Sports
Letters to Sports: Lakers hiring JJ Redick shows how far they've fallen
The Lakers hiring JJ Redick as head coach validates the scholarly thinking that the only difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
Ron Yukelson
San Luis Obispo
::
Why would LeBron James agree to let JJ Redick take the reins of the Lakers? A man with no bench or managerial experience at the NBA or college levels? Easy … he’s coachable.
Paul Feinsinger
Agoura Hills
::
With the passing of Jerry West, this question has to be asked? Does anyone believe that JJ Redick or anyone else with zero coaching experience would have been hired if he was still running the Lakers. Who’s next? Doris Burke? Seventeen NBA championships might be it for quite a while.
Tom Krug
Playa Del Rey
::
Bill Plaschke got it right! The Lakers are foolish in hiring a guy as head coach who has no coaching experience. Some of us would have used a stronger word than foolish.
What Mr. Plaschke didn’t say is the Lakers also hired a general manager in Rob Pelinka whose only qualification was being Kobe Bryant’s agent. What do you expect from that guy?
Dr. Buss is rolling over in his grave as his team of past glory goes down the drain.
Michele Patterson
Palos Verdes Estates
::
It kills me to say I agree with Bill Plaschke on anything but this time he knocks it out of the park, including his parting shot at Bronny James.
If the Lakers wanted to have a mouthpiece for the over-the-hill LeBron why not make him a player-coach? This entire sickening process just shows how far the once-great franchise has fallen. As Plaschke so accurately points out, how is it possible that they couldn’t hire a first-class quality coach? The answer is simple, just like Hurley no one with a brain wanted this job no matter the money.
Go on Lakers, make it official and take Bronny and prove you have truly hit bottom!
Jay Slater
Los Angeles
::
People are so quick to deem that JJ Redick can’t succeed because he’s never coached before.
How many corporate CEO’s actually know how to manufacture the gadgets their company’s sell; or the intricacies of shipping? It’s not like JJ isn’t steeped in basketball savvy.
Henry Ford attributed his success in large part to his willingness to surround himself with “eagles.” I say give JJ the chance to build his nest and then let’s see how they soar.
David Griffin
Westwood
Title talk
So Magic Johnson says he hates that the Celtics now have more championships than the Lakers? I’m not sure why since he set Boston up for the next decade by selecting Lonzo Ball over Jayson Tatum in the 2017 NBA draft because he needed a point guard to “run the show.” Never mind Lonzo couldn’t shoot and didn’t seem to care one bit when Magic called him the “face of the franchise” during his first visit to the Lakers training facility. But this is another, if perhaps most egregious, thing Magic did while running the Lakers show that hurt the team more than helped. And don’t get me started on the cowardly way he quit!
Danny Balber Jr.
Pasadena
::
Now that the Celtics have won the title, the Lakers can trumpet that they beat the champs in Boston on Feb. 1 (despite playing without LeBron and Anthony Davis), in addition to promoting their in-season tournament championship.
Ken Feldman
Tarzana
That’s Rich
Rich Paul, LeBron and Bronny James’ agent, is quoted as saying, “There’s no deal made that it’s guaranteed that if the Lakers draft Bronny at 55, [LeBron] will re-sign. If that was the case I’d force them to take him at 17.”
Well, that makes it official: Rich Paul is the de facto GM of the Lakers.
Rhys Thomas
Valley Glen
Open and shut case
Shouldn’t your golf headline be “DeChambeau given Open title”? And not subtitled “inspired by [Payne] Stewart,” but “the recipient of two terribly short putts missed by Rory McIlroy at the end.” Poor Rory, it hurts the rest of us bad enough when we miss a $2 putt.
Joel Athey
Valley Village
::
Pundits and fans alike will be saying “Rory choked at the U.S. Open,” but this is literally untrue. He went 46 for 48 putting inside 3 feet over the weekend. He had three birdies on the back nine in the final round (and a fantastic par save on 17th hole.) Missing two short putts down the stretch magnifies their impact, but carding a 69 is hardly a choke.
Brad Kearns
Stateline, Nev.
Deal him out
So, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford apparently wants a new deal or to at least renegotiate his current contract since he is no longer guaranteed any money, although he is under contract for two more years at tens-of-millions of dollars a year, and the market for QB salaries continues to increase. How about this, Matt, honor your contract! How many Rams fans can go to their supervisor and get a raise or a guarantee they will be paid their full salary even if they do not work (“play”).
Enough with spoiled, self-centered athletes. The Lakers have enough of those for L.A., the Rams do not need more.
Matt Clarke
Hawthorne
Say, hey, it ain’t so
Willie Mays played for the hated San Francisco Giants and I was a die-hard Dodgers fan — yet he was my favorite player.
