Canzano: Working for you is working

Four years later, here we are...

It’s been four years since the launch of JohnCanzano.com. (Photo: Naji Saker)

LAS VEGAS — It was four years ago that I wrote the first column for this independent news entity. The official launch of JohnCanzano.com happened in Las Vegas during the Pac-12 Tournament.

I was unsettled that first day.

I’d worked for six newspapers. When I decided to go to work for you, a longtime newspaper editor shook her head, scoffed, and told me, “You’re throwing away the last 25 years.”

It felt to me as if I were leaning hard into those years. I was armed with everything I’d learned along the way. Maybe she was right. I wondered if anyone would read me or if readers would ‘get’ what I aimed to do.

Bill Walton was at the Pac-12 Tournament that year. The big redhead had always been good to me. He was a free spirit who loved to paint outside the lines. I’ll never forget Walton stopping me on the loading dock of T-Mobile Arena in March 2022 and asking me what I was thinking.

“Tell me about this pirate ship you’ve launched,” he said.

I told him my mission was to deliver in-depth, sourced reporting and commentary readers couldn’t get anywhere else. I vowed to chase facts and go where the good stories are.

Walton gave me a fist bump.

“Be relentless,” he instructed.

I’d walked to the basketball arena that day from my hotel on The Strip. I remember it being sunny and cool. Along the way, I passed street performers and tourists. I thought about my three daughters, one of whom was in college.

They were watching their dad take a career risk. It’s one thing to tell a kid, “You’ve got to believe in yourself.” It’s a totally different thing to show them. Here I was in Las Vegas, betting on myself, with uncertainty in the pit of my stomach.

I stayed at The Cosmopolitan on that trip. The place was new and filled with energy. The casino floor of The Cosmo will always hold a special place in my heart. I’d covered a college basketball game at T-Mobile and retreated to my hotel suite to write. I filed the column. Then, left for dinner.

When you subscribe to this publication, I receive an email notification. Every single time. It feels very personal. It’s been four years, and I refuse to disable that feature. Partly, because it’s a reminder about who I am working for. I don’t take it lightly when you subscribe, telling me you’re in.

As I walked across the casino floor that day, I passed the sports book. I looked down at my phone and saw an email notification announcing the first subscription.

Then, another.

And another.

I’ve written about this before — but those early subscribers left me standing in the middle of the casino with glassy eyes.

You weren’t just reading me.

You were with me.

Small-business owners know what I’m talking about. Before I launched this publication, I met with a guy named Kevin Betker who ran a window and door company. He told me that being on my own would be simultaneously challenging — and exhilarating. He wasn’t wrong. It’s why I stop when I meet subscribers in the airport, the grocery store, and the gym and tell them how much it means to me.

This publication had more than 15 million page views in the last year. Readers live in 50 states and 167 countries. My reach has never been broader. JohnCanzano.com has won Associated Press Sports Editors awards in column writing, beat reporting, and projects.

Earlier this month, two of my photographers — Naji Saker and Tim Healy — were notified by the APSE that their photos are among the 10 finalists for best “action” photo and best “feature” photo of 2025. Winners will soon be announced.

It wasn’t lost on me that the other finalists in the photography categories all work at well-known daily newspapers. Throwing away 25 years? Or maybe just challenging conventional thinking?

In the last year, I wrote columns about a reader who wrote his own obituary and about what I learned while my oldest daughter was in college.

I wrote about a tight-knit community college softball team that suffered a tragic loss and I traveled across the country to write about Oregon’s validating overtime victory at Penn State.

I also wrote about the legend of Wilbur Huckle, a quirky ballplayer from the 1960s whom I grew up hearing about. I sat down with Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould for a historic 1-on-1 conversation. And I took readers with me on my new-world Pac-12 tour to Boise State, Gonzaga, San Diego State, and Utah State. That series was also recently recognized by APSE as a top-10 finalist in the “Projects” category.

“Be relentless,” Walton said.

I’ve tried to keep that promise. I keep getting on airplanes, picking up the phone, asking questions, and breaking news. I love bringing readers to places they can’t otherwise go. Working for you is working for me.

I’m back in Las Vegas this week, covering college basketball. There is news everywhere. The stakes are high. But I woke feeling nostalgic on Sunday.

Forgive me. The last four years have been a blast. Maybe you come to Las Vegas to see a show, go to dinner, gamble, hit a club, have a drink (or three), or sit by the pool with friends. I’ll always think of this city as the place where you hired me.

Thank you for that.

---

I appreciate all who support, subscribe, and share this independent endeavor with friends and family. If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing and/or gifting a subscription to someone who would enjoy it.

This is an independent reader-supported project with both free and paid subscriptions. Those who opt for the paid edition are providing vital assistance to bolster my independent coverage.