A NASTY HABIT MCDONNELL TALKS, PEOPLE LISTEN - AND REACT.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

Irascible, irrepressible or irrational.

Bullheaded, bullish or just a big bully.

Whatever adjective fits the situation, the fact every listener of Los Angeles sports-talk over the past three decades has formed an opinion about Joe McDonnell says as much about his ability to elicit a reaction as it does his staying power.

So how would the KSPN 710 afternoon drive-time host classify himself?

``I'm all of it,'' the 47-year-old said while driving home after a recent show. ``At one time or another, I'm all those things.''

And, probably most impressive, a survivor, lasting 28 years in L.A. sports radio on almost a dozen stations, AM and FM, doing everything from talk-show host to reporter to news-update anchor to the management side.

When you talk about Joe-mentum, here's a career that has kicked into another gear.

The past three years at the ESPN Radio affiliate is the longest stint he's had at one station since breaking into the business in the mid-1970s, not long after graduating from Alemany High of Mission Hills and attending Valley College.

He admits his current 3-to-7 p.m. shift with longtime friend and partner Doug Krikorian is the first time he really has enjoyed coming to work. A big reason for that is because he says he's at a point in his life where he can actually enjoy having a life. He might not attend as many late-night Lakers or Dodgers games as he did after his radio work in years past, but it's because he's figured out how to establish priorities.

The death of his mother last June, following the passing of several close relatives as well as his broadcasting idol Chick Hearn, woke him up to the health risks he faces supporting his massive frame. Therapy to overcome an obsessive-compulsive disorder also helped him focus better on that need.

In essence, the ``Big Nasty'' that appears every weekday is almost a character he has learned to embrace for three hours a day, then leave at the office when the shift is done.

``No question, there was a time in my life when I was angry all the time,'' McDonnell admitted. ``But 'Big Nasty' is, in one way, who I am but, in another way, who I'm not.

``I feel like I'm two people. On the air, I feel outspoken and fearless. I believe what I say. Off the air, I'm a pretty private person. I just kind of kick back and do my own thing. I finally learned that, after going out all the time and staying up all night after games for 15 years, I need to have a life. It's nice coming home and watching TV or reading a book for a change.

``I don't regret that time, but I sacrificed a lot.''

Ray Kalusa, who last September stepped in as the KSPN program director, calls McDonnell's passion and experience in the L.A. market his biggest assets.

``While others are building their resume, he already has it,'' Kalusa said. ``He speaks from experience and he understands the format.''

Sports-talk in these parts, which notoriously generates small Arbitron ratings, might nevertheless be at its commercial peak with three local stations devoted to it 24/7. Whether the emphasis is finding a mix of syndicated shows to go with locally generated personalities, anyone intending to break through needs more than just an ability to throw out opinions to see what sticks.

``My personality lends itself to being outspoken, but the fact is I've always believed my true opinions,'' McDonnell said. ``You can't just make anything up just to stoke the fires. The audience will see through it.

``Entertaining is just as important as the sports aspect of the show. You can't just be a hard-hitting sports guy or you'll be off the air in a month. You have to know politics and humor. Sports is still the centerpiece and the window to everything you talk about, but you have to connect on different levels in this market.

``It may sound egotistical, but I think I'm good at doing that. It's been my life's work. If I wasn't good at it, I don't think I'd be around doing this after all these years.''

--Media notes: ESPN announced it has hired comedian Jamie Foxx to host the ESPY Awards for the second year in a row. The 2004 ceremonies at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood are scheduled for July 14 but won't be televised until July 18. ...

Aaron Levine, a Calabasas High graduate and current senior at Stanford, has made it as one of the final 12 contestants for ESPN's ``Dream Job'' reality show that premieres Feb. 22 and runs through the end of March. The show will air live as the contestants perform sports-related tasks to show their broadcasting skills while judges and online balloting determines who stays and who goes each week.

McDONNELL'S RESUME

The vagabond life of a sports-talk show host usually means moving to new markets to continue a career, but Valley-raised Joe McDonnell has managed to stay in Southern California his entire 28-year career. The stations that have employed him:

Station......... Years

KGIL (1260)......1975-82

Mutual Radio.....1982-88

KFI (640)........1988-91

XTRA (690).......1991

KMPC (710).......1991-94

KMAX-FM (107.1)..1995-96

KWNK (670).......1996-97

KABC (790).......1997, 1999-2000

KXTA (1150)......1997-98

KFWB (980).......1999-2000

KSPN (710).......2000-2004

THE BEST AND WORST OF L.A. RADIO SPORTS TALK HOSTS

THE TOP 10

--1a. Joe McDonnell, KSPN 710 weekday afternoon drive: The human poll's choice. Any time there's a story about L.A. sports, you gotta go to Joe for his opinion. And there's no mistake about where he'll stand on hot-button topics such as Shaq, UCLA, John Robinson, Dan Evans or Donald T. Sterling.

