Jay Onrait

Last updated

Jay Onrait
Jay Onrait.jpg
Onrait with SportsCentre
Born (1974-08-29) August 29, 1974 (age 48)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Occupation(s) Sports anchor and author
Known for SportsCentre, Fox Sports Live, The Jay and Dan Podcast, and writing the books Anchorboy and Number Two
Height198 cm (6 ft 6 in) [1]

Jay Michael Onrait (born August 29, 1974) is a Canadian television personality and sports anchor who hosts SC with Jay Onrait on TSN. From 2003 to 2021, he was frequently paired with fellow Canadian broadcaster Dan O'Toole. [2]

Contents

In his first stint with TSN, he and O'Toole co-anchored the daily 1:00 am (ET) edition of SportsCentre and were regarded as the lead anchor team for the network. [2] Onrait was hired by the US sports network FS1 to be its lead co-anchor in 2013, and his final SportsCentre broadcast for TSN aired June 28, 2013. [3] His final Fox Sports 1 show aired February 22, 2017. It was announced that Onrait and O'Toole would be returning to TSN to host a new show, SC with Jay and Dan , on March 1, 2017. [4]

Career

Onrait first joined TSN in 1996 as an editorial assistant while attending Ryerson Polytechnic University. [5] He later went on to become sports director at CFSK-TV in Saskatoon and then spent two years as the host of The Big Breakfast on the A-Channel in Winnipeg. Onrait then joined NHL Network in 2001 as host of both the network's flagship show NHL on the Fly and Molson That's Hockey 2 . He moved to TSN in 2002 and in 2003 began co-hosting SportsCentre alongside Dan O'Toole. In 2006, Onrait began blogging at TSN.ca. Topics have included the Stanley Cup and the NBA, as well as an all-day blog about the NHL trade deadline. His blogs are usually spiced with references to pop culture. In October 2010 he also became the host of the Sportscentre Morning Rush on TSN2 until it was taken off the air in October 2011.

During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver Onrait served as co-host of Olympic Morning alongside Beverly Thomson. During the 2012 Summer Olympics in London Onrait co-hosted daily live editions of SportsCentre from London alongside O'Toole.[ citation needed ]

On May 3, 2013, TSN announced that Onrait and his broadcast partner Dan O'Toole would be leaving SportsCentre for broadcast opportunities on U.S. television at the newly formed Fox Sports 1 in Los Angeles. [3] They continued to host SportsCentre until June 28, 2013.

Fox Sports Live debuted on August 17, 2013, with Onrait and O'Toole as hosts and aired its final episode on February 22, 2017, when the show was canceled and the two broadcasters' contracts were not renewed. [6]

On March 1, 2017, TSN announced that Onrait and Dan O'Toole would be returning to Canada to host a new show SC with Jay and Dan , which would premiere in Fall of 2017. [4] Its first episode aired September 4, 2017, at 12:00 am EST.

Podcast

When Onrait and O'Toole returned to TSN in 2017, the podcast returned as well with Coors Light as the sponsor. [7] In 2019, Coors announced it would shift its advertising focus to the duo's SportsCentre show, which was later succeeded by McDonald's.

After O’Toole was laid off by TSN in 2021, Onrait announced the podcast would be on an "extended hiatus". The final four episodes were dedicated to O’Toole.

Personal life

Onrait was raised in Boyle, Alberta [8] and Athabasca, Alberta. [9] His father was a pharmacist in Athabasca, and Onrait held jobs at the pharmacy growing up.

When Onrait graduated from Edwin Parr Composite School in 1992, he was given a $250 graduation award for physical education from the Royal Canadian Legion’s Athabasca branch, despite not taking any athletic classes in his final year of high school. In 2018, Onrait gave the Athabaca Legion a $251 refund at a fundraiser dinner for the Athabasca Regional Multiplex. [8]

Onrait has released two books. [2] Anchorboy, which doubles as his autobiography, was released on October 1, 2013. Number Two: More Short Tales from a Very Tall Man followed on October 27, 2015. Both were Canadian bestsellers and released in paperback in November 2016.

