His List Is a Little Short on Moments to Cherish

What are the odds that on the same day the Los Angeles Sports Council would elect to release its annual year-end list of the area’s Top 10 Sports Moments for 2003, I’d be doing the same thing?

Now you would think that living in the same area, there might be some duplication, but what do you know -- the lists appear to be completely different.

The Sports Council chose to rank its list of top events for the year in chronological order, and as luck would have it, I did the same.

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SPORTS COUNCIL: USC routs Iowa in Orange Bowl, 38-17; ends season ranked No. 4.

PAGE 2: O.J. Simpson stops by the Trojans’ workout in Miami. I miss him because I’m sick. You can imagine my disappointment. I wasn’t the lifelong Trojan fan that I am now in those days, so I made a little fun of Simpson, which prompted the following Last Word e-mail exchange: “You’re still the lame UCLA butt-kisser. Quit being jealous of O.J. because he can and always will get more ladies than you can ever dream of.” I agree with you, I replied in the paper, he’s a real lady killer.

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SC: Laker Kobe Bryant scores at least 40 points in nine consecutive games, setting an NBA record.

P2: More than 200 entrants in the Super Bowl/Bachelorette Contest apply to take the daughter, who can never get a date, to the big game in San Diego. As you can imagine, she can’t wait until the next Super Bowl in San Diego so she can go out again.

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SC: UCLA names Ben Howland its new basketball coach, the first time a former national coach of the year has been hired for the position.

P2: Coach John Wooden fills out a March Madness bracket, the first time he’s done it in his life, and tells me he’s had the good fortune to hold two babies in his arms who went on to become famous: “Mike Montgomery and Sally Rand.” He means to say astronaut Sally Ride, and becomes very flustered when I point out that I’m not surprised he’d have Sally Rand, the great burlesque queen, on his mind. I assure him I won’t mention it in the paper -- until the next day.

I run into Wooden later at his 93rd birthday party, and he tells me about the time he saw Sally Rand at the World’s Fair in Chicago -- 60 years earlier. I guess she made a lasting impression.

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SC: The new Home Depot Center opens in Carson; the Home Depot Track & Field Invitational is the inaugural event and draws a sellout crowd of 10,094.

P2: UCLA wins the coveted Lexus Gauntlet Trophy -- quite an amazing feat when you consider the work of Bob Toledo, Steve Lavin and Athletic Director Dan Guerrero factored into the final results.

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SC: Anaheim Mighty Ducks make the playoffs for the first time in four years and advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.

P2: The Laker Girls come out dancing in “Frida” T-shirts to advertise the release of the Salma Hayek movie on DVD. I mention it in the newspaper because it turns out to be the Laker highlight of the year. I ask those who are watching, “Can you picture Salma dancing in a Frida T-shirt?” (I know I had no problem.)

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SC: Lennox Lewis beats Vitali Klitschko at Staples Center in the first heavyweight fight in L.A. in 45 years.

P2: Sept. 12 is designated official Fred McGriff Bobblehead Night, the first time in memory in L.A. that a stiff is so honored.

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SC: Dodger Eric Gagne sets consecutive saves record and finishes 55 for 55 in save opportunities en route to winning Cy Young Award.

P2: I try to change the Dodger Stadium mojo with the suggestion that the Dodgers adopt the donkey as their mascot. This makes Kevin Brown uncomfortable for obvious reasons. I offer to rent a donkey, park it beyond the center-field fence and have Sports Editor Bill Dwyre sit on its back and wave to the kids before every game, but the Dodgers show no interest. Dwyre takes the news hard.

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SC: The FIFA Women’s World Cup final is at the Home Depot Center as Germany beats Sweden, 2-1, in overtime.

P2: As good luck would have it, I have the day off.

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SC: Richard Mandella becomes the first trainer to saddle four winners in a single Breeders’ Cup day at Santa Anita.

P2: Hollywood Park names a race for the Grocery Store Bagger, he marries the daughter who gets her chair covers, and now the Bagger says he’s determined to make a grandfather out of me. I’ve never seen the lug so motivated.

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SC: USC football team finishes the regular season 11-1 and No. 1 in both major polls for first time since 1972.

P2: We get new Trojan-loving neighbors. They have a cute kid who likes to poke her fingers through the fence. I joke that maybe our dog, Ralphie, will bite three of them off so when she holds up her hand it will appear as if she’s always giving the “Fight On!” salute. It’s months before we see the neighbors again.

They hear I am now one of them, a die-hard Trojan, and emerge from seclusion. The daughter, who can’t get a date, immediately invites their little rug rat to come over by the fence and pet her new dog -- Irish.

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TODAY’S LAST word comes in the form of a big thank you to those who offered to sell their tickets to Page 2 so the Drean Rucker family of four could attend the Rose Bowl without breaking NCAA rules.

The Tournament of Roses Committee called, however, and said it would be proper for the Committee to invite the Rucker family to the game as its guests.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com.