RIP, Joe McDonnell

[MTM]

Joe McDonnell, the Los Angeles radio sports reporter, died today. He was 58

Joe McDonnell, Los Angeles sports media fixture, dies at 58 - LA Times

Joe once topped 740 pounds before gastric bypass surgery.

He broke all kinds of stories in LA and was a fixture at Dodger Stadium and the Forum.

RIP, Big Nasty

 

[ChrisLong]

Known him for more than 30 years. He put up with a lot of **** -- jokingly and otherwise -- because of his weight. He was a really good reporter but usually pissed off most people as a talk radio host. He broke stories but was fired from just about every radio station in LA. Sorry he has passed. RIP Big Joe.

 

[MileHigh]

First came across Joe when I was a VERY young pup going to L.A. press boxes, arenas and golf courses in the late 1980s/early 1990s and completely out of my element and way over my head. This is a big loss in the L.A. media, and the fact Jeanie Buss AND Mitch Kupchak are releasing statements -- and the tweets are coming from all across the country -- tells you his impact on not just L.A. radio but L.A. media overall.

Joe McDonnell, 58, longtime LA sports media figure - LA Observed

The weight issues obviously were out there. But as CLong noted, he broke a lot of stories and, yeah, pissed off a lot of people on the airwaves. The biggest L.A. sports radio loss since Jim Healy more than 20 years ago.

RIP, Big Nasty.

 

[HanSenSE]

Another pretty good memorial. RIP.
Remembering Joe McDonnell, the one and only - LA Times

 

[Songbird]

Krikorian is going to write a novel on this one.

One of my favorite photos is of me sitting next to Joe at the Forum during the '91 Midsummer's Night Magic. We talked for a few minutes. He had a huge cross to bare but wore it well.

 

[TigerVols]

Only knew him from the radio, but like most commuter rats in LA, that exposure was all I needed in order to know the man.

Mile High is spot on, it's the biggest sports radio loss in SoCal since Jim Healy. The Big Nasty was as tapped in to the LA sports zeitgeist as anyone, ever.

 

[poindexter]

Yet he couldn't really keep a station or time slot... He probably worked at 10 stations in LA... I wonder if he rubbed management starched shirts the wrong way.

 

[WriteThinking]

Yet he couldn't really keep a station or time slot... He probably worked at 10 stations in LA... I wonder if he rubbed management starched shirts the wrong way.

I'd bet that he probably did. And so, probably, did his weight. Rightly or wrongly, weight-related discrimination absolutely does happen, whether consciously or unconsciously, and whether intentionally, or not.

 

[ChrisLong]

Yet he couldn't really keep a station or time slot... He probably worked at 10 stations in LA... I wonder if he rubbed management starched shirts the wrong way.

You're in a business that relies on callers and you antagonize the callers?? That's a big reason he kept getting fired. When anyone disagreed with him, he'd say, "You're an idiot" and he'd cut them off.


Should we wait a few days before retelling some of the jokes at his expense??

 

[Just the facts ma am]

Big Joe was the most entertaining and honest sports radio host in LA history. RIP

 

[MileHigh]

Another pretty good memorial. RIP.
Remembering Joe McDonnell, the one and only - LA Times

Great job, as always, by the Beast.

 

[MileHigh]

Yet he couldn't really keep a station or time slot... He probably worked at 10 stations in LA... I wonder if he rubbed management starched shirts the wrong way.

It's sports radio. Not exactly a stable profession.

 

[Gold]

I saw Joe last year, and it was a pleasant experience seeing him and watching him work.

As far as all the places where he has worked, radio station formats change and even with sports radio, the station may change from ESPN Radio to Fox Sports to an independent sports format.

RIP, Big Joe.