Since 2011, [10] Onrait has compiled a best albums year-end list with TSN sports personality Dave Hodge.

Onrait married Chobi Liang, a former TSN publicist, in October 2013, [11] after splitting with Darcy Modin in 2002.

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
2014 Corner Gas: The Movie Denizen Jay
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
2003–2013 SportsCentre Himself/co-anchor
2010Olympic MorningHimself/co-host 2010 Winter Olympics
2013 But I'm Chris Jericho! Season 1 episode 1: "Sausage & Eggs"
2015 Weird Loners HimselfEpisode 3: "Weirded Out"
2013–2017 Fox Sports Live Himself/co-host
2020 Corner Gas Animated KyleSeason 3 episode 7: "Give Pizza Chants"
2017–2019 Letterkenny Himself2 episodes
2017–2021SC with Jay and DanHimself/co-host/Anchor
2021–present SC with Jay Onrait Himself/host/Anchor
2022–present Shoresy Himself2 episodes

Awards

Onrait was nominated for a Gemini Award in 2010, and won the award in 2011 for Best Sportscaster for his work on Sportscentre. [12]

Related Research Articles

The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by CTV Specialty Television, owned jointly by Bell Media (70%) and ESPN Inc. (30%). The company was established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. TSN is the largest specialty channel in Canada in terms of gross revenue, with a total of CA$400.4 million in revenue in 2013.

Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was required to divest its stake in the network following its 2001 acquisition of competing network TSN. Rogers then became the sole owner of Sportsnet in 2004 after it bought the remaining minority stake that was held by Fox.

Réseau des sports (RDS), is a Canadian French language discretionary specialty channel oriented towards sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc.. Its full name translates as "The Sports Network", the name of its Anglophone counterpart, TSN.

SportsCentre is a daily sports news television program, and the flagship program on TSN. The program airs several times daily TSN feeds, and on weekends on CTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CFSK-DT</span> Global TV station in Saskatoon

CFSK-DT is a television station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, part of the Global Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Corus Entertainment, the station has studios on Robin Crescent on the northwest side of Saskatoon, and its transmitter is located on Agra and Settlers Ridge Roads, northeast of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Taggart</span> Canadian drummer, radio host, and author (born 1975)

Jeremy Ronald John Taggart is a Canadian drummer, radio host, and author, best known for playing with Our Lady Peace from 1993 until 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Shulman</span> Canadian sportscaster

Daniel Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster with Sportsnet as well as the American network ESPN.

<i>TSN Hockey</i> Regional NHL broadcasts by Canadian sports channel TSN

TSN Hockey is the blanket title used by TSN's broadcasts of the National Hockey League.

James Cybulski is a Canadian broadcaster. He is currently the play by play voice for the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League and the NHL video game franchise from EA Sports. Cybulski also worked as host of The Starting Lineup on Sportsnet 650 Vancouver from 2017-2021. Prior to his role on Sportsnet 650 Vancouver, he hosted Cybulski and Company on TSN Radio 1050, and worked as a television sportscaster and reporter for SportsCentre on TSN and Sportsnet Central on Sportsnet Pacific.

Daniel Gerard O'Toole is a former Canadian television sports anchor who was last employed by TSN. From 2003 to 2013 and 2017 to February 2021, he co-hosted the 1:00 AM (ET) weekday broadcast of TSN's SportsCentre, alongside Jay Onrait.

Réseau des sports (RDS) is a French Canadian cable specialty channel that broadcasts National Hockey League games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Beirness</span> Canadian television sportscaster

Kate Beirness is a Canadian television sportscaster, currently working as a host for SportsCentre on TSN.

Natasha Staniszewski is a Canadian sports reporter and media host for the Calgary Flames and Calgary Stampeders. She is a former anchor on SportsCentre, TSN's flagship news and information show.

The following is a list of events affecting Canadian television in 2013. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel launches, closures and rebrandings.

