He spent a decade here as one of the premier voices in Baltimore sports, and the now longtime hockey play-by-play voice of the Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets has written a memoir to share his amazing stories of Orioles baseball, hosting radio on WBAL and our local pursuit of an NFL team before the Ravens came to town. We competed extremely hard with Jeff Rimer 35 years ago, and it was a pleasure to welcome him on the show and hear his stories with The Greatest, and Pete Rose, too!
The conversation centered on Jeff‘s new memoir and the career stories behind it.
Book Highlights
- Jeff said It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This took about a year to complete and is available through Amazon and JeffRimmer.com.
- The book covers his media career in Montreal, Baltimore, Florida, and Columbus, including stories about Pete Rose, Muhammad Ali, and NHL broadcasting.
- Jeff noted endorsements or reviews from Bob Costas, Brent Musburger, and Ken Rosenthal.
Hockey Focus
- Jeff described hockey as his lifelong passion and highlighted the sport’s speed, skill, and live in-arena energy as its biggest draws.
- Jeff and Nestor reflected on influential hockey figures tied to their careers, including Brian Murray, Gene Ubriaco, and Barry Trotz.
- Can the Maple Leafs become a true Stanley Cup contender soon? Jeff said he expects improvement and a playoff berth, but not contender status yet.
- Contact Trotz McLean to invite him onto the Baltimore Positive show as part of an “honorary Canadian week” segment. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Arrange a return appearance for Jeff Rimer on the Baltimore Positive show during hockey season to discuss hockey history and related topics. (@Nestor Aparicio)
New Book
- Jeff introduced his memoir, It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This, and explained that it compiles stories from across his broadcasting career.
- He highlighted major subjects in the book, especially Pete Rose, his years in Baltimore, and notable encounters with figures such as Muhammad Ali.
Career Journey
- Jeff reviewed his path from Toronto to Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Baltimore, Florida, and Columbus.
- He discussed his work across sports talk, television, baseball, boxing, and NHL play-by-play, including roles with the Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Hockey Reflections
- Jeff and Nestor discussed their shared love of hockey and the sport’s culture, people, and intensity.
- Jeff argued that hockey remains one of the best live sports experiences because of its pace, athleticism, and atmosphere.
- The conversation closed with thoughts on the Maple Leafs and Jeff‘s view that the team is improved but not yet a championship favorite.
Nestor Aparicio 0:01
Welcome home. We are WNST. AM 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We call this thing Baltimore Positive. This is going to be a fun, fun segment. It’s a start of football season, end of baseball season as we tape this, but it’s beginning of the book season. You know, I love having authors on, and when this guy reached to me, this is going to be a lot of fun. We’re doing the Maryland Crab Cake Tour all over the air. I’m wearing my Costas gear here. We’re back at Costas in Dundalk in September, back in Timonium in October. All of it brought to you by friends at the Maryland Lottery. I’ll have Raven scratch offs to give away, as well as at Koco’s here this week. We’re going to get to Pizza Johns in Essex, all of that. All of it brought to you by GBMC and Farnan and Dermer. They are the comfort guys, and you know I made this guy uncomfortable. But ever since then, I think as I’ve gotten older, and certainly he’s gotten older, and I’ve gotten to know his son really well over the course of time. You are too kind to me, Jeff Rimmer. I was quite the whippersnapper back in December 13 of 1991. I’m coming up on my 35th anniversary of doing this. Probably very unlikely in your eyes that I’ve actually made it this far. But you were the king of the castle when this started, 1992. Doing Sports Line afternoon WBAL. No thought we were ever going to get a football team here. And all these years later, man, if anybody ever asks me what happened to you, it just tells me they don’t know anything about hockey, or they haven’t followed hockey. I mean, you’ve had an unbelievable NHL ride from the time you left here, and I remember seeing you down in Miami with Dennis Potvin, amongst others, and Brian Murray. It is really a pleasure to have you on. You’re in Ohio, correct?
Jeff Rimer 1:35
No, I’m not. I’m actually in Florida. When I was in Florida for what was better than 11 years, as the original voice of the Florida Panthers, we moved lock, stock, and barrel all the way down from Baltimore, and then eventually we moved to Crofton. Because in addition to doing the Capitals and, of course, the Orioles and WBAL talk, I was working for George Michael in the Sports Machine, doing weekend sports on NBC Washington, so yeah, we moved on from the area, the Baltimore-Washington corridor. I got to tell you, I miss it. In fact, how much do I miss it? My daughter and my grandson have moved back to Maryland. They’re back in the Odenton area. I’ll be up there actually next month. Well, she
Nestor Aparicio 2:21
grew up there, right? Kind of, sort of, right?
