Jeff Marek no longer with Sportsnet - Unknown why

[TopCheeseShotta]

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

Dead wrong, homie. I'm 50, don't have a single social media account.. and I balked when Baitbook came out and never looked back. Just watch the interviews. Dude was creepy af..

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.

F'real.... sketch vibez

 

[LandfiII]

He "only" has 3 transgressions:

1. Killed Hockey Central @ Noon. His successor show was a lot weaker than what the previous trio of Darren Millard, Kypreos & Doug MacLean used to offer. I had to stop listening to Marek's iteration of the noon show. He was OK with Friedman on 32 Thoughts.
2. Fake laughs. There's nothing wrong with laughing, but when it strikes you as pre-programmed, it's bad. Kypreos laughs like a madman, too, and it must be partially pretense, but it doesn't sound as unnatural. There was a pitiful videoclip posted on Twitter the other day, where Marek & Friedman are interviewing a player (Nylander?) on the beach in the summer, the player is talking, and you can see Marek raise his hand with the microphone, emit his fake laugh in it, and then let his hand fall back into his lap, without having said anything. Dude, we're not downloading hockey podcasts in order to hear your fake laughs.
3. Hypocrisy. He worshipped Don Cherry for decades, welcoming him on his podcasts as the biggest celebrity – only to turn against him instantly when his corporate overlords stated that that was the new company line. Ron MacLean light. Must be weird to find himself on the other end of it all of a sudden – karma is a bitch.

Then again, I've never before been so popular among girls of all shapes, forms, and ethnicities. (I annihilate them one by one in my followers list, but they keep coming back.)

his radio show was OK for the half hour intro with elliotte where they just crapped all over my pre-Coach Rick Canucks and all the hilarious toxicity just steaming out of every pore of the organization

 

[TheOrganist]

Weird circumstances but I found him incredibly annoying on 32 Thoughts Podcast. He thinks he’s funny and he’s not. A cardinal sin. Elliott Friedman is 100x more interesting and informative.

 

[Xirik]

The amount of edgy haters in this thread is hilarious. especially the ones that come in just to type "I don't care".

 

[JAK]

Jeff's job on 32T was feeding enough minor thoughts for content and time, so that the actual guy who people listen to, could ramble on to stuff.

Many others can do this job, my choice is Bieksa, brings a fresh voice, and can handle the banter during sitdown interviews with guests while Friedman can do the more content / insider / "deeper thoughts" stuff.

 

[FerrisRox]

He's much better than Kypreos, I don't like that show at all.

People may object to Kypreos' voice, or his style, as a broadcaster, but I worked with Nick for a few years, and the guy was incredibly connected and great relationships all around the league.

 

[roman star]

Weird circumstances but I found him incredibly annoying on 32 Thoughts Podcast. He thinks he’s funny and he’s not. A cardinal sin. Elliott Friedman is 100x more interesting and informative.

so true . friedman needs a legit co host like a mckenzie

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

He's.. odd I guess, but his random hockey knowledge I always appreciated.

Don't forget they use to do 32 thoughts during the 2nd intermission of the 7pm game and Marek was let go from that/reduced his role. This is likely just the ending touches of pushing him out the door because Rogers is losing a bunch of money, but they'll keep that f***ing idiot Ron MacLean.

My buddy, who's big into baseball is saying a bunch of Jay's fans aren't renewing their season tickets. Nit really surprising given that the Jay's sucked and changed nothing.

 

[roman star]

Jeff's job on 32T was feeding enough minor thoughts for content and time, so that the actual guy who people listen to, could ramble on to stuff.

Many others can do this job, my choice is Bieksa, brings a fresh voice, and can handle the banter during sitdown interviews with guests while Friedman can do the more content / insider / "deeper thoughts" stuff.

bieksa would be ideal

 

[LandfiII]

Dead wrong, homie. I'm 50, don't have a single social media account.. and I balked when Baitbook came out and never looked back. Just watch the interviews. Dude was creepy af..


F'real.... sketch vibez

Just say what you're saying. Are you suggesting Jeff Marek steps out on his wife and children to chase young men?