<i>NHL on Sportsnet</i> Television series

NHL on Sportsnet is the blanket title for presentations of the National Hockey League broadcast held by a Canadian media corporation, Rogers Communications, showing on its television channel Sportsnet and other networks owned by or affiliated with its Rogers Media division, as well as the Sportsnet Radio chain. Sportsnet previously held the national cable rights for NHL regular season and playoff games from 1998 to 2002. In November 2013, Rogers reached a 12-year deal to become the exclusive national television and digital rightsholder for the NHL in Canada, beating out both CBC Sports and TSN.

<i>Fox Sports Live</i> American TV series or program

Fox Sports Live is an American sports news program that aired on Fox Sports 1. It was hosted by Canadian sportscasters Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole, who had been well-known locally for their late-night editions of TSN's SportsCentre.

<i>Tim & Friends</i> Canadian TV series or program

Tim & Friends is a sports talk show hosted by Tim Micallef that was produced by the Canadian sports television network Sportsnet where it aired. The program, originally known as Tim & Sid and hosted by Micallef and Sid Seixeiro, was established in 2011 as an afternoon radio show on CJCL. The program gained a television simulcast on The Score in 2013. On July 1, 2015, the program was re-launched on Sportsnet as a dedicated television program. On October 14, 2019, the Tim & Sid telecasts began simulcasting on CJCL, replacing Prime Time Sports as its late afternoon drive program. Seixeiro left the show in 2021, and the show was rebranded as Tim & Friends. During the summer of 2021, Tim & Friends stopped being simulcasted on CJCL and again became a dedicated television program. Tim & Friends concluded its run in 2023.

SC with Jay Onrait is a Canadian sports news program that airs on TSN. Hosted by Jay Onrait, it is a spiritual successor to the late-night edition of SportsCentre that Onrait and Dan O'Toole hosted until 2013, which featured a more comedy-oriented format. The duo also produced a weekly podcast, Jay and Dan Podcast. The program debuted as SC with Jay and Dan on September 4, 2017, being hosted by Onrait and O'Toole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NHL on television in the 2010s</span>

On April 19, 2011, after ESPN, Turner Sports, and Fox Sports placed bids, NBC Sports announced it had reached a ten-year extension to its U.S. television contract with the NHL worth nearly $2 billion over the tenure of the contract. The contract would cover games on both NBC and sister cable channel Versus, which became part of the NBC Sports family as the result of Versus parent Comcast's controlling purchase of NBC Universal earlier in 2011.

References

  1. ↑ Onrait, Jay (February 18, 2010). "Jay Onrait on Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Mroczek, Breanna (May 2016). "Still Number One: Though his broadcasting career has taken him from Edmonton to Toronto to L.A., Jay Onrait is still a favourite with Canadian sports fans". Avenue Edmonton. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Best wishes to Onrait, O'Toole as they head to Los Angeles". TSN.ca. May 3, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Beloved prodigal sons Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole return to TSN". TSN.ca. March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  5. ↑ Granatstein, Lisa (April 2001). "TSN Got Game". Media Week: 31.
  6. ↑ Mudhar, Raju (February 24, 2017). "Fox pulls plug on Onrait and O'Toole". Toronto Star.
  7. ↑ "Coors Light becomes title sponsor of Jay and Dan Podcast". TSN.ca. August 11, 2017.
  8. 1 2 McDermott, Vincent (October 28, 2018). "A 'Hometown Boy' returns". TownAndCountryToday.com (formerly Athabasca Advocate). Retrieved September 9, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ "TSN Talent – Jay Onrait". TSN.ca. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  10. ↑ "ONRAIT: JAY AND DAVE HODGE'S TOP 25 ALBUMS OF 2011". TSN.ca. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  11. ↑ Leeder, David (November 7, 2013). "Former TSN anchor Onrait turns attention to printed word". The Globe and Mail.
  12. ↑ "CBC News wins several Geminis". CBC.ca. August 30, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.