THE WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL : GIFT-WRAPPED DAY AT FORUM.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

It was so, so sooo special a day at the Forum on Sunday that we shouldn't have to spell it out for you.

But we will:

M is for the Merton Hanks-inspired head-bobbin' convulsion dance that Shaquille O'Neal brought out after his driving layup-plus-the-foul gave the Lakers a 10-point lead with 2:14 to play. ``He's smooth with it now,'' said Hanks, the San Francisco 49ers defensive back who happened to be at the game. ``But I think it's still mine.''

O is for the out-of-breath Kobe Bryant, the flu-stricken teen who escaped the media horde after the game by way of the trainer's room door. But stopped near the Forum exit, he said of his three minutes of playing time in the second quarter: ``I felt good while I was running and jumping around, but I was really sucking wind fast. I hope to get more training in (today).''

T is for the thrill of meeting a celebrity in the crowd. There was Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. And the young lady with the Nick Van Exel jersey who ran up to a friend and said almost breathlessly: ``I just met Steve Lavin . . . it was the most exciting thing!''

H is for the hat Vic ``The Brick'' Jacobs wore, this funkadelic black leather job that Justin Fargas' dad might have worn playing ``Huggy Bear'' on the old ``Starsky and Hutch'' show. You might have seen it on TV 'cause the AM-1150 sports-talk samurai host plopped down in the first row of seats behind the scorers' table at midcourt. Is that a new press-box location? Jacobs says he got the seat (one of many that were unoccupied Sunday) because Flea of ``The Red Hot Chili Peppers'' did the national anthem, then didn't want to stick around and use the comp ticket.

E is for the energy Jerry West continues to spend telling everyone - including NBC again - that his health is causing him to consider leaving in August. The word around the bowels of the Forum is that a lack of respect and the lack of financial compensation from owner Jerry Buss is why he'll take a year off and come back . . . but with the Clippers? You've got to be desperate to use the Clippers as leverage in any situation.

R is for the ridiculous explanation Shaq gave for having the initials ``IDGAF'' on his locker name plate. He says it meant ``Ideally Dominate Games, Always and Forever.'' (Put it this way: Ask the DMV if you can use those letters on a vanity licence plate).

Put them all together, it spells a Lakers victory on Mother's Day.

Now, if the Lakers don't put another win together on Tuesday to finish off the series, watch how empty the Forum will be Thursday night when Game 6 goes head-to-head with the final ``Seinfeld.'' . . .

Meanwhile, reports from other parts unknown . . .

An ESPN/Angels conspiracy update: The Dodgers and Braves have four Sunday Night Baseball appearances scheduled this season (the Angels have two), and the Dodgers have scheduled eight 5:05 p.m. starts for Sunday home games this season . . .

Oh, and last year, ESPN showed the Dodgers 17 times, most of any other team . . .

The tutor fired recently by USC's athletic department for allegedly writing athletes' term papers, Christopher Cairney, says in addition to filing a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the university he's working on a novel loosely based on his experiences. It could be published this fall. He also might have written it all by himself.