--1b. Dave Smith, KMPC 1540 weekday afternoon drive: The computer poll's choice. His prep work pays off with nuggets of information in research that includes maintaining and writing for his own daily Web site service. Alone, at last, and in a respectable time slot, he'll do the station right.

--3. Petros Papadakis, KMPC 1540 weekday afternoons: You call him loud and frenetic; we call him high-energy, rubber-room entertainment. The pace can exhaust the listener, but the timing couldn't be better for his solo act, where USC football talk becomes a daily topic year-round. He'll lock up the under-30 listeners with his pop-culture references and alternative bumper music (just as long as he doesn't sing along).

--4. Steve Hartman, KXTA 1150 weekday afternoons: New partner Mychal Thompson seems to have energized him, and when the Lakers are out of town and he has to fly solo, the show is in capable hands.

--5. Fred Roggin, KMPC 1540 weekday afternoons: His show doesn't need a marketing slogan. The longtime KNBC Channel 4 sportscaster has shown he deserves the two hours with the guests he pulls in.

--6. A. Martinez, KXTA 1150 baseball: The job he did with Mark Gubicza on the ``Southern California Baseball Show'' during that year when the station didn't have Dodgers games served as a springboard to a gig on KFWB this summer. And deservedly so.

--7. Larry Burnett, KLAC 570 Laker talk: Great rapport with the callers as well as his analysis of the team, be it pregame, halftime or postgame.

--8. Ross Porter, KFWB 980 Dodger talk: A whole new roster of topics with a change in ownership should keep it fresh for the play-by-play man who never apologizes for the team.

--9. Roger Lodge, KMPC 1540 mornings: Our fear was that a pretty boy like him would spark a bunch of L.A. clones, but the opposite has happened - Ryan Seacrest actually has left local radio.

--10. Steve Mason, XPRS 1090 weekday afternoon drive: We hate to stretch out of market, but the station in San Diego does offer up some real talent like Mason when the antenna is turned properly south.

--Honorable mention: Matt ``Money'' Smith, the KROQ jock, did some nice fill-in work at KXTA during the holiday season. If he ever wants to make the jump full time, we can create some vacancies above.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

--1. Stu Nahan, KFWB 980 Dodger talk: Were we the only ones who didn't realize he actually filled this particular role at the station? But when the Southern California Sports Broadcasters awarded him the Irv Kaze Memorial Talk Show Host honor at their annual banquet this week, we were stunned. We knew he rattled around down on the field during pregame, sometimes interviewing beat writers or bench players who got in his way to the hot-dog line at the media-exempt Stadium Club. But this? Hopefully, recognizing the legendary L.A. sportscaster in this spot makes up for our oversight. And please, pass the relish.

--2. Dave Stone, KSPN 710 weekday afternoons: One of these days, he'll pop up on that OnStar commercial, trying to explain to the emergency operator how he locked himself out of the car. Now that would be great radio.

--3. Doug Krikorian, KSPN 710 weekday drive time: Every great broadcaster needs a cornball sidekick. The Big Nasty obviously has found his.

--4. Lee ``Hacksaw'' Hamilton, KXTA 1150 weekday drive time: New radio spots for his show compare ``The Franchise'' to Paul Harvey. Is that guy still alive? Reaction!

--5. Shelley Smith, KSPN 710 fill-in: A lovely lady, and our apologies to her. The station has rotated folks in to replace Todd Donoho since December, but when her turn comes up, it's one big scatter-shooting shrill ride our ears can't handle. If you're looking for a female presence, settle on Suzy Shuster and scuttle Shelley Smith.

TOP FIVE

SYNDICATED RADIO SHOWS HEARD IN LOS ANGELES

1. Jim Rome (XTRA 1150 mid-mornings); 2. Dan Patrick (KSPN 710 mid-mornings); 3. Tony Bruno (XTRA 1150 mornings); 4. James Brown (KMPC 1540 mid-mornings); 5. Lee Klein (KXTA 1150 weeknights).

TOP FIVE

RADIO SPORTS UPDATE ANCHORS

1. Bret Lewis (KFWB 980 mornings); 2. Bill Seward (KFWB 980 afternoons); 3. Rod Van Hook (KSPN 710 afternoons); 4. Randy Kerdoon (KNX 1070 mornings); 5. Vic ``The Brick'' Jacobs (KXTA 1150 afternoons).

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Sports-talk host Joe McDonnell admits, `` 'Big Nasty' is, in one way, who I am but, in another way, who I'm not.''

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

(2) HARTMAN

(3) NAHAN

(4) LEWIS

Box:

(1) McDONNELL'S RESUME (see text)

(2) THE BEST AND WORST OF L.A. RADIO SPORTS TALK HOSTS (see text)