CALLING THE SHOTS:

Some were there in business attire, others came dressed in Angels’ gear, while waitresses in skimpy shorts and tank tops strutted back and forth.

They weren’t all there to hear and see the, “Loose Cannons,” but there was at least one fan in attendance for Steve Hartman, Vic “The Brick” Jacobs and Mychal Thompson.

Michael Brown listened and laughed while the “Loose Cannons” provided their daily dish of sports during their KLAC 570 AM radio show. Brown, a Navy officer stationed in San Diego, got some time off and made the trip to Hooters in Costa Mesa to see his favorite afternoon trio talk sports on Thursday.

Midway through the show, Brown actually got on the air with them.

What did he talk about?

“It’s Manny Day today,” Brown said of the newest L.A. Dodger Manny Ramirez, moments after telling the three he was the first in line at the restaurant to sign up to win free Lakers season tickets.

“They gave up nothing to get him,” Hartman told Brown.

Manny was one of many topics Hartman and his crew touched on, while bringing in guests via telephone like Tommy Lasorda and Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton.

I did not take to the airwaves, but it was nice to get away from the office and walk over to the Hooters down the street on South Coast Drive to hear these guys talk about sports.

With the way the newspaper business is going, who knows, I might be needing to find a gig like theirs soon.

As for Friday, I found time to laugh it up with other sports fans, as we listened about various sports topics.

All was quiet on the Brett Favre front, but football talk still ruled the day, as far as hot topics go. That was mainly because Hartman had to share what Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson told him Friday morning, when the two talked about the top 10 backs of all-time in the NFL, mainly ball carriers who transcended their time.

Hartman is working on a book that will include lists of top players in different sports.

Dickerson surprised Hartman, and eventually many listeners, when he said he would not include Jim Brown in his top 10, because his running style would not hold up in today’s NFL, Hartman relayed. Gale Sayers could play in any era, Hartman said of what Dickerson told him.

A preseason game has yet to be played, but football still riled up listeners, who also wanted to talk about Ramirez and the Angels’ remarkable July.

Four hours with the Loose Cannons can take you from football to tennis, from Michelle Wie to the X Games’ extreme sports.

“We never talk before the show or prepare for what we’re going to talk about,” Hartman told me during a break from being on air. “Sure we know about the sports we talk about. But it’s better to go in and let the topics ride us out.”

But it doesn’t hurt when you have a loudmouth comedic presence in “The Brick” and the levelheaded former Laker in Thompson. The Lakers’ season, though it did not end with a championship, certainly didn’t damage the trio’s ratings.

Jacobs is still living off that, saying he bleeds purple and gold. He wore a Lakers poncho and a bizarre fur mink Lakers headband.

“I have about 100 fur hats,” he said, jokingly (I think). “But this is one of my prized possessions.”

I guess that’s what I get for asking him, what’s that on your head?

I also asked him: “Do you like working with Hartman and Thompson?”

“Pure joy. Bliss,” he said. “To work with Steve and Mychal, it completes me. Remember that Tom Cruise in that crazy movie? They complete me. And, they had me at hello. Actually they had me at oy.”

“The Brick” brings humor to the table, while Hartman loves to stir it up, challenging listeners and usually playing devil’s advocate.

Thompson? He uses some other skill.

“I bring sanity and common sense,” Thompson said. “Vic is out of control. Steve is too negative, so I bring more of a sane, positive, common sense role.”

Thompson said he also uses what proved valuable during his pro days for when he’s on air and doing stops like the one in Costa Mesa Friday.

“[In the pros], you gotta have thick skin, because people like you, Mark Heisler, Bill Plaschke who rip you when you play bad and praise you when you play well,” Thompson said. “You gotta have thick skin. You gotta be able to take the criticism with the praise. When you work in radio and express your opinions, not everyone is going to agree with you. People are going to call you an idiot and challenge your opinions. And you gotta be tough to take it.”

For Thompson, thick skin also seems to come in handy working with Hartman and “The Brick.”

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].