Fans Are Downbeat About Bulls’ Victory Over Jazz

OK, the Chicago Bulls have won their fifth NBA title in seven years. They clearly won in spite of themselves. Had the Jazz won, it would have been in spite of themselves, also. I have never seen a more pathetic display of shooting in my entire life. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird surely must have been salivating at the thought of playing either of these teams.

I do not even want to hear so much as one word on the supremacy of Michael Jordan. A fine player he is, but he did not display consistently the talents that he is so highly touted for. Credit lousy shooting by their opponents--the Bullets, Hawks, Heat, and finally the Jazz--for the Bulls’ most recent championship.

The Bulls as a team showed what they’re made of during the two years that Jordan was gone.

JOHN ROWE

Canoga Park

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I am sick and tired of Mark Heisler insisting that most NBA fans outside Chicago were rooting for the Utah Jazz. Even setting aside the matter of Michael Jordan’s brilliance, heart and charisma, it is hard to feel much enthusiasm for Utah’s plodding, workmanlike game.

Also, some of us have not forgotten Karl Malone’s misguided remarks about Magic Johnson and HIV.

Heisler persists in whining that the jaded champions have overstayed their welcome while the noble underdogs have won the hearts of basketball fans (if not the ring). However, those of us with a taste for the drama and poetry of the game celebrate the Bulls’ continued reign.

KARIN CODDON

San Diego

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A Jazzy Fairy Tale:

Little Red: My, Mr. Mailman, what huge arms you have.

Big Karl: The better to choke with, my dear.

GERARD VARNI

Manhattan Beach

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If Karl Malone were a POW, he’d give up more than his serial number. Under the slightest duress, he’d disclose everything he knew about D-Day. He’d let himself be intimidated by a crazy grunt, a role ably filled in the NBA finals by wayward Clipper Brian Williams. Imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger rendered a suicidal mess by Wallace Shawn, and you get some sense of the depth of the fall Malone took in the championship series.

NICKOLAS SILVER

Sherman Oaks

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Let us suppose that those who did not vote for Michael Jordan as the MVP are now the owners of an NBA franchise. They are offered a choice between Jordan and Karl Malone for their club for the coming year. What would the vote be?

JOHN E. McDERMAID

Laguna Niguel

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I’m so glad that a guy named M.J. couldn’t hit a lick with a bat. Damn, we’re lucky! Thank you, Michael.

GREG ALEXANDER

Monterey Park

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The Bulls should keep Dennis Rodman on as a technical insultant.

WALT HOPMANS

Santa Barbara

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After all is said and done, Dennis Rodman marries Grace Jones. Enough said.

TOM REED

Los Angeles