BROADCASTER MILLER A KING WITHOUT A THRONE.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

After 31 years, it had elevated beyond simple routine and brought order to his life. The daily preparation, the game, the next trip, the coming offseason. A calendar that made sense.

Then suddenly it was gone. Worse, it strangely remained that way.

Bob Miller has broadcast Kings games for more than three decades. To many in Los Angeles, no one signifies the Kings and the NHL more than the genial Miller.

And perhaps no one has felt its loss more deeply.

When the NHL officially canceled the 2004-05 season, Miller was left with the same feeling he has had every year when the Kings' season was over.

``The next day, you wake up, and there's nothing going on,'' Miller said. ``There's no game to prepare for, there's no road trip to pack for.

``It's such an empty feeling. And that's the feeling I had this year when they said there was definitely not going to be a season.''

The NHL lockout has given Miller a year to fill his time with new endeavors, and he has tried his best to remain busy.

That's his voice on the national Toyota commercials featuring Phil Jackson in the monk's robe. Miller was the master of ceremonies last week at the opening of Michelle Kwan's new ice rink in Arcadia.

He's traveled with his wife, Judy, through California's Gold Rush territory. Took in Hearst Castle. Saw his alma mater, Iowa, play LSU in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla. Will leave soon for Mount Rushmore and Grand Teton National Park, places he never has seen.

He became reacquainted with the guitar, taking lessons. And he took weekly magic lessons at the Magic Castle.

``I tell some people I took up painting,'' he said. ``They say, 'Oh, really?' And I say, 'Yeah, I've painted my office, I've painted our family room ...'''

Last Sunday, he and Judy hosted a party at their West Hills home that included several people associated with Kings broadcasts, people he used to see regularly but had visited with little in the past year.

``To celebrate the Kings' first undefeated season,'' he said.

Also, their first winless one.

Miller is 66 but looks 20 years younger. And his passion for hockey has not waned in 31 years of broadcasting the Kings, first on radio and now on television.

The cancellation of the season hit him hard, and not just in the pocketbook. The Kings gave him a lifetime contract in 1998, but he said they drastically cut his salary this year to a minimum level required to still receive health and pension benefits.

Yet he knows, compared to many, he's extremely fortunate to have that.

``There are a lot of people who have been laid off, and their jobs are just gone,'' Miller said. ``Nobody realizes the trickle-down effect that something like this lockout has on thousands and thousands of people, not only here but around the whole National Hockey League.

``People either have part-time jobs in arenas or are laid off. It's not just players and owners. The other people probably take more of the brunt than the players and owners do in something like this.''

Miller said he is optimistic there will be an agreement, mostly because the sides are again meeting regularly. He admits, however, he also was optimistic things would get worked out in January to save half the season.

``In my opinion it is absolutely imperative they get this done,'' he said. ``They just cannot afford to delay the season next year and have fans and sponsors and television stations and radio stations wondering if there's going to be a season. They've got to get this done.

``I just think it's a disgrace on both sides that they've allowed it to come to this. To me, it's a total disregard for the game, the fans, the history and the heritage of the National Hockey League.

``This would have been the 88th year of the league. It's not a Johnny-come-lately sport. It's not a made-up sport. It's not a made-for-television sport. It's been around 88 years.''

Just minus an 89th, and at the moment, still waiting.

In the meantime, Miller is free to take in more voice-over auditions. Free to take more trips. To spend time with family.

And to start his second series of lessons at the Magic Castle.

``If hockey never comes back, maybe I'll have another career,'' he said. ``I'll be on the street corner.''

For his greatest trick, he just wants the NHL to reappear.

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