THE WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL L.A. SNOW IS FAKE, BUT THOSE WHO GIVE AREN'T.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

Eric Belanger and Matty Norstrom, wearing their Kings sweaters for easier identification, were trying to be as quiet as possible when they poked their head into room 429 at Childrens Hospital near downtown Los Angeles.

This is the floor full of cancer and blood disease patients, some waiting for bone marrow transplants. There are even a couple who aren't old enough to walk yet, but they enjoy a gentle push around the halls by their mothers as the clutch onto an IV pole with wheels.

A 7-year-old girl, wearing a pink knit cap to hide the fact she's lost most of her hair from chemotherapy treatments, jumps up in her bed full of Hello Kitty pillows and blankets and offers a wide smile when she sees the two hockey players. The cartoons on the overhead TV can wait.

It takes a few seconds for Belanger to realize they've arrived empty-handed.

``Hold on, we have something for you and I'm going to find it,'' he says, turning back out the door and jogging down the hall. He then hollers back: ``And if I can't find it, I'm coming back with two presents.''

He eventually returns with a Barbie doll. The girl's smile, which is missing a few teeth, gets even bigger. It doesn't matter that she's probably never seen these big guys even play whatever sport they play. They just made her day, and now her mom wants to take their picture together.

It's too easy to get desensitized by random acts of kindness, especially during the Christmas season in L.A., where Santa wears sunglasses and the snow comes out of an aerosol can.

So often, the local pro athletes who are shuttled in for brief stops at a hospital to hand out toys seem to be partaking in just another photo op, a way for the team to polish its public relations. The care-giving facility also gets more heart-tugging video for the 11 o'clock news, which in turn, becomes a subliminal solicitation for public donations.

But then, go along for the ride sometime. Watch these players who, on their day off, are away from their own kids, doing something that deep down nearly breaks their heart. They melt in the hands of children who don't even know if they'll wake up to see another day, but have that innocence and attitude that someone will make sure they'll be OK.

The Kings don't make this or any of the gift-giving excursions during the year mandatory, but on this day, there are 20 players who came by after their morning skate to the Sunset Boulevard facility, with their wives, and including stars such as Luc Robitaille and Jeremy Roenick.

``The bonding is amazing,'' says Roenick, who later sat down to talk to a teenager named Joseph in room 415, once a hockey player himself who relayed a story about meeting him back in Chicago but was then too afraid to even say hello.

``This is the first time he's lit up all week,'' Joseph's mother said. ``This means so much.''

``This (kind of trip) is a must,'' Roenick continued. ``Pro athletes have to realize all the people who look up to them. We have a God-given gift that we have to use. I'm proud to have it.''

The desire to give back goes beyond the players.

Jeff Moeller, the team's communications director, came up with idea almost two years ago to write a book that he could read to his then-infant daughter Sydnee-Anne. The finished product, ``Kyrsten and her Kings,'' about a girl going to her first Kings game, came out this week and is being used as a fund-raiser for the team's non-profit Kings Care Foundation, which annually does work on holiday ``adopt a family'' programs among many other activities. It is sold for $10 online (lakings.com) as well as in the Team LA Stores at Staples Center, Universal CityWalk and the team's practice facility in El Segundo.

``It really feels good to see this finished, and to see my daughter read it so intensely now,'' Moeller said. ``As a father, it was a very gratifying moment. And it feels even better to use this for such a positive thing with a long-term range.''

Of course, the other pro teams are doing similar things for the community this holiday season.

If the TV cameras are rolling, fine. If you think there's some ulterior motive, OK. All that matters is that those who are doing the work, giving up their time and connecting with those in need in the area they are so idolized, come to realize their gifts of giving is equally to be admired.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1) SHAUN ALEXANDER

(2) PAT RILEY

(3) TIM MONTGOMERY

(4) - USC tailback Reggie Bush reading No. 5 of the Top 10 ``Perks of Winning the Heisman Trophy'' on David Letterman's ``Late Show.'' And this was before those Internet photos of Leinart emerged.

Box:

SUNDAY PUNCH

BY TOM HOFFARTH

- Matthew Kredell