Jay Onrait
| Jay Onrait | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 29, 1974 Calgary, Alberta |
| Occupation | Sports anchor and Author |
| Known for | SportsCentre, Fox Sports Live, The Jay and Dan Podcast, and writing the books Anchorboy and Number Two |
| Height | 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) [1] |
Jay Michael Onrait (born August 29, 1974) is a Canadian television personality and sports anchor who is currently an anchor for Fox Sports Live on the American Fox Sports 1 network. Since 2003, he has been frequently paired with fellow Canadian broadcaster Dan O'Toole.
Prior to his American debut, Onrait worked for the Canadian equivalent of ESPN, TSN. There, 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. Onrait was hired by FS1 to be its lead co-anchor in 2013 and his final SportsCentre broadcast for TSN aired June 28, 2013.[2]
Career
Onrait first joined TSN in 1996 as an editorial assistant while attending Ryerson University.[3] He later went on to become sports director at CFSK-TV in Saskatoon and then spent two years as the host of the 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.
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.[2] They continued to host SportsCentre until June 28, 2013. Onrait and O'Toole currently host Fox Sports Live Monday-Friday.
Personal
Onrait is a native of Athabasca, Alberta[4] and briefly attended the University of Alberta upon graduating from high school in 1992. He describes these 2 years as "The Lost Years". He later attended and graduated from Ryerson University in Toronto in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in Radio and Television Arts.[4]
While currently working on Fox Sports 1's Jay and Dan Podcast, Onrait released his new book Anchorboy, which doubles as his autobiography. Onrait was rumoured to be working on a new book titled: "Number Two: More Short Tales from a Very Tall Man". Literary Agent, Carly Watters confirmed the news, and the book was released October 27, 2015.
Onrait married Chobi Liang, a former TSN PR, in October 2013, after splitting with Darcy Modin in 2002. They have one daughter together, Isabel.
Awards
Onrait was nominated for a Gemini Award in 2010, and won the award in 2011 for Best Sportscaster for his work on Sportscentre.[5]
References
- ↑ Onrait, Jay (February 18, 2010). "Jay Onrait on Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- 1 2 "Best wishes to Onrait, O'Toole as they head to Los Angeles". TSN.ca. May 3, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ↑ Granatstein, Lisa (April 2001). "TSN Got Game". Media Week: 31.
- 1 2 "TSN Talent - Jay Onrait". TSN.ca. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ↑ "CBC News wins several Geminis". CBC.ca. August 30, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2013.