Jeff Marek no longer with Sportsnet - Unknown why

[HaNotsri]

He's now ronin. Coming back to haunt sportsnet.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

IMHO he geeked-up Hockey Central at Noon once Kypreos and Maclean were gone.

I'm not a fan.

 

[tiburon12]

I know it is easier said than done when you're in your 40s/50s with a family, but him and Greg Wyshysnki should have gambled on themselves when MvsW was at it's peak. The podcast had a massive audience for the time. Had they gone independent and leveraged that audience, with the right management, they would probably have done a lot better.

They were in the top 100 podcast rankings in Canada back in the early 2010s. Now keep in mind how advertisers view the hockey audience as valuable and affluent. They had a direct tap to that audience, and there were very few hockey podcasts to compete with.

Both of them leveraged that pod into huge career jumps....

 

[tiburon12]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1816899507118047676

Who is this person? Why are they credible?

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Both of them leveraged that pod into huge career jumps....

I do not mean to suggest that they did poorly. I think they should have gambled on themselves because the ceiling for owning and operating a podcast is much higher, especially when their target audience was one that at least on the television side is coveted by advertisers.

I get why two men in their 40s or whatever they were with families wouldn't take the gamble of uncertain income vs a steady cheque.

Maybe I am misinterpreting how big their podcast was.

 

[Kimota]

He was the only worthwhile remaining guy there. Good on him leaving the sinking ship.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

If all he did was he leaked some picks and got fired for that, I think that's ridiculous.

The people who got their feelings hurt by that should stop being such babies. That's no reason to fire a popular personality who added a lot to the network.

 

[Rals]

I don't see Marek as a huge loss honestly. Friedge will find a new co host and the show will go on. The podcast lacks substance anyways, just Elliotte saying "I wonder" for an hour because he can't leak any real news without pissing his sources off.

It's a huge loss because Jeff clearly dedicated himself to learning the craft and giving it his all.
He was a pioneer in the podcast space, he was a total hockey nerd. If someone like that can get fired in an instance, what's the point? We all suffer

 

[Rals]

Both of them leveraged that pod into huge career jumps....

They were great together. But Greg seems to have signed some handcuff deal that has taken him completely out of the spotlight. Which is a shame, I could see why he might irk people, but he was a character in a space full of hockey-talking bobbleheads.

If all he did was he leaked some picks and got fired for that, I think that's ridiculous.

The people who got their feelings hurt by that should stop being such babies. That's no reason to fire a popular personality who added a lot to the network.

Exactly, they act like sports news is particularly important in the grand scheme of things. It's just entertainment.

 

[tiburon12]

I do not mean to suggest that they did poorly. I think they should have gambled on themselves because the ceiling for owning and operating a podcast is much higher, especially when their target audience was one that at least on the television side is coveted by advertisers.

I get why two men in their 40s or whatever they were with families wouldn't take the gamble of uncertain income vs a steady cheque.

Maybe I am misinterpreting how big their podcast was.

Their podcast is notable for being the OG hockey pod than more than it is for being big. Podcasts just weren't nearly as big then.

The only reason it ended is because Wysh moved to ESPN and them (TSN) and sportsnet didn't want to share. Both exponentially grew in cache (and $$) after that.

 

[TheSuperElite]

meh, won't miss his fake laughs

 

[centipede2233]

I don’t care tbh. Will be interested to see the details on why he’s no longer at sportsnet though

 

[I Hart Conor Garland]

meh, won't miss his fake laughs

Bro. Those f***ing Airbnb commercials.

 

[ps241]

Enjoyed the 32 thoughts podcast with Jeff and Elliotte. Jeff had his quirks but the good outweighed the bad in my opinion and I thought they had chemistry.

Hopefully they find a decent replacement for the show by hockey season.

 

[Jumptheshark]

9 pages in and all we have in speculation from some sources. Whatever he did must have burned bridges and broke unwritten rules

 

[TopCheeseShotta]

This is only an observation, not an accusation… I don’t think this is it, and noone at Sportsnet would likely ever say if it was - but when we were all watching the draft here, we couldn’t help but notice Jeff was a little touchy feely with the young prospects. It makes me uncomfortable to even say that. He was reaching out to the prospects knees as they sat side by side - and the phrase he kept landing on by the end of his awkward post-draft sitdowns, was how that teams colours looked good on the prospect. I dunno. That statement in and of itself is reasonable and all. But his whole approach felt mad creepy to me.

 

[Warden of the North]

9 pages in and all we have in speculation from some sources. Whatever he did must have burned bridges and broke unwritten rules

He confirmed via his own Twitter account that he's not coming back.

 

[BHD]

He confirmed via his own Twitter account that he's not coming back.

I wonder if that’s them allowing him to go out with decency rather than kick him to the curb. Regardless, it still feels like a Sportsnet decision.

 

[HarrisonFord]

This is only an observation, not an accusation… I don’t think this is it, and noone at Sportsnet would likely ever say if it was - but when we were all watching the draft here, we couldn’t help but notice Jeff was a little touchy feely with the young prospects. It makes me uncomfortable to even say that. He was reaching out to the prospects knees as they sat side by side - and the phrase he kept landing on by the end of his awkward post-draft sitdowns, was how that teams colours looked good on the prospect. I dunno. That statement in and of itself is reasonable and all. But his whole approach felt mad creepy to me.

If that had any merit whatsoever, you wouldn’t be seeing so many of the other hockey media members tweeting out how great of a person he is

 

[Rare Jewel]

Who is this person? Why are they credible?

Set up the interview?

The player gets selected, goes to the stage, then goes to the table (that Marek was at)...

what "set-up" is needed?



My own guess is he he did leak and give a description of what the sphere looked liked on the inside on his pre-draft pod which may have pissed some league people off

and if that is the reason then wow... incredibly petty.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Set up the interview?

The player gets selected, goes to the stage, then goes to the table (that Marek was at)...

what "set-up" is needed?



My own guess is he he did leak and give a description of what the sphere looked liked on the inside on his pre-draft pod which may have pissed some league people off

and if that is the reason then wow... incredibly petty.

Wasn't ESPN posting pics from inside the sphere even before the draft lottery?

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Good. Narcissistic nobody that was constantly arrogant as if he accomplished something in the sport. Good riddance.

 

[Brookbank]

This is only an observation, not an accusation… I don’t think this is it, and noone at Sportsnet would likely ever say if it was - but when we were all watching the draft here, we couldn’t help but notice Jeff was a little touchy feely with the young prospects. It makes me uncomfortable to even say that. He was reaching out to the prospects knees as they sat side by side - and the phrase he kept landing on by the end of his awkward post-draft sitdowns, was how that teams colours looked good on the prospect. I dunno. That statement in and of itself is reasonable and all. But his whole approach felt mad creepy to me.

Oh ffs. This is the most peak zoomer social media take i've read

 

[kevsh]

But his whole approach felt mad creepy to me.

I once saw Jeff on Sportsnet years ago talking about his wife and was surprised.

And given the sensitivities these days on all things regarding sexual orientation, etc. I will just leave it at that.

 

[Reality Czech]

meh, won't miss his fake laughs

Hopefully Elliotte will find a better co-host. I won't miss hipster goof Marek and the veiled political commentary he would slip in from time to time.