AVENGERS: A CLOSER LOOK ARENA OPTIMISM OWNER WASSERMAN PLEASED WITH AVENGERS' PROGRESS.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

OK, so you got swept up in the Lakers' championship run or those oh-so-exciting early-season baseball pennant races and you never found the time to catch up with Los Angeles' newest professional team, Arena Football's Avengers.

The Avengers, who conclude their inaugural home schedule tonight against the San Jose SaberCats, won't make the playoffs and won't even have a winning record, but team owner Casey Wasserman proclaims victory in his battle to establish the Avengers as a viable player in the city's already crowded sports market.

``Every team looks to win every game it plays,'' said Wasserman, whose team is 3-9. ``Any competitive person must have that mindset, but as an expansion team, our goals were a little different.

``Before the season, I said five wins would be a success, but more important than that, we wanted to establish a fan base, and the support from the Los Angeles fans, the way they have embraced the franchise, has been incredible.

``They say that winning cures all ills and losing is the cause of those ills, but the fans have been with us and our fan support has been more loyal than many of the teams already well established in the league, even when we weren't playing well.''

Another average-sized crowd tonight will allow the Avengers to boast that they brought in well over 11,000 fans per game to watch a sport that had failed miserably in its two previous Southern California incarnations, the Los Angeles Cobras of the late 1980s and the Anaheim Piranhas of 1996-97.

Wasserman knew from the beginning that the Avengers would have to be different to succeed in a city that never lacks for entertainment options, thus the creation of those infamous billboards.

The billboards, which featured sexual innuendo and references to violence, offended many motorists and residents, and did exactly what Wasserman wanted them to accomplish. Before long, every columnist and newscaster in the city was talking about the Avengers.

``A lot of people found out about the Avengers because of those billboards,'' Wasserman said. ``Now, going into our second year, you won't see those billboards again, because we have a different set of goals in marketing the team, but if I could go back and do the first season over, I'd absolutely put them up again.''

Once the billboard controversy died down, the more immediate concern was the product on the field. A league labor dispute, which nearly canceled the entire 2000 season, left the Avengers with little time to evaluate players before the season.

They were competitive from the beginning but lost their first seven games, and it was clear that head coach Stan Brock was not happy with the roster. Every week, one or two new wide receivers or defensive backs would show up as Brock, also the director of player personnel, tried to find the right people for his system.

``You never want to start a season like that,'' Wasserman said, ``but it was not entirely bad, because during that time I learned a lot about Stan and what type of leader he is. But it was difficult, because those labor problems put us far behind some of the other teams.''

The first victory finally came, in week eight on the road against New England, and slowly things started to click for the Avengers.

Quarterback Todd Marinovich, signed as a backup just before the start of the season, picked up the arena game quickly, overcame the distraction of sexual-assault charges that were dismissed and became the starter in week seven.

Marinovich quickly established a good relationship with a talented group of receivers, particularly Chris Jackson and Shannon Culver, and in week 10, against Houston, he tied a league record with 10 touchdown passes.

``People used to know me as the billboard guy and now they know me as Todd's boss,'' Wasserman said.

The turn in fortunes came too late for the Avengers. Twelve of the league's 17 teams make the playoffs, but last week's loss to Milwaukee all but ended the Avengers' faint playoff hopes.

They can finish with Wasserman's hoped-for five victories (the season ends next Friday at Buffalo), but the focus is already on next year. If Marinovich isn't picked up by a NFL team, which is a possibility, he would return, along with Jackson, Culver, Travis Hannah, fullbacks Andy Chilcote and Brian Easter and lineman Victor Hall to lead a strong offensive unit.

That strong core of players, along with a strong fan base, has Wasserman already excited about next season and the future of the Avengers.

``We have two overriding goals,'' Wasserman said. ``The first is to improve on the field, to pick up some free agents who will take us to the next level and improve the defense.

``The other part is to build our base off the field, with the fans. We've had a great response from the fans and we want to expand our base to include more people.

``I'm very excited about what we accomplished this year. It's been a lot of fun.''

AVENGERS VS. SAN JOSE

Time: 7 p.m., Staples Center

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2; KMPC-AM (1540)

Outlook: This is the final regular-season home game for the Avengers (3-9), who had their playoff hopes ended with last Thursday's loss to Milwaukee. The SaberCats (8-3) have already clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs and don't have much left to prove against the Avengers, who they beat by 36 points earlier this season. For the Avengers, receiver Shannon Culver (Palmdale High/Pierce College) is expected to return after missing the Milwaukee game with a bruised knee.

- Rich Hammond

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Box: Avengers vs. San Jose (see text)