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Former Storm Personnel Among Newly Named Arena Football Hall of Fame Advisory Board

May 31, 2013 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


CHICAGO - The Arena Football League announced eight members of the 2013 Hall of Fame Advisory Board today.

The Advisory Board will select ten candidates for the Arena Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013, based on AFL excellence in the categories of players, coaches, and contributors.

The Advisory Board includes: ED BARKOWITZ, a veteran Philadelphia Daily News reporter; TROY CLARDY, a longtime play-by-play announcer and AFL broadcaster for the San Jose SaberCats and Pittsburgh Power; play-by-play voice of the Chicago Rush, LES GROBSTEIN; WILLIAM NIRO, a founding father of the Arena Football League; RICHARD OBERT, Arizona Republic reporter; RICHARD OLIVER, a senior writer for the San Antonio Express-News; JIM ROBINSON, a longtime media liaison for the Tampa Bay Storm; and ARI WOLFE, who currently serves as a play-by-play announcer and sideline analyst for "NET10 Wireless Arena Football Saturday" on CBS Sports Network.

Barkowitz has been covering the Soul and the AFL for the Philadelphia Daily News since the team's launch in 2004. He has also worked as a general assignment sports writer for the Daily News since 1993, covering the World Series, Stanley Cup and NBA Finals.

Clardy has 13 years of experience covering the AFL, most recently as a television and radio play-by-play announcer for the Pittsburgh Power. Clardy also worked San Jose SaberCats radio broadcasts for ten seasons and hosted ESPN.com's "Inside the AFL" for three seasons.

Grobstein, a Chicago sports radio veteran of more than three decades, has spent years as the play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Rush. He has covered the Arena Football League since its inception in 1987.

Niro, a Chicago attorney, is an original founder of the AFL and partner at Gridiron Enterprises, a sports consulting company based in Chicago, IL.

Obert has worked at the Arizona Republic since 1982 and has covered the Arizona Rattlers since their inception in 1992. He was on-hand for two Rattlers' ArenaBowl victories. He also covered the University of Arizona men's basketball program from 1992-1995 and again during the 2000-2001 season, as well as the Arizona State University men's basketball program during the 1999-2000 season.

Oliver has been a senior writer at the San Antonio-Express News since 2003 and has covered the San Antonio Talons since their arrival in Texas in 2012. Oliver has also spent the last six years as a pregame and postgame analyst for the San Antonio Spurs on Fox Sports Net.

Robinson handled media relations for the Tampa Bay Storm from 2006-2012. He also served on the Communications Team for ArenaBowl XXII.

Wolfe worked as the TV and Radio play-by-play announcer for the Albany/Indiana Firebirds from 1998-2003 and the Philadelphia Soul from 2004-2008. He now serves as a play-by-play announcer and sideline analyst for AFL on CBS Sports Network and has worked in some capacity at every ArenaBowl since 2002. During the 2008 season, he had his own column on ArenaFootball.com entitled, "Wolfe's Den".

The Advisory Board will select ten candidates for Hall of Fame nomination on Wednesday, June 19 and the nominees will be announced Saturday, June 22 on CBS Sports Network. Fans and current Hall of Fame members will then vote on the selected candidates beginning on Monday, June 24. Votes will then be turned in to the Hall of Fame Operating Board of Directors.

In order to be nominated for the 2013 Hall of Fame Class, candidates must meet four criteria. If a player was active before 1989, he must have played for at least two seasons. For players after 1989, a minimum of three seasons of service are required. All players must be retired for three complete seasons. Coaches must have been active for a minimum of five seasons and need not be retired. There is no minimum number of seasons required for contributors, but significant advancement of the AFL is a prerequisite.

The 2013 Hall of Fame Class will be announced during the 2013 Conference Championship weekend and inductions will be held during the 2014 Arena Football League season.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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