Enough said.
Steve Kaye
Oro Valley, Ariz.
::
I am 71 years old. I have always been a Dodger fan. I have always hated the Giants. But I have always loved Willie Mays.
I only wish that Vin Scully was still around to deliver a eulogy that we would never forget.
Eric Monson
Temecula
::
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.
Email: sports@latimes.com
Sports
Indy 500: Counting Down The 10 Best Finishes In Race History
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The best Indianapolis 500 finish could be subjective, depending on which driver a fan was rooting for to win.
It certainly is in the eye of the beholder.
So take this list for what it’s worth. One view of the 10 best finishes in Indianapolis 500 history. Of course, it skews to more recent decades when the runs have come a little faster and the finishes have had a tendency to be a little closer.
We’ll add one each day to this list of fantastic finishes ahead of the 110th running of the Indy 500 on May 24 (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
10. Ericsson outduels O’Ward (2022)
After a red flag, Marcus Ericsson held off Pato O’Ward in a two-lap shootout. The shootout didn’t last two laps, though, as there was a crash on the final lap behind them. Ericsson had a comfortable lead when the red flag came out for a crash with four laps to go, a situation where in past Indianapolis 500 races, they likely would have ended the race under caution with Ericsson as the winner.
9. Foyt survives chaos (1967)
How does a driver who wins by two laps end up on this list? It’s because the win nearly didn’t happen on the last lap. A big crash with cars and debris littering the frontstretch just ahead of Foyt as he came to the checkered flag forced him to navigate through the wreckage for the win.
8. Sato can’t catch Franchitti (2012)
This was one of those finishes where the leader holds on for the win, but boy did the leader have to hold on. Takuma Sato tried to pass Dario Franchitti early on the final lap but to no avail and Franchitti sped off for the victory. This was one of those Indy 500s that made you hold your breath all the way to the checkered flag.
Sports
UCLA softball pummels South Carolina to advance to NCAA super regional
No. 8 UCLA stuck with right-hander Taylor Tinsley throughout the Los Angeles Regional and that faith in the senior paid off.
During the Bruins’ NCAA tournament opener at Easton Stadium, Tinsley gave up 10 runs before her teammates rallied for a walk-off win. She returned less than 24 hours to pitch against South Carolina, giving up two earned runs in a victory. Tinsley was back in the circle Sunday afternoon, yielding one run in UCLA’s 15-1 victory over the Gamecocks to advance to the super regionals.
“I am proud of Taylor’s resiliency, the ability to do whatever she can to help this team,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “She got stronger through the weekend. I am proud of that.”
Tinsley and her teammates will host Central Florida in a super regional that begins Friday.
“I feel good,” Tinsley said after pitching three key games in three days. “I could have gone more innings if needed.”
South Carolina right-hander Jori Heard gave up only one hit through two innings, keeping UCLA’s potent bats relatively quiet. The Gamecocks had runners on first and second with two outs in the second, but Tinsley escaped the inning with a pop-up to left field.
The Bruins got on the board first with a two-run home run from left fielder Rylee Slimp in the third inning. The Bruins followed it up by loading the bases with no outs in the fifth for right fielder Megan Grant.
Grant cooked up a grand slam to make it 6-0. She has 40 home runs, extending her hold on the NCAA single-season home run record. Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells trails Grant with 37 homers.
“Its just incredible because I am blessed to be able to say the number 40,” Grant said.
South Carolina broke through on an RBI single from left fielder Quincee Lilio to cut UCLA’s lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning after being held to just one hit since the first inning. The Gamecocks couldn’t cash in the rest of the way.
The Bruins resumed scoring in the sixth inning, with the bases loaded and Grant at bat again. Fans at Easton Stadium anticipated another grand slam, holding up their cellphones hoping to catch some magic. Grant served up a two-run RBI single to expand the lead 8-1.
Jordan Woolery added to the scoring with a two-run RBI double down the left-field line, and Kaniya Bragg hit a home run to left-center field. Soo-jin Berry put a bow on the win with one more home run.
Sports
Pro wrestling star learns what ‘land of opportunity’ means in US as he details journey from Italy to America
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Cristiano Argento has been tearing up opponents in the ring for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as he worked his way up the ladder to get a few shots at some gold.
But the path to get to one of the most prestigious pro wrestling companies in the U.S. was long and a path that not many wrestlers have taken.
Argento was born and raised in Osimo, Italy – a town of about 35,000 people located on the east side of the country closer to the Adriatic Sea. He told Fox News Digital he started training in a ring at a boxing gym before he got started on the independent scene in Italy. He wrestled in Germany, Sweden, France and Denmark before he came to the realization that, to become a professional wrestler, he needed to make his way to the United States.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Cristiano Argento performs in the National Wrestling Alliance (Instagram)
He first worked his way to Canada to get trained by pro wrestling legend Lance Storm. He moved to Canada, leaving most of his friends and family behind and without a firm grasp on the English language.
