Spitting on a Person Is a Slap in the Face

Scene and heard. . . .

Question of the day: When is spitting on someone different than slapping him?. . . .

Answer: Maybe we don’t want to know. . . .

Just when I was certain none of this stuff was about race, Denver’s Bill Romanowski expectorates in the face of San Francisco’s J.J. Stokes and few seem upset. . . .

Unlike when Shaquille O’Neal slapped Greg Ostertag. . . .

The Romanowski incident, which ironically happened in the same Bay Area as the far-worse Latrell Sprewell incident, was nonetheless surprising in its lack of uproar. . . .

Sure, Romanowski was fined $7,500, just as he was fined earlier this year for trying to remove Carolina quarterback Kerry Collins’ head. . . .

But unlike with O’Neal, nobody was properly calling Romanowski a thug or citing his actions as a symbol of declining sportsmanship among all athletes. . . .

Just wondering, what if it were a black player who had spit on a white player on “Monday Night Football”? . . .

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The task facing Paul Hackett involves far more than football. . . .

In terms of success on the field, the USC athletic department has fallen far behind UCLA. . . .

After about a week here, Hackett may start thinking he is Pitt and UCLA is Penn State. . . .

UCLA has won 16 national championships in the 1990s. . . .

USC has won five. . . .

The Trojans are currently stronger in women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, men’s water polo and golf. . . .

The Bruins rule in, among other things, football, men’s basketball and baseball. . . .

The most impressive thing Hackett said during his opening conference call with reporters did not involve football. . . .

It involved the static-filled conference call. . . .

Some coaches would have laughed it off, but Hackett barked, “This is unacceptable.” . . .

More than anything, USC needed a coach who demands perfection in the little things. . . .

I get the feeling that this spring, a Trojan offensive lineman using poor technique will be hearing the same bark. . . .

With Rocky Long leaving UCLA for the head coaching job at New Mexico, the next big battle between the Bruins and Trojans will be for a defensive coordinator. . . .

Nothing either team does in the next few months--Justin Fargas included--will be as important as this hire. . . .

Kobe Bryant is a throwback in more ways that just his haircut, which is reaching Darnell Hillman-ian proportions. . . .

He may be the only NBA player without earrings or tattoos. . . .

He may be the only professional athlete without earrings or tattoos. . . .

He is certainly the only million-dollar athlete who still sleeps down the hall from his parents and sister. . . .

“I’m not saying earrings and tattoos are bad, they’re just not for me,” Bryant said. “I tell people, ‘Be who you are.’ ” . . .

Bryant is the most exciting player in the NBA, period. . . .

You can close your eyes and know when he has the ball, just by the oohs and aaahs. . . .

So when is one of the Clippers going to go Sprewell on Coach Bill Fitch? . . .

It’s not happening. . . .

P.J. Carlesimo’s mistake was that while he yelled at the players in practice, during games he would still give them their minutes. . . .

If Fitch is mad at a guy, you can read about it in the box score. . . .

Fitch hits stragglers where it hurts, sitting them on the bench, providing all the incentive necessary for respect. . . .

The only reason he didn’t suspend Keith Closs for his latest rips is, who would notice? . . .

With the injury to Loy Vaught, departure of Bo Outlaw, and collapse of Darrick Martin, the Clippers are lucky to have won five of their first 25. . . .

The Wooden Classic proved again that the Pond is a great place to watch basketball. . . .

Sparkling clean concourses, loud and intimate inside. . . .

Donald Sterling, of course, will go no farther south than the Forum. . . .

The NBA needs to put a third team in Southern California. . . .

The Kings sent out the holiday card of the year, a classy little number featuring holiday greetings in the native languages of their five Olympians. . . .

I would still rather have a press release announcing the signing of Detroit free agent Sergei Fedorov. . . .

Good thing the Kings regained their early spark, or they might have fallen off the face of the Southland sports map. . . .

Of course, Disney could always blow it again by failing to follow Paul Kariya’s signing with the acquisition of a tough defenseman. . . .

With Cecil Fielder gone to the Angels, one impact free agent remains. . . .

Fred Claire, meet Rod Beck.