NOTEBOOK: JUST CALL TRINIDAD `POPE OF PUERTO RICO'.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS - Baseball player Juan Gonzalez is big in Puerto Rico. Singers Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez have their loyal followings. But it appears none is bigger than Felix ``Tito'' Trinidad at the moment.

Trinidad, who fights Fernando Vargas of Oxnard here Saturday, is as popular as the Pope in his small Catholic homeland - literally.

Throngs that exceeded 100,000 met Trinidad upon his return to Puerto Rico - at the airport and in the streets of San Juan - after he beat Oscar De La Hoya in September. Several compared the reception to that of the Pope, when he visited the island in the 1970s.

His popularity might even exceed that of Wilfredo Gomez, the revered champion of the '70s and '80s.

``Gomez is the biggest ever,'' said Jorge Perez of the El Nuevo Dia newspaper in Puerto Rico. ``Tito might be bigger. The De La Hoya fight was the one that really put him in that position. Puerto Ricans are passionate people and they love Trinidad.

``You couldn't walk the streets, there were so many people after the De La Hoya fight.''

Why is he so popular?

Not even 4 million people live in the U.S. territory. And just about every one of them, it seems, is a sports fan: Internationally successful athletes are like gods there.

And Trinidad's personality adds to his appeal, according to his lawyer, Nicolas Medina.

It has been difficult for Americans to get to know him, primarily because he speaks only Spanish and as a result of an overly protective father/trainer who shields him from U.S. media.

However, Medina and Perez said it's different back home. Like Julio Cesar Chavez in Mexico, Trinidad is a people's champion. He likes to mix with the public, he does regular charity events and he's both charming and articulate in public appearances.

``He never refuses to give an autograph, never refuses photos, never. People appreciate that,'' Medina said.

And Trinidad appreciates his fans. Even in Los Angeles, fans showed up at a news conference to promote Saturday's fight and waved their red- white-and-blue flags to support.

``It helps me knowing they're there,'' Trinidad said.

--Flipped out: Trinidad won a coin flip Wednesday at the final prefight news conference and will enter the ring after Vargas.

After the flip, the fighters engaged one another in an intense, two-minute staredown. Finally, Trinidad put out his fist as a sporting gesture, but Vargas refused to respond in kind, instead pulling away.

--Nothing doing: De La Hoya was quoted in La Opinion newspaper as giving Vargas advice for Saturday's bout: ``Box, box, box,'' he said.

However, Vargas, no fan of De La Hoya, scoffed when he heard his rival's comments.

``I learned (by watching the De La Hoya-Trinidad fight) how to lose to Felix Trinidad, not how to win,'' Vargas said. ``De La Hoya didn't win. . . . I taught him how to beat Ike Quartey (with whom De La Hoya drew) and now I'll teach him how to beat Felix Trinidad.''