Lakers Fail: Bill MacDonald and John Ireland to Play-by-Play

The Lakers announced today that both Joel Meyers and Spero Dedes will not be back television and radio, respectively. Their replacements? Bill ‘Freaking’ MacDonald and John Ireland. MacDonald, yes, the same “Billy Mac” caught sucking face with his college-aged girl friend at Angel Stadium, will be paired with Stu Lantz on television.

In the past, one could count on the radio to make up for a poor television voice. You know, how you play Vin Scully on the radio and mute  Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Unfortunately, the Lakers won’t have that option, as John Ireland takes the mic on the radio. First off, Ireland is one of LA’s best radio personalities and is a great sideline reporter. He keeps Mason in line on “Mason & Ireland”, and always has the most sense of anyone in LA radio. However, the pride of Manhattan Beach is not a play-by-play voice. We’ve seen this before, and it never works. ABC moved Dan Fouts to play-by-play when Keith Jackson retired, and even the Kings tried Jim Fox at play-by-play during Bob Miller’s illness four years ago. Both failed.

So while Stu Lantz and Mychal Thompson form a strong duo of color analysts, the Lakers will, without a doubt, have the league’s worst play-by-play duo. Put aside the fluke that MacDonald called Kobe’s 81 game, and Ireland’s insight as a Laker reporter. The Lakers, the strongest media-focused sports franchise in the world, have failed at every opportunity to replace Chick Hearn.

First it was Paul Sunderland, who was just in over his head to begin with. Then the grizzled veteran and painful baritone, Joel Meyers. Now, the worst voice in all of Los Angeles and the most unfunny, lame media personality in Southern California, Bill “Please Don’t Call Him ‘Billy Mac'” MacDonald gets the luxury of calling Kobe’s fade away jumpers, and Ron Artest’s missed layups.

The worst part? Somewhere a writer is out there writing the story of how a boy who grew up listening to Chick Hearn just got his ultimate dream job after a long way to the top of the LA sportscasters’ food chain. The true boy-next-door, gone hero story. Yet, we all know the truth about “Billy Mac” and his smug inability to perform on a public broadcasting channel calling the high school “game of the week”.

Boy could LA use some Chick Hearn right about now. Heck, even Jim Hill would do. Well, okay maybe not.

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