 

[TheDoldrums]

David Amber, Scott Oake, Shawn McKenzie, Kyle Bukaskas can all do Marek's job, and so can a whole bunch of others we've never heard of

No, not really. There's a reason Marek has been a host of multiple successful hockey podcasts (Marek vs Wyshynski before 32T), he has a deep knowledge of the game compared to those guys. They read off a script, Marek actually knows hockey and has connections.

 

[BHD]

No, not really. There's a reason Marek has been a host of multiple successful hockey podcasts (Marek vs Wyshynski before 32T), he has a deep knowledge of the game compared to those guys. They read off a script, Marek actually knows hockey and has connections.

You have to give him credit. He can be annoying at times, but he knows his stuff.

 

[JKG33]

No, not really. There's a reason Marek has been a host of multiple successful hockey podcasts (Marek vs Wyshynski before 32T), he has a deep knowledge of the game compared to those guys. They read off a script, Marek actually knows hockey and has connections.

There's a tonne of other guys with successful podcasts too that don't have the backing of a giant like sportsnet, where if they got called up to the big network could do quite well

 

[TopCheeseShotta]

Just say what you're saying. Are you suggesting Jeff Marek steps out on his wife and children to chase young men?

I was clear enuff.. not an accusation, just an observation... that day and demeanour was mad creepy... I never noticed that about him b4, so not saying this is the root cause.. but they are keeping it mad secretive for a draft pick leak, nahimean..? It's not a fireable offense to me, but if it's my company - I'm saying dude's getting a different job w some different responsibilities on some "just in case" shyt.. lmaooo

 

[tiburon12]

But we have to define the degree of the wrong. People aren't supposed to be on social media while working. Do they do so and get caught? Yes, and the punishment usually isn't being fired. It's usually nowhere near that.

Now obviously I'm not saying it's the same exact thing, but what he did is something where there was no real loss. Rules are rules, but if you break them it seems like too big of a punishment for someone with a lot of money in the bank that they get fired because they did something they shouldn't have where no one suffered.

Arent you basing all of this from a twitter profile with 300 followers making the rumor?

 

[TheNumber4]

Well that cleared up absolutely nothing about the situation.

Well “more to come soon” does clear up that he hasn’t been cancelled. And will still be working the hockey media landscape. His tweet sounds like he got another job.

 

[TheNumber4]

People may object to Kypreos' voice, or his style, as a broadcaster, but I worked with Nick for a few years, and the guy was incredibly connected and great relationships all around the league.

He’s also a bald faced liar and a moron though. But yes, he does have connections.

 

[Faterson]

his radio show was OK for the half hour intro with elliotte where they just crapped all over my pre-Coach Rick Canucks

Granted, but I ain't downloading podcasts just to be able to listen to a "half-hour intro", and having to discard the rest.

With the previous trio of Millard, Kypreos & Doug MacLean on Hockey Central @ Noon, they were insufferable for the first 20 or 25 minutes of each episode, where they "discussed the Leafs" even when there was absolutely nothing to discuss about them (I'm surprised Canadians tolerate such extreme GTA-centrism). So, OK, I used to fast-forward over the first 20 or 25 minutes of each episode without listening to it. But still, most of the episode was worth the listen. That changed when Marek took over, and the episodes were just no longer worth a download, in my opinion.

Contrary to what most folks on the hockey subreddit seem to say, I believe there are quite a few outstanding hockey podcasts covering the entire league (not a specific team). My favorites are The Puck Podcast and Game Misconduct, but there are others. I found Marek's noon show useless over the last few years, period. I like Friedman, but due to Marek's annoying fake laughs, etc., I found it impossible to listen to each and every 32 Thoughts episode conscientiously; I only listened to the pod occasionally when something big happened. Hopefully, Friedman will now get a better co-host to curb his ramblings.

I never got to experience the highly praised and much-loved Marek vs. Wyshynski podcast of years long past. I'm fully ready to believe that Marek was amazing in it. But whatever magic he may have had, seems to have evaporated when he embedded himself in Sportsnet's corporate environment. Perhaps the current firing from Sportsnet will liberate Marek, allowing him once again to be fully himself, instead of a politically correct puppet.

Most of all, let's hope 32 Thoughts isn't going to mutate into something like Spittin' Chiclets. Don't know about you guys, but I'm incapable of listening to fully grown (almost middle-aged by now) men talking and behaving as if they were 13-year-old teenagers.

