Arizona Tribune - One of the NHL's Most Beloved Voices Has a Story You Haven't Heard

CHICAGO, IL / ACCESS Newswire / September 28, 2026 / For more than half a century, legendary broadcaster Jeff Rimer told the stories unfolding in front of him. Today, for the first time, he tells his own.

First Flight Books today announced the official release of It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This: Unforgettable Calls in the Booth and Unexpected Turns in Life, Rimer's deeply personal, funny, revealing and sometimes unexpected account, chronicling a broadcasting career that spanned more than 50 years and placed him alongside some of the greatest athletes and personalities in modern sports.

But this isn't simply a hockey book. It's the life story behind one of the NHL's most beloved voices.

Rimer spent decades bringing professional sports into people's homes, including 20 seasons as the television voice of the Columbus Blue Jackets following earlier NHL broadcasting roles with the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers. His remarkable career also included work surrounding the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles, along with Olympic broadcasting and encounters with figures ranging from Muhammad Ali, Nadia Comaneci and Pete Rose to Cal Ripken Jr. Now, the microphone has been turned around.

In It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This, Rimer takes readers beyond the games and into the relationships, experiences, triumphs, disappointments and unexpected turns that shaped the man behind the familiar voice.

The result is part sports history, part backstage pass and ultimately, a remarkably human story about ambition, resilience, friendship, family and perseverance, from the profound influence of a father who survived the Holocaust to a son who grew up with an improbable dream and refused to let it go.

THE SPORTS WORLD IS ALREADY TALKING. The book has drawn extraordinary advance praise from some of the most recognizable names in sports and broadcasting.

Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and bestselling author Bob Costas says: "Jeff's engaging memoir will resonate with his colleagues and the generations of fans who have enjoyed his work."

Hockey legend and Hall of Famer Bobby Orr calls the book a "must-read," praising Rimer's knowledge of hockey and baseball and his abilities as a storyteller.

And legendary broadcaster Brent Musburger, invoking one of Rimer's memorable hockey expressions, calls it a "wonderful career and a great read!"

Award-winning sportswriter and reporter Ken Rosenthal, who has known Rimer for nearly 40 years, says the memoir reveals the backstory even those closest to him didn't necessarily know, describing Rimer's story as "totally captivating." The breadth of that praise reflects the breadth of Rimer's career. He didn't simply call games.

He built relationships across generations of professional sports, accumulating the kind of stories that could only come from decades spent inside arenas, stadiums, locker rooms, broadcast booths, team hotels and the countless places where sports history happens when the cameras aren't necessarily watching.

THE STORIES BEHIND THE VOICE
Rimer's career stretched across parts of six decades. He called more than 2,000 NHL games, spent 20 years as the television voice of the Columbus Blue Jackets and previously worked with the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers. Along the way, he crossed paths with generations of sports legends and witnessed the evolution of professional hockey from one of the best seats in the house. The title itself comes from one of Rimer's most memorable calls: After Columbus Blue Jackets star Rick Nash produced a spectacular late-game goal against the Phoenix Coyotes in 2008, Rimer spontaneously declared: "It doesn't get any better than this."

The call endured. So did the philosophy behind it. Because Rimer's story isn't ultimately about statistics, scores or even broadcasting. It's about the people encountered along the way and the relationships that made the journey matter.

Readers will find the stories hockey fans have been waiting to hear. They'll also discover the stories they never knew existed. Some are hilarious. Some are unbelievable. Some are deeply personal. And some have very little to do with hockey at all.

A LAUNCH ALREADY BUILDING MOMENTUM
Today's national release follows a major launch week in Columbus, the city where Rimer spent two decades becoming synonymous with Blue Jackets hockey.

First Flight Books launched the book tour with appearances surrounding Nationwide Arena and the current team in attendance, Byers Porsche and selling out at a Barnes & Noble signing, all accompanied by television, radio and media appearances across the market. Rimer has also been appearing nationally and regionally to discuss the book, including recent interviews focused on the extraordinary career and stories behind the memoir.

For First Flight Books, the reaction underscores exactly what the publisher believed from the beginning: Rimer's story has an audience well beyond the hockey rink.

"We knew from the beginning that Jeff hadn't written a hockey book. He had written a life story that happened to unfold against one of the most extraordinary backdrops imaginable," said John Minnec, Publisher of First Flight Books. "Yes, there are stories here that hockey and sports fans will absolutely devour. But underneath them is something much more universal...a kid with a dream, a career built through persistence and relationships, extraordinary highs, painful turns, family, friendship, resilience and more than 50 years of refusing to stop moving forward. That's the Jeff Rimer story, and we're incredibly proud to help bring it to readers."

MORE THAN THE FINAL SCORE
For sports fans, It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This offers rare access to the personalities, broadcasts and behind-the-scenes moments that helped define an era.

For aspiring broadcasters, it offers an extraordinary look at how a career is actually built, not in one lucky break, but through persistence, preparation, relationships and the willingness to keep knocking on doors.

And for readers who have never watched a Blue Jackets game, it offers something just as compelling: A story about pursuing the life you imagined, surviving the life you didn't, and eventually understanding that some of the greatest victories have nothing to do with the final score.

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This.

ABOUT JEFF RIMER
Jeff Rimer is an award-winning broadcaster whose career spans more than five decades across professional sports. Best known for his 20 seasons as the television play-by-play voice of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Rimer also held broadcasting roles with the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers and worked in connection with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles. His career included Olympic broadcasting and more than 2,000 NHL games, earning him generations of fans and relationships across the sports world.

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This: Unforgettable Calls in the Booth and Unexpected Turns in Life is his memoir.

ABOUT FIRST FLIGHT BOOKS
First Flight Books is an independent publisher built on more than four decades of publishing experience and a belief that great books deserve more than simply being published, they deserve to be built, positioned and launched to make an impact.

From memoir and fiction to children's books, business and thought leadership, First Flight Books works side-by-side with authors from the earliest stages of development through editorial, design, production, national distribution, marketing, publicity and launch. Its approach combines the rigor and expertise of traditional publishing with the speed, entrepreneurial thinking and hands-on partnership today's authors increasingly demand.

First Flight Books. Where Bold Ideas Take Flight.

BOOK INFORMATION
It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This: Unforgettable Calls in the Booth and Unexpected Turns in Life
Author: Jeff Rimer / Foreword: John Davidson
Publisher: First Flight Books / Publication Date: September 28, 2026
ISBN: 978-1-887229-73-9
Pages: 256
Formats: Paperback, Hardcover and eBook
Available: Wherever books are sold

PRESS CONTACTS

John Minnec
Publisher
[email protected]
312-543-4957

Meaghan Morelli
CMO
[email protected]
646-271-7008

SOURCE: First Flight Books

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

R.Garcia--AT