Fairfax

I've seen the passion of Carson-Banning football. I've seen players sweat and squirm during Chatsworth-El Camino Real baseball. I've watched the intensity of Dorsey-Crenshaw football. But Westchester-Fairfax basketball has zoomed to the top of City Section sports rivalries, and it was on display in vintage form Thursday night in a Division I Southern California regional semifinal game at L.A. Southwest College. Westchester trailed by one point with 14 seconds left.

It's the final week of the City Section basketball regular season, and a word of warning: Westchester is starting to play like a title contender. The Comets (19-5, 9-1) won their sixth consecutive game and took a major step toward winning the Western League championship with a 55-45 victory over host Palisades on Monday. It was one of Westchester's best all-around performances of the season. The Comets dominated in the rebounding department. Je'ron Primus and Keywhon Powns took turns guarding and frustrating All-City guard Donovan Johnson.

There has been so much talk about the supposed demise of City Section basketball this season that some people actually believed it. What happened Saturday at the Nike Extravaganza at Santa Ana Mater Dei will put an end to such nonsense. Woodland Hills Taft, emerging as the City Section Division I title favorite, routed Southern Section power Los Angeles Loyola, 73-57. Fairfax defeated Rialto Eisenhower, 73-67. And Westchester defeated Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley, 45-42. "I think it means the City is still strong and can still compete with the big dogs," Taft guard Steven Jones said.

With a cockatiel perched on her shoulder and her brown hair flowing nearly to her waist, Patricia Morison looks elegant and at ease beneath a portrait of herself. The former Broadway star of "Kiss Me Kate" and "The King and I" stares out her ninth-floor window at the rest of Park La Brea. She is 97 now and, having lived in the same tower for more than 50 years, is one of the last representatives of the demographic that once dominated the apartment complex. "It was more homogenous, I have to say. Most of the population was actors, actresses, artistic folks and businesspeople on the top floor," says Morison, who negotiates her flat with the aid of a walker.

Former NBA guard Jason Hart, in his first season coaching high school basketball, has his Woodland Hills Taft team seeded No. 1 in the City Section Division I playoff pairings released Saturday. The Toreadors (24-3) will open at home Friday night against No. 16 West Adams. Fairfax (19-9) received the No. 2 seeding, followed by No. 3 Westchester (20-6), No. 4 Palisades (16-10) and No. 5 Crenshaw (22-4). "I'm using the knowledge I learned from many coaches," the 33-year-old Hart said.

Cleveland 41, Fairfax 14--Jared Mills and Jason Brignac hooked up on four touchdowns to lead Cleveland (1-2) in a rout of visiting Fairfax. Mills completed 12 of 20 passes for 254 yards and five touchdowns. Brignac caught six passes for 146 yards.

In other matches: Sylmar def. Fairfax, 11-15, 15-7, 15-5, 11-15, 15-5--Mario Aguilar had 18 kills, 29 digs and four blocks, and sophomore Chris Pelayo had nine kills, four blocks and 29 digs for Sylmar (9-7) in a City Invitational semifinal victory at Fairfax.

Taft 13, Fairfax 6 KEY PLAYS Fairfax's attempt for a come-from-behind victory ended when George Cox was dropped for a one-yard loss by Kevin Wolfe on a fourth-and-goal with 1:50 left. . . . Taft scored the winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak by Jon Thompson with 8:14 left in the third quarter. KEY PLAYERS Taft quarterback Jon Thompson gained 90 yards on 14 carries, including runs of 25 and 29 yards. . . . Kevin Wolfe (T) carried 13 times for 63 yards. THE RECORDS Taft 1-0 Fairfax 0-1

Fairfax 12, El Camino Real 7--The Conquistadores had a chance to end their 23-game winless streak with 2 1/2 minutes to play and the ball on the Fairfax 45-yard line at Pierce College. But on fourth and one, quarterback Steve Smith bobbled the snap and Fairfax recovered. ECR had come back from a 12-0 halftime deficit by mounting a 71-yard drive. Leo Matsuda rushed for 50 yards on the drive, including a three-yard touchdown run with 10:20 to play.

Woodland Hills Taft (24-3) vs. Los Angeles Fairfax (25-3) at USC's Galen Center Today, 2 p.m. Why it matters: This City Section Division I semifinal is a rematch of last year's final won by Taft, 65-55, when point guard Larry Drew Jr. proved too much for the Lions. Drew is now a freshman at North Carolina, and Fairfax has the City's most dominant big man in 6-foot-11 Renardo Sidney, who will be playing in his first game at the Galen Center since announcing last week that he would attend USC. Taft's strength is in its guard play, with three-point specialist Michael Williams and Nevada Las Vegas-bound Justin Hawkins.