Scott Billeck

Reporter

Several wise folks — ok, ok, journalism types — once told Scott he better make sure he can report on news before he learns to write about sports.

In what can only be described as a minor miracle, he listened.

Whether it’s covering the Winnipeg Jets, the global COVID pandemic, a crocheting club in the Interlake or anything else, Scott’s probably got a byline somewhere about it.

Scott’s career began as an intern at the Free Press in 2014 while enrolled in Red River College’s Creative Communications program. Twice he was winner of the Vince Leah sports internship, where he found a chance to flex a muscle he’d only dreamed of.

“They’re gonna pay me to watch sports?”

Indeed.

Since then, Scott has written for many Canadian and U.S. newspapers as a freelancer, scribbled for the NHL for several seasons and moonlighted with NBC Sports before landing a full-time gig at the Winnipeg Sun in 2017.

There, Scott spent two years in news before taking a job as the Jets beat writer from the 2019-20 season, finding his way over the next several years to 25 of the league’s 32 barns. It’s true what they say about the NHL being also known as the Never Hungry League.

COVID curtailed that privileged sports life for 18 months and Scott returned to news to cover the pandemic when sports rode pine.

In 2024, Scott returned to where it all began, as a general assignment reporter for the Free Press.

In his spare time, you’ll find Scott gaming on PC or whatever console is the latest, trying to convince himself he’ll one day work through his backlog of games.

He’s also often watching obscure motorsport categories along with more mainstream ones like Formula 1, of which he’s an avid fan. Combat sports such as the UFC are also commonplace. He’s even old enough to have watched Pride FC in its heyday.

And music. Da Rude’s Sandstorm, anyone?