FROM GEEKING IT WITH LAKERS FANS TO SPARRING WITH THE `P,' SMITH ROCKS ON AT ALL-SPORTS KLAC.

Byline: Tom Hoffarth

BURBANK - Now it can be told: When Matt ``Money'' Smith and his friend Zeke Piestrup worked at KROQ-FM and shared Smith's Forum season tickets to Lakers games some 10 years ago, they used to crack each other up on the drive home by calling into Stu Lantz on the KLAC-AM (570) postgame talk show just to mess with the host.

``One of the things Stu used to say was that the callers should to be nicer to (then Lakers center) Vlade Divac, because he was listening to the show and needed the positive feedback,'' Smith recalled.

``So even if Vlade had a game with 20points and 20 rebounds, we'd call in and say, `Uh, we have a problem with how he played,' and Stu would just start to stammer because he didn't know how to answer it.''

They'd also pepper calls to Chick Hearn on the Lakers' pregame talk show and try to get him to add the phrase ``the beer is coolin''' to his refrigeration of a Lakers victory -- and Hearn actually did it, giving them credit.

Money can afford the last laugh. He's into his second year in a spot he admits he never thought he'd have -- the point man on 570's Lakers pre-, post- and halftime shows, which entails a five-plus hour shift from the scenic fourth floor of the Burbank office studios off the 134 Freeway when the team's on the road and from midcourt at Staples Center when they're home.

Now, it's Smith who deals one-on-one with all those emotional wrecks who call in after every loss or the eternal optimists who see big things for a team that's as consistent as a Magic Mountain roller coaster.

``These people who would call in had so much conviction and passion, it was comical for us to call Stu and just say something stupid,'' said Smith before going on the air for Wednesday's Lakers game in Boston. ``The game's bad enough if they lose, so why go through all that anger and frustration for an hour and a half? You need some levity.''

Listening and participating as an obnoxious fan to those shows over the years helped the 33-year-old Smith establish a new approach for a role that KLAC program director Don Martin lured him to, as well as an afternoon drive host, after Smith spent seven years as Jimmy Kimmel's replacement doing sports updates on the progressive rock station with ``Kevin & Bean'' in the mornings.

To Smith, it's more fun and productive to disarm than dissect, be less defensive and more offensive. He finds even more ironic glee by the fact that the radio station carries every Lakers game live, but there's the nasty hour-delay in the TV broadcasts of Eastern time zone road games on KCAL-Channel 9 -- as it was Tuesday in New York, Wednesday in Boston, and will again be tonight from Indiana. Money takes the opportunity to bend the mind of a caller who might not be up to speed on what's going on.

Considering Smith's other recently enhanced role at the station -- goofing off with new partner Petros Papadakis from 4 to 7 p.m. each weekday for ``PMS'' (Petros and Money Show) when there's no Lakers interruption -- trying to keep things smart and edgy is a natural crossover.

``All the Lakers stuff is more I do on my own,'' said Smith, who grew up in Chicago and became a lifelong NBA fan from watching Michael Jordan and the Bulls' championship runs.

``But then going to a partner like `P,' you've really got to be on your feet and be ready to go on a tangent. I love that challenge, too.''

Papadakis and Smith forged a friendship a few years back -- Papadakis had him on as a guest for his show at KMPC-AM (1540), and Smith opened doors for Papadakis to guest on ``Kevin & Bean.'' Meanwhile, over the last year, Smith was finding the chemistry of the ``Good Times'' afternoon show with Joe Grande and Wayne Cook going off course, and Martin was considering a change. When Papadakis left 1540 last summer, he and Smith began talking about how a partnership down the road might play out.

Since hooking up in early January, they've had plenty of stops and starts because of the Lakers games bumping them, but neither fears there'll be a problem becoming a force in L.A. sports talk for years to come.

``With Petros, it's been more of a mini-series that needs to get some traction instead of being disjointed,'' said Smith.

Papadakis said it ``intrigued me for a long time to work with him, because he's smart and a caring kind of guy, complex and intense. You can't just have him figured out in 10 minutes.

``We're really opposites, but we have a lot of mutual respect and commitment. I can exist in a lot of different worlds and so can he. It wouldn't matter if he was a rabbi and I was a priest. If we communicate, it'll work. And he's a guy I wanna roll with.''

Adds Smith's boss, Martin: ``In this medium, you can be mean and crude and obnoxious, but you can't be stupid. Money is a legitimate star with an even more tremendous upside because he's smart, witty, no one works as hard or wants it more. He and Petros will be tornado in a bottle.''

Smith, a Pepperdine political science/speech communications grad with an extensive background in music working at Polygram Records, DreamWorks and KROQ, doesn't fear burning out on sports talk because of how he learned to manage his career in the entertainment business and maintaining a drive to stay on top.

``I think I can handle it, even though I saw plenty of ego burnout in the music world,'' said Smith, a husband and dad of two young daughters, with another on the way. ``The most important thing I've learned over the years is to listen and be a sponge. I've been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to have it all work out.''

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THE BEST AND WORST OF L.A. SPORTS - TALK-SHOW HOSTS

THE TOP 10

1. Petros Papadakis

570-AM weekday drive time

Five months after his show on 1540-AM flamed out, he's back causing havoc at a new station with a new partner. ``It's a great energy, working with a bunch of professionals where you don't have to will things to happen,'' Papadakis says. ``I used to feel I was doing a show with a piano stuck to my back. Here, they don't have to stretch on their resources and everyone's eager to help. (Program director) Don Martin cultivates a great creative environment.''

