Lampley Says He’s Interested in KMPC Job

Jim Lampley officially parted ways with KCBS Channel 2 Wednesday, two months after being removed from his job as a news anchor. He declined to return to his previous position covering sports, so the station rehired Jim Hill for that role two weeks ago.

“It only confirms the obvious,” Lampley said in a telephone interview. “I haven’t been there in effect since I got back from the Olympics, other than to pick up my mail. I guess it sort of went without saying.”

Lampley “has decided to leave KCBS-TV to pursue other career options,” the station said in a news release. A former sports personality at ABC, he joined the CBS-owned station in 1987. His wife, Bree Walker, continues as an anchor at KCBS.

“I’ll just say this: My departure from KCBS is now and always has been entirely amicable,” Lampley said. “We talked about my going back to sports director. That was their original desire. I thought of it as a real nice opportunity and a great offer. It just wasn’t something I wanted to do. . . . “

Lampley said that he is considering several options while continuing to work 40 to 50 days a year at HBO, where, since February, 1988, he has covered boxing matches, tennis and hosted occasional specials. One of those options is joining KMPC-AM (710), which will be switching to an all-sports format later this month.

“I’ve talked to them and I know I’ll talk to them again, but we haven’t made any decisions,” Lampley said. “It’s something I hope will be a real possibility. In my heart I just hope it works out because I love the format. . . I did sports radio in New York when WFAN (the first all-sports radio station) went on the air in 1987. I just love talk radio.”