Jeff Rimer 2:23
Yeah, yeah, she did. She grew up in Baltimore and Cocksville, and then on to Crofton, Maryland, and she’s moved back to that area. My grandson’s 10 years old; he’s a hell of an athlete, and they moved on from Florida. But yeah, Florida is where I am permanently. Although I do make a number of visits back to Columbus, and let me tell you, Columbus, Baltimore, very similar Midwestern values. Great people. I miss Baltimore, and looking forward to coming back and spending a lot of time there. Now that my daughter’s moved back there, it was last August. So yeah, I want to see my grandson quite a bit. So we’ll be back in the area for sure.
8Nestor Aparicio 2:58
How many years in Columbus for you?
Jeff Rimer 3:01
20 years,
Nestor Aparicio 3:02
just 20. I thought was more than that. I mean, but you, I mean, you did have three really nice runs in addition to the original when you were on the air here talking about Pete Rose and Montreal and the Canadian thing that you. I always thought you’d go back to Canada somehow. You didn’t have to. Hockey kind of came here, and other than me and Phil Jackman, there were there wasn’t a whole lot going on with hockey around here. People who loved hockey the way me and you and Phil did. Maybe Ed Frankovic. I’ll throw him into because he’s still around here. Yeah, he’s one. He’s one of my mafia around here. But the hockey part of where you found me and I found you, and you know, I mean, I found you on the radio like anyone else, and Jackman loved sports radio and participated and listened. We listened to you on the way down, Phil Wood on the way back after Caps games, all during the late ’80s. And then I was very unlikely to do radio. Radio was not what I was going to do. I was going to be a newspaper guy. But to me, like you, I never knew you wanted to call hockey. I knew you loved hockey, but like sports talk was my thing at that point. I thought you would be into sports talk, but you certainly went into a lane of play-by-play hockey. I mean, honestly, Jeff, your passion, your real passion for hockey and for sports. I mean, you’ve lived a hell of a life since you left here and left Sportsline. I guess 94 you left maybe 95 somewhere in there.
Jeff Rimer 4:22
9394, Okay, there, tail end of 94. But yeah, hey, it wasn’t all that easy to leave. Let me tell you, because we pretty well established ourselves in in Maryland and loved it. I remember your
Nestor Aparicio 4:39
little boy, and I’ve grown up to know him as a man. I mean, I remember you bringing him to work. He was a little guy, you know.
Jeff Rimer 4:45
And you mentioned Jackman. Let me tell you, I certainly miss that guy. He was just a huge hockey fan, but he was a great guy to talk to about sports talk radio. And of course, I think back to your early days, nasty. Nestor, I guess you’re still nasty, Nestor. But you apparently, I’ve
Nestor Aparicio 5:03
reinvented myself, Jeff. Apparently, 35 years. Don’t tell anybody.
8Jeff Rimer 5:07
No, no. You, you. We’ll just say you’ve matured. How’s that?
Nestor Aparicio 5:10
Thank you for that. And I, I would apologize to you 1000 times over for being such a jerk 35 years ago. But you are a saint for putting up with me, all of you,
Jeff Rimer 5:20
it’s it’s showbiz, man. It’s it’s all a part of life, and enjoyed every bit of it. Well, you were
Nestor Aparicio 5:26
always nice to me, no matter what. I remember talking in a buffet at the. Well, you know they don’t let me in in the media anymore. I’m not a real media member anymore after 35 years of doing this work. So you’re going
Jeff Rimer 5:34
to talk show, and they don’t let you in.
Nestor Aparicio 5:35
Nah, they they they don’t they don’t want questions from real. Well, I’m a real journalist. I mean, I grew up with Jackman and and Stedman and like all of that. Your travels in doing all of this for hockey and your passion for hockey. I just came back from Rush concert, by the way. So you know, I I’m an honorary Canadian. If anything, I’m on your side of the the Trump fight, if that matters. But um, but I
Jeff Rimer 5:58
noticed.
8Nestor Aparicio 5:59
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, I’ve always loved your country, man, and I would say that that’s something that even back when you were on the radio and I’m trying to make my way and we were competing in the same thing and I had a 0.0 and you had a 9.5. Where like during that point, we loved hockey together, and I think there were so very few of us that understood the game. And it was my dad didn’t understand it, but he took me because he loved me. He didn’t want to go see the Nova Scotia Voyagers play the Baltimore Clippers in 1975. But I fell in love with it. But it was really a way of life for you and how much the game has changed and how much Trotsy won in the cup here a couple of years ago. I watch it and it’s still the one sport for me. And I’ve said this out loud forever that if you came down from Mars and you wanted to pick a sport that’s really exciting to go and attend and be a part of, to me, hockey is the easiest to understand, the fastest moving, the players, the passion, all of that. It’s been a joy to be a hockey fan all of my life, man.
