Tony Zarrella arrived in Cleveland in 2006, and still can't believe a championship hasn't followed. After all, he moved to Pittsburgh, and promptly covered a Stanley Cup title, then moved to Denver, and covered two Stanley Cups and two Super Bowl titles. Now he's keeping the faith that it'll happen here in Cleveland, too.
A two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, Tony anchors the weeknight 6pm and 11pm sportscasts on CBS19, as well as "Sports Extra" on WUAB, My43 at 10:45pm. He's also the host of the"Tailgate 19" Browns pre-game show on Sundays throughout football season.
Tony began his career in Midland, Texas in 1987, where he covered the rescue of little Jessica McClure from a backyard well. Since then, he's been fortunate enough to land a front-row seat to some of the most memorable moments in sports, too. He has interviewed all of the greats, from DiMaggio to Jordan to Kosar to Montana, but still cherishes his tape-recordings of college interviews with Bird and Flutie the most.
Tony's stops also included Miami and San Francisco, but he says Cleveland's Little Italy is the best neighborhood he's ever lived in.
A native of Boston, and graduate of Emerson College (he'll remind you that the biggest home run in World Series history belonged to Carbo, not Fisk), Tony spends his free time playing left wing for the Cleveland Glaciers hockey team, and is very active in the community, starting charity events for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Tony lives on the West Side with his wife Denise, daughter Gianna, son Anthony, and dogs Buddy and Skoobie. He's still trying to get his wife to move back to Little Italy, and happily looks forward to that Cleveland championship (it's coming!).
Click here to e-mail Tony, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook.
