There may be perfectly reasonable explanations for the development of roller hockey. It may be that all of L.A.'s brilliant and previously unemployed defense workers have finally found jobs in related industries like, well, roller blade manufacturing. There is, however, little evidence to support this theory, so far.

Or it might be the 1960s migration to the Sun Belt, which brought hockey-playing people from glacier regions like Minnesota to the Southland. It also could be the corrupting influence of TV. Last year, Jason Priestly's character played hockey on "Beverly Hills 90210". This year, roller hockey booms. That might not be a coincidence.

I like the new sport, but I worry. Sometimes things like roller hockey, which is essentially a substitute for ice hockey, work out. For example, margarine, as a substitute for butter, has probably done humankind and its arteries a lot of good.

But when you start making grand changes in a place, you run the risk of creating a Jurassic Park. Many Angelenos already have sharp teeth. Now, we've given the dinosaurs hockey sticks.

Perhaps, there's something a little off-kilter about the whole city. The Kings playing in the Stanley Cup finals is possible to believe. Even Democrats can maybe understand L.A.'s election of its first Republican mayor since the Bronze Age. And L.A. kids rushing to the streets to play hockey is explicable.

But when all three happen in the same week, as they did this month, something a little bit supernatural is up. Up. Just like my backhander over the goalie's out-stretched glove.

What a sieve.

Joe Mathews '95 believes Wayne Gretzky is God.

Roller hockey is the newest, hottest sport in Southern California, the place that gave America cultural icons like the Hollywood sign, the motion picture, Magic Johnson and Richard M. Nixon.

When you start making grand changes in a place, you run the risk of creating a Jurassic Park. Many Angelenos already have sharp teeth. Now we've given the dinosaurs hockey sticks.