Connected With Alanna Rizzo

One of my all-time favorite movies is “The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn” starring Sidney Poitier.  In it, Poitier plays Noah Dearborn, a 91‑year old carpenter who lives a simple life and existence, detached from modern life.   His only interest is woodworking, at which he is very gifted.  In his hands, woodworking tools are not just tools, they become instruments for creating works of art.   Poitier, who is also a master craftsman at his trade of acting, took a very simple, made for TV movie, and turned it into a work of art.  A simple man who is a craftsman at his trade.   I have always admired “craftsmen.”  Many can swing a hammer and work with a chisel, but it takes a Michelangelo to create a David.   Many can paint, but there are a few like Rembrandt.  There are lots of guitar players, but when Eric Clapton plays, you know that you’re not listening to any old Joe, you’re listening to a master.   Many can drive a tractor, but if you put my late father-in-law on Ford Farmall or a John Deere, you would find that you were watching Mozart create a symphony as he plowed his fields with such unmatched accuracy and ability.    

For many years there has been no question that Vin Scully was the voice of the Dodgers.  Until he retired in 2016, I doubt that there are many that read or post on this blog, that can remember a day that Vin was not announcing the games.   That mantle has been passed to Joe Davis, who in my opinion, is doing a wonderful job succeeding the “legend.”  I predict that he too, will one day be spoken of in that rarified air that Vin Scully occupied.  When Vin Sculley first started announcing the Dodger games, he wasn’t immediately “the Vin Scully”, as Dodger fans compared him to Red Barber, who had announced their games for the prior 14 years.   It takes some time to get there. 

I would also advance that, arguably, Clayton Kershaw and Justin Turner, are the “face” of the Dodger team.   Their work with their respective foundations and involvement with the Los Angeles Community is doing wonders for many.   I think they will soon be joined by Mookie Betts on the Mt. Rushmore of the LA Dodgers.

Today I want to make a shout out to the person who I believe is the face of the Dodgers for Dodger fans, Sports Net LA sideline reporter Alanna Rizzo.  There are many female sideline reporters in sports today.   If you take the time to Google the “top female MLB sideline reporters” you will find several links, typically though, they refer you to the “hottest” females in sports, as if though that’s the top qualification for being a sideline reporter.   It’s no secret that baseball is a male dominant industry, not because they are more talented or more knowledgeable than women, but because very few women have been able to successfully break down the gender stereotypes set before them, and that is not due to their lack of trying or talent.    Women, as supported by my Google search directing me to “hot” women, constantly have to fight the stereotype that they are hired as merely ‘eye candy’ to satisfy the leering eye and lustful longings of the male fan.   Alanna Rizzo is a remarkable example of someone who has worked diligently to tear down the walls of those stereotypes.  Mind you, Alanna Rizzo is a very lovely young lady.  She has a smile that can light up the city of Los Angeles through a 7-day power outage.    That said, she is not just a good “female” reporter, she is quite simply a great reporter, that is a craftsman at her trade.    The way she handles herself with players, coaches, and fans is what makes her so great.  I have watched many of her interviews.   I have never seen her put a player in a compromising or awkward position.  Her questions are typically probing and informative, but not designed to embarrass or catch a player in a “gotcha” moment.   I consider her a craftsman at asking informative questions.

Rare is the occasion that you see her taken by surprise.   Moreover, she is able to help the younger players, who are very nervous, about having exposure to television, become comfortable and being able to open up about themselves.   On his Big Swing Podcast, Ross Stripling praised Alanna Rizzo because she never made him feel awkward and she gently handled him in their interviews to a place where he has become more confidant to speak openly.  She is so skilled that she can subtly guide those players who may feel socially awkward being interviewed by asking open-ended questions that encourage the young player to speak.  And if they begin to stumble, she carefully catches them before they fall.   Sort of like a big sister telling her younger brother how to act on his first date.  

