Alanna Rizzo’s break from baseball turned out to be very brief. Two months after she announced her departure from covering the Dodgers for SportsNet LA, Rizzo is now joining MLB Network as a contributor to High Heat with Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo.
A seven-time Emmy Award winner, Rizzo will be a welcomed asset to High Heat, where she’ll “provide news and commentary on the latest MLB storylines” according to the network press release.
“I am incredibly excited to reunite with my MLB Network colleagues,” said Rizzo. “To be able to continue to cover the sport I love with the network that covers it better than anyone is a privilege. I cannot wait to team up with Chris Russo on High Heat.”
Rizzo spent the last seven Major League Baseball seasons with SportsNet LA, but prior to covering the Dodgers, she worked with MLB Network in 2012 and 2013. With the network, Rizzo contributed to a variety of shows including Intentional Talk and Quick Pitch, working as a reporter in-studio and on-site.
“Great addition by MLB Network. Great addition for the show,” Russo added. “She will add an element to High Heat that we haven’t had in eight years.”
High Heat launched with Russo on March 31, 2014, but longtime show producer and on-air contributor Bruce Schein was part of a round of layoffs by MLB Network earlier this year. Rizzo will make her debut on High Heat this Friday April 2. High Heat airs on MLB Network weekdays at 1pm ET.
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Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
MLB Network couldn’t afford Schein (who was the heart and soul of High Heat) but could afford Rizzo?
The show is now boring. The interaction between Mad Dog and Bruce Schein was special and was fun to watch. This show will lose many viewers, what a shame!
Absolutely agree. High Heat is totally boring without Bruce Schein. There is no chemistry on the show with Rizzo. Terrible change to what was my favorite MLB Network show.
Bruce kept Russo in line, should never gotten rid of him, bring him back and send Allana packing again..
Brucie was the best part of the show! Agree with all of the above comments.
Shame on Russo for not backing him.
What happened to Bruce? Don’t give me that budget cut crap. Bruce brought so much to that show. Not the same without him. Used to watch religiously. Now—meh.
High Heat is unwatchable now. No chemistry anymore. Alana brings nothing to the show.
Bring back Bruce Schein ! MLB made a big mistake here!
Bring back Bruce . This show is boring now and a left leaning mouthpiece
Big mistake…allana cant even read whats in front of her…a liberal move,yes politics involved in every move mlibb makes…beyond stupid
Well, MLB, you screwed up another show!
Bruce Schein was a refreshing counterpart to Russo.
Don’t see Alanna Rizzo adding anything but bland, trite commentary.
Alanna does a pretty good job, but Bruce was a nice complement for mad dog, and helped make the show what it was. I tried to watch daily! I don’t concern myself with watching it now. Shouldn’t that matter to those who make the decisions?
The show was much better when Bruce and Mad dog would do their thing. Boring listening to Rizzo.
Terrible move MLB Network. Another show I won’t watch anymore.
Shame on Chris Russo for not backing a longtime asset to the show.
Alanna Rizzo brings nothing to the show!
I agree 100%. I won’t be watching this show again.
After almost 3 weeks of Alana I’ve had enough.Please bring Bruce back or you will lose another viewer.
I see no reason for this change in the High Heat show. Russo is perfectly capable of asking the same questions as Rizzo does.
I used to enjoy this show mainly to hear Russo. Now it has become mediocre. I also liked Bruce Schein. If he was let go because of money issues how do you justify this move. Does she work for free?
I only watched because of Bruce. Russo just screams crap. Didn’t watch much before and now even less. Should have kept Bruce and laid off Russo!
Alanna Rizzo is great, she is an expert in her field. And what pleasure to have her embrace the screen. DO NOT LET HER GO.
I say give the show with Rizzo a chance to gel. Schein was OK … but at times he had no clue. Time for a change … with a medium-length leash on new format.
Very sad that Bruce is gone ! Damn ! God Bless him on his next venture ! Peace , Tom Pajor
Show is boring now. Rizzo doesn’t bring anything to the show. She has no energy. We sure miss Bruce.
Good bye High Heat.
I have to agree with 99.9% of the above posts. Used to set the timer to watch High Heat. Without Bruce Schein I don’t pay much attention to it any more. Now I just wait till the afternoon game comes on and then switch the channel to MLB Network. Please bring him back and I’ll get my timer set again.
I’ve been listening to Mad Dog ever since he had his NY show with Mike Francesa on WFAN. They had a great run with lots of chemistry and disagreements. Always looked forward to it.
I kept my loyalty to Russo because he like me was an SF Giants fan. So far I see no chemistry between him and Alanna Rizzo. They might as well be doing separate commentary. It’s hard to watch now.