John Ireland

Bryce Alderton

From covering news in Monroe, La. to interviewing Shaquille O’Neal

and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers as a sideline reporter,

John Ireland has it made, at least in his eyes.

“If you would have told me I would be paid to go on the road with

the Lakers and watch basketball games, I would have thought you were

nuts,” said the Corona del Mar High and UCLA graduate, who now lives

in Hollywood Hills. “Anybody who complains about this job is an

idiot. You get paid to go to the games. It’s a great life.”

Ireland has taken on the role of the Lakers’ sideline reporter for

36 of the teams’ 41 road games televised on KCAL Channel 9 this

season.

The 39-year-old sports anchor interviews players and coaches

before and after every game for a segment on either the station’s

weeknight sports show (Sports News Tonight) that airs Monday through

Friday or the 30-minute weekend edition for Saturdays and Sundays.

The role of a sideline reporter was created this year following

the death of legendary Lakers announcer Chick Hearn and commentators

Paul Sunderland and Stu Lantz gave their OK, said Ireland.

“No one wanted to take any time away from Chick when he was

there,” Ireland said. “(Sunderland) and (Lantz) thought a sideline

reporter would add to the broadcast this season.”

Covering the Lakers has been a joy for Ireland, who said it helps

that Bryant and O’Neal -- the teams’ superstars -- are a “godsend to

the media.”

“They are very fun guys who are fun to cover and have a great

sense of humor,” Ireland said. “When your best player is a jerk it

affects the rest of the team but (O’Neal) and (Bryant) are genuinely

nice people.”

Ireland, who played on CdM’s 1981 CIF championship basketball

team, typically arrives at the arena three hours before the game and

won’t leave until the team boards the bus following the contest.

Last week, when the Lakers played an 8 p.m. game against the

Philadelphia 76ers, Ireland arrived at the arena at 5 that night and

didn’t leave until midnight.

“It runs into a much longer day on the road,” Ireland said. “But

it’s a small price to pay for covering the Lakers.”

December presents a busy time for Ireland, who is married and has

a 1-year-old son.

When the Lakers played the Sacramento Kings in Los Angeles on

Christmas Day, Ireland anchored Sports News Tonight like he does each

weeknight. He also hosts a show on Fox Sports Radio each Sunday

during the NFL season titled “We Are There” that can be heard in 110

cities nationwide.

In the fall, Ireland spends five days each week reporting on the

UCLA football team.

CBS Channel 2 just bought Channel 9, which means a more

comprehensive approach to covering sports in Los Angeles, according

to Ireland.

“In the past we’d have to pick between UCLA or USC in the NCAA

basketball tournament, but now we’ll have one perspective to USC and

one to UCLA,” Ireland said. “We can ping-pong between each other on

TV.”

Now in his eighth year at KCAL, Ireland knows his tenure there is

a special case.

“The challenge is there’s a lot of turnover in this business,” he

said. “This is my fourth station so things have gone well for me.”

While at UCLA -- where Ireland graduated with a history degree in

1985 -- he took a sports television class that piqued his interest

toward broadcasting.

“I really wanted to be a newspaper reporter because I thought it

was more fun to write something than say it,” Ireland said. “But then

I took the sports TV class and saw that (television) is where sports

was heading so I decided to make a career of it.”

Before landing the KCAL position, Ireland spent less than a year

as a news reporter with the ABC affiliate in Louisiana followed by a

3 1/2-year stint in Beaumont, Texas, and five years at a television

station in San Diego.

While working in Monroe, Ireland filled in for the sports anchors

when they had time off and made a tape recording of his segments that

he used to land future jobs.

Ireland’s parents still live in Corona del Mar and he has become

good friends with Fox Sports News’ Bill MacDonald, also a CdM High

graduate and current resident. MacDonald interviews Lakers’ players

and coaches along with members of the National Hockey League’s Los

Angeles Kings when both teams play home games at the Staples Center.

Ireland appreciates the ascent to his current position.

“I’m living a dream,” Ireland said. “It gets better every year

because I get to know the people close to the team, which means more

stories.”