NED COLLETI 2006 L.A. SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH GM, DODGERS ARE MOVIN' ON UP.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

When the Dodgers went looking for a new front-office leader after the 2005 season, 1000 Elysian Park Ave. was not a fashionable address. The inexperienced owners were said to be hard to work for. The fourth-place team's player roster was anonymous and unlovable. Because putting L.A.'s oldest pro sports franchise back together looked like a long and unpleasant job, proven general managers were telling the headhunters: Sorry, not interested.

Ned Colletti accepted the challenge -- and in the year since he became the Dodgers' GM, he has repaired not only the roster but the club's image, earning praise as the man most responsible for restoring the confidence of employees and fans.

For that, the Daily News is naming Colletti the Los Angeles Sportsperson of the Year, an honor this column is proud to present for the second time.

``It must have been a small field (of candidates),'' Colletti said with a self-deprecating laugh Monday when he was informed of the honor. He added: ``Everybody (in the organization) deserves credit.''

The 52-year-old Chicago native recalled his decision to leave the No. 2 job in the San Francisco Giants front office to go to work for Frank and Jamie McCourt.

``I wasn't hesitant at all,'' Colletti said. ``When you have the opportunity to put a handprint on a franchise with the history and tradition of the Dodgers, you have to take it.

``I sat with the McCourts for three days. They asked me questions and I asked them questions. I found them to be bright -- visionaries, in fact. The more I talked to them, the more I was convinced they wanted this franchise to be tremendous and were willing to do all they could to allow that to happen.

``It's rare that people of that stature admit mistakes. But Frank admitted he'd thought he knew more than he turned out to know. And he was committed to getting it right. ... (The owners) have allowed our creativity (in the baseball office) to live.''

Colletti is the head of a front-office team whose key players have included vice president and assistant GM Kim Ng, assistant GM Logan White, senior advisor Bill Lajoie, director of player development De Jon Watson (who replaces Terry Collins in that position) and former VP of scouting Roy Smith.

Most of them were in place when Colletti took over from fired Paul DePodesta, so it is largely Colletti's philosophies that have reshaped the club's approach, putting more emphasis on signing and trading for known quantities than on ``Moneyball''-style bargains.

The difference shows up in these numbers: In DePodesta's nearly two years as Dodgers GM, he acquired 29 major league players, of whom three had previously been All-Stars (appearing in a total of nine All-Star Games); in Colletti's year-plus, he has acquired 25major leaguers, of whom 11 had been All-Stars (appearing in 39 All-Star Games).

The '07 Dodgers are likely to include two of DePodesta's All-Star acquisitions (Jeff Kent and Derek Lowe) and five of Colletti's (Nomar Garciaparra, Rafael Furcal and recent additions Luis Gonzalez, Jason Schmidt and Randy Wolf) -- all while giving the popular young players room to grow.

``I like to be sure (of what he's getting),'' said Colletti, an executive with a solid resume speaking of his affection for players with track records. ``As sure as you can be.''

The first L.A. Sportsperson of the Year Award was given in 2005, and it went jointly to USC Heisman Trophy winners Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart for showing the pros (think Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, or Kent and Milton Bradley) how to put ego aside for the good of a team. The award is inspired by Time Magazine's Person of the Year.

As we said in '05: Time's award might be a big deal to those whose interests in life focus narrowly on such trifles as politics, economics, science, technology, religion and the arts. But, hey, what's in it for the renaissance men and women whose curiosity extends to every corner of the wide and wonderful world of Southern California sports? So here's an award for the newsmakers of the local sports scene.

Last week, we began a casual survey of Daily News sportswriters and editors, and L.A. sports publicists. We told them our Person of the Year could be anybody whose impact has been extraordinarily positive (or negative).

Even in a year when none of the region's major teams won championships, there were many good suggestions.

They included athletes: Kobe Bryant for his 81 points and, more important, for his improved teamwork; Elton Brand, for leading the Clippers' rise; Nomar Garciaparra, for being the heart of the resilient Dodgers; Oaks Christian High's Jimmy Clausen, for helping to boost interest in prep football; Dwayne Jarrett, star of USC's football team; and Jordan Farmar, Cedric Bozeman and Arron Afflalo, all leaders in UCLA's basketball resurgence.

They included personalities who have touched us: Maggie Dixon, the Army women's basketball coach from Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks who died suddenly in April; Dan Nelson, the UCLA football player and ex-Marine who runs marathons to raise money for the families of soldiers killed in war; and Tiger Woods (you can be a star and an inspiration), whose December tournament in Thousand Oaks benefits charity.

And they included executives and coaches: UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, Lakers coach Phil Jackson and GM Mitch Kupchak, Dodgers manager Grady Little.

That last group stirred most of our discussion after an L.A. sports year marked by the return to prominence of the Dodgers, UCLA basketball, the Lakers and (is it a ``return'' if you've never been there before?) the Clippers.

But nobody captured that spirit like Colletti's Dodgers, who have gone from a laughingstock to -- announced earlier this month -- Baseball America's Organization of the Year.

``What I find gratifying, working with the people I sit next to or with Grady Little, is that nobody's ever satisfied,'' Colletti said. ``It's a relentless task to approach life like that, but that's how we do it. The day you look back at what you've accomplished is the day you get run over.''

The Ned Era has yet to produce a Dodgers division title or a playoff- game victory, but it has brought back the old optimism. If the season opened today, the Dodgers would be favored to win the National League West.

That's a big change in Chavez Ravine from when Colletti moved in.

heymodesti(AT_SIGN)aol.com

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

10 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) NED COLLETTI

Photo courtesy of the L.A. Dodgers

(2 -- color) Ned Colletti, left, helped the Dodgers rebuild behind such signings as Nomar Garciaparra, center.

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

(3 -- color) DWAYNE JARRETT

(4 -- color) NOMAR GARCIAPPARA

(5 -- color) KOBE BRYANT

(6 -- color) PHIL JACKSON

(7 -- color) JIMMY CLAUSEN

(8 -- color) TIGER WOODS

(9 -- color) JORDAN FARMAR

(10 -- color) BEN HOWLAND