The world according to Jim:<\/p>\n
\u2022 When Los Angeles was approved by the International Olympic Committee in 2017 as the host for the 2028 Games, it seemed like such a good idea at the time. After all, L.A. had made so many attempts to get a third Games, and with its Olympic heritage and surfeit of existing facilities it was a natural destination, right?<\/p>\n
Maybe we should have been a little more cautious. I suppose it\u2019s too late to send this package back, just as it\u2019s too late to return the 2026 World Cup to FIFA to find another site. \u2026<\/p>\n
\u2022 Besides so many other issues \u2013 war, divisive politics and an organizing committee chairman linked to the Epstein files<\/a>, among other things \u2013 any enthusiasm for welcoming the world to our doorstep in two years took a hit with the revelation of Olympic ticket prices this week. By all indications, not already abundantly wealthy might as well resign themselves to watching on NBC \u2013 and hope that the network at least loosens its \u201ctaped for the West Coast\u201d policy for the city in which the Olympics are actually held. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 There are reports that L.A. city officials are fearful of massive additional costs,<\/a> absent a signed deal between the organizing committee and the city. That may be where some of those crazy ticket prices are coming from. \u2026<\/p>\n READ: Early access to LA28 Olympics tickets: How did my experience go?<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Then there are the bait-and-switch tactics apparently being used by FIFA toward its ticket buyers for the World Cup. According to The Athletic,<\/a> after offering tickets for matches in \u201cCategory 1,\u201d presumably the most expensive tier of seats, they\u2019ve created an entirely new and more expensive tier of seats. Even garden variety scammers aren\u2019t that shameless. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 But this should have been a tipoff to the ripoff: FIFA offered that initial category of seats without specifying seat locations. People paid under the assumption they\u2019d get the best seats in the house, only to find out that they\u2019d be second best \u2013 or maybe worse. There\u2019s still time for FIFA to add another higher-priced category or two before the matches begin in June. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 So let\u2019s be honest: How many of you who were initially excited about a third Olympic Games for Southern California, or the eight World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium, are now much less enthusiastic? \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Even Dodgers tickets \u2013 this season averaging $503 for a family of four, according to a survey by The Action Network<\/a> \u2013 aren\u2019t as expensive as some of those Olympic or World Cup tickets.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious, only the Cubs ($570.16) are higher on that MLB chart. The Angels ($229.62 for a family of four) are fifth lowest. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Cori Close, coach of women\u2019s basketball\u2019s national champions<\/a>, noted during Wednesday\u2019s Pauley Pavilion celebration<\/a> of UCLA\u2019s title that when she first took the job in 2011, she was told: \u201cI don\u2019t know if you could ever make L.A. care about women\u2019s basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n Guess she proved \u2019em wrong. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Close insisted from the start that women\u2019s hoops was worth paying attention to and covering, and she has collaborated with USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb in recent years to pound that message home. Close\u2019s unceasing gratitude for those who did pay attention hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed; when the media still sat courtside at Pauley for women\u2019s games, before being banished upstairs a couple of years ago, she would go down the line before a game saying hi and letting reporters know she welcomed their presence.<\/p>\n Putting together a team that was absolutely fun to watch has helped, too. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Today\u2019s quiz: A Southern California university\u2019s women\u2019s basketball team won a national title even before those 1978 Bruins of Ann Meyers (now Ann Meyers Drysdale) and Denise Curry. Who was it? Answer below. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Our survey of changes readers would make in consuming sports in SoCal brought both responses we couldn\u2019t get in at the time and additional emails after the fact. So, beginning this week, the Suggestion Box becomes a periodic feature. (I was going to call it \u201cGripe of the Week,\u201d but that\u2019s a little harsh.)<\/p>\n Today\u2019s offering comes from Cindy Curti: \u201cMy suggestion to the Los Angeles Kings: Stop the flashing, rotating white spotlight. Especially at the beginning of the game when the lights are off. It\u2019s very disorienting. I have to close my eyes and cover my eyes with my hands to block it out. I can imagine if a person has epilepsy, the lights could trigger a seizure.\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Quiz answer: Cal State Fullerton, in March of 1970, won the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women tournament in Boston \u2013 the forerunner of the AIAW tournament \u2013 by beating Springfield (Mass.), Western Carolina, East Stroudsburg (Pa.) State and West Chester (Pa.). Fullerton, in its first season of women\u2019s basketball, finished 17-1. \u2026<\/p>\n