MCGINEST AFFECTED BY BRUSCHI'S STROKE.

Byline: BILLY WITZ

When New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi announced before the start of training camp that he would sit out this season while he recovered from a stroke, few teammates understood the gravity of Bruschi's decision more than Willie McGinest.

Thirteen years ago, McGinest lost a close friend when Earnest Killum, a basketball player at Oregon State, died after suffering a stroke.

Killum had suffered a mild stroke the previous summer, was put on blood thinners and had to petition Oregon State to allow him to play, which the school did just after Christmas. Several weeks later, Killum suffered a second stroke while soaking his feet in a Los Angeles hotel hot tub with teammates. He died three days later.

``I haven't spoken to Tedy about it, but it was one of the first things I thought about it,'' said McGinest, the veteran linebacker. ``I saw Earnest's mom and his sister when I got the key to the city in Long Beach (this spring) and it was a little emotional for me. Me and Earnest were tight. We used to stay over at each other's house and we played against each other. He was just a really good friend.''

In 1990, McGinest and Killum were two of the best athletes in the Southland. McGinest was a top football prospect and a strong basketball player at Long Beach Poly, while Killum, not far away at Lynwood High, was the 5-A Player of the Year in basketball after setting the state record for points in a season.

They became friends while playing on the same summer-league basketball team and competitors during the season when Lynwood and Poly met for the CIF title and in the state regional playoffs, with McGinest's team winning both times.

Their respectful rivalry was epitomized when, during the state playoff game, Killum, a tall, rangy guard, drove the lane and dunked on the imposing McGinest. Instead of saying something to McGinest, who fell to the floor, Killum offered a hand and helped him up.

``When he died, it was pretty hard,'' McGinest said. ``I was in college, he was in college. He was such a talent, but if you knew him, he was a really, really good person.''

McGinest said he was careful not to draw too many parallels between Killum and Bruschi. There are different types of strokes, which offer different risks and paths to recovery.

But Bruschi's stroke and the decision by another veteran linebacker, Ted Johnson, to retire after a series of concussions, are the more visible signs of football's toll.

``We do so many things that put so much wear and tear on you, so many things that destroy our bodies,'' McGinest said. ``We're warriors, gladiators and kind of subject to anything. We've seen guys paralyzed. Tedy's had a stroke - who knows what it was caused by. Guys have concussions all the time and come back in the game. We break bones. It's a dangerous sport. It's not stuff that happens to normal people.''

--L.A. still in the dark: Commissioner Paul Tagliabue shed little light on whether an existing or expansion franchise may come to Los Angeles when he met earlier this week with editors and reporters at The New York Times.

``That's something we have refused to discuss,'' Tagliabue told the paper. ``If we allowed our owners to have that kind of discussion, either formally or informally, we would inevitably make lame ducks out of a number of teams, which would be unfair to the public and a stupid thing to do.''

The league has spent more than two years negotiating with four sites and is beginning work on lease agreements with two: Anaheim and the Coliseum. A decision is expected this fall.

``A stumbling block has been getting an agreement on a new stadium, where and how, and who would use it,'' Tagliabue said. ``The two biggest candidates would be USC and UCLA. Plus, how do you use it for Super Bowls, do you use (it) for other things, sort of a super site for football? Another stumbling block is that Los Angeles has had to get over the residue of less than fevered enthusiasm for the NFL in wake of two teams leaving.''

--Laying down the law: When Steve Young, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame today, was stuck behind Joe Montana after coming to San Francisco, he found a productive way to take out his frustration: He went to law school.

``It drove me crazy backing up Joe and not playing much, and I was going nuts,'' said Young, who earned his degree at BYU. ``So law school was a help more than anything in the offseason to get - I think that quarterbacking is processing information - processing it quickly and efficiently.

``There are a ton of guys who are playing in this league who have not made it because they could not process information over and over again. Law school is memorization and I learned from watching Joe, a lot of football memorization. It really paid off.''

--Taking out the trash: One of the points of emphasis for officials this season will be monitoring pre-game activity for baiting and taunting, which led to a brawl last season between Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

Officials, who since 2001 have been required to be on the field 50 minutes prior to kickoff, will station themselves around the field.

``My experience is we're a pretty good deterrent,'' said Garth DeFelice, an umpire who visited the Chargers' camp this week. ``If we're there and present, it's going to defuse things.''

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Chief Illiniwek, the mascot of the University of Illinois' Fighting Illini, won't be able to perform during NCAA postseason events under the new rule.

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

(2) JEREMY ROENICK

(3) SHAQUILLE O'NEAL

(4) RAFAEL PALMEIRO

(5) - USC's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Matt Leinart, showing up to Pac-10 football media day with a full beard to go along with his gelled bed-head hairstyle.

Box:

SUNDAY PUNCH

- Rich Hammond