Money is a gas
I couldn't figure out why I've been hearing references to "Money" (with a capital M) on various sports talk stations in Los Angeles. Now I know why, thanks to radio-info.com, who linked to a press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LEE “HACKSAW” HAMILTON
GOES 7 DAYS A WEEK
MATT "MONEY" SMITH (KROQ) AND
JOE GRANDE (POWER 106) TEAM UP FOR AFTERNOON DRIVE
(Los Angeles, CA August 23, 2005) – 19-year, award winning sports talker, Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton kicks off PM drive with “the best 15 minutes in sports” and “Hacksaw’s Headlines.” Then, teammates Matt “Money” Smith and Joe Grande talk sports. Hacksaw will also be heard in AM drive with Mancow’s Morning Madhouse, Middays with The Loose Cannons, and Afternoon Drive with Money and Grande. In addition to his Monday through Friday responsibilities, Hacksaw will anchor the weekends with the best 4-hours of Sports Talk radio in the nation on Saturdays and Sundays.
General Manager Don Martin says, " This is an opportunity to use Hacksaw across the entire XTRA Sports platform. The addition of Money and Joe Grande allows (XTRA) to pull off an incredible triple play. We get the benefit of Hacksaw throughout all key dayparts, 7 days a week, and we have an opportunity to add two dynamic stars to our PM drive lineup."
Hacksaw continues, “We now are an incredible team compiled of more .300 hitters with more home runs in our everyday lineup. Both Money and Joe are big time broadcasters.” Hamilton was voted Sports Talk Show Host of the Year 3 times by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association.
Money and Grande have had tremendous success in the LA radio market. Matt "Money" Smith has been a key part of KROQ's top rated Kevin and Bean morning show for 11 years. Joe Grande is well known from his role in Big Boy's Neighborhood on Power 106 where he thrived for 7 years. Together they bring a solid fan base, a love of sports, great name recognition, and a powerhouse afternoon team. The trio launches Tuesday, September 6th at 4pm.
XTRA SPORTS AM570 programming features Mancow Mornings (4:30-9am), Jim Rome (9am-Noon), The Loose Cannons featuring Steve Hartman, Mychal Thompson and Vic “The Brick” Jacobs (12-4pm), Lee Hamilton, Matt “Money” Smith and Joe Grande (4-7pm) , Phil Hendrie (7-10pm), Southern California Sports Report (10-10:30pm), Lee Klein (10:30-1am), Lakers, UCLA, Raiders and Avengers.
So I went to the KROQ web page and not only was unable to find Money, but I couldn't find Tami Heide either. Enter laradio.com:
Heide, Tami: KROQ, 1991-2004. Tami worked middays at KROQ and quietly disappeared from the air in the Fall of 2004.
You can tell that I haven't been listening to KROQ lately.
The same page at laradio.com includes biographies of some other broadcasting notables:
Healy, Jim: KBIG, KMPC, 50s; KLAC, 1961-65; KFWB, 1969; KABC, 1969-84; KLAC, 1973-82; KMPC, 1984-94. A one-of-a-kind sportscaster in Los Angeles for 43 years, Jim died July 22, 1994, at age 70 from complications of liver cancer. He began at KMPC in 1950, fresh out of UCLA, writing for broadcaster Bob Kelley. Jim wrote for Bob for 11 years. He hosted "Here's Healy" on KBIG and also worked at KFWB, KABC and KLAC. Jim was the nightly sports reporter on KABC/Channel 7 with a team that featured former County Supervisor Baxter Ward and Rona Barrett. He returned to KMPC in 1984. The veteran sports commentator left the air May 1, 1994, when KMPC switched from Sports to Talk. His illness was a well-kept secret. His son Patrick is a field reporter for KNBC/Channel 4. "Is it true?" became one of his trademark lines. His headstone at Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn reads: "Jim Healy, 1923-94, IT IS TRUE.” KMPC gm remembered the day that Jim came to work and was so happy to have found a plot next to a sidewalk. He wanted people to see it! In 1997 he was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Hearn, Chick: KLAC. The Los Angeles Lakers announcer died August 5, 2002, from complications after a fall in his home three nights earlier. He never recovered after two brain surgeries. Chick had shown remarkable resiliency in the eight months prior to his death. On December 20 he underwent heart-valve replacement surgery. In mid-March he fell getting out of his car at a gas station breaking his hip. He returned to the Laker broadcast booth in time to call their games through the playoffs to their 3rd consecutive championship. Since 1960, Chick has been the voice of the L.A. Lakers on radio and tv. The former host of Bowling for Dollars, he was inducted into the American Sportscasters Hall of Fame, was the third broadcaster elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and he received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "Put a game in the refrigerator," signifying when the game outcome was locked, came from his 83-year-old grandfather who misplaced things around the house and later discovered them in the refrigerator. In the midst of the glory of announcing for an enormously successful sports franchise, there have been some tough times. Their son, Gary, died at 27 in 1972. Their daughter, Samantha, died at 41 in 1991. Born Francis Hearn on November 27, 1916, Chick graduated from Bradley University. In the early 1950s he worked in Peoria alongside veteran tv anchor Jerry Dunphy. Chick called an unprecedented 3,338 NBA games before he underwent open-heart surgery in late 2001. During that broadcast streak, the Lakers scored 364,148 points winning 2, 092 games. Eight U.S. Presidents served during the streak. Chick was a college and high school referee for about eight years before becoming a broadcaster. Who will ever forget his one sentence: "Wraparounddribbledrivefallawayprayer!" In 1997 the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association named him top radio play-by-play announcer.
OK, here's a trivia question - who was Money's predecessor as "the sports guy" on KROQ's Kevin and Bean show? Answer: Jimmy Kimmel (short biography on laradio.com's K page).
Incidentally, I finally did find a mention of Money's departure on Kevin & Bean's Sounds page, including Money's discussion of "Chuck" Hearn. I also found the following article at FQMB:
KROQ/Los Angeles today announced the return of Lisa Worden as the Infinity Modern Rocker's Music Director....
She replaces MD and Sports Guru, Matt “Money” Smith who is leaving KROQ for a full-time position at L.A. Sports station XTRA Sports 570, hosting the Los Angeles Lakers pre-game and halftime shows.
"I've been associated with KROQ for 11 years. I started here when I was in college answering phones," Smith told FMQB, "and as sad as it is to leave a group of people I consider family, it's equally exciting to work with a franchise like the Lakers and the dominant Sports radio station in L.A., XTRA."
Smith's last day at KROQ is August 12.
Comments