Lakers new TV and Radio Announcers

Payaso · Post #1 » by **Payaso** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:39 pm

After the departure of Joel Meyers the Lakers have announced who will be in charge of the play-by-play duties next season. According to a Lakers official the team has announced that Bill Macdonald will do the play-by-play for television while John Ireland will take the controls for the radio.
Macdonald will team up with longtime Laker color commentator Stu Lantz for the television broadcasts while Ireland will join Mychal Thompson for the radio side.

Ireland was the Lakers courtside announcer for KCAL 9 since 2002, and will call every Lakers game this season from the radio. The addition of Macdonald comes as a minor surprise as many expected longtime radio broadcaster Spero Dedes to get the television job

http://www.lakersnation.com/lakers-hire ... 011/06/21/

USA · Post #2 » by **USA** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:45 pm

No Spero?

We already had a taste of Bill MacDonald and I will pass. Bring back Spero for the simulcast. Not sure if Ireland will be a good play by play guy.

Post #3 » by **TyCobb** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:48 pm

MacDonald is an interview guy, not a play-by-play. First Brown, now this. fml

LA Forever · Post #4 » by **LA Forever** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:55 pm

I'm thinking Spero Dedes is headed to bigger things with CBS now that Gus Johnson is gone.

chefy · Post #5 » by **chefy** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:02 pm

Myers>>Bill

Shamizy · Post #6 » by **Shamizy** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:40 pm

What. The. ****. We just got rid of the best play-by-play guy in the NBA. For no good reason. If this was Lil Buss' call, I seriously want to dropkick his smug face.

DEEP3CL · Post #7 » by **DEEP3CL** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:49 pm

Spero had too much on his plate, NFL Network and CBS NCAA games....Spero is the new hot thing for national broadcast. Being stuck to just local TV or radio wasn't in his cards. Don't blame him at all.

GoldenKnight · Post #8 » by **GoldenKnight** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:50 pm

I was hoping the Lakers would hire this guy

No but really, Billy Mac is terrible in my opinion. I could barely stand him when he did the play by play for Kobe's 81 point game, now hearing that for 82 games? I would rather watch the game on mute.
It's a shame Spero turned down the offer, he would be golden for the job.
They should've just offered Joel the job once again instead of hiring Billy Mac.
Joel wasn't too bad, you could tell he really rooted for the Lakers (always checking scores on other teams on the air and hoping the Lakers would move up in the standings)
But if they were tired of Joel, then why didn't they offer Paul Sunderland the job again? He wasn't too bad, better than Billy Mac that's for sure.

GoldenKnight · Post #9 » by **GoldenKnight** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:51 pm

Dedes turns down Lakers' TV gig for Knicks, so it goes to Macdonald

http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/ ... akers.html

Shamizy · Post #10 » by **Shamizy** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:56 pm

So the Lakers were unwilling to honor Spero's demands, while the Knicks go ahead and snatch him up. Fantastic.

LA Forever · Post #11 » by **LA Forever** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:57 pm

Tough to see Spero leave the Lakers. However, going to college at Fordham and his ties to NY, I think he just landed his dream job. Congrats.

-David Brickley

Meyers wasn’t pleased about the way being paved for Dedes and not being retained after this season, thus severing his ties with the Lakers. Some of his relationships, including with Lantz, became strained. Despite continuing to do their final broadcasts together on TV, Meyers and Lantz no longer spoke off the air — Meyers unhappy that partner Lantz, who was being renewed, didn’t help him more.

-Kevin Ding

Wavy Q · Post #12 » by **Wavy Q** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:58 pm

The Knicks?

how lame

Post #13 » by **dockingsched** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:58 pm

http://lakers.ocregister.com/2011/06/21 ... and/56131/

Meyers wasn’t pleased about the way being paved for Dedes and not being retained after this season, thus severing his ties with the Lakers. Some of his relationships, including with Lantz, became strained. Despite continuing to do their final broadcasts together on TV, Meyers and Lantz no longer spoke off the air — Meyers unhappy that partner Lantz, who was being renewed, didn’t help him more.

GoldenKnight · Post #14 » by **GoldenKnight** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:03 am

“We had a verbal agreement with Spero to be our new TV play-by-play announcer,” Lakers spokesman John Black said. “However, prior to getting a finalized contract, he had a change of heart and decided to pursue another job.”

The fact that they were this close to hiring him pisses me off, they should've made him sign a contract 10 minutes after they verbally agreed.

Post #15 » by **dockingsched** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:09 am

yeah, its unfortunate we lost Spero, guess we all were weary of it with his NFL stuff, but to lose him to another NBA team, damn. he should've been promoted a long time ago.

LAzPhenom · Post #16 » by **LAzPhenom** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:12 am

speaking of laker games, if i have dish network and live in L.A., what channel will i be able to watch the lakers games, since lakers made the TV deal with time warner

Post #17 » by **dockingsched** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:15 am

the new tv deal doesn't kick in til 2012-2013. it'll still be on fox sports / kcal this upcoming season.

Post #18 » by **Danny Darko** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:22 am

wow suuuux. oh well, at least it's not Bill Walton... Terrrrible

GoldenKnight · Post #19 » by **GoldenKnight** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:28 am

Danny Darko wrote:wow suuuux. oh well, at least it's not Bill Walton... Terrrrible

Are you kidding? I would choose Bill Walton a million times before Billy Mac.

LAzPhenom · Post #20 » by **LAzPhenom** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:38 am

dcash4 wrote:the new tv deal doesn't kick in til 2012-2013. it'll still be on fox sports / kcal this upcoming season.

okay thanks, i guess ill have lakers for at least another year