Is Clippers Curse lifted?

Baron is/was the most popular athlete in the Bay Area, and he will be sorely missed, but there were no calls or letters from fans in favor of a five-year offer from the Warriors. I'm afraid that this new contract of his, if true, will just be another extension of the Clippers Curse.

Broc Rossell

San Francisco

In the Clippers' never-ending quest to achieve mediocrity, the one and only player to transcend the embarrassment with grace and humility has been Elton Brand.

So to the Clippers organization and its fans, it is time to let Elton Brand go. He had 16.4 million reasons to not opt out of the final year of his contract, yet he did. Though Elton continues to say the right things, leaving that kind of payday on the table sends a clear message: He wants out.

It is an insult for him to have to continue to play for an organization that is not committed to winning, and insists on surrounding him with a revolving door of role players and high-end journeymen (see Sam Cassell). Do a sign-and-trade if you must. Elton Brand is too great a player, and too good a person to have to wear a Clippers uniform for one more game.

Eric Kageyama

Torrance

Got my annual call from an account executive about my Clippers season-ticket renewal this week.

This year it was a new AE (the old one couldn't take it anymore and left for the Pacers) asking, "Did you hear the great news?"

I told him I'm not wasting $3,000 anymore on going to see 41 nights of "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back."

Paul Cockerill

Studio City

Around the diamond

Questions to the Angels' management:

Mike Scioscia is quoted as saying: "There are different solutions for each hitter. It's a culmination of each guy getting into his game."

Do you really think Mickey Hatcher can do that?

Unless the Angels do something about their pathetic offense right now, it will be another first-round playoff embarrassment.

When is Mickey Hatcher getting fired?

Gary Fusco

Petaluma, Calif.

My neighbor told me, no, Angels hitters do not regularly swing at pitches that are half a foot above the ground and a foot and a half outside. It is, he told me, a distortion I fall prey to by the angle of the television camera showing the game.