Jeff Rimer 6:55
Well, people get intimidated by the rules. Oh, what’s an offside, and and you know what’s a high sticking penalty? I mean, come on, it’s a simple game, and for me, and believe me, I was totally captured in the World Cup soccer World Cup, and of course, go back. How about Kenny Cooper? Let’s talk about Kenny Cooper and the Baltimore Blast, biggest sports promoter for me since Bill Hunter, and that goes back to the Euler days out in Edmonton with junior hockey. And I’ll tell you what: if not for Bill Hunter, who very much is a clone, older clone of of Kenny Cooper, there not would not have been NHL hockey in Edmonton even today. He’s the one that insisted that the WHA include Edmonton. He was one of the original founders, and of course, the Oilers of the WHA became the Oilers of the National Hockey League and a multi-Stanley Cup champion. But back to Kenny Cooper and the Baltimore blast. Those were a blast of a days. Another great name, Gene Ubriaco, who I talked to on occasion. He’s back in Chicago, still working, working for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. So yeah, some great memories of Baltimore for sure. But I got to tell you, yeah, hockey is my passion. And Ken Rosenthal, by the way, is one of the reviewers of my book. Just talk about the
Nestor Aparicio 8:18
book. Hold the book up and tell me about it because, like, this is I. I want people to buy. If you love Jeff and you want some stories and you remember Jeff from the WBAL era, hold your book up because this is this is really cool that you’ve taken the time to do this.
Jeff Rimer 8:30
Well, it’s taken almost a year. It’s now in print. It’s available. Go to JeffRummer.com and you get all the information you need. You see a lot of the reviewers, including Bob Costas and Brent Musburger, who, by the way, I was associated with in my days in Baltimore. Musburger, I actually stringed with even in in Montreal when he was doing his CBS radio afternoon sportscast, and I was the one that broke the story that Rose was being released by the Expos after our infamous battle a few weeks earlier that he was going to be released. He’s the one that called me to tell me that he’s being released, and of course went back to Cincinnati as playing manager, and that’s where all the problems started, as you well know, with the whole gambling thing. But Rose is a story throughout the book, and we just carry the the Rose story. There’s a lot of reasons for it. I give my impressions and my thoughts at the end of the book on why he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but I do not want to get away from Ken Rosenthal for a moment, the former Baltimore baseball writer. And boy, were we ever blessed with baseball writers in Baltimore? When you think of Tim Kirchman, Ken Rosenthal, Tom Boswell, who’s the guy that I’m missing right? Buster
Nestor Aparicio 9:45
Olney, throw him in.
Jeff Rimer 9:46
Buster Olney, I mean, we can Richard
Nestor Aparicio 9:48
Justice, Peter Schmuck. We can go. We get down the list for sure.
8Jeff Rimer 9:51
Baseball writers, and they’re no better city and team to cover than the Orioles. So, but Rosenthal, if you remember when I was off doing. Capitals hockey, he’d fill in for me and do my afternoon and and evening sports line show and some pre and post game Orioles talk. But Rosenthal was one that wrote one of the reviews and he said, “I never knew where your passions were, and I learned a lot by reading the book and look forward to seeing just how successful, because I believe it will be a successful book. Bob Costas as well gave his thoughts and impressions. So, hey, it’s been a labor of love. I never worked a day in my life, and there’s some terrific stories there, including the whole Pete Rose battle in the clubhouse in Montreal, and the subsequent move to Baltimore, and my great years there. The people that I miss, people like Frank Robinson, Earl Weaver, I can go Cal Ripken, the Ripken family. There’s just so much to talk about, and it’s all part of the book.
Nestor Aparicio 10:49
Jeff Rimmer is here. He is, if you are a young old timer, as John Steadman would say. I went on the radio, and it’ll be December 13, 1991, to be 35 years, and you were on the radio and had been on the radio. So when did you join BA? Maybe 8384, 85, somewhere in there.
Jeff Rimer 11:05
Yeah, yeah. I was actually talking to Jeff Beauchamp, the then now late program director at WBAL in 1984. It was after the 83 World Series that I approached Pete Rose when he was released by the Phillies, if he joined me on my hot stove, because I was going to convince the Orioles to bring them. Excuse me, not the Orioles, but the Expos to bring them to Montreal. And it was january 19. That picture, incidentally, is on the cover of the book. It doesn’t get any better than this. The day that he signed, after Charles Bronfman, the owner of the Expos, said in November, he coincidentally owned the TV radio station I was working for in Montreal, and that being CFCF, and he owned the station. But he came out in I guess it was November because I had Rose on four consecutive Thursdays in October, and Rose said, “Judge me by what I can do on the field, not by my birth certificate, but he felt he could be an asset to the likes of Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Steve Rogers, Jeff Reardon out of the bullpen. I can go on and on. Tim Wallach, and
Nestor Aparicio 12:12
Ellis Valentine. Just keep going.
