HOCKEY / LISA DILLMAN : Call These Three Kings ‘the Love Line’

First, there were Masters and Johnson. Then the world was subjected to the updated, earthy Dr. Ruth in the ‘80s.

Dr. Joyce Brothers has endured, too.

But there has been a recent entry in the love-advice field, an unlikely trio of men on the radio.

Bring on the Kings.

The Kings?

Yes, those voices going over the airwaves on KROQ’s “Love Line” Nov. 22 belonged to defenseman Rob Blake, center Corey Millen and left wing Warren Rychel. For two hours they fielded questions from listeners, some of them graphic. They patiently waited until the giggling from teen-age girls subsided and traded quips with the ubiquitous Poor Man and Dr. Drew.

It had a feel of “The Great White North Comes to Los Angeles,” except no one on the program remotely resembled Rick Moranis.

Even their King teammates got into the spirit. Brent Thompson dialed the hot line from his home and handed the phone to rookie Alexei Zhitnik. Zhitnik, the Ukrainian youngster, is slowly learning a few English phrases. But he had a line ready as he pretended to be someone named Sergei.

“Why does Rob get all the girls?” he asked.

The Kings in the studio nearly fell off their chairs, they were laughing so hard.

“It’s Alex!” Blake said, laughing.

Said Rychel, “Come on, Alex, you make enough cake to get all the women.”

Zhitnik, not understanding Rychel, said, “I like chocolate cake.”

They called rookie right wing Jim Hiller at home and put him on the air. Poor Man showed an impressive knowledge of the Kings’ lineup and asked Hiller if he would be replacing the injured Tomas Sandstrom on the Luc Robitaille-Jari Kurri line.

“I don’t know,” Hiller said. “That’s up to the coach.

Poor Man: “Should we call Barry Melrose at home and ask him?”

Hiller: “Not a good idea.”

Apparently the folks at “Love Line” had been trying to get some of the Kings to go on the show for the last three years. King media relations assistant Adam Fell asked for volunteers and Blake, Millen and Rychel responded.

Usually rock stars, actors and actresses appear on the weekly show. Sports personalities are on infrequently, although that’s not hard to understand, considering some of the sensitive and sometimes farcical questions.

The appearance did demonstrate one surprising fact about the Kings’ fan base. They have a strong following among the college age group and with teen-agers as well, those who may not be able to afford tickets to games at the Forum.

Blake admitted to a few moments of embarrassment. Rychel later answered a question about the show with questions of his own.

“How were we?” he asked. “Did we sound OK?”

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By the time the last private jet leaves West Palm Beach, Fla., next week after the Board of Governors meeting, there could actually be a new leader of the NHL.

Or there could be no change at all at the top.

According to several governors, two candidates remain for the newly created job of NHL commissioner--Gil Stein, the current NHL president, and Gary Bettman, the NBA’s senior vice president and general counsel.

Stein might stay in his current capacity even if Bettman becomes commissioner, helping to assist with collective bargaining agreement talks this summer and the transition.

It’s still uncertain what kind of leadership the governors want. Do they want another John Ziegler, who mostly went with the flow or an independent-minded man in the mold of Fay Vincent?

The governors might not even know themselves. The progressives favor Bettman; the old-line group is backing Stein. Bettman seems to have acquired more support and is likely to become commissioner.

Stein’s openness and candor have been refreshing, but the governors apparently are concerned about the league’s losing record in court cases with Stein in charge of the legal department.

Bettman, 40, is regarded as a marketing expert, and the NHL is eager to adopt the gospel of the NBA. He has been involved in the league’s international ventures, licensing, and is credited with coming up with the NBA’s salary cap. His only perceived drawback is a lack of NHL experience, and that might actually be a plus.

It is amazing that the NHL can’t seem to find anyone within its own confines to bring the league into a new era. Still, the odds are strong that Bettman will be the NHL’s commissioner by the end of next week’s meetings.

Complicating matters is the possible re-emergence of Brian O’Neill, a former NHL vice president. One group would like O’Neill to assist Bettman, handling matters of supplementary discipline.

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Another topic on the governors’ agenda is participation in the Olympic Games.

Last week, one governor said that the vote was 13-11 in favor of sending NHL players to the 1994 Winter Olympics. A simple majority is needed for approval.

But the governor said that the vote was a day-to-day thing, meaning that endorsement remains a tenuous proposition.

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The Chicago Blackhawks seem to be creating a controversy simply for the purposes of bulletin-board material.

Chicago Coach Darryl Sutter was bothered when Melrose said that his Kings are “the hardest-working team in the NHL.”

Sutter even mentioned this after the Kings had beaten the Blackhawks, 4-1, on Nov. 19 in Los Angeles. But his sarcasm was missed in the postgame news conference.

“I’m not being critical of his team,” Sutter said. “But it ticks me off that they’ve played 20 games and everybody’s saying they’re the hardest-working team. I think we are.”

Maybe the Kings and Blackhawks should ask James Brown to settle the issue.

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Chicago’s Ed Belfour found a new way to vent his anger after he was displeased with his teammates’ lethargic warm-up before a recent road game against San Jose.

Belfour went into the dressing room and swung at a coffee pot with his goaltender’s stick.

“Maybe I was having a bad warm-up,” he said. “But the other team isn’t going to go easy on me and I don’t want our guys doing it.”

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More players are hanging around on NHL teams instead of being sent to the minor leagues because of the absence of recallable waivers.

Teams are unwilling to risk waivers to send a player to the minors. Instead, players are watching games from press boxes. Only six players have been picked up on waivers this season. One of them was left wing Lonnie Loach, who started the season with Ottawa. The Kings picked him up on waivers for $45,000.