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

Well, Marek & Sportsnet have only themselves to blame for that. If you don't communicate transparently about the reason for the separation, all sorts of rumors will be born – that this might be another "Case of the Unruly Pecker" for Sherlock Holmes (I mean, Rick Westwood), for example. Wouldn't it have been much better for both sides if they at least hinted at the area of disagreement between them? If it was simply about being unable to agree on a new contract for Marek (I find that to be an extremely naive take, although it seems prevalent on Reddit), just say so! If it was an instance of "unprofessional conduct" on that day in Las Vegas – well, at least indicate that general area. No need to be extremely specific about it. But if you say nothing at all ("draft-related reasons" mentioned in the original third-party tweet are precisely nothing), all sorts of wild and unsavory rumors will be the inevitable result.

(Weird as it sounds, Sportsnet's approach to this reminds me of the Catholic Church. I never thought I'd compare a media conglomerate to a church, but there it is. I've witnessed a number of occasions where the church, upon separating itself from someone, instead of at least briefly clarifying what the reason for the separation was, preferred to remain utterly silent, giving birth to the most outlandish speculations and conspiracy theories. I don't think that's the best solution for one or the other side.)

 

[Nogatco Rd]

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

how so

 

[Schooner Guy]

But we have to define the degree of the wrong. People aren't supposed to be on social media while working. Do they do so and get caught? Yes, and the punishment usually isn't being fired. It's usually nowhere near that.

For most people in media, it's part of their job.

Many others can do this job, my choice is Bieksa, brings a fresh voice, and can handle the banter during sitdown interviews with guests while Friedman can do the more content / insider / "deeper thoughts" stuff.

bieksa would be ideal

Bieksa isn't a host.

 

[JianYang]

Sucks for 32T. Was easily one of the top hockey pods around

The show was good for getting a pulse of any nhl team. One of the few "national" programs on sportsnet that isn't just a regional leaf mindset.

Marek was a full on hockey nerd, and I appreciate that he was just himself and embraced his own nerdiness. Too many sports personalities are just trying to manufacture cheap takes in exchange for views, but Marek was Marek.

 

[EpochLink]

1. Hypocrisy. He worshipped Don Cherry for decades, welcoming him on his podcasts as the biggest celebrity – only to turn against him instantly when his corporate overlords stated that that was the new company line. Ron MacLean light. Must be weird to find himself on the other end of it all of a sudden – karma is a bitch.

Don Cherry can go away, put him in a room full of homeboys and let’s see how he can rant his senile ass about thugs, try it.

Now that’s f***ing karma.

 

[Reality Czech]

Don Cherry can go away, put him in a room full of homeboys and let’s see how he can rant his senile ass about thugs, try it.

Now that’s f***ing karma.

Still triggered eh?

 

[John Mandalorian]

Well “more to come soon” does clear up that he hasn’t been cancelled. And will still be working the hockey media landscape. His tweet sounds like he got another job.

This doesn’t add up. If it’s about him leaking draft picks, that would mean teams/the league were so upset that they went to the network and got him fired. The alternative is that only the network was bothered by the leak. If it’s about the leak, the former is more likely. And in that case, why would another network hire him for an NHL gig after teams/the league threw its weight around to get him fired?

 

[Faterson]

1. Hypocrisy. He worshipped Don Cherry for decades, welcoming him on his podcasts as the biggest celebrity – only to turn against him instantly when his corporate overlords stated that that was the new company line. Ron MacLean light. Must be weird to find himself on the other end of it all of a sudden – karma is a bitch.

Don Cherry can go away, put him in a room full of homeboys and let’s see how he can rant his senile ass about thugs, try it.

Now that’s f***ing karma.

That wasn't the point. The point was that for Sportsnet employees like Marek and Ron MacLean, Don Cherry was the biggest celebrity and most amazing hockey personality one day, and the greatest villain the following day – just because corporate overlords said so. From hero to villain overnight. That's hypocrisy for ya. If Marek, MacLean et al. had been voicing their objections over the last few years at least (because Cherry has been making that type of comments for decades), that would have been different.

(For the record, I'm no Cherry fan; I think he's a buffoon dressing in window drapes, but when I see someone being treated unfairly/hypocritically, I call it what it is.)