Jeff Rimer 12:14
Ellis Valentine, Warren Cromarty. I mean, Rodney
Nestor Aparicio 12:18
Scott. Keep going.
Jeff Rimer 12:19
Yeah, no, Rodney Scott. That’s what got me into trouble with Rose. It was Rodney Scott who I thought should be the leadoff hitter day in day out. Yet Rose, his best buddy and former Cincinnati Red Big Machine guy, Doug Flynn, the second baseman. Remember, he was sat down. It was a play me or trade me in the newspaper one day. Comes in as a defensive replacement in the late innings, makes two errors, and the Expos lose a key game to the Pirates five to four. After the game, Rose goes after me and tells the media that I’m the most disgusting, negative guy that he’s ever been associated with. And can you imagine? He played in Philadelphia. You know what they’re like in Philadelphia. They’ll be their mom. You know what they’re like in Cincinnati. I mean, give me a break, Pete. But we kind of went at it there. You’re make up with Pete? What’s that?
8Nestor Aparicio 13:07
Did you make up with Pete?
Jeff Rimer 13:09
Oh yeah. Not only do we make up, we became pretty good friends. I went on his talk show here in Florida when I was doing. I know he
Nestor Aparicio 13:15
used to do the show in Boca, right there on the Strip, man.
Jeff Rimer 13:18
Yeah, right there at the Pete Rose Ballpark Cafe.
Nestor Aparicio 13:21
Absolutely, I had wings there one night. Jeff Rimmer is here. If you’re a young old timer, you remember Jeff. Hold the book up again. Let’s talk about the book here. You can go to jeffrimmer.com again. It doesn’t get any better than this. All right, Jeff. So here’s the part where let me, if someone were to say to me, someone were to call me and say, “What do you know about Jeff Rimmer? I’d say, “Well, competed with him in 9192, Left here. He was on home team sports. I forgot the George Michael part. I didn’t get Channel Four, right? So I wasn’t watching you on Saturday and Sunday. But I totally remember HDS, BAL, all of that. Rosenthal, this era. I was on the radio every day. The CFL was here at the time, and we just lost OJ last week. And I’ll give you some oxygen on that and all that. But
Jeff Rimer 14:03
those games, by the way, do you remember that?
Nestor Aparicio 14:06
What say that?
8Jeff Rimer 14:07
I was doing the play by play of the Baltimore Colts of the CFL games. Those two years, you didn’t remember that.
Nestor Aparicio 14:15
I don’t remember. See, I remember Bruce Cunningham was a part of him, or Tom Mattie. I remember Spiros. I remember Mike Gathagan and I talked recently. Bonnie Downing, like the the thing with OJ just transcends. Don’t make me cry, Jeff. I want to stick to the book. So for you, I mean, we’ll talk about OJ because I love him. But you went to Miami, and I remember. So did Brian Murray, and you know my relationship with Brian, and certainly Terry Murray and Trotz has been a lifetime, and we’ll both sit here cry about Brian Murray if I talk about him. But I went down to Florida, and you were so magnanimous. This is 96, 789, turn of the century. You’re up in the booth. I’m a media member. I’m down there covering the Orioles in spring training. Whether it was Davy Johnson, they they trained in Fort. Lauderdale, and at that time the Panthers were playing in downtown Miami. The Rats, my dear friend, your dear friend Doug Mcclain, was involved with the team at that time, and you wound up in Columbus with Doug. I’m assuming, and you can tell that story. And then we’re there 20 years, and Columbus Blue Jackets Hall of Fame announcer, like all that stuff. I don’t know where you’re from. I know you’re Canadian. Did you grow up in Montreal, or I just don’t know?
Jeff Rimer 15:31
I worked in Montreal for seven years. My two kids were born in Montreal before we moved on to Baltimore. But I was born in Toronto, and it’s all about Jeff Rimmer and a very short hockey career that turned my focus and attention to being a hockey broadcaster. But growing up in Toronto as a big Leafs fan, I moved in 1967 after my mom remarried. We moved big year for Leafs fans, by the way. I just point that out. But go ahead. Well, I was just going to tell you that I was on the steps at Nathan Phillips Square, which is the City Hall, the original City Hall in Toronto, and that was to celebrate the ’67 Stanley Cup. In fact,
Nestor Aparicio 16:15
so that was in probably May or even April then, right? Probably early, right?
