90'S IN REVIEW: THIS DECADE OF BAD DREAMS DESERVES ONE BIG REWRITE.

Byline: Bob Keisser

I am overjoyed to inform you that you just awoke from a 10-year nap, and that all of your Los Angeles sports memories from the '90s were bad dreams, like that parallel reality George Bailey lived in ``It's A Wonderful Life.''

Yes, Peter O'Malley did not sell the Dodgers to Mr. Potter, uh, Mr. Murdoch, and the Rams didn't move to St. Louis.

So allow me to tell you what really happened in the '90s.

1991: The Lakers and coach Mike Dunleavy advanced to the NBA Finals, where they lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls. After the loss, Magic Johnson told Jordan this isn't over.

Johnson's resolve became even stronger after his Nov. 7 announcement, on the eve of the '91-92 season, that he had HIV. His doctors said doing what he loves is as important as medications.

In what proved to be an important show of solidarity, Utah's Karl Malone supported Magic's decision.

1992: With Magic playing terrific, the Lakers returned to the NBA Finals again but lost in seven games to Jordan and the Bulls. USC fired Larry Smith after losing the Freedom Bowl to Fresno State and rehired John Robinson, who promised a return to greatness.

1993: With the Lakers in the last days of Showtime, Dunleavy spurned an offer to coach the Milwaukee Bucks and says it's time to return the title to L.A.

And they did. Magic and James Worthy dethroned the Bulls in six games. Magic showed no sign of illness.

The Kings, meanwhile, won their first Stanley Cup title, beating the Montreal Canadiens. The key moment came in Game 2. A game up and leading by a goal late in the third period, the Canadiens asked to check Marty McSorley's stick.

Kings trainer Peter Demers deftly swapped McSorley's stick before his last shift. The stick was OK, the Kings won Game 2 and closed out the Canadiens in five games.

The Dodgers went 81-81. But at the last minute, G.M. Fred Claire decided against trading Pedro Martinez to Montreal.

Larry Brown left the Clippers after taking them to the playoffs twice. The NHL gave Disney an expansion franchise, and president Michael Eisner laughingly tells reporters he almost named the team after a Disney movie, ``The Mighty Ducks,'' before settling for Anaheim Ice Dogs.

1994: UCLA gave Terry Donahue his ninth straight bowl win by beating Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, 22-21, on Wayne Cook's last-play touchdown pass. ``You don't know how close I came to running,'' Cook said after the game.

Dunleavy took Milwaukee's offer. The major leagues went on strike. The Raiders returned to Oakland after the Coliseum Commission refused to renovate the Coliseum. ``We've sunk enough money into this pit,'' City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas said.

The Rams tried to leave, too. Georgia Frontiere agreed to move to St. Louis, but the NFL stepped in. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said, ``We're just not going to go on without a team in the second largest TV market.'' A frustrated Frontiere promised to build a powerhouse.

1995: Some say it was L.A.'s greatest year ever. UCLA and Jim Harrick won the NCAA basketball title. The Dodgers won the N.L. West behind Pedro Martinez and Hideo Nomo and lost the NLCS in seven tough games to Atlanta. Kings owner Bruce McNall tearfully announced he is broke and transfers title of the team to Wayne Gretzky, making him the first player-owner.

The Lakers hired Phil Jackson. Magic moved to forward with Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones in the backcourt and the Lakers won another title, Magic's seventh.

But the Angels were the big story. They jumped out to a big lead and coasted home 12 games ahead of Seattle. Gary DiSarcina credited manager Marcel Lachemann for the win.

The Angels went 27-16 down the stretch, beat Cleveland for the A.L. title, and played in their first World Series. Gene Autry rode a horse onto the field before Game 3 and the Angels played tough before losing a 1-0 decision in Game 7 to Tom Glavine and the Braves.

1996: USC and John Robinson won the Rose Bowl. But after the game, Robinson, hinting at a lack of support from the administration, quit and became the Oakland Raiders head coach.

Johnson won his eighth and final title. Lachemann, saying he's never liked managing, retired late in the season, and the team rehired Jim Fregosi. USC promoted Mike Garrett to special liaison to the president, named George Raveling A.D., and lured Jeff Fisher away from the NFL to become the Trojan coach.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, ran away with the N.L. West. Tom Lasorda, fit and trim after going back on his Slim-Fast diet, kept the team together amid rumors Peter O'Malley was selling the team. With Pedro and Ramon Martinez winning 11 postseason starts, the Dodgers beat Atlanta in the NLCS and won their first World Series since 1988.

UCLA's '96 basketball season ended with a loss to Princeton. Before '96-97 begins, a contrite Jim Harrick announced he committed an NCAA violation and will step aside as head coach until the Pac-10 and NCAA concludes an investigation. Steve Lavin was named interim coach. The players dedicated their season to Harrick.

1997: The NCAA gave UCLA a light probation, restricted Harrick to campus recruiting, and the Bruins rallied behind Harrick and assistant Lavin to reach the Final Four, losing in the semifinals by two.

The Lakers reloaded by signing Shaquille O'Neal and drafting Kobe Bryant.

In hockey, Wayne Gretzky retired as a player so he could concentrate on rebuilding the Kings. Anaheim, meanwhile, reached the second round before four gut-wrenching losses to the Red Wings. Disney signed Ron Wilson and Paul Kariya to new contracts, then acquired Jaromir Jagr from the Penguins.

The Angels won the A.L. West, beat the Yankees when a fan leans over a fence to turn a Rex Hudler double into a home run, and then swept the Marlins for their first World Series title. Autry, saying he feels 14 again, broke off sale talks with Disney.

1998:Peter O'Malley, buoyed by progress on landing an NFL franchise, admitted he might have sold the Dodgers at one time but instead sold 49 percent of the Dodgers to Murdoch and began construction on a new football facility even though the NFL hadn't decided between L.A. and Houston. O'Malley also signed Pedro Martinez and Piazza to long-term contracts.

The Angels won the A.L. West again but lose the ALCS to the Yankees, who won 114 games during the regular season. But the Dodgers, with Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez winning Games 1, 4 and 7, upset the Yankees in the World Series. Matt Luke's pinch-hit home run in the 11th won it for Lasorda and crew.

Michael Jordan, despite leading the A.L. in steals in '97, returned to the NBA for one more season and rejoined his former coach, Jackson, in L.A. with Shaq and Kobe. The Lakers went 76-6 and 15-0 in the playoffs.

The Rams made the playoffs for the third straight year but lost to Green Bay in the NFC title game.

1999: UCLA and Cade McNown, who ended the '98 regular season with a sensational 56-49 shootout win over Miami to finish 11-0, upset Tennessee in the Fiesta Bowl to win its first national title since 1954.

The Bruins basketball team under Harrick and assistant head coach Lavin returned to the Final Four. Bill Clinton visited the tourney, and with Harrick at his side, asked America to forgive him for his error in judgment with that woman. The Dodgers and Angels won their respective leagues and met in the first-ever Freeway World Series.

USC, behind Carson Palmer and Kareem Kelly, won the Pac-10. The Rams clinched the N.L. West in December and appeared headed for a Super Bowl against the resurgent Raiders, who have gone 28-7 since Al Davis sold the team.

The NFL awards an expansion franchise to O'Malley. The team will begin play in 2000 in the Coliseum until the new stadium next to Dodger Stadium is finished in 2001.

The Clippers, who moved to Buffalo in 1994, folded.