THEY'RE TALKING SENSE; SOME L.A. RADIO HOSTS BRING FORMAT TO HIGHER LEVEL.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH The Media

Ellen DeGeneres came out as a Los Angeles sports talk-show host last month.

Oh, that's right. Her character did.

In an episode of ``Ellen'' you most likely missed because it wasn't heavily publicized, Ellen Morgan landed a job as general manager at a Santa Monica talk-radio station called KPOV. She ended up having to go on the air and do the sports-talk show after she rebuffed the host's sexual advances and he walked out.

Eventually, Ellen got desperate for callers.

``Tell me what's on your minds,'' she pleaded. ``What's on your empty, feeble, pathetic, peanut-sized minds . . . come on, losers, call me before I get abusive.''

While Ellen Morgan might be no Ellen K. - in any sense of the word - and perpetuating a stereotype is the last thing DeGeneres' show should be doing, it reminded us that sports talk will continue to be viewed as a mindless pastime for drooling idiots as long as those who act as ringmaster continue to present them that way.

Therefore, to reach the higher altitude of our annual Daily News Best and Worst of L.A. media list, a maniacal attitude is not recommended.

L.A. doesn't have to be a cultural wading pool for sports-talk junkies. With three live sports-talk stations in the general reception area (albeit two are owned by the same company, and the reception isn't great all the time after the sun goes down), at least the opportunity for somewhat intelligent talk is beginning to surface - if only because it bucks the trend, both in what failed in L.A. before and what seems to work nationally.

Those who run AM-1150 (whose call letters we don't even use anymore) admit that when they launched the station as an L.A. version of XTRA in San Diego last March, they needed to grab attention. It started with billboards of women's breasts (which, by the way, did belong to Ellen K.). But it was soon followed by actually buying the radio rights to the Dodgers.

Talk about stacking the lineup.

Establishing credibility immediately was the way to go, as AM-1150 put life back in L.A. sports talk, which went near-dormant with the recent failures of KMPC, KMAX and KWNK.

Soon (but not without a struggle), all-Spanish station 1540-AM actually was converted to English by One-on-One Sports syndicated programming, which wanted to establish a West Coast beachhead.

Could L.A. support three all-sports stations? Arbitron ratings show only XTRA making any kind of motion sensor, but station management at all three insist those antiquated measures aren't reliable when it comes to sports audiences. It's a lot like how the networks justify giving the NFL billions of dollars in rights fees despite slumping Nielsen ratings.

The trio, in addition to KAVL in the Antelope Valley, might continue to be financed by advertisers claiming they can decrease your auto-insurance rates and increase the sixe of certain private parts. They can claim to be ``the official station of whoever wins the Super Bowl,'' and spend entire shows giving away prizes for anyone who can guess the number of games in Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak.

But at least some of the hosts have found out they don't have to perform stupid radio-host tricks to get attention.

(Excuse me, Mr. Jacobs, you can come off the roof of the Capitol Records building now.)

L.A. listeners should take advantage of this opportunity because history shows one (or two) of these stations will be history very soon. Which could open the door to the next radio experiment of - what - alternate-lifestyle sports talk?

THE ANNUAL DAILY NEWS BEST AND WORST OF L.A. MEDIA

RADIO SPORTS-TALK HOSTS

THE TOP 10

1. Joe McDonnell, AM-1150 afternoon drive: The sports-radio highlight of '97 was when McDonnell, annoyed because NBA analyst Hubie Brown continued to talk nonsense about the Lakers, hung up on him after Brown made threats to hang up if McDonnell didn't let him talk. Brown then cried to the Lakers trying to get him canned. Hubie's tears led to a flood of support - McDonnell's shift was recently expanded to fours hours a day in the most high-profile slot at the station. Last year's ranking: 1.

2. (tie) Steve Mason and John Ireland, AM-1150 mornings: The Wayne and Garth of sports talk take a more irreverent look at things, by themselves and with their guests, that fit more into the city's personality. Last year: 5 (tie)

4. Fred Wallin, AM-1150 weekly college sports show; weekends: Where have all the cowboys gone? Talk-slingers like Wallin change their radio frequency frequently but stay employed because of one constant - they can bring more to the discussion than gimmicks and cheap laughs. Last year: 4.

5. Brian Golden, KAVL mornings: At a station committed to sports, there's gotta be a way for the rest of us this side of Westlake Village to tune him in. How about talking a little louder, big guy? Last year: 3.

6. Ross Porter, Dodgers talk: The new Dodgers station, AM-1150, hasn't said where (if) they'll use him for the upcoming season. Statistically, Porter is a good risk. Last year: 6.

7. Steve Kim, AM-1150 boxing show: Management has stuffed this into the outer-most regions of its programming week - Sunday nights, 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. - but closet fans of pugilism have it locked in. Last year: Not ranked.

8. (tie) John Fricke and Sean Salisbury, XTRA mornings: ``If you can get Bart Starr to laugh, you're doing a pretty good job,'' said new station operator Bill Pugh said about an interview Fricke did with the Packers legend recently. Salisbury hasn't stopped audibilizing since his sophomore year at USC. Last year: Not ranked.

10. Chris Ello, XTRA: And there's no place at the station for him aside from some updates and weekends? Last year: 8.

Honorable mention: Bret Lewis, KLAC Lakers talk; Tommy Nast, AM-1150 hockey show; Steve Hartman, XTRA afternoons; Irv Kaze, KIEV; Ronnie Kovach's fish-talk show, AM-1150 Saturday mornings.

THE SYNDICATED ALTERNATIVE

1. Jim Rome: L.A. had its own roped-off area of ``The Jungle'' for a brief time in '97. And if it were still on, Rome would be among the elite in the list above.

2. Peter Brown: Our beacon of reason in the afternoons on the alternate One-on-One Sports all-syndicated radio station.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

1. Vic ``The Brick'' Jacobs, AM-1150 afternoons: A one-brick phony who might be the nicest guy you'd want to meet in radio, which just proves he's in the wrong business. At least his eight-track show in a CD world has been reduced to two painful hours a day. Last year: Not ranked.

2. Bill Werndl, XTRA afternoons: When will station management realize Chet Forte can't be replaced by an East Coast-soundalike and Steve Hartman deserves a much more qualified life-support system. Last year: 1 (bottom five, with Hartman).

3. Lee Hamilton, XTRA weekday drive time: Blah, blah, blah-blah, blah, blah, blankety-blank-blank, blah, blah, blah, (a homophobic reaction), blah-blah, blah-blah-blah, blah, blah with no credibility. Last year: What does it matter anymore?

4. Jon Chelesnik, XTRA weekends: He's the ``Sports Doctor.'' We're the ones who turn and cough. Last year: 5 (bottom five).

5. (tie) Dennis McKnight and John Kentera, XTRA weeknights; Dave Smith and Ben Maller, AM-1150 weeknights: There is no battle of wits in this late-night radio war, only another reason to beg KROQ to fire up ``Love Line'' a few hours earlier each night. We know the management doesn't put any money for talent in for this time slot, but does it have to be that obvious? Last year: Not ranked.

--- Tom Hoffarth

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) THE BEST OF THE BEST ... Joe McDonnell

(2--Color) THE WORST OF THE WORST ... Vic ``The Brick'' Jacobs

BOX: THE ANNUAL DAILY NEWS BEST AND WORST OF L.A. MEDIA (see text)