Professional Athletes

Trying to revisit every notable sporting event or pay tribute to every deserving athlete from the Valley and Ventura County region over the last 100 years would fill volumes. In that respect, this exercise falls grossly short. But it would be inconceivable, as the century comes to a close, not to remember some of the memorable sports moments that enriched the region, that gave it essence and tradition.

In these final years of the American Century, the American Dream waded ashore in Italy. In the land of the papacy, of Michelangelo and Galileo and Leonardo Da Vinci, within sight of the canals of Venice and within earshot of the romantic singing gondoliers, a kid hawked his wares to tourists. Jewelry? Leather? Postcards? Good guesses all. The kid was selling baseball caps. Chicago Bull baseball caps. A Chicago bull?

Who is the greatest athlete of the 1900s? The answer might be different in New York or London than in Los Angeles, the city that twice hosted the Olympic Games, that cherished Jackie Robinson not only as a giant in race relations but as a four-sport star at UCLA, that marveled at the wizardry of Gretzky and Koufax, Magic and Kareem. The Times assembled a panel of distinguished Southern California sports figures and asked them to provide a local perspective.

Sports agent Leigh Steinberg, moving to launch his high-profile roster of celebrity athletes into new ventures, agreed Wednesday to sell his Newport Beach company for $120 million to Assante Corp., a Canadian money management firm.

You could put together an all-star team of talent with Southern California ties. In fact, we did: *--* Pos. Player (Team) Connections QB Troy Aikman (Dallas) UCLA QB Warren Moon (Kansas City) West Los Angeles JC, Hamilton HS RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar (Miami) UCLA, Dorsey HS RB Jamal Anderson (Atlanta) Moorpark JC, El Camino Real HS WR Keyshawn Johnson (N.Y. Jets) USC, West L.

On the same night that Mark McGwire said he no longer uses the controversial dietary supplement Androstenedione, Kevin Kerr and Hugo Belanger sat outside the locker room of the Anaheim Bullfrogs of the Roller Hockey International league to make passionate defenses of their sport and to furiously denounce the actions of one of their countrymen. It hasn't caused a big stir here, but last weekend the Canadian roller hockey team won the Pan American Games gold medal, beating the U.S. in the final.

Ten athletes who had careers interrupted by injuries or illness and returned to achieve at the highest levels of their sports: BEN HOGAN When his car was hit head on by a bus on Feb. 2, 1949, the golfer known as "Bantam Ben" suffered broken ribs and a broken ankle. Yet, only 16 months later, he won the U.S. Open at Merion in Ardmore, Pa. TONY CONIGLIARO An errant fastball thrown by Angel pitcher Jack Hamilton on Aug.

There isn't a high school football player in America who would pass up the opportunity to spend an afternoon hanging out with a group of current and former NFL players such as J.J. Stokes, Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Merton Hanks and Roger Craig. Some of the 100 high school players who gathered on the Harvard-Westlake football field last Saturday must have wondered if they were living out a childhood fantasy.

The John Hancock Champions on Ice summer tour, which performs in Southern California today, Friday and Saturday, is skating its 21st edition with a new director and a crystallized sense of identity.