Jeff Rimer 16:18
Yeah, just before I moved, and in fact, several years later, when Brendan Shanahan was the president of the Toronto Maple Leafs, we happened to be playing in Toronto, and Jody Shelley, my longtime broadcast partner, who’s really made himself a great career after playing, Jody says to Shanahan, “You know, Jeff’s from here, from here in Toronto, and I said, “Yeah. And by the way, they haven’t won the Stanley Cup since I left in 1967, and he says, “Well, well, come on back. I said, “Well, offer me a job, and we can talk about it. But we were. What do you
Nestor Aparicio 16:48
remember about ’67? Did did you attend Leafs games at Maple Leaf Garden at that period of time? And how old were you at that point?
Jeff Rimer 16:55
I was a young kid. I used to have to get, and it was the junior hockey that I went to Sunday junior hockey double headers, and I was 12, 13 years of age, and I would go to those double headers. But I couldn’t buy a seat along the glass. But if I had an adult buy it for me, then by all means I could sit up against the glass, and that’s what I did on a regular basis. But my dad was a barber. There’s a topic, a pretty serious topic in the book about him as well. So we didn’t have a lot of money. I had my friends take me to a couple of Leaf games, but I was a big Frank Mahovelich fan, and there are a number of pictures in the book as well. And one of them, well, we’ll just there’s a couple of them of Frank in in the book and got to know him and Pete Mahoblich years later. But yeah, originally from Toronto, moved on to Calgary. That’s where I met the former heavyweight champion of the world, Muhammad Ali, and he’s on the cover here too. Because guess what? I got an exclusive television interview that I go into great detail on in the book on, and I showed a lot of nasty nestor’s big kahunas because I didn’t have a studio. But Ali was stripped of the world heavyweight title. He came out to Calgary to fight in some three-round exhibitions against nobodies, quite frankly. And they had this major news conference, and the fact that he had just been eliminated as the heavyweight champion, they stripped him of the title. He came out and it was a national story both in Canada and the U.S. So all the major networks were there, and I walked up to Angelo Dundee, who I get to know a lot well, very well years later because I was in Florida and his gym just happened to be down the street from the old Miami Arena. It’s it’s amazing how these stories connect. But anyway, I talked Ali into not doing a one-on-one on the grounds of the Stampede, but to come to my little rinky-dink studio for community television, cable TV had just come to Calgary, and I got Ali to do a half-hour television show with me.
8Nestor Aparicio 19:02
What year was this?
Jeff Rimer 19:05
Oh boy, this would be. I have to look it up. Everything just runs together. But it-it was. Oh my! It had to be the early 7071, 72. It’s the biggest
Nestor Aparicio 19:15
star in the world.
Jeff Rimer 19:16
Yeah, yeah.
Nestor Aparicio 19:17
Like literally the biggest star in the world at the time. It
Jeff Rimer 19:19
is. Yeah.
Nestor Aparicio 19:20
This book still be great. Hold the book up again, and let’s talk about the book because you put all this in. I, I see, it’s like Rosenthal. I, I’ll give you a one line or two. I didn’t know this stuff about Jeff Rimmer. It doesn’t get any better than this. You’ve lived a hell of a. You’ve lived 10 lives, Rimmer. I didn’t know you were in Calgary either.
8Jeff Rimer 19:36
Well, Calgary. I finished high school. I went to college there. Were you
Nestor Aparicio 19:40
there when they stole the the flames?
Jeff Rimer 19:43
No, I was gone by then.
Nestor Aparicio 19:45
Okay, so they did not have an NHL team when you were. We had
Jeff Rimer 19:48
a junior team and junior hockey in Western Canada was supreme. This is really a. But Edmonton
Nestor Aparicio 19:54
had a team at the time, right?
Jeff Rimer 19:56
No, I was actually working in Calgary. As a broadcaster in my early days, and that’s when the Alberta Oilers. Originally, they were called the Alberta Oilers. If you remember that,
8Nestor Aparicio 20:08
I’m learning all sorts of stuff with you, Jeff. I’m I’m telling you.
Jeff Rimer 20:11
And I was working in Calgary. Calgary was supposed to get a WHA team at that time, but the prospective owner, the man that was going to own the team, passed away, so the money guy wasn’t there, and it was Winnipeg, and Edmonton, Hartford. There were the Miami Screaming Eagles for all of about five minutes. If you remember, that’s where Bernie Perant was going to go play. He signed a big contract, but the Screaming Eagles never made it to Miami. They were going to play in the eventual home of the Florida Panthers. Lasted about
Nestor Aparicio 20:47
as long as the Baltimore Blades did back in 7576, I went to one of those games, by the way.
