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FSN Ohio to televise Barons game

January 4, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release


CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Barons today announced that the game against the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday, January 12th at Nationwide Arena in Columbus at 7:00pm will be televised on FSN Ohio. Michael T. Lehr, President of the Barons, and Steve Liverani, Senior Vice President and General Manager, FSN Ohio, made the announcement.

Moved to Nationwide Arena on January 12th, the game between the Barons and Crunch was originally scheduled to be played on Sunday, March 27th in Syracuse. The Crunch are the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who play their home games at Nationwide Arena. The telecast will mark the first Barons game to be televised locally in their four-season history.

Calling the action on the telecast is the Blue Jackets new broadcast duo, Jeff Rimer and Brian Engblom. Rimer, who has spent the past 16 seasons with the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals, will call the play-by-play. Engblom, who possesses over two decades of NHL experience as both a player and broadcaster, will offer color commentary. He spent the past four seasons as a color commentator for ABC Sports telecasts of the NHL.

"We are very excited to air our game in Columbus against Syracuse on FSN Ohio," stated Lehr. "It has been our goal to televise a game since the beginning of the season and the nature of the game makes this a perfect fit. We appreciate FSN Ohio and the Blue Jackets for making this game available to Barons fans."

"FSN Ohio is thrilled to bring AHL action to hockey fans throughout the state," said Liverani. "Blue Jackets fans in Columbus will have the opportunity to watch their prospects in the Crunch's line-up, while Barons fans in Cleveland will see their team on television for the first time."

The Barons will battle the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday, January 8th at 8pm on the National City Rink located in Gund Arena. The first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive a National City Doug Murray Bobblehead. For ticket information, call the Barons Front Office at 216.420.0000 or Crash The Net at www.clevelandbarons.net.

JEFF RIMER (pronounced RIHM-uhr)

Television Play-By-Play

Jeff Rimer joined the Blue Jackets broadcast team as television play-by-play announcer on Fox Sports Net during the summer of 2004, bringing 30-plus years experience to the booth. He has covered the NHL for 28 years, including the past 16 seasons calling play-by-play action on television for the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals. In addition to serving as the voice of the Panthers from 1993-04, he has also co-hosted the internationally- syndicated "Inside the NHL" radio program with John Davidson.

A native of Toronto, Rimer began his broadcasting career with CFAC-Radio in Calgary and served as the play-by-play man for the Calgary Centennials of the Western Hockey League. He then spent four and a half years working for the Canadian Broadcast Company in Edmonton. A highlight of his stint at CBC came in 1976 when he served as the network's gymnastics commentator during the Summer Olympic Games in Montreal. He also worked for eight years as sports director for CFCF-Radio in Montreal and hosted Montreal Canadiens pre- and post-game shows during that time.

Rimer then spent 10 seasons with the Capitals as the play-by-play man on Home Team Sports (HTS) and WDCA-TV from 1983-93. During that time, he also served as the sports director at WBAL-Radio in Baltimore and hosted the pre- and post-game shows for Baltimore Orioles baseball. He was awarded a regional Emmy Award for his play-by-play work and won a United Press International National Broadcasting Award for his work at WBAL. Also during his time in Maryland, he co-hosted a syndicated college basketball show with University of Maryland and former Ohio State men's basketball coach Gary Williams, a network pre-game show with Billy Packer and was a sideline reporter for University of Maryland football.

Rimer, 53, and his wife, Ferrel, reside in Dublin and are the parents of son, Josh, and daughter, Kylie.

BRIAN ENGBLOM

TV Color Analyst

One of the hockey's most respected analysts, Brian Engblom joined the Columbus Blue Jackets broadcast team as television color analyst on FSN Ohio in September 2004. The former National Hockey League All-Star and Stanley Cup champion has been involved with the NHL for over two decades as both a player and broadcaster.

During the past four years, he served as an analyst for ABC Sports on its national broadcasts of the NHL. He also provided color analysis for ESPN and ESPN2, NHL telecasts from 1993-04 and was the ice-level reporter for ESPN's "National Hockey Night" telecasts from 1995-04. Prior to joining ESPN and ABC, he worked as a color analyst for the Los Angeles Kings on XTRA-Radio from 1991-95.

A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Engblom played two seasons at the University of Wisconsin and was a First Team All-America selection during the 1974-75 season before he was Montreal's third pick, 22nd overall, in the 1975 Entry Draft. After turning pro, he helped the Nova Scotia Voyageurs capture two consecutive Calder Cup championships in the American Hockey League and earned AHL First Team All-star honors as well as the Eddie Shore Plaque as the league's outstanding defenseman in 1976-77.

He joined the Canadiens during the 1977 Stanley Cup Playoffs and went on to spend five-plus seasons with the club. During that time, he helped Montreal capture three consecutive Stanley Cup championships (1977-79) and earned NHL Second Team All-Star honors in 1981-82.

Engblom joined the Washington Capitals in 1982 and also played for the Kings (1983-86), Buffalo Sabres (1986) and Calgary Flames (1986-87) during his 11-year NHL career. He also represented Canada at the 1981 Canada Cup Tournament and was a member of Team Canada at the 1983 World Championships. He suffered a neck injury in a game vs. the Quebec Nordiques on Dec. 12, 1986 and was forced to hang up his skates having registered 29 goals and 177 assists for 206 points with 599 penalty minutes in 659 career NHL games.

Brian's family includes wife, Rebekah, and five stepchildren.

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