THE WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL YUTAKA'S YADA, YADA, YADA.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

After signing a two-year contract with the Kings earlier this month and packing up for rookie camp that starts early next month, aspiring NHL goalie Yutaka Fukufuji figures he has a whole lot to learn.

Starting with English.

The 22-year-old native of Hokkaido, Japan, will most likely end up with the Kings' AHL affiliate in Manchester (N.H.) unless something happens to Mathieu Garon and Jason Labarbera. The Kings drafted Fukufuji in 2004 and stuck him with Bakersfield of the ECHL, where he had 27 wins and a 2.48 goals-against average. He was with the ECHL's Cincinnati franchise the year before.

At a news conference in Tokyo before he departed for camp Thursday, Fukufuji said he wasn't consumed with the thought he could be the first full-blooded Japanese player in the NHL.

``I'll be happy, but right now I've got a lot of work ahead of me,'' he said through his interpreter.

Such as learning to communicate with teammates who might have a bit of a French-Canadian dialect, eh?

``I can't speak English very well, but I'm working on it,'' said Fukufuji, who admits to watching reruns of ``Seinfeld'' to help with the process.

Meaning, we should be on the lookout for a Japanese guy with a puffy shirt, shopping for a manziere, celebrating Festivus, eating lots of Beef-A-Reeno and looking for a girlfriend named Mulva. ...

--Since I had the under on a Milton Bradley-Jeff Kent personality blow-up - the line was Game 81 on the schedule - this is hardly a shocker. Mr. Oil and Mr. Vinegar, if you hadn't noticed, wear No. 12 and No. 21. ...

--There's a Giants fan living among you - Richie Brand, a 26-year-old media buyer from Playa del Rey - who could someday start helping the enemy in an official capacity and further bury the Dodgers.

Out of 22,000-plus applicants, Brand was one of 12 finalists in a Yahoo! Baseball fantasy ``Front Office League'' that offers the winner a $15,000 prize and a $30,000 job as special assistant to San Francisco general manager Brian Sabean. No kidding.

Brand's team, named Will the Thrill after former Giants first baseman Will Clark, slipped from first to third place as of Sunday. Monitor it yourself at http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b2/4146. ...

--A Scott Radinsky sighting: The former Simi Valley High baseball star who finished a 16-year pro career in 2001 (including two years with the Dodgers) has hooked on with the Cleveland Indians as a pitching coach for their Single-A Lake County affiliate in Eastlake, Ohio. Last week, Davey Johnson, the manager for the U.S. team at the IBAF World Cup in the Netherlands, hired the Radman to watch over the pitching staff.

Radinsky, who still lives in Simi Valley with his wife and two daughters, continues to be the frontman for his punk band Pulley. ...