At This Point, He’s Happy for Any Work

King announcer Bob Miller, one of the winners at the Southern California Sports Broadcasters awards luncheon Monday, is out of work because of the NHL lockout.

“I’ll make this short,” Miller said in accepting his award for television play by play. “Kmart wants me back for my greeter’s job.”

Trivia time: Tom Kelly, inducted into the SCSB’s Hall of Fame along with Ross Porter, came from Peoria, Ill., to Los Angeles in 1961 to, among other things, announce USC football on radio. What previous USC announcer had also come to L.A. from Peoria?

Miller not alone: Kelly, referring to himself; Porter, who was fired by the Dodgers after last season; and Miller, said of Monday’s luncheon: “Welcome to the local convention of the unemployed.”

All but forgotten: Stu Nahan, who served as the emcee of the luncheon, is a former hockey goalie and lifelong hockey fan.

“The only thing I remember about the blue line is that it is a train to Long Beach,” he said.

Sounds strange: When Vin Scully went to the microphone to introduce Porter, his broadcast partner for 28 years, the first thing he said was, “The Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles. Just wanted to hear what it sounded like.... Incredible.”

Ad omission: An Angel ad in the luncheon program specifically saluted Porter and Kelly. A Dodger ad simply saluted the winners without naming names.

Not a good ploy: Kelly said that many years ago the Dodgers had shown some interest in his working alongside Scully. He said public relations man Red Patterson told him that Walter O’Malley had asked that he send along a tape of his work.

Reasoning that O’Malley could hear him on the radio just about any day, Kelly replied, “Tell him to buy a ... radio.”

A few years later, Kelly happened to be playing golf with O’Malley in Vero Beach, Fla. Kelly recalled that it was somewhere on the back nine that O’Malley asked, “Did you really say, ‘Tell him to buy a ... radio?’ ”

Right place, right time: Paul McDonald, USC football commentator and former Trojan quarterback, also won an award.

“Timing is everything,” McDonald said. “All I had to do was pitch the ball back to Charles White and I became an All-American. Ever since USC starting winning national championships, I became a great broadcaster.”

Looking back: On this day in 1996, the Chicago Bulls won their 17th consecutive game, a 105-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings. The Bulls improved to 40-3, an NBA record for most wins with only three losses.

Trivia answer: Chick Hearn, who had moved on to the Lakers.

And finally: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is sometimes seen at Laker games but says he knows nothing about football.

“I wish I could tell you who was even playing in the Super Bowl,” he said on “Access Hollywood” Monday night.

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.