Darren Dutchyshen dead at 57: Sports broadcasting legend has passed away

Sports anchor Darren Dutchyshen has died at the age of 57 after a long battle with prostate cancer. His family said in a statement that “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.”

Darren Dutchyshen had been a host of the SportsCentre show on TSN (known as The Sports Network, a Canadian sports channel) since 1995. Stewart Johnston, Senior Vice President, Sales & Sports of Bell Media paid tribute to Darren and said: “Darren Dutchyshen was a legend of Canadian sports broadcasting, a great teammate, and an essential part of TSN for the last three decades.”

“A larger-than-life personality, Darren’s incredible sense of humour 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.”

Darren Dutchyshen was born in Regina  which is the capital of Saskatchewan in Canada and was brought up in Porcupine Plain in that province. His roles included a stint with IMTV in Dauphin, Manitoba and he was also the host of ITV’s Sports Night in Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, for seven years. 

 Dutchyshen began his TSN career in 1995, hosting weekend editions of SportsDesk and CFL Live. According to TSN, “Dutchyshen became a beloved mainstay on TSN’s flagship news program over the next three decades, hosting the late night editions of SportsCentre alongside co-anchor Rod Smith and later with Jennifer Hedger.”

As well as co-hosting the boxing show In This Corner, Darren Dutchyshen also hosted Olympic Prime Time on TSN during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and the London Olympics in 2012.