Much to Be Thankful For . . . Yes, Even the Clippers

As a sports columnist, I’m thankful for:

1. The Lakers and the Clippers. Yin and Yang.

According to Chinese philosophy, we can’t have heaven without earth, light without dark, active without passive. We couldn’t fully appreciate the Lakers’ success without the Clippers’ lack of it.

2. Intelligent fans. Southern California’s sports fans might not be the most loyal, but they are the most discerning.

Fans here aren’t any more likely to support lousy teams than they are to see lousy movies, read lousy books or drink tap water.

As a result, smart owners such as Jerry Buss and Peter O’Malley understand they must provide consistently competitive teams.

Other savvy owners, such as the Kings’ Philip Anschutz and Ed Roski, cut ticket prices until they can win.

3. That old college try. No major professional team here has won a title in the ‘90s. But this is the capital of college sports in the country.

Besides the UCLA football and basketball teams, 13 college programs here are ranked among the top 10 this winter.

Two are No. 1, Long Beach State in women’s volleyball and Pepperdine in men’s water polo.

Two are No. 2, USC in women’s swimming and UCLA in men’s soccer. The UCLA women’s soccer team is No. 16 but has advanced to the NCAA’s elite eight.

4. Our history. I know people on the East Coast equate old buildings with cultural enlightenment. Well, we have some. Old buildings, that is.

Perhaps too many of them are stadiums or arenas. But I appreciate that we have people here who care about the legacies of the Rose Bowl and the Coliseum, even the Grand Olympic Auditorium. The racetracks too, Santa Anita and Hollywood Park.

5. Role models. A diagnosis of cancer is no longer considered an automatic death sentence.

That’s a lesson we’ve learned from athletes such as Brett Butler, Eric Davis, Scott Radinsky, Scott Hamilton, Arnold Palmer and Jim Colbert. They have shown that “The Big C” also stands for courage.

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I would be thankful to acclaimed television producer and writer David Milch (“NYPD Blue,” “Brooklyn South”) if he could give me a tip for Sunday’s Hollywood Derby at Hollywood Park. . . .

But when I asked him to tell me about his European import, Aneysar, Milch said, “I was hoping you could tell me.” . . .

All I know is that Milch has made as many headlines recently in the sports pages as in Calendar. . . .

His Awesome Daze has won two races since October, including last Sunday’s On Trust Handicap at Hollywood Park. . . .

Milch bought his first horse 14 years ago with a $15,000 prize he won from the Catholic church for an episode of “Hill Street Blues.” . . .

“I don’t know if that was the church’s intent,” he said. . . .

To the victors go the pupus. . . .

Arizona’s basketball team is in Maui. UCLA’s is in Alaska. . . .

The L.A. Sports Council’s Mark Meyers is at the Great Alaska Shootout as a guest of the University of Alaska Anchorage. . . .

The Seawolves are teaming with the Sports Council as hosts of the 1999 NCAA Ice Hockey Championship at the Pond. . . .

After beating Colorado last Sunday, the Kings took a day and a half of R&R; at Anschutz’s Eagles Nest Ranch outside Denver. . . .

Local Congresswoman Maxine Waters will introduce the guest of honor at a tribute Saturday in New Orleans to retiring Grambling Coach Eddie Robinson. . . .

Mort Tenner of Glendale reports that the Unabomber trial judge, Garland Burrell, won the L.A. City high hurdles title about three decades ago. . . .

I’ll be interested to see what ABC’s on-course commentator, Peter Jacobsen, has to say to caddie Fluff Cowan during the Skins Game at Rancho La Quinta this weekend. . . .

Cowan quit Jacobsen last year for a rookie, Tiger Woods. . . .

Jacobsen says he will try to humanize the players, informing us, for instance, that Woods plays shuffleboard. . . .

It might take the Pathfinder to locate Andre Agassi this week. He’s playing in a satellite tour event in Burbank. . . .

But he and Pete Sampras already have committed to next July’s Infiniti Open at UCLA. . . .

It’s nice to see families together on the holidays. Working Mia “The Knockout” St. John’s corner on the Friday night boxing card at the Irvine Marriott will be her mother. . . .

Mama Mia?

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While wondering if Irina Spirlea knows this is her day, I was thinking: She has to share it with Lawrence Phillips, Scottie Pippen and Craig Berube, turkeys all.