It’s my pleasure to join The Sporting Tribune as a sports and stuff columnist. By that, I mean sports and anything else! Dogs, wine, fashion, travel, coffee, you name it.
Many of you know me from having covered sports in Los Angeles. I grew up in Colorado (so we’ll be talking a lot of Russ and Prime) and I’ve been covering sports in Southern California since 2000. I have been lucky enough to have a seat in the house for everything from the Dodgers’ playoff runs to all five of the Lakers NBA titles to USC football’s national championships and UCLA’s three consecutive Final Four appearances. So much stuff in between there, like covering the last Angels playoff series and their World Series title in 2002 to the heartwarming stories, like a recent profile of a cross country runner in Oxnard who has limb deficiencies in all four limbs. What an inspiration. I’m a former cross country runner so I know the challenges of the sport well, and am in awe of how Erick Aleman runs, given the additional challenges he faces.
And then there’s all the fabulous people I’ve met, like John Wooden and Vin Scully. People are the very best thing about sports.
I joined KCAL News in January of 2022, and love the sports storytelling I’m doing there. But that’s not it. As they say, side gigs are the new job security!
Some of my side gigs include my new YouTube channel called Jilly Jill’s Adventures for Sane People that I produce with a couple of my colleagues and friends.
I’m also a clean wine (what’s that? Stick around in this corner, and I’ll explain) consultant. And I’m the voice of the Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team. I picked up play-by-play announcing in the pandemic and it’s a real challenge. Some days I want to leave a broadcast in tears, and sometimes I think I’m catching on. Depends on the day.
I also write golf — a lot better than I play it, unfortunately — for the Southern California Golf Association and I pen some stories for the Associated Press every once in a while.
I also love to write about dogs — including my crazy little rescue Daisy – and my charity work with my annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. I’m also on the committee for the Battle Against Breast Cancer Golf Tournament in October. We’re adding pickleball to the event this year. I’ve heard so much about it and can’t wait to try it!
I’m not a fashion expert or sneakerhead, but I’m a Rent The Runway ambassador, so occasionally we’ll talk fashion. And travel. Whether I’m on a trip or I want to plan some. I’ve got the USC football game at Colorado coming up in September, and I can’t wait to see if Prime Time lives up to the hype in his first year. And watch Ralphie do her thing. She’s a sure fire thrill and I’v e been watching her (and those who came before her since I was in college). Yes, Ralphie the buffalo is always a female.
Well, that’s about it for now.
Look forward to your comments and questions!
The Jill-of-all-trades Painter Lopez.
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