John Franchi is thrilled to be the newest member of the South Valley's leading sports team. After being away from California for a number of years, this Golden State native couldn't be any happier to return home.

John's career began as a sports anchor for the CBS affiliate in Grand Junction, Colorado. After a brief stint in the Rocky Mountains, it was on to KSNF in Joplin, Missouri. When a huge ice storm blew through the Midwest in January 2007, John knew it was time to come back to California. The opportunity to work at Eyewitness News was one he could not resist.

Throughout his career, John has covered many memorable sporting events including Kansas City Chiefs football, USC's football win at Arkansas, and many high school state championship sporting events in Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. Here in Bakersfield, John lists covering CSUB's basketball win over Fresno State as his favorite moment.

A graduate of USC's Annenberg School of Communication, John is a die hard fan of Trojan athletics. As a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, you can find John spending his Sunday afternoons watching the 49ers, and his summer days cheering on the Giants.

John hopes to bring Bakersfield the most in-depth coverage of all the area High School teams, as well as the Condors, Blaze, Jam, and Brigade.

You can email John at jfranchi@eyeoutforyou.com