Media Thread

[herman]

I just saw someone note that Greg Wyshynski (ESPN, Puck Soup, MvW) has also been radio silent as of July 1, which could just be holidays.

Marek being off-the-air is quite unceremonious.

 

[cabber24]

I just saw someone note that Greg Wyshynski (ESPN, Puck Soup, MvW) has also been radio silent as of July 1, which could just be holidays.

Marek being off-the-air is quite unceremonious.

Sportsnet confirmed he (Marek) no longer works for them.

 

[Joe S.]

I don?t really ever read sportsnet articles but I came across this and just wanted to call bullshit.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/identifying-the-top-25-ufas-in-2025-two-maple-leafs-lead-the-way/

So headline is clearly saying the leafs lead the way, and then he puts out this disclaimer:

we won?t list Sidney Crosby, Leon Draisaitl, Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand or Igor Shesterkin. All five are megastars on expiring contracts, but are also strong candidates to re-up with their current club in the coming weeks and months

Oh. Ok, I didn?t realize that?s how that works.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/jeffmarek/status/1816940951425986749
Okay mystery solved; just a rather unceremonious exit. Which lends some credence to him receiving an offer at the draft from a competitor that SportsNet did not want to match.

lol Littlest Hobo profile picture; that?s the first show or anything that ever made me cry watching it.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/theathletic/status/1818972674053333197
Lmao

As part of Sportsnet?s crew that night, Marek was privy to the draft selections before they were publicly announced. This is common practice for broadcast rightsholders. The production truck is notified of the pick approximately one or two minutes before it?s made so that graphics can be prepared, video clips readied and cameras trained on the player about to find out he has been selected.

That was why Sportsnet cameras were in the perfect position to capture the memorable reaction from Beckett Sennecke, whose stunning selection at No. 3 by the Anaheim Ducks prompted him to stand up, bewildered, before uttering ?Holy f?.?

Okay, so he got turfed for sharing privileged knowledge with a personal friend in the industry outside of the SportsNet team, because his friend was a bit too smug.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Damn. What a way to go. This kinda feeels like a nothingburger, especially in regards to the gambling aspect of it, but also like he just shouldn't have really been doing that without clearing it with anyone first. Hopefully it doesn't taint his career going forward (it really shouldn't).

 

[bustaheims]

Yeah. This seems more like a stupid mistake rather than a malicious one.

 

[cabber24]

Can you bet on who gets drafted when and where?

 

[herman]

Can you bet on who gets drafted when and where?

According to the article, betting on the draft closed 24 hrs before the first round started.

The basic issue is:
[*] breach of confidentiality
[*] gave his personal friend who runs a scouting outfit an advantage, even it if was momentary; cachet and reputation are semi-intangible, but people seeing him correctly predict the draft early on would increase his profile
[*] with betting embedded within the league, any impropriety around this type of insider info to specific people will face strict scrutiny

How is this different than EF, CJ, or NBA/MLB insiders? they publicize to all (which drives clicks and revs to their parent companies) vs whispers to one person outside the company who stands to benefit

 

[CarltonTheBear]

How is this different than EF, CJ, or NBA/MLB insiders? they publicize to all (which drives clicks and revs to their parent companies) vs whispers to one person outside the company who stands to benefit

Like you said, it's more of a breach of confidentiality. Marek shared what was basically privileged  information meant for the assisting of the broadcast production. EF, CJ, and the rest get their information generally speaking directly from a member of a team for the purposes of having that information "leaked"/shared.  This would be more like if Friedman was basically told by a team their entire offseason plans but it was "off the record" and then he just posts it on 32 Thoughts anyway.

 

[herman]

How is this different than EF, CJ, or NBA/MLB insiders? they publicize to all (which drives clicks and revs to their parent companies) vs whispers to one person outside the company who stands to benefit

Like you said, it's more of a breach of confidentiality. Marek shared what was basically privileged  information meant for the assisting of the broadcast production. EF, CJ, and the rest get their information generally speaking directly from a member of a team for the purposes of having that information "leaked"/shared.  This would be more like if Friedman was basically told by a team their entire offseason plans but it was "off the record" and then he just posts it on 32 Thoughts anyway.

Yes, that is a apt distinction. Also, this is League information, not scoopy insider nudge nudge wink wink stuff from team staffers. It's an embarrassment to SportsNet and marred their relationship with the NHL, which is why it was more than a slap on the wrist (they wanted to cut payroll anyway). It also probably handcuff's Marek's full-time hireability for a couple of years (The Hockey News might take a swing though).

 

[cabber24]

To be investigated sounds like someone may have had some financial gain via his insider info.

 

[ZBBM]

Don't worry guys, the Wise Men running the league have assured us that there's no way the full-on embrace of betting will ever lead to a drip-drip-drip accumulation of problems that might somehow slowly undermine the integrity of the games until one day everything comes apart at the seams.  This is an oddball one-off that can't and won't happen again because of vigilence and safeguards and more vigilence and the like.

 

[Bender]

Either there's more to this story or Sportsnet found an easy way to shed salary is my early take on this.

 

[bustaheims]

Either there's more to this story or Sportsnet found an easy way to shed salary is my early take on this.

Just what we know is probably enough to be a violation of his terms of employment.

 

[Bender]

Either there's more to this story or Sportsnet found an easy way to shed salary is my early take on this.

Just what we know is probably enough to be a violation of his terms of employment.

Maybe but it seems so small potatoes in the grand scheme of things that someone of his stature could get a harsh behind the scenes reprimand, but eh, maybe not.

 

[Bullfrog]

Either there's more to this story or Sportsnet found an easy way to shed salary is my early take on this.

Just what we know is probably enough to be a violation of his terms of employment.

For sure. This is a serious breach of confidentiality. The offense, on the whole, isn't personally so bad (given the consequences were minor), but with anything that shakes the confidence of its partners, Sportsnet had to make this move.

 

[bustaheims]

Either there's more to this story or Sportsnet found an easy way to shed salary is my early take on this.

Just what we know is probably enough to be a violation of his terms of employment.

Maybe but it seems so small potatoes in the grand scheme of things that someone of his stature could get a harsh behind the scenes reprimand, but eh, maybe not.

As Bullfrog notes, while the offence itself may be small, the impact is potentially significant and required a significant response.

 

[herman]

https://x.com/JeffMarek/status/1842316056401993937

 

[herman]

This wild

https://twitter.com/x/status/1861194734724682078

https://twitter.com/x/status/1861392658679087131