Last year: 1

2. Steve Mason 

710-AM weekday drive time

On his new MySpace.com site, he lists his heroes as President Bill Clinton, Gandhi, Alfonso Cuaron, Wayne Gretzky, Nolan Ryan, Steve Jobs, Pete Carroll and grandfather Gene. That pretty much covers everyone.

Last year: 2

3. Matt ``Money'' Smith

570-AM weekday drive time and Lakers talk

One of his recent look-alike observations after a Lakers-Sacramento game: The Kings' Kevin Martin to Archibald Asparagus from ``Veggie Tales.'' You can't get that stuff anywhere else.

Last year: 4

4. Joe McDonnell

570-AM weekday nights

Are you experienced? Thankfully, he has reinvented himself, again, as a team player in KLAC's new deep lineup, and the late-night spot might work out to be the best fit with Tim Cates. He also has kept his weekend job doing political talk on sister station KTLK-AM (1150).

Last year: not ranked.

5. John Ireland

710-AM weekday drive time

He sometimes takes a grand leap from Point A to Point D, but give him credit for his great imagination and enthusiasm to find a story line.

Last year: 5

6. Steve Hartman

570-AM weekday afternoon

Seriously, he wasn't really pimping a company that does female tummy tucks recently, was he? That's kinda hair raising, even for him. As talented as he is, the volume of ad reads he does each day should send every kid in his neighborhood through private college.

Last year: 8

7. T.J. Simers

570-AM weekday mornings

The 800-pound guerrilla sprays to all fields in this dysfunctional family dynamic with his equally volatile daughter Tracy and ``good cop'' Fred Roggin (see below). You start your day in a cranky mood? Maybe this is the reason. And what happens if there comes a time when he has to decide whether it's worth giving up the newspaper gig to jump full-time to radio. Stay tuned.

Last year: not ranked.

8. Kevin Kiley

710-AM weekday afternoons

Alas, every other sentence out of him is: ``You don't know that! How can you say that like it's a fact?'' It's unfortunately just a function of the job for now.

Last year: not ranked.

9. Fred Roggin

570-AM weekday mornings

Another 1540 castaway has to constantly defend himself as being a nice guy. You gotta wonder if Sideshow Fred is going to snap some day and take a baseball bat to Krusty.

Last year: 6.

10. Vic ``The Brick'' Jacobs

570-AM weekdays

Let's embrace this L.A. original for his creative energy rather than demean him for everything else he attempts.

Last year: not ranked.

Honorable mention: Bill Seward, Dodger talk radio (980-AM); A. Martinez, Dodgers reporter (980- AM); Jeff Biggs, Clippers talk (710-AM); Rich Marotta, 570-AM boxing weekends; Nick Nickson, 1150-AM Kings talk; Mychal Thompson, 570-AM afternoons; Brooks Melchior, 710-AM fill-in.

BOTTOM 5

1. D'Marco Farr

710-AM weekday afternoons

By Farr, there are more ridiculous comments per second emitted here according to the EPA, even as Kiley has been called in to try to pull him out of the hole he continually digs himself in. Gary Miller should thank management for sending him home. If D-Farr sparked a decent debate, that'd be one thing. Instead, it's a quick, painful tuneout.

Last year: 2, bottom 5.

2. Lee ``Hacksaw'' Hamilton

570-AM weekends

He mastered the art of fake news long before Jon Stewart and ``The Daily Show,'' but gets little credit for it. Still, the ``Saw'' (his real nickname) remains an annual candidate for best in show for the SoCal Broadcasters Assn. Reaction!

Last year: 4, bottom 5.

3. Joe Grande

570-AM weekends

In ``Good Times'' and bad, he'll always seem to have that strong hip-hop following. More Power-106 to him.

Last year: 1, bottom 5.

4. Roger Lodge

710-AM fill-ins

Unfortunately, the Ryan Seacrest of sports still pops up to sub during vacation time. Better than Carlos Del Valle or Dave Denholm, but not by much.

Last year: not ranked.

5. Terry Smith

710-AM Angels talk

Almost makes one yearn for the days of Steve Bailey.

Last year: not ranked.

THE GREAT EIGHT OF SYNDICATED RADIO HOSTS:

1. Jim Rome, 570-AM mornings

2. Dan Patrick, 710-AM midday

3. Colin Cowherd, 710-AM mornings

4. Dave Smith, 1540-AM midday

5. Jason Smith, 710-AM overnight

6. Tony Bruno, 1540-AM mornings

7. Doug Gottlieb, 710-AM weeknights

8. Ben Maller, 570-AM weeknights

THE GREAT EIGHT OF L.A. NEWS UPDATE REPORTERS:

1. Bill Seward, 980-AM

2. Ted Sobel, 980-AM

3. Bret Lewis, 570-AM

4. Mia Harris, 710-AM

5. Randy Kerdoon, 1070-AM

6. Paul Olden, 1070-AM

7. Tim Cates, 570-AM

8. Vic ``The Brick'' Jacobs, 570-AM

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) ``Money is a legitimate star with an even more tremendous upside, '' says KLAC-AM program director Don Martin about Matt Smith, above.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

(2) PAPADAKIS

(3) MCDONNELL

(4) SIMERS

(5) ROGGIN

Box:

THE BEST AND WORST OF L.A. SPORTS - TALK-SHOW HOSTS (see text)