to get some quotes from the father of the Lakers’ rookie-of-the-year candidate? Oh wait, that’s right, Kyle Kuzma’s father isn’t hogging his son’s spotlight and trying to capitalize on his son’s fame.

Steve Rosenblatt

West Hills

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Obviously there is a reason in addition to his his playmaking skills that earned Earvin Johnson his nickname. After joining the Dodgers, he announced he would be at Dodger Stadium every day and fix the problematic TV situation Then he disappeared. When he took over the Lakers this year, he highly touted his team and the choice of Lonzo Ball as his first draft choice. Then both got off to disappointing starts and poof he was gone again. Amazing !

Bert Bergen

La Canada

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I’ve been wondering whom Luke Walton uses as his coaching model. At first I thought it was Phil Jackson because Luke sits back, crosses his legs and lets the team figure things out. Then I thought perhaps John Wooden since Luke holds a rolled-up program while coaching. But now I realize that his coaching model is Doc Rivers because he spends most of the game crying and whining to the officials!

David Waldowski

Laguna Woods

Never an offseason

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Did the Angels’ brass sweeten Ohtani’s deal with a couple of season passes to Disneyland or Knott’s Berry Farm?

Mark J. Featherstone

Windsor Hills

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Let me get this straight: The most prolific home run hitter in baseball wants to come home and play for the Dodgers and there is hesitation on the team’s part? A nucleus of Seager, Bellinger and Stanton sounds like a multiple World Series winner to me. Am I missing something? Or should I just plan on ordering another cool “We Won The West” shirt?

Tom Krug

Playa del Rey

Fixing football

Let’s stop the madness once and for all and have an eight-team college football playoff: five Power 5 conference champions and three wild cards (we can even throw a bone to the Group of 5 by requiring one of the wild cards to come from them). The committee still gets to pick the wild cards and seed the teams, but at least this system would make more sense than the current BCS-on-steroids method.

Dave Fisher

La Cañada

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Hopefully Larry Scott will realize that his job is to promote the Pac-12 and not bury it. He cannot allow his best team to go without a bye and to play a Friday night game on the road. Pac-12 teams on the road on Friday nights were 0-7.

Hey Larry, are you asleep? He should be fired for making such a costly error. You cost all the Pac-12 teams a lot of money, Good job Larry

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Sophie Perry

Los Angeles

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Did the College Football Playoff committee tell USC to drop Notre Dame and schedule Mercer in order to be invited to the playoffs?

Lynn McGinnis

Glendale

Getting chippy

Saturday’s letters reminded me of when UCLA football fans pound their chest:

• Before the Pac-12 season starts

• When another Pac-12 team beats USC

• When the NCAA gives their team a three-year window to pretend they’re on equal footing with USC

• When their program hires yet again another coach

Congratulations, Bruins. You hired an excellent coach whose resume falls far short of Pete Carroll, except in terms of getting the NCAA rulebook thrown at him.

USC fans haven’t been this scared since Rick Neuheisel put together his “dream team” coaching staff.

Mark Backstrom

Newport Coast

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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.

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