Letters To Sports: Chad Baker-mazara And Gilbert Arenas Have It All Wrong

Chad Baker-Mazara is the poster child for 2026 college athletics. A 26-year-old basketball mercenary at his fifth school, Baker-Mazara is the average age of an NBA player. Dismissed from USC for disciplinary reasons, Mazara makes the “student athlete” moniker laughable. He is obviously nothing more than a professional basketball player not good enough to play in the NBA.

Mark S. Roth
Playa Vista

Chad Baker-Mazara is 26 years old. USC is the fifth school he has played for, with a spotty (at best) record at each. So USC dismisses him for a number of reasons and Gilbert Arenas is quoted as saying "when you the best player on the team, whatever you say, you right." So forgive and forget?

School number six coming up.

Bert Bergen
La Cañada

So Gilbert Arenas says “when you the best player on the team, whatever you say, you right.”

So in other words you can be disruptive, not hustle, ignore your coach, etc., because you’re the “star” of the team.

Alijah Arenas, please do not listen to your father.

Oscar Rosalez
Diamond Bar

True blue

Bill Shaikin’s suggestion that Freddie Freeman wear a Dodger cap on his inevitable Hall of Fame plaque will be even more appropriate if Freeman becomes the first player to collect hit number 3,000 while wearing Dodger blue.

With Freeman needing only 569 more hits to get to his stated goal of at least 3,000 — barring a long-term lockout in 2027 or the unthinkable, a failure to extend Freddie’s contract by at least two more years — he should reach that milestone in 2029.

Ken Feldman
Tarzana

Helping hand

The Dodgers' efforts in helping former player Andrew Toles and his mental health condition are truly commendable.
More major league teams should follow suit similarly should their current and former players need this kind of support.

These types of humanitarian actions are why our Dodgers are looked upon so favorably in the baseball community, and why most players don’t hesitate in joining them should they have the chance.

Marty Zweben
Palos Verdes Estates

Kudos to the Dodgers for placing Andrew Toles on its restricted list these past years. Now is the time to really step up to the plate and pay for his health insurance going forward.

Felice Klein
Northridge

What the Halo?

I just read Bill Shaikin's column on the Angels and Zach Neto. In it, Angels owner Arte Moreno was quoted as saying that among Angels fans' priorities for the organization “winning is not in their top five.”

I almost dropped my coffee on my lap reading that one. Who did he poll to get that ridiculous response? Dodgers fans at a Dodgers game? If winning was not even in their “top five” what was?

Speaking as a very long-suffering Angels fan, I can tell you what my No. 1 priority is for the organization. Somehow get Arte Moreno to sell the team to a serious owner who does want to make winning the priority and not just an apparent tax writeoff for himself.

Chuck Lucero
Thousand Oaks

Bill Shaikin's column on Zach Neto and the Angels says all there is to know about the Angels poorly run organization. The owner says the fans do not care much about winning, and obviously neither does he. The GM refuses to talk, but the failure to sign or even offer a good young infielder speaks volumes. Will the Angels owner and front office ever wake up?

Bill Francis
Pasadena

There’s no doubt that the Angels’ Zach Neto is talented and a cornerstone for the team to build around. But in Bill Shaikin’s article, he’s quoted as saying, “I am going to be where my feet are every day, and that is here, with the city of Los Angeles and with the Angels.”

It seems like he has Arte Moreno disease, wanting to be in L.A., but living in the Orange County. Zach, if you don’t know where you are, you won’t know when you get there.

Bob Kargenian
Yorba Linda

What're the odds?

When Mirjam Swanson writes about the Lakers, "They're 1-8 against the league's top four teams," and Thuc Nhi Nguyen reports, "Five of the Lakers' next eight games are against the three teams directly ahead of them in the Western Conference," how am I supposed to like the Lakers' chances?

Vaughn Hardenberg
Westwood

Reign of pain

The Kings’ future is very dim with ownership (AEG) that doesn’t care about the success of the team and management that is clearly misguided. If only there was a partnership (Guggenheim) out there (Guggenheim) with a proven local team ownership record (Guggenheim) that could step in and begin the top to bottom house cleaning this organization desperately needs!

Nick Rose
Newport Coast

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.