Jeanne Zelasko (born October 26, 1966) is an American journalist and sportscaster who worked for "The Beast" AM980

KFWB KFWB (980 AM) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It airs a classic Regional Mexican music format. KFWB is owned by Lotus Communications. The station has a colorful history, being the radio voice of Warner Bros. Studios i ...

and Fox Sports West in Los Angeles County, California. Prior to taking that position Zelasko had a relatively lengthy career working for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

as a reporter and analyst for various programs, as well as reporting for MLB Network, ESPN and as the court reporter on '' Judge Joe Brown''.

Early life and education

Zelasko started her broadcasting career during her college days at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

doing metro traffic reports and then hosting a talk show on

KCEO KCEO (1000 AM) is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Vista, California. KCEO broadcasts with a power of 10,000 watts directional day, and 900 watts directional at night. The transmitter is located near State Route 76, nor ...

radio. Her television career began at KDCI-TV News in San Diego in 1993 anchoring the weekend newscasts.

Career

Early in her career, Zelasko co-hosted the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

pre-game show for Prime 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.

Fox Sports

Zelasko was hired by

in 1996 as part of the original broadcast team anchoring the newly formed Fox Sports Net's ''

National Sports Report The ''National Sports Report'' is a sportscast that aired on United States television channel Fox Sports Net. Brief history The program premiered on November 1, 1996, when FSN was launched, as ''Fox Sports News''. The show, which succeeded the ...

'', as well as a sideline reporter for ''

Fox NFL Sunday ''Fox NFL Sunday'' is an American sports television program broadcast on the Fox television network. The show debuted on September 4, 1994, and serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under t ...

''. In February 2001, Zelasko joined ''

NASCAR on Fox ''NASCAR on Fox'', also known as ''Fox NASCAR'', is the branding used for broadcasts of NASCAR races produced by Fox Sports and have aired on the Fox television network in the United States since 2001. Speed, a motorsports-focused cable channel ...

'' as a pit reporter. Fox network cancelled the Major League Baseball pre-game show (as a cost-cutting measure) following the 2008 season.

MLB Network and Los Angeles Dodgers

In April 2009, Zelasko took on multiple roles including special assignments for '' MLB Tonight'', on

MLB Network The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox C ...

; she made her MLB play-by-play debut with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

on May 20, 2009, making her the first woman to do play-by-play for a Dodgers game. Zelasko worked alongside former Dodger

Mark Sweeney Mark Patrick Sweeney (born October 26, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who played for several teams from 1995 to 2008. He is best known for his skill as a pinch hitter, where he ranks second in career pinch h ...

, who served as analyst.

ESPN

In May 2013, Zelasko began covering the NCAA Softball tournament for ''

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

''.

Filmwork

In 1997, she had a guest role in the fourth-season finale of the CBS TV series '' Diagnosis: Murder''. In 2002, she had a cameo as an Anchorwoman in the Swiss motion picture '' Birdseye'', played a reporter in ''

Fever Pitch ''Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life'' is a 1992 autobiographical essay by British author Nick Hornby. The book is the basis for two films: '' Fever Pitch'' (1997, UK) and '' Fever Pitch'' (2005, U.S.). The first edition was subtitled "A Fan's Life", bu ...

''. From 2011–2013, she filled the role of court reporter on '' Judge Joe Brown''.

Personal

In 1998, Zelasko married Curt Sandoval, a sports anchor and reporter for ABC-owned

KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network. ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and a triathlete who completed the

Ironman Iron Man, Ironman or Ironmen may refer to: *Nathaniel "Iron Man" Avery (1939–1985), American caddie for Arnold Palmer *Travis Fulton (1977–2021), American mixed martial arts fighter *Gunnar Graps (1951–2004), Estonian musician * Mick Murphy ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. They have two children. On December 30, 2007, Fox announced that Zelasko was being treated for

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. Ca ...

. She was still scheduled to host Fox's on-site pregame show, and serve as a sideline reporter on Fox's

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium in ...

and

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

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."

References

External links

* *
ESPN Expands Coverage of NCAA Division I Softball Championship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zelasko, Jeanne 1966 births Living people Major League Baseball broadcasters Television personalities from Cincinnati Motorsport announcers American television reporters and correspondents Women sports announcers College football announcers National Football League announcers Figure skating commentators MLB Network personalities Los Angeles Dodgers announcers American women television journalists Softball announcers 21st-century American women