Jeanne Zelasko

Jeanne Zelasko (born October 26, 1966 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a journalist and sportscaster who took over as the pre-game host of Fox's MLB games in 2001 after the departure of Keith Olbermann until October 2008. She also covered pre-game for MLB 2K6, MLB 2K7, and MLB 2K8 alongside Steve Physioc. She can now be seen as the court reporter during the television program Judge Joe Brown, succeeding Jacque Kessler.

Biography

Early life and career

Zelasko started her broadcasting career during her college days at San Diego State University doing metro traffic reports and then hosting a talk show on KCEO-AM radio. Her television career began at KDCI-TV News in San Diego in 1993 anchoring the weekend newscasts.

Early in her career, Zelasko co-hosted the San Diego Padres 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 Fox Sports in 1996 as part of the original broadcast team anchoring the newly formed Fox Sports Net’s National Sports Report, as well as a sideline reporter for Fox NFL Sunday. In February 2001, Zelasko joined Fox's NASCAR broadcast team 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

As of April 2009, Jeanne has taken on multiple roles including special assignments for the MLB Tonight, on the MLB Network; she made her MLB play-by-play debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 20, 2009, making her the first woman to do play-by-play for a Dodgers game. Zelasko is currently working alongside former Dodger Mark Sweeney, who is serving as the analyst.

Filmwork

In 1997, she had a guest role in the TV series Diagnosis: Murder. In 2002, she had a cameo as an Anchorwoman in the Swiss motion picture Birdseye.

Personal

In 1998, Zelasko married Curt Sandoval, a sports anchor and reporter for ABC-owned KABC-TV in Los Angeles and a triathlete who completed the Ironman in Hawaii.

December 30, 2007, Fox announced that Zelasko was being treated for thyroid cancer. She was still scheduled to host Fox's on-site pregame show, and serve as a sideline reporter on Fox's Cotton Bowl Classic and Orange 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."

External links

• Zelasko lands her dream job
• Fox's Zelasko apologizes for referring to 'Tampa Rays'