Alanna Rizzo was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado on August 8, 1974 (which happened to be the exact day that I received notification that I had been accepted to attend Marine Corps Embassy Duty school at Henderson Hall in Washington, D.C.)   No she is not related to Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs.  She attended Sierra High School, where she participated in track and cross-country.   Rizzo describes herself as “a good athlete while growing up in Colorado Springs.”  “Good” may be an understatement, as she was voted into Sierra High School’s sports hall of fame in 2006.    After high school, Rizzo attended the University of Colorado, where she received a bachelor’s degree in international business. 

But international business was not to be her future.   “I had an epiphany between Christmas and New Year’s of 2001. I was in sales and marketing in the hotel industry and I was disenchanted and bored,” Alanna says “I was incredibly unfulfilled.  “After a while, it dawned on me. I could never be passionate about selling hotel rooms,” Rizzo added,  “I thought if I could do anything what would it be? If money wasn’t an object if I won the lottery or what have you. I’ve always been an avid sports fan and avid participant in my younger years. I took a second mortgage on my house, went back to school and got a master’s in journalism and started from the bottom and worked my way up.”   Rizzo returned to CU and in 2003, and obtained a master of arts degree in broadcast journalism and mass communications.

Now it was time to look for work.   After obtaining her journalism degrees and interning briefly in Denver’s KUSA‑9 sports department, Rizzo took a job as a weekend sports anchor at KAUZ‑TV in Wichita Falls, Texas.   It didn’t just happen overnight though.  As Rizzo shared, “The hardest thing is getting your first job. I must have applied to 100 places before I got a job.”  Her next stop was Madison, Wis., where, beginning in 2005, she gained a strong following, mainly as a sideline reporter for WISC‑TV, covering the successful championship runs of the men’s and women’s hockey teams at the University of Wisconsin.  She was there for three years and covered everything, the University of Wisconsin, the Packers, the Badgers, the Bucks, the Brewers.  In September 2007 she returned to Colorado when she was hired by Fox  SportsNet Rocky Mountain to cover a variety of assignments — sideline reporting on Colorado University Denver University basketball and hockey, as well as high school championship contests, the Bolder Boulder and the home and road games of the Rockies.   In 2012, Rizzo joined MLB Network, where she reported on shows such as Quick Pitch and International Talk. After two years of working for MLB Network, Rizzo was approached by Lon Rosen of the Dodgers who asked if she would be interested in working as a sports reporter for the newly launched SportsNet LA.   Reluctant at first, Alanna Rizzo decided to take the job and LA fans have been the better for that decision ever since.

It was hard work that has brought her to where she is, and it continues to be hard work.  As she jokes, “I’m contractually obligated to be perpetually tired.”  She does upwards of 200 games a season(from Spring Training through the playoffs), and gets 7 days “off” during the season.   The travel is relentless and the days are long.   She describes her typical game-day routine as follows: “Often, people think we just show up right before first pitch, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m here four‑and‑a‑half hours before the game starts. My typical routine is to  come to the park, gather all of the interviews for our pregame show as well as do the one‑on‑one interview, all of the manager’s interviews and then I host an hour show prior.”   Rizzo adds that, “During the game, I do anywhere from three to five sideline hits. And then postgame, the interview on the field if the Dodgers win, and then I go immediately to do the Dave Roberts postgame press conference and then go into the clubhouse to gather all of the player interviews for that particular game. It’s that, every single game, throughout the entire season.”   She shared on Ross Stripling’s Big Swing Podcast, that she “doesn’t like to be in the clubhouse, as she feels that’s the player’s private domain.”  She endeavors “to get in and out of there as quickly as possible.”  One of the hallmarks of her craftsmanship is that she is very prepared.   “The biggest thing is sticking to the game and making sure you’ve done your homework,” she said. “In the tough losses, you pinpoint perhaps that pivotal moment that won or lost the game.  For me, the biggest thing is being prepared and asking questions that are relatable to the game.”   From my observation, she is one of the most prepared reporters I have seen.   I’m sure she does have it happen, but I’ve never seen her flustered or at a loss for words.