Jeff Rimer 20:52
You did.
Nestor Aparicio 20:53
It wasn’t the Gordie Howe game, no, but but you know,
Jeff Rimer 20:57
or arrows. Excuse me. You
Nestor Aparicio 20:58
know, it’s amazing hearing you talk about your dad cutting hair, and I want to read that story and your heritage and where you’re from. But it’s amazing, and this struck me, Jeff. I was in Philadelphia, and I had a press pass. This was a month ago. I was at the All Star Game, and I’m walking on Ashburn Alley. There, it’s 150 degrees, and no one cares about. They don’t care that we’re there. The players don’t get like it’s just a different world, but I looked around at a bunch of old farts like you and me at this point, who were sweating our nuts off, and all these young people and like Asian reporters, obviously chasing you know Japanese players around and whatnot. Just this throng of media, and I’m looking around, and I looked over and I saw Krasnick and a couple of other older fellas I didn’t really know, but I knew they were New York, Philly, Jersey kind of people. And I looked at these tired guys sitting in the shade. They’re media guys, and what a tussle is, and all that. And I think to myself, the old people, people like you and me, and even the young people, your son being one of them, who I I love and I adore in Toronto, and sometimes in Miami, we love sports so much, right? Like we grew up. I mean, you just mentioned one of the greatest thrills of your life was sitting on the steps in Toronto in the ’67, and you’ve been waiting. You broadcasted games. You wanted that for your own franchise. You wanted that in Miami. Like you just, you know, Kenny wants that again for the Rangers. You know, like I, I, I cried the night trots one in Las Vegas. You know, like the the whole. It is amazing how much we love sports, and anyone that’s done this for work, for work, any of us, how much we love it, and how passionate we’ve been to dedicate our lives to it. And sometimes I feel like we take it more seriously than the people who run it in a lot of cases, because they don’t love it the way we love it. They just went to Yale or Harvard and got the right job.
8Jeff Rimer 22:48
Well, for us, it’s a passion, and it. For me, I never worked a day in my life, and I probably would have paid for some of the things that I’ve been able to be part of over the, he sat
Nestor Aparicio 23:02
with Ali for a half an hour. People pay millions for that, Jeff.
Jeff Rimer 23:06
Well, that’s true. And by the way, he did predict. He did predict in five years I’d be the greatest, the most outstanding, the most controversial sportscaster in the world,
Nestor Aparicio 23:16
and the prettiest.
Jeff Rimer 23:17
Hang on. And I said thank you. He said, “In your dreams, and literally got up and walked out of the studio, never to be seen again. I could be seen again in Vancouver because it was the advent of cable television in Canada. And if you remember, before we’ve seen the evolution of television, and we’ve seen the evolution of boxing matches that you pay for, but if you remember those early days, closed circuit TV came to cable television, and well, you still have it with the UFC and and these other projects along the way. But yeah, I I got another chance out in Vancouver when he fought George Chavallo, the heavyweight champion of Canada. That was quite a spectacle. And then, previous to that, meeting Sugar Ray Leonard in Montreal when he fought at the Olympic Stadium. So yeah, boxing was a big part of the interest that I had as a sportscaster along the way as well.
Nestor Aparicio 24:14
Jeff Rimmer is here. He has a new book. You go to jeffrimmer.com if you remember Jeff from the old days, the new days, the Miami days, the Columbus days. I was with Dennis Potvin, man. You know, you know, you you and I and he were in a booth in Miami 30 years ago. I’ll never forget that. I’m on the Ranger side of that debate. But your years in Columbus and Dougie Mcclain, and let’s talk about these humans, okay? Because you already dropped Uberacco on me. I already dropped trots. Ubi, when he comes in Thanksgiving every year to see his son, he calls me and we go over to Beaumont and have breakfast with my wife and his wife. I mean, these are. I shared a Terry Truax, John Wooden pyramid, and coming from. Dean Smith Tree. When I think of Ubi, Ubi, I was 15 years old. Jeff covering the the Skip Jacks in 1984 at Sports First, and Ubi pinched my cheeks because he’s Italian and from the Sioux. You know he’s from the Sioux, and and Ubi would say to me to this day, I’d say, why did why did you like me? Why do you love me? He said, you loved our game. You wanted to learn hockey, and I wanted to teach you hockey. I’m a teacher, and I think about that with him, with Terry Murray, who had incredible patience with me. Brian Murray, and Robbie Fatoric didn’t, and Robbie Laird did. Other coaches would come in. Momenta did, and some of them wanted to sell tickets, and some of them didn’t. And you always, always a tough sell here in Baltimore, selling hockey to people other than me, you, and Jackman, maybe Ed Frankific and Howard share. But in a general sense, the people I met in hockey just maybe there’s a Canadian thing, and maybe it’s your magnanimous nature and even being kind to me all these years later, or how much I love Getty Lee, and I watch the class with which your country conducts itself. And I know you consider yourself American. Haven’t been here a long time too, but like there’s something about hockey, people, leadership, Terry Murray, Brian Murray, these special people, and Dougie McLean, who was a psychology major, and and all of that-that you and I, through our life, we all the best parts of our life came because we had those kind of people in our life, Jeff.
