John Canzano is an American sports columnist, radio talk show host on Portland's 750 AM "The Game". The show is also syndicated in Eugene, Medford, Roseburg and Klamath Falls, Oregon. He now writes his column at JohnCanzano.com and hosts a daily radio show called The Bald-Faced Truth. From 2002 to 2022, he was the lead sports columnist at The Oregonian[1] and a sports commentator on KGW-TV, Portland's NBC affiliate.
John Canzano | |
|---|---|
 Canzano in 2010 | |
| Born | Medford, Oregon, U.S. |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Career | |
| Show | The Bald-Faced Truth |
| Station(s) | 750AM Portland, Oregon (syndicated also in Eugene on Fox Sports Eugene 95.7-FM and 1050-AM and in Klamath Falls on KLAD 93.3-FM) and in Roseburg on KSKR (1490-AM) and in Medford on KDSO (1300-AM and 107.9 FM). |
| Time slot | 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. PST |
| Style | Sports radio |
| Country | United States |
| Website | www |
Early life and education
editCanzano was born in Medford, Oregon. He grew up in Gilroy, California and graduated from Gilroy High School. He graduated from California State University, Chico, in 1995 with a B.A. in English.[2] While at Chico State, he played baseball.
Career
editIn his career,[3] Canzano worked at six daily newspapers including The San Jose Mercury News and The Fresno Bee. He covered University of Notre Dame football and Indiana University basketball as the beat writer during the tenure of coach Bob Knight. He is a former national Major League Baseball writer and national NFL writer at the San Jose Mercury News as well. He has also covered five Olympic Games.
Canzano was hired as lead sports columnist at The Oregonian in 2002.[4] He also appears on KGW-TV, where he offers commentary and analysis on sports. Canzano also hosts a radio show called "The Bald-Faced Truth" on Portland's 750 AM "The Game". The radio show airs weekdays from 3-6 p.m. in the Portland metro area. The show is also syndicated in Eugene, Oregon, on Fox Sports Eugene (95.7-FM and 1050-AM), KDSO (107.9 FM and 1300 AM) in Medford, Oregon, and in Klamath Falls, Oregon, on KLAD (104.3-FM and 960-AM).
He worked as the NFL and Major League Baseball columnist at the San Jose Mercury News and is a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He holds a Baseball Hall of Fame Vote and is a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Canzano's work has also appeared in GQ magazine and The Sporting News.
Canzano left The Oregonian in March 2022, after 20 years with the newspaper to start his own writing endeavor at JohnCanzano.com.[1] In August 2022, he launched a college football podcast with Jon Wilner of The San Jose Mercury News called "Canzano & Wilner: The Podcast."[5]
Awards and honors
editCanzano is a 17-time Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) award winner. He's won APSE awards in four different writing categories (column, investigative reporting, enterprise and projects), with his most recent awards coming in 2022, 2019 and 2018 [6] in the investigative category and in 2016, 2017 and 2023 [7] for column writing.[8] In 2008, Canzano was voted America's No. 1 sports columnist among large-circulation newspapers by the APSE.[9] In 2006 and 2007, Canzano finished second in the same category, both times to Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times.[10][11]
In 2010 [12] and again in 2015,[13] the Society of Professional Journalists named Canzano the National Sports Columnist of the Year.[14]
The Press Club of Atlantic City recognized Canzano with the National Headliner Award national sportswriter of the year in 2004, 2010 and 2014.[15][16] Canzano's investigative work and reporting about Brenda Tracy, the survivor of an alleged gang raped by four college football players, was recognized as the best sports writing in 2014 with a first place in the National Headliner Awards.[17]
In 2013, Canzano won first place in Special Topic Column Writing in the Best of the West contest for his portfolio of columns that included a column on a soldier who died in action in Afghanistan and Canzano's own experience coaching a girls fourth-grade volleyball team with a player who has Down Syndrome.[18]
In 2002, Canzano was named the nation's top investigative sports writer by the Associated Press News Executives Council[19] for his enterprise piece on Carlos Rodriguez,[20] a 21-year-old Dominican basketball star who was masquerading as a 17-year-old high school basketball player.
Canzano is a six-time Oregon Sportswriter of the Year winner (2005, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2021) as named by the National Sports Media Association (NSMA).[21] In 2016, the NSMA named Canzano the "Broadcaster of the Year" for the state of Oregon.[22]
Personal life
editIn July 2010, Canzano married Anna Song, then weekend anchor for Portland television station KATU.[23] He and his wife have three daughters: Dakota, Graziana and Sojourner.
The Bald Faced Truth Foundation
editIn 2009, Canzano co-founded The Bald Faced Truth Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funding extracurricular activities for children.[24]
References
edit- ^ a b Staff (March 8, 2022). "John Canzano Leaves The Oregonian". Oregonian. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ "Alum Notes". Chico Statements (alumni magazine, online edition). California State University, Chico. Fall 2004. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
- ^ Oregonlive.com, Canzano biography
- ^ "Writer from San Jose to join The Oregonian" (November 16, 2002). The Oregonian, Staff Reports, p. D2.
- ^ "Canzano and Wilner". Spotify. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ "John Canzano's investigative series on the Pac-12 Conference woes wins national award". 4 March 2019.
- ^ "John Canzano of JohnCanzano.com wins Columns in 2023 APSE Contest". 8 April 2024.
- ^ "John Canzano of the Oregonian wins 75,000-175,000 Columns". 6 April 2017.
- ^ "APSE's best writing of 2008". Associated Press Sports Editors. April 1, 2009. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
- ^ "Best Writing of 2006". 26 May 2010.
- ^ "Best Writing of 2007". 26 May 2010.
- ^ "The Oregonian," May 3, 2010
- ^ "The Oregonian/OregonLive's John Canzano wins national writing award". 22 April 2016.
- ^ The Detroit Free Press, April 2, 2009, p. B2
- ^ The Oregonian, Staff Reports, April 14, 2015
- ^ "2004 National Headliner Award Winners, Print Division". National Headliner Awards/Press Club of Atlantic City. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
- ^ "National Headliner Award Winners". National Headliner Awards/Press Club of Atlantic City. Archived from the original on April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- ^ "2013 Contest Results". Best of the West: Journalism contest and grants program. First Amendment Funding, Inc. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
- ^ The Fresno Bee, Staff Reports, June 30, 2002, p. B1
- ^ The Fresno Bee, Staff Reports, June 3, 2001, p. A1
- ^ "Oregon".
- ^ @750TheGame (2 March 2017). "Congratulations to @johncanzanobft for being named the @NSMASportsMedia winner of Oregon Broadcaster of the Year @KGWSports @OregonianSports" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Editorial staff (August 4, 2010). "More Engaged Than Bristol And Levi". Willamette Week ("Murmurs" column). Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
- ^ "Fox 12's Sophie Soong eats wings for charity". KPTV. September 27, 2012. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2015.