Radio Announcers

To those who have heard him on L.A. radio for more than three decades, he is The Big Nasty. To those who have seen him at local sports venues, he is simply Mr. Big, his body ballooning to nearly 700 pounds at his worst. To those who depend on him for information, he has long been among the most plugged-in sports personalities in town with solid sources and an always loud, often controversial, sometimes bitter opinion on everything from Dodger blue to Showtime.

Expressions of outrage and regret were issued Friday after a pair of Minneapolis talk-show hosts said that Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson "faked AIDS." Johnson revealed in 1991 that he had contracted the HIV virus, but it has never turned into AIDS.

Radio provocateur Don Imus apologized Friday for referring to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "some nappy-headed hos" during a broadcast this week of his syndicated radio show, "Imus in the Morning," which also airs live on MSNBC. "Want to take a moment to apologize for an insensitive and ill-conceived remark we made the other morning regarding the Rutgers women's basketball team," Imus said on the air Friday.

John and Ken, the Los Angeles-area radio talk-show hosts, were on the air. They discussed claims by the Homeland Security secretary that more guards had been stationed along the Mexico border. "Outright blatant lies!" John said. They trashed the Border Patrol chief. "A cardboard bureaucrat," he added. From the back of a crowded hotel conference room here, where the pair was broadcasting on KFI-AM, one listener couldn't contain himself. "You betcha!"

Singer-songwriter Gary Jules is something of a pilgrim as he walks unannounced into the state-of-the-art Santa Monica College studios of KCRW-FM (89.9), an offering in hand. Nic Harcourt, who is at the console from which he hosts the station's flagship music show, "Morning Becomes Eclectic," leaps to his feet; big grins are on both faces as the two embrace.

No surprise here, but college football takes over sports viewing on Saturday, and perhaps topping the list of matchups is Tennessee at California. The game, which pits the No. 15 Volunteers and the No. 12 Golden Bears, is the only Week 1 matchup of top 25 teams and is the headliner on ESPN on ABC, Channel 7 at 5 p.m.

Jan Mickelson wouldn't budge. His friendly chat with Mitt Romney had veered into a discussion of abortion and Mormonism, and the Republican presidential hopeful -- eyes wide, arms waving -- was clearly annoyed. "Let me once again say I understand my faith better than you do," Romney snapped. "Well, I'm not sure," Mickelson replied, and the two went back at it, Romney angry and sarcastic, Mickelson polite but persistent. Every weekday morning, from 9 to 11:30, Mickelson presides over the No.

Kim Amidon, half of what had been the longest-running morning show in Los Angeles radio, has been taken off the air at KOST-FM (103.5). She and Mark Wallengren hosted the "Mark and Kim Morning Show" for nearly 22 years, but when their contracts ended, only his was renewed. Friday morning, flying solo, Wallengren choked up as he told listeners, "We are a family here, and we feel like part of us is gone. Kim Amidon is no longer with the show." Greg Ashlock, L.A.

Looking for recourse, and finding little, disgruntled fans of KOST-FM (103.5) are still reeling a week after some of their favorite voices disappeared from the airwaves. The long-running adult-contemporary station cut loose Kim Amidon, who with Mark Wallengren co-hosted the morning show for nearly 22 years. It also axed Mike Sakellarides, who held down the midday time slot for 25 years, from the day KOST debuted as a purveyor of light-rock hits.

He's one of the hottest Spanish-language radio personalities in the nation. So when Los Angeles deejay Eddie Sotelo joined hands with his radio rivals to urge listeners to turn out for a pro-immigrant rally in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, organizers hoped for a big turnout. But many said Monday that they were stunned by how many responded to the call to march against federal legislation that would crack down on undocumented immigrants and penalize those who assist them.