Jeff Rimer 26:28
Well, that is so true. You mentioned Brian Murray. I talk a lot about him in the book as well because we got to be very, very close. Our families are still close. Unfortunately, Brian left far, far too early. Just a tremendous person, great hockey mind. He came to Washington as a coach. He was very instrumental in some of the moves. The biggest move the franchise made, trading a Mike Gartner, perennial. What was he? 40 goal scorer. One of the fastest players on skates in the history of the game, trading him for Dino Cicerelli, who I’m still quite friendly with now. Dino living up in Detroit. A quick aside that’s not in the book, and you’ll love this: Scotty Bowman took Dino off the power play, and you have the likes of an Eiserman and a Fedorov and a Lindstrom on that power play. And Dino was taken off during the playoffs, do you know that Dino and only Dino would do this in the middle of the intermission after the second period, having been taking off the power play, he gets on the phone in the trainer’s room and he goes, “Rimmer, can you believe this? Bowman just took me off the power play. I said, “Dino, I’m watching the game, and then Dino calling me after that terrible accident after a cup win by the Red Wings that he was already gone from, he had been traded to Tampa, and he was just devastated by Fedorov and Konstantinov, who still today is is fighting several issues after that terrible, tragic accident. If you remember, after their cup victory in the limo. Yeah, tough times, great times, but for me, everything has just been a wonderful experience. And by the way, you don’t have to go to JeffRemer.com. You can get more information, and you can certainly get some of the reviews from those that have reviewed the book. But at the same time, you can go direct to Amazon. The book is available in Canada and the U.S. Actually, worldwide. Somebody sent me. I think it was my son that sent it to me. Yeah, it was. It was Josh that sent it to me. The the link to purchasing the book in Japan. How about that, man? I
8Nestor Aparicio 28:40
I can’t handle you a Japanese Rimmer. I English is good. Maybe some French somewhere in there. Akadi Jeff Rimmer, Canadian, American, former WBAL guy. He’s got a new book out about his life story and his journey, and we’re all learning stuff. All right, so last thing for you because I I’ve kept this in the lane of hockey, which I want to keep it in, and I. Trots knows this because we we’ve gotten together a few times. I kind of quit hockey after they won the cup. You know, sort of the Leones family and the Virginia thing, and they promised to bring the cup to Baltimore. They never brought the cup to Baltimore for fans. In a general sense, like I waited my whole life for them to win the cup on behalf of every anyone here who loved it, I um I told you I love hockey, and I my my favorite part is the good old hockey game is the best game you can name, and the best game you can name is the good old hockey game. Um, what do you love about hockey still to this day, and what would you say to someone about your love of hockey to recruit them to take your next grandchild, your next friend, someone that’s never been to a hockey game, to say here’s what I love about hockey.
Jeff Rimer 29:46
Boy, there’s so much to love. You talked earlier, minutes earlier, about the people in the game. That’s certainly a key for me over the years. The being. In the arena, hockey. Now that we have the advent of just terrific television, which was difficult to follow the puck for those that wanted to learn about the game in the early days, but being in the arena and the crowd so much a big part, and that’s a big thing for me in Columbus. Those fans deserve a winner, and a winner sooner than later because they have had a frustrating 25-year reign where they’ve teased us five consecutive playoff berths, led by John Tortorella. What a magnificent job he did, not only getting Vegas into the playoffs but taking them to the Stanley Cup Final. It’s just the best game, and these athletes are on what an eighth of an inch of steel, and for them to be as outstanding athletes and the speed of the game, just the tremendous skill of the players. You think in terms of the old days, Bobby Orr watching Orr as a kid, and by the way, Bobby and I are pretty close right now because he lives down here in Florida. He approached me in my early years with the Panthers and invited me up to play golf, and just a wonderful human being to talk to. And we we talk every couple of weeks about what’s going on in the sport and other things, what’s going on in life, but now watching the likes of a Connor McDavid, Celebrini, this kid is just scratching the surface. The athletes are tremendous, and whether they’re American or Canadian, look at the influx of American players in the National Hockey League. It’s almost 50-50 Canadian American, but now we’ve exposed this great game worldwide, and there’s more European players as part of the game, and some of the best, Dry Seidel from Germany. What an impact he has had on the Edmonton Oilers! Love to see the Oilers win a Stanley Cup. I spent five great years in Edmonton as a television sportscaster. Ended up doing the Olympics with Nadia Komorich in 1976 in Montreal, by the way, where I later would move the year later, just tremendous. When
Nestor Aparicio 32:09
I go to Edmonton to see Rush, I’m calling you Rimmer. I’m telling you right now, I got to get some tips.
