Some Christmas Recognition for L.A.’s Unsung Personalities

In the spirit of Christmas, nice words for some deserving people:

Jim Lampley, who divides his time among KMPC, HBO and NBC and will call today’s Clipper-San Antonio Spur game at the Sports Arena for NBC as well as serve as host of the pregame show, may be the busiest sportscaster in Los Angeles.

But Rich Marotta can’t be far behind.

During a recent 10-day span, Marotta worked nine games--two Raiders’ and seven Clippers’--and made three coast-to-coast trips. All the while, he was, as usual, doing his morning radio reports on KFI when in town.

Former USC offensive tackle Mike Lamb, who is also part of the station’s Raider pregame and postgame shows, is Marotta’s capable fill-in at KFI. But Marotta tries not to miss many days.

Even after working a Clipper night game, Marotta is up at 3:30 a.m. to be at the station from 5 to 9 a.m. He naps in the afternoon, when possible.

Because of today’s Clipper game, he doesn’t even get Christmas off.

Marotta, who also announces boxing for the Prime Network, is a solid, all-around sportscaster who can do play-by-play and commentary equally well.

The 43-year-old Cal State Northridge graduate, who went to Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks, has been working in the Los Angeles market since the mid-1970s, when he was Bob Miller’s commentator on the Kings’ broadcasts for two seasons.

Although he has won nine Golden Mike awards and numerous others, including the Southern California Sportscasters Assn.’s Tom Harmon Award as best local radio commentator, Marotta sometimes gets overlooked.

Mention Clipper broadcasts, and one thinks of Ralph Lawler, who has been with the team since 1978 and who last month called his 1,000th Clipper game. Even flagship station KMPC never mentions Marotta in any of its Clipper promotional spots, although that is probably because of his KFI ties more than anything else.

As for Raider broadcasts, one thinks of Bill King, one of the best radio play-by-play men in the business. But Marotta has been working Raider games since they moved to Los Angeles in 1982.

Although Marotta is the Raider commentator, he occasionally fills in for King on play-by-play without missing a beat.

With the Clippers, Marotta is Lawler’s commentator only for non-televised games. When Channel 13 carries a game, Lawler switches to television, and Marotta works alone doing play-by-play.

After today’s basketball game, Marotta will fly to Washington, arriving at 5:40 a.m., and work Saturday’s Raider game against the Redskins.

It’s a typical routine for Marotta.

Randy Rosenbloom, another Valley guy, is also an unsung, hard-working veteran announcer. Rosenbloom, 41, who attended North Hollywood High, is also a Cal State Northridge graduate.

Last weekend was a routine weekend for Rosenbloom. He called the CIF/Reebok Bowl high school football game at Anaheim Stadium Friday night for Channel 13, then took a red-eye flight to Atlanta to work the Kuppenheimer basketball doubleheader--Louisville vs. Georgia Tech and UCLA vs. Georgia in the Georgia Dome--for Radio Sports Creations, a Malibu-based national network. He arrived in Atlanta an hour before the first game.

Rosenbloom, who did yeoman work on volleyball during the Olympic TripleCasts, announces a wide variety of sports, to say the least--17 during his career. He will have done 105 games or events this year.

Rosenbloom has also been a talk-radio host, working with KMPC’s Fred Wallin at KIIS-AM in the early ‘80s.

These days, Rosenbloom, no relation to former Ram owner Carroll Rosenbloom but a nephew of the late boxer and comedian Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, will pop up just about anywhere. Among other jobs, he announces Atlantic Coast Conference basketball for Radio Sports Creations, is the television voice of Fresno State, and does Big West football and basketball for SportsChannel America.

In March, Rosenbloom will begin his fifth year as the main voice of the National Cycle League, which is carried by 26 regional sports networks in major markets and 110 independent stations in minor markets.

SportsChannel was the Los Angeles carrier of the NCL, which now consists of 11 teams and includes the Los Angeles Wings. But with SportsChannel Los Angeles going off the air, league officials are negotiating with Prime Ticket.

This season, Rosenbloom will be joined by newcomer Tamara Ortiz, a sprinter at Warren High in Downey, Cerritos College and San Diego State. Bill Walton might also become a member of the broadcast team.

Speaking of Walton, it’s amazing how a true basketball legend has become such an outstanding television commentator.

His secret? He applies the same work ethic to his broadcasting career that he did to his playing career.

That work ethic also helped him overcome a severe stuttering problem at 28, which probably is more responsible for his transformation than anything else.

Today, Walton will make his debut on NBC’s “NBA Showtime,” which originates from the Sports Arena at noon. The nation, no doubt, will be impressed.

For the few viewers who still get SportsChannel Los Angeles, which closes up shop next Thursday, it is a real treat to hear Walton and Joel Meyers work together on Clipper telecasts.

Next Wednesday’s home game against the Boston Celtics, one of Walton’s former teams, will be SportsChannel’s last.

The versatile Meyers has never been better than while working with Walton.

It will be nice if Prime Ticket can work out a deal to carry some Clipper telecasts, and will pick up Meyers and Walton as the announcers.

Interestingly, Roger Werner, president of Prime Ticket, was a recent courtside guest of Clipper owner Donald Sterling.

Good guy Joe Buttitta, who at one time was the sports information director for Cal State Northridge and is now a teaching pro at Westlake Golf Course, has been calling Northridge sports for KGIL off and on since 1975.

KGIL, under new ownership, went off the air Thursday night, and will come back after Jan. 1 with a new format. Thus, Northridge’s long relationship with the radio station is over.

TV-Radio Notes

Although last Friday’s Las Vegas Bowl game between Bowling Green and Nevada on ESPN and Saturday’s NCAA Division I-AA title game between Marshall and Youngstown State on CBS will be hard to beat for excitement, next Tuesday’s 6 p.m. Freedom Bowl between Fresno State and USC at Anaheim Stadium figures to be a dandy. Only problem is, viewers might be blinded by all the red in the stands worn by Fresno’s Red Wave. The telecast will be carried in Los Angeles by Channel 9. The announcers are Phil Stone and Dave Rowe. The Mutual Radio Network will also carry the game, with Joel Meyers and David Humm announcing, but in Los Angeles, KNX, the USC flagship station, will provide radio coverage. The KNX broadcast, with Pete Arbogast and Fred Gallagher, will also be picked up by Armed Forces Radio.

Beginning at 4 p.m. today, Prime Ticket will televise six consecutive segments from its “Baseball’s Greatest Games” series. Included is Game 1 of the 1988 World Series--Kirk Gibson’s home run--plus three games from the 1975 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox. . . . Attention, fans of Roy Firestone’s outstanding “Up Close” show: The second of two year-end specials will be shown by ESPN today at 3:30 p.m. and again at midnight.

Recommended viewing: The third annual “Arete Awards for Courage in Sports” will be on ESPN today at 4:30 p.m. Among the winners are Gail Devers, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Dave Winfield, Robin Yount and Muhammad Ali. . . . In an interview with Jim Hill on Channel 2’s “L.A. Football Company” Sunday at 9 a.m., Marcus Allen will talk more about his stormy relationship with Al Davis. . . . Prime Ticket will carry last September’s pay-per-view tennis match between Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova Sunday at 4:30 p.m.