Magic vs. Jackie? Vin vs. The Fearsome Foursome? Vote in the Final Four of the Biggest Icon tournament

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the tournament.

After almost a month of voting and about 250,000 ballots cast, we are down to the Final Four in our “Biggest Icon in L.A. Sports history” tournament. And what a Final Four it is. The winner of the basketball regional, Magic Johnson, takes on the winner of the wild-card regional, Jackie Robinson. And the winner of our baseball regional, Vin Scully, takes on the winner of our football regional, The Fearsome Foursome.

Some rules.

1. There are four regionals, with 32 people in each regional, seeded from No. 1 to No. 32. The winner of each regional will face off in the Final Four. Those two winners will meet in the championship round.

2. With each matchup, there will be a link for you to click on to vote. You can also send your votes by email by clicking here. Or you can vote on Twitter by clicking here.

3. When voting, ask yourself “When I think L.A. sports, whom do I think of first?” and vote for that person.

4. A brief sentence or two accompanies each entrant below. It is not meant to be an all-encompassing list of their accomplishments, just a brief reminder of why they are on this list.

So without further ado, let’s get to the Final Four voting. Voting ends at noon Monday. Remember, you can vote by email by clicking here, on Twitter by clicking here, or you can click on the link after each matchup.

Biggest L.A. Sports Icon tournament: Final Four

No. 1 Magic Johnson vs. No. 1 Jackie Robinson

Magic Johnson: Led the Lakers to five NBA titles and was the floor general behind the “Showtime” era. Now part-owner of the Dodgers and noted businessman.

How he got here
Routed No. 32 Paul Westphal in the first round, 98.6%-1.4%
Defeated No. 16 Cheryl Miller in the second round, 96.7%-3.3%.
Defeated No. 9 Chick Hearn in the third round, 75%-25%.
Defeated No. 4 Kobe Bryant in the fourth round, 63%-37%
Defeated No. 2 John Wooden in the Elite Eight, 53.1%-46.9%

Jackie Robinson: He never played pro baseball in L.A. and was a multisport star at UCLA, so we moved him to the wild-card category. Robinson was the school’s first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. He was one of four black players on the Bruins’ 1939 football team, which went 6–0–4. In track and field, Robinson won the 1940 NCAA title in the long jump at 24 feet 10¼ inches. Baseball was Robinson’s worst sport at UCLA, as he hit .097 in his only season.

How he got here
Defeated No. 32 John Force in the first round, 93.9%-6.1%
Defeated No. 16 Rogie Vachon in the second round, 92.4%-7.6%
Defeated No. 9 Luc Robitaille in the third round, 88%-12%
Defeated No. 20 Billie Jean King in the fourth round, 89.3%-10.7%
Defeated No. 11 Jim Murray in the Elite Eight, 64.4%-35.6%

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No. 2 Vin Scully vs. No. 5 The Fearsome Foursome

Vin Scully: The voice of the Dodgers for multiple generations.

How he got here
Defeated No. 31 John Roseboro in the first round, 97.8%-2.2%
Defeated No. 18 Nolan Ryan in the second round, 92.9%-7.1%
Defeated No. 7 Orel Hershiser in the third round, 94.7%-5.3%
Defeated No. 3 Tommy Lasorda in the fourth round, 91.8%-8.2%
Defeated No. 1 Sandy Koufax in the Elite Eight, 74.5%-25.5%

The Fearsome Foursome: Lamar Lundy, Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones and Rosey Grier formed one of the most dominant defensive lines in NFL history. They transformed the Rams from a mediocre team to an NFL powerhouse.

How they got here
Defeated No. 28 Kenny Washington in the first round, 87.4%-12.6%
Defeated No. 12 Mike Garrett in the second round, 87.3%-12.7%
Upset No. 4 Eric Dickerson in the third round, 59%-41%
Upset No. 1 Marcus Allen in the fourth round, 50.6%-49.4%
Upset No. 2 Pete Carroll in the Elite Eight, 69.6%-30.4%

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Don’t forget to vote

You can vote one of three ways: Click on each individual Polldaddy link above, click here to vote via email (with all your picks in one email) or vote here via Twitter.

BASEBALL

California’s five major league teams could be back in action in July, but Gov. Gavin Newsom declined Monday to promise they could play in their home ballparks.

Major league owners approved a proposal Monday that envisions an 80-game season that would begin in early July. The proposal will be presented to the players’ union Tuesday.

Under current California guidelines, even the 100 or so people needed to stage a fan-free game would constitute a gathering beyond the current limits. Newsom said he had spoken with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and said the league promised it would not take any action in violation of state guidelines.

“We’ll see where we will be in July,” Newsom said.

Newsom said the guidance could vary throughout the state, depending on the spread of the novel coronavirus in each region. If the guidelines do not change by then, the Dodgers, Angels, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics all could be forced to play out of state if the season starts in July, perhaps at their training sites in Arizona.

“We certainly look forward to Major League Baseball and all sports resuming, but again, the question is when,” Newsom said, “and that will be determined on the basis of public health and public safety and the spread of this virus.”

BASKETBALL

The brother of the pilot in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others argued in a court filing that the former Lakers star knew the risks of flying and his surviving family members aren’t entitled to damages from the pilot’s estate.

Vanessa Bryant sued the estate of Ara Zobayan, the pilot, and the charter company that owned the helicopter, Island Express, in February. In the lawsuit, Bryant’s widow accused Zobayan, who also died in the crash, of failing “to use ordinary care in piloting the subject aircraft” and negligence.

The answer to the complaint filed by Berge Zobayan in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday disputed the lawsuit’s claims.

“Any injuries or damages to plaintiffs and/or their decedent were directly caused in full or in part by the negligence or fault of plaintiffs and/or their decedent, including their knowing and voluntary encounter with the risks involved, and that this negligence was a substantial factor in causing their purported damages, for which this answering defendant bears no responsibility,” the answer said.

BORN ON THIS DAY

1925: Baseball player Yogi Berra (d. 2015)

1930: Diver Pat McCormick

1957: Baseball player Lou Whitaker

1959: Hockey player Dave Christian

1966: Former Dodger Rafael Bournigal

1968: Skateboarder Tony Hawk

1970: Golfer Jim Furyk

1970: Golfer Mike Weir

1975: Football player Lawrence Phillips

DIED ON THIS DAY

2018: Former Rams coach Chuck Knox, 86

AND FINALLY

Tony Hawk, 50 tricks at age 50. Watch it here.