Canadian TV Sports Anchor Was 57
Darren Dutchyshen, the longtime television sports anchor with Canada’s The Sports Network, has died. He was 57 years of age.
“He passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones. His sharp wit remained until his final moments, classically delivering plenty of jokes — most of them pretty good and all of them inappropriate,” the Dutchyshen family said in a statement on Thursday.
TSN, where Dutchyshen had been host of its Sportscentre show since 1995, did not give an immediate word on the cause or place of death for the popular sportscaster. But Dutchyshen first announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021 on X, formerly Twitter. That forced him to sharply reduce his on-air duties at TSN.
“Darren Dutchyshen was a legend of Canadian sports broadcasting, a great teammate and an essential part of TSN for the last three decades,” Stewart Johnston, senior vp, sales & sports at Bell Media, parent of TSN, said in a statement on Thursday.
“A larger-than-life personality, Darren’s incredible sense of humor and magnetic energy made him a natural broadcaster who connected easily with viewers. His enthusiasm reminded us every day of why we love sports. Most significantly, Darren was a friend to all of us at TSN, and we will miss him dearly. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with his loved ones,” Johnston added.
Having joined TSN as a host of weekend editions of SportsDesk and CFL Live, Dutchyshen became a fixture behind the Sportscentre desk over a nearly 30-year reign. He was often seen on air with co-anchors Rod Smith and Jennifer Hedger.
Dutchyshen also hosted Olympic Prime Time on TSN during the London 2012 Olympic Games and Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Born in Regina, Saskatchewan and raised in Porcupine Plain in that province, Dutchyshen’s first job as a sportscaster was with STV in Saskatoon.
That was followed by a stint with IMTV in Dauphin, Manitoba. He also spent seven years as the host of ITV’s Sports Night in Edmonton.
TSN plans a TV tribute for Dutchyshen on Thursday evening.
