Jeff Blair (born March 30, 1960) is a Canadian former

newspaper columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

for

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

, a

sports columnist Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into t ...

for

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...

and

sports talk radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-a ...

host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN in Toronto. In June 2019, Blair took over as a host of the long-running,

nationally syndicated Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...

evening sports radio show ''

Prime Time Sports ''Prime Time Sports'' was a sports radio talk show produced from the studios of CJCL, ''Sportsnet 590 The Fan'', in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The show was hosted by Bob McCown until June 21, 2019, when McCown left the show. After his departure ...

'' (also

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

on television via

Sportsnet 360 Sportsnet 360 (SN360) is a Canadian discretionary specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. The channel primarily broadcasts automated blocks of sports news and highlights, along with live sports coverage as an overflow channel for Spo ...

), with co-hosts Stephen Brunt or

Richard Deitsch Richard Deitsch is an American sportswriter. He wrote for ''Sports Illustrated'' from 1997 until 2018. Currently, he writes for the online publication ''The Athletic'' and is a radio host in Toronto. Deitsch graduated with a B.A. in communication ...

. In October 2019, with the end of ''Prime Time Sports'', Blair, Brunt and Deitsch moved to a mid-afternoon time slot with the debut of ''Writers Bloc''. Blair was previously a sports columnist for

and a baseball beat reporter for

The Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

. In 2012, he also wrote a book, ''Full Count: Four Decades of Blue Jays Baseball''. He began his career as a 19-year-old in 1979. In 2010, Blair was named to the roll of honour of the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. In 2018, Blair was awarded the Jack Graney Award by the

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum () is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates the great players, teams, and events from Canadian baseball history. History The museum was founded in November 1982 in ...

as "a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada through their life’s work." Since 2021, Blair has co-hosted the podcast ''Blair and Barker'' alongside former MLB player

Kevin Barker Kevin Stewart Barker (born in July 26, 1975) is an American baseball analyst and former professional baseball player. In his career, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Toront ...

, which airs during the baseball season and is also broadcast on Sportsnet.

Personal life

Blair was born in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, but raised in

Morden, Manitoba Morden is a city located in the Pembina Valley region of southern Manitoba, Canada near the United States border. It is about west of the neighbouring city of Winkler, Manitoba, Winkler and they are often referred to as Manitoba's Twin Cities. Mo ...

. He went to school at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

. As of 2012, Blair resides in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

with his wife Shelley and daughter Emma Rose.

References

External links

Jeff Blair's Sportsnet Column pagePrime Time Sports page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Jeff Baseball writers Canadian male bloggers Canadian columnists Canadian sports talk radio hosts Canadian television sportscasters Living people The Globe and Mail columnists University of Manitoba alumni Writers from Kingston, Ontario People from Morden, Manitoba Writers from Manitoba 1960 births