Alanna Rizzo has witnessed 7 no-hitters in person.   The Dodgers have made the playoffs each year that she has covered them.  In her career, she has won five Emmys for her work. In December of 2015, she won the Latina Leadership Award from H.O.P.E. (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality). This award is presented to Latina women in California who demonstrate leadership in their respective fields.   Who are her favorite players to interview?   “Any player who will give me an interview.”  For me, her in-game interview of Josh Reddick is an absolute classic.  Any time she interviews David Freese or Ross Stripling, it is must listen to information.   Her “Connected With . . . ” series is as informative as any that I’ve listened to.   She is always very prepared and she is quick on her feet, both figuratively and literally, as she is among the best at using, as she describes it “her cat-like reflexes” to avoid being doused with the constant Gatorade baths during the after-game interviews.  I will also say that having seen her in a couple of candid in-game TV shots, she has to have two of the fasted thumbs I’ve ever seen.   I don’t believe that I have never observed anyone that could text as fast as she does.  It is also very obvious to anyone who has seen her on a regular basis, that she loves her job and she loves the LA Dodgers and their fans.   Watching her jump up and down with joy when Ryu hit his home-run last year added as much to that moment as any commentary.   I think that is part of the reason that she is so beloved, she feels the same joy and pain that the fans feel at any particular moment, and then she has the ability to articulate that joy and pain in a way that we all understand.   No matter how you’re feeling after a loss, it’s her beautiful smile and the twinkle in her eye, that remind us there are better days ahead and everything is going to be all right.  And we love her for it.  

Besides baseball, Alanna Rizzo has a passion for rescue dogs.  This passion reached new heights in 2009, when she adopted a 4-month-old border collie that she named Guidry (after Ron Guidry).  This love for Guidry (who recently died) led her to form Guidry’s Guardian Foundation.   There is much to be said about the work she does with this foundation, whose goal, among other things, is to rescue dogs in high-risk situations, to get them off of the streets and out of high‑kill shelters.   They then pay for their medical care and help connect those dogs with loving families who are willing to adopt them.   They also help pay for the adoption fees and related costs.    Anyone who might be interested, you would be well served to take a look at the Guidry’s Guardian Foundation website. 

Dodger fans are fortunate for so many reasons.   We had the joy of being exposed to so many craftsmen over the years.   Listening to the voice of Vin Scully, watching Sandy Koufax throw a baseball like no other, and the list goes on and on.   We are also very fortunate to have Alanna Rizzo as a sideline reporter, one I consider a true craftsman of her trade.   Alanna Rizzo is a true Dodger gem and I’m glad she works the sidelines for the Dodgers!        

RANDOM SPRING TRAINING THOUGHTS:

•      It’s only spring training, and statistics generally don’t mean anything, but I don’t think that Adam Kolarek makes the 26 man roster out of spring training.    

•      On the other hand, Dennis Santana is acquitting himself quite nicely.  As has Caleb Ferguson(who remains one of my favorites).  

•      It’s only spring training, but Urias looked good yesterday.  

•      While I think that Alex Wood has the inside track for the 5^th spot in the rotation, Gonsolin and Stripling are making sure the decision isn’t just a “gimme.”   They have done nothing to show they don’t belong.    

•      As has been expected, Jimmy Nelson is unlikely to make the opening day roster due to his injuries.   He pitched his first bullpen in awhile throwing 17 pitches with erratic command, though he said he “felt good” during and afterward.   Nevertheless, Dave Roberts said he probably wouldn’t be with the team when they break camp.    

•      I hope that Cody Thomas keeps up his success from this spring this coming year at OKC.  They could have a remarkably stacked team there, with him, Peters, Raley, Ruiz, McKinstry, Lux (will probably start there), Christian Santana and the like.

•     March 7th was the first day of full Dodgers’ minor league camp. The message from farm director Will Rhymes was “There are no more ceilings.”   He specifically pointed to Zach Reks and Zach McKinstry as examples of what is possible to achieve in one season.   Looking forward to seeing which prospects that take that message to heart and “break out” this year.