Hancock gets a big break after even bigger letdown

This was supposed to be Brandon Hancock’s big year. After a number of sprains, strains and surgeries, he was all set to be USC’s starting fullback.

But during practice on Aug. 14 he twisted his knee awkwardly and suffered torn ligaments. The injury ended his USC career and possibly his football career.

Making the pain he felt that day even worse was the realization that even though he would still attend practices and meetings, he would not be a part of the team.

That pain was soon eased somewhat.

USC sports information director Tim Tessalone suggested there might be a job for Hancock on the school’s new flagship radio station, KSPN 710. Associate athletic director Jose Eskenazi made a call to program director Larry Gifford, who brought Hancock aboard to work on the station’s pregame coverage and also do a midday segment every Tuesday.

Hancock is working toward a master’s degree in communications and the nonpaying job fits him well. For one thing, Hancock is very bright. He was valedictorian at Clovis West High. For another, he is a good speaker.

“It has been great,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed doing interviews and speaking engagements, and talking about football comes naturally to me.”

He said the job has given him more of a sense of being part of the team, despite not being able to play.

“I’m more attentive in team meetings because I need to know what is going on,” he said.

The pregame coverage on 710 begins at 9 a.m. Saturday for the 5 p.m. game against Arizona State. Besides Hancock, the cast includes Steve Mason, Channel 7’s Curt Sandoval, Suzy Shuster, Dave Denholm, Harvey Hyde, national radio talk show host Colin Cowherd, former Trojans Darrell Rideaux, Dave Newberry, Curtis Conway and sideline reporter John Jackson. For home games, the shows are done at the Coliseum. The location for road games is Dave & Buster’s in Arcadia.

Papadakis update

Sources close to Petros Papadakis said it was the instability at KMPC 1540 that made him walk off his job there. He quit the station on Oct. 3, but news of his departure didn’t come out until a week later.

Papadakis, who like Hancock got into broadcasting through Tessalone while still a student at USC, had been at 1540 for five years. The station, mainly because it couldn’t solve its weak signal problems, lost the USC package to 710.

Then, last month, the Sporting News Radio Network, which owned 1540, was part of a package sold by Paul Allen’s Vulcan Sports Media Inc. to American City Business Journals Inc. The station is now for sale.

Papadakis’ contract with the station doesn’t run out until the end of the year, so station and Sporting News officials are still exploring settlement options.

Arnie Spanier’s national show will fill the void most of the time, with midday host Dave Smith sometimes doing a second show.

Roger Nadel, the station’s general manager, said in an e-mail, “We have enjoyed Petros’ show ... and we’re sorry that he has moved on to other activities.... We will continue to make KMPC the city’s sports leader.”

Said Papadakis: “I love radio. It has always been my passion. I feel a little naked without the show. It was my identity. Maybe one day down the road there will be another opportunity for me in radio. But for now I’m concentrating on television.”

Papadakis’ father, John, said, “Like everything else Petros does, he gave everything he had to his radio show.”

Papadakis and the BCS

His TV obligations include two new Bowl Championship Series shows for the FSN network. One, airing tonight at 6 on FSN West, is “BCS Breakdown,” which will look ahead to weekend matchups that feature possible BCS bowl teams. Besides Papadakis, the show includes host Tom Helmer and analyst Gary Barnett, the former Colorado and Northwestern coach. Rick Jaffe is the executive producer.

The other show is “BCS Ratings,” which will air Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on FSN West.

With Fox now televising four of the five BCS bowls, including the national championship game, the network beginning this weekend will announce the BCS rankings each week during its Sunday NFL coverage, generally either after a 10 a.m. game or before a 1 p.m. game. Fox will televise the final rankings and the BCS bowl selections on Dec. 3.

Short waves

Former UCLA quarterback David Norrie, who recently signed a new three-year contract with ESPN-ABC, will be the commentator on Saturday’s ABC telecast of the USC-Arizona State game, working alongside play-by-play announcer Mark Jones. Former Oklahoma basketball All-American and current WNBA player Stacey Dales will be the sideline reporter.... The ABC team of Dan Fouts and Tim Brant will work UCLA’s 12:30 game at Oregon.... Another example of Brent Musburger’s stature among his bosses is that on Thursday he was named the host of the NASCAR coverage on ESPN and ABC beginning next year. Handling the lap-by-lap coverage will be Jerry Punch. The lead analyst in the booth will be Rusty Wallace, who will be joined by Andy Petree, a former team owner and the 1993-94 championship-winning crew chief for the late Dale Earnhardt.

larry.stewart@latimes.com