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Jeanne Zelasko | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1966-10-26)October 26, 1966 (age 58) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Alma mater | San Diego State University |
| Years active | 1993–present |
Jeanne Zelasko (born October 26, 1966) is an American journalist and sportscaster who worked for "The Beast" AM980KFWB and Fox Sports West in Los Angeles County, California. Prior to taking that position Zelasko had a relatively lengthy career working forFox Sports as a reporter and analyst for various programs, as well as reporting for MLB Network, ESPN and as the court reporter onJudge Joe Brown.
Zelasko started her broadcasting career during her college days atSan Diego State University doing metro traffic reports and then hosting a talk show onKCEO radio. Her television career began atKDCI-TV News in San Diego in 1993 anchoring the weekend newscasts.
Early in her career, Zelasko co-hosted theSan Diego Padres pre-game show forPrime Sports West, a regional sports network in Southern California (now Fox Sports Net West). While working as an assignment reporter for the network, she covered a variety of sports including the NFL, NHL, college basketball and auto racing.
Zelasko was hired byFox Sports in 1996 as part of the original broadcast team anchoring the newly formed Fox Sports Net'sNational Sports Report, as well as a sideline reporter forFox NFL Sunday. In February 2001, Zelasko joinedNASCAR on Fox as a pit reporter. In June of the same year, she became the studio host forMajor League Baseball on Fox alongside analystKevin Kennedy.
Fox Sports canceled the Major League Baseball pre-game show (as a cost-cutting measure) following the 2008 season.[1]
In April 2009, Zelasko took on multiple roles, including special assignments forMLB Tonight, onMLB Network; she made her MLB play-by-play debut with theLos Angeles Dodgers on May 20, 2009, making her the first woman to do play-by-play for a Dodgers game. Zelasko worked for the rest of the 2009 season alongside former DodgerMark Sweeney, who served as an analyst, on these Web-only broadcasts of all Wednesday Dodgers home games.
In May 2013, Zelasko began covering the NCAA Softball tournament forESPN.
In 1997, she had a guest role in the fourth-season finale of the CBS TV seriesDiagnosis: Murder. In 2002, she had a cameo as an anchorwoman in the Swiss motion pictureBirdseye, and played a reporter inFever Pitch.
From 2011 to 2013, she filled the role of court reporter onJudge Joe Brown.
Zelasko was married to Curt Sandoval, a sports anchor and reporter forABC-ownedKABC-TV inLos Angeles.
On December 30, 2007, Fox announced that Zelasko was being treated forthyroid cancer. She was still scheduled to host Fox's on-site pregame show, and serve as a sideline reporter on Fox'sCotton Bowl Classic andOrange Bowl broadcasts. Fox spokesman Dan Bell said: "She'll be out for as long as her treatment takes. We can't wait to have her back in her MLB studio chair in April."