Jeff Rimer 32:13
All right, no problem. You’ll enjoy Edmonton as long as you’re not there January, February, where he gets the December. This
Nestor Aparicio 32:20
is Russia’s playing in December. Am I safe? Going to Banff? No.
Jeff Rimer 32:23
Maybe that is January, February. It can be 40 below, and when it hits 40 below, by the way,
Nestor Aparicio 32:30
I don’t want to be there.
8Jeff Rimer 32:31
40 below Fahrenheit. 40 below Celsius. They meet. The two temperatures meet. How do you like that?
Nestor Aparicio 32:38
I’m gonna have to Google that. I’m gonna. I’m asking AI. I’m sure it’s true because you’re telling me. Hold the book up one more time.
Jeff Rimer 32:43
Doubting me, hold on a second here. We got along so well here today. Now you’re doubting me. No, I
Nestor Aparicio 32:48
said if you said it’s true, it must be true. Is what I just said.
Jeff Rimer 32:51
While I’m with you, check it out, and you’ll see that I’m right.
Nestor Aparicio 32:53
Well, I want to Google it so I can understand it. Is what I’m trying to do. Hold the book up for me. Jeff Rimmer is here, longtime WBAL. I knew we were going to box for it’s all over. Doesn’t get any better than this. Doesn’t get any better than this segment. Getting together with you. I hope you sell a billion books. You know, I see your son all the time. Since they threw me out of the Super Bowl, we do a cup of soup or bowl now, which is our charity week, which we’re looking forward to doing in February as well. But I should get you back on it sometime during hockey season, and we’ll go at it and have a little bit of fun and um and and honestly the whole history of the league and the history of the sport and um how far back you go and God I just hope the Maple Leafs win once I mean we got Rush back out on tour Rush has played four shows in Toronto again and they still haven’t won the cup you know what I mean I feel bad for those people you people
Jeff Rimer 33:38
I can tell you the Leafs fans they’re soon as they make one big splash in the media, they they sign a Matthews. They they win what was the first overall pick in the draft after firing everybody in the front office. And hey, if you go to Toronto right now, you’ll have the Leaf fans tell you we are already planning the parade route. We’re not giving up. So hey, they’re tied for first place right now. Where they’ll be come March and early April is another story. I think they’ll be improved, and I expect them to be in the playoffs. I do not believe for a minute, though, Nestor, that they’re a playoff contender just yet.
8Nestor Aparicio 34:19
I think one of the great scenes in my life that I’ve ever witnessed was walking down Yonge Street after Carter hit the home run that night. I was there. I was wearing a Philly jersey because you know I was tight with Schilling at the time. That was another mistake. But nonethe, it’s a lot of mistakes I’ve made. Going to Toronto was not a mistake though. It’s always a good idea to go to Canada. Jeff Rimmer is here. You know what do I owe this? Alex Lifeson, Getty Lee, and Jeff Rimmer all in the same week. I better call Trotz McLean. I’m going to make this honorary Canadian week here. Maybe I can finally talk Brian Adams into coming on. Good luck with the book, and thanks for reaching to me. It’s always time well spent with you. I learned a lot. I can’t wait to get you back on.
Jeff Rimer 34:57
I look forward to it. Nasty Nestor, but I think you matured as I said early on. I think you need to drop the nasty. Now you’re an intelligent, passionate, and obviously interesting and entertaining guy. So you don’t need the Nestor moniker any longer, in my opinion.
Nestor Aparicio 35:17
I’m giving it up. I’ve just I’ve just I’ve just been sassed by Jeff Rimmer on my show for my 35th anniversary. It’s great. My thanks to Jeff for coming on and hi to Josh and anybody else out there that unearthed this in your world.
Jeff Rimer 35:32
Book doll. He’s going to be upset. He’s not. Oh,
Nestor Aparicio 35:33
Mike Bookdall is. Yeah, he. He. Your ears must been burning at the All Star game when he and I got together and your name came up. Back from over Baltimore, positive. Stay with us.
