C.J.: O'Neal's son calls MyTalk to defend his dad

L.A.-based sportscaster Patrick O'Neal apparently called into St. Paul-based MyTalk 107.1 FM Tuesday to defend his admittedly imperfect father, Ryan O'Neal.

Ryan -- who popularized the silly line "Love means never having to say you're sorry" in the movie "Love Story" -- has been getting savaged with his own words in network interviews to publicize his book about his nearly 30-year relationship with the late Farrah Fawcett, "Both of Us: My Life with Farrah."

A FOX Sports Network-West Prime Ticket sportscaster based in L.A., Patrick O'Neal noticed this item on Twitter: "We are LIVE on myTalk 107.1 or mytalk1071.com -- dishing on the buckets of crazy that was Ryan O'Neal on the morning shows! OMG."

As they played sound clips from Ryan O'Neal's TV appearances, the radio hosts interjected cuckoo bird sound effects.

So Patrick dialed them up: "I thought your segment was childish. You do a radio show where you do little cuckoo sound effects for my father," said Patrick. "I think your segment was dumb, and I'm calling to defend my father. You can cut me off if you want. I know you're probably afternoon drive. But the bottom line is, you're making fun of my dad.

"You're not going to hear from Griffin because he's in jail. You're not going to hear from Redmond because he's in rehab. But I heard your show and I wanted the people in Minnesota to know my father, Ryan O'Neal, is a good man. He did the best he could as a parent. Those kids had some tough moms. My dad is not responsible that those grownups cannot take care of their lives."

Patrick was repeating one of the digs his dad made at his adult children who have drug problems. Patrick apparently didn't like some of Matt Lauer's "Today Show" questions, either.

"Looks like it, doesn't it? I suppose I was," said Ryan O'Neal.

On the radio show, Patrick remarked: "There are a lot of people [who] feel Matt Lauer asked unfortunate questions, put [Ryan] in an unfortunate position."

To that, FM 107's Jason Matheson, who is also on FOX 9, said:

"Now Patrick, you're a broadcaster in L.A. I think that's a little unfair. He's on the 'Today Show' promoting a book about his personal life, and Matt asked questions about the book. He kept referring to passages in the book. It shouldn't be a shock that you're asked personal questions."

On Wednesday morning, Alexis Thompson was still perplexed by Patrick's call.

In the shark tank

Rollerblade inventor Scott Olson enjoyed taking one of his latest exercise creations for a dip in ABC's "Shark Tank."

Olson's Skyride Technology is scheduled to be featured on Friday's installment of the reality show, where people with a product see if their concept can attract the funds of one of the five investment "sharks" looking to make a financial killing.

Skyride is a cross between a rollercoaster and a fitness machine which you move with your feet or hands on a suspended track.

"It's great for all ages," Olson told me Monday. "Seniors are riding it ... where they used to ride a bike. There comes a time when they can't get on a bike or they are afraid to get on a bike. [With Skyride] you don't need to have balance; the movement is the key.

"You never know. Rollerblades, everybody laughed at that, but nobody's really laughing at this, even though one of the guys on 'Shark Tank' who bowed out early said, You should take that thing behind the barn and shoot it. I laughed. A couple of guys wanted to get it for their back yard."

Let me guess: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban?

"You got that right," said Olson.

Asked if any of the sharks looked askance at some millionaire inventor coming to them looking for money, Olson said, "Yeah. I was just doing it for the exposure. I'll take somebody's money if they want to invest it in the company on my terms. Two-thirds of the whole deal is getting it marketed."

Check skyridetechnology.com and tell me Skyride wouldn't be a great way to get around a football stadium or Disney World.