“At the time, my English was horrible. I didn’t speak any English at all,” he said. “But I was with my friend, Stefano, he came with me and he translated everything for me. I probably missed 50% of the knowledge that Lance Storm was giving to us because I was unable to understand. I was only given a recap and everything I was able to see. I’m sure if I was doing it now with a proper knowledge of English, it would have been a different scenario.
“Eventually, I moved back to Italy after the training and I said, OK, now, I want to go to the U.S. So, I studied English more properly, and eventually I got my first work visa that was in Texas. I was in Houston for a short period of time. I trained with Booker T at Reality of Wrestling. I got on his show, which was my debut in the U.S. That was awesome. I eventually got a new work visa in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I currently live since 2017. Since then, my wrestling career, thankfully, kept growing, growing, growing and growing until now wrestling for the NWA. One of the bigger promotions in the U.S.”
Argento said that his family thought he was “nuts” for chasing his pro wrestling dream.
He said they were more concerned about his well-being given that he was half-way around the world without anyone he knew by his side in case something went sideways.
“My family, friends, everybody was like why do you want to move to the opposite side of the world not knowing the language, not knowing anybody, by yourself, to try to become a professional wrestler? And I was like, well, we have one life, I love, and that’s what I’m gonna do,” he told Fox News Digital. “Eventually, my family was really supportive. But when I first said, ‘Hey, mom and dad, I want to do that.’ They looked at me like, ‘Are you nuts? Are you drunk or something? What are you talking about?’ And I said, no that’s what I want to do. And they knew I loved this sport because in Italy I was traveling around Europe, spending time in Canada training, so they started to understand slowly that’s what I want to do with my life. They were proud of me.
Cristiano Argento works out in the gym. (Instagram)
“They’re still proud of me. I think more like the fact that you’re gonna try that, that it’s hard than more like you’re gonna leave us. The fact like, oh, my son is gonna go on the opposite side of the world for a six-hour time difference and we’re gonna see him maybe, when, like, I don’t know. Not often. I think it was more that. And for me too, it was really hard. It was heartbreaking not being able to see my family every day or every month. Like once a year if I’m lucky. I think that was the biggest part for them because of concern or that I was here by myself and if I have any issue or any problem, I didn’t have nobody. So they were scared. Like, you get sick, if you have a problem, anything, and they’re not being able to be here next to me. But they were really supportive since day one.”
Argento is living out his dream in the U.S. He suggested that the moniker of the U.S. being the “land of opportunity” wasn’t far from what is preached in movies and literature – it was the real thing.
“I was inspired by people who came to the U.S. and made it big,” Argento told Fox News Digital. “The U.S. was always like the land of opportunity. That’s how they sell it to us and this is what it is. I feel like, in myself, that was true because anything I tried to do so far I was able to reach a lot more than if I wasn’t here. I’m not yet where I’d like to be but I see like there’s so many opportunities in this country. Not just in wrestling but like in any business to reach the goal. I’m really happy of the choices I did here.
National Wrestling Alliance star Cristiano Argento poses in Times Square in New York. (Instagram)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“But my big inspirations were big-time actors who moved to the country, who didn’t know English, with no money, no support system. I had one dream, I have to go right there to make it happen and I’m gonna go and do it and I’m gonna make it happen. So those people were always the biggest inspiration even if it wasn’t in wrestling, just how they handled their passion, how they pursued their dream without being scared of anything, how far you are, how alone by yourself … You don’t know the language, you’re like, let’s go, let’s do it.”
Outside of the NWA, Argento has performed for the International Wrestling Cartel, Enjoy Wrestling and Exodus Pro Wrestling this year.
-
Utah2 minutes agoUtah’s fragile desert could feel like the Sahara if America’s biggest data center gets built
-
Vermont8 minutes agoVT Pride events mix protest, joy as LGBTQ groups see threat in new laws
-
Virginia14 minutes agoVirginia Lottery Pick 3 Night, Pick 3 Day results for May 17, 2026
-
Washington20 minutes ago
Washington Lottery Cash Pop, Pick 3 results for May 17, 2026
-
Wisconsin26 minutes ago
Wisconsin Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 results for May 17, 2026
-
West Virginia32 minutes agoWVDNR reminds public to leave young wildlife alone
-
Wyoming38 minutes agoHeavy Mountain Snow Expected Through Monday, Freezing And Snow For Cheyenne And Laramie
-
Crypto44 minutes agoRaoul Pal: The US-China AI Race 2026 Is a War No One Can Win