XFL Names Broadcast Team for Inaugural Season Telecasts On UPN.

Sports, Broadcast & Entertainment Editors/Football Writers

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BW SportsWire)--Jan. 11, 2001

Bob Golic to handle analysis, Craig Minervini will do play-by-play;

Lee Reherman and Kip Lewis named sideline reporters

The XFL today named the broadcast team for the telecasts on UPN of the inaugural XFL season.

Craig Minervini will handle play-by-play, Bob Golic will serve as analyst, and Lee Reherman and Kip Lewis will handle sideline reporting duties.

"This team of four is well-suited to provide great coverage for the all-access pass UPN is going to give viewers," said XFL President Basil V. Devito, Jr.

Minervini, sports anchor at WTVJ (NBC) in South Florida, has worked on NBC's broadcasts of Notre Dame football, and has also worked for ESPN and Prime Network.

The colorful Golic starred at Notre Dame and in the NFL before going on to a braodcasting career which included work as an analyst on NBC's NFL telecasts, CNN/SI and currently, Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports Net Radio Network.

Reherman, who played one season for the Miami Dolphins and then went on to become an "American Gladiator," has an on-air background which most recently included working on NBC's telecast of the 2001 Gator Bowl.

Lewis, currently the sports anchor for WLWT (NBC) in Cincinnati, is a former professional football player who worked with Reherman on NBC's telecast of the 2001 Gator Bowl. He is the son of Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Sherm Lewis.

"As we get closer to the launch of the XFL on UPN, this caliber of talent will help make our XFL broadcasts a must-watch," said UPN Chief Operating Officer Adam Ware.

UPN will open its XFL broadcast schedule on Sunday, February 4 when the Los Angeles Xtreme visits the San Francisco Demons at 4:00 p.m. (ET). UPN will then carry an XFL game live in primetime every Sunday at 7:00 p.m. (ET) for the remainder of the season.

         The XFL on UPN:

         Sunday, February 4  Los Angeles at San Francisco (4:00 pm ET)
         Sunday, February 11 Las Vegas at Memphis
         Sunday, February 18 Orlando at New York/New Jersey
         Sunday, February 25 Memphis at Los Angeles
         Sunday, March 4     Orlando at Memphis
         Sunday, March 11    Los Angeles at Birmingham
         Sunday, March 18    San Francisco at Chicago
         Sunday, March 25    Birmingham at Chicago
         Sunday, April 1     San Francisco at Las Vegas
         Sunday, April 8     San Francisco at Los Angeles
         Sunday, April 15    Playoff Game

---TALENT BIOS FOLLOW---

CRAIG MINERVINI

UPN PLAY-BY-PLAY

Craig Minervini joins UPN's broadcast team handling play-by-play for XFL broadcasts from his position as sports anchor for WTVJ in South Florida, where he has worked since 1995.

A Syracuse University graduate, Minervini first served as Sports Director for WOAY-TV in Oak Hill, West Virginia. Between 1988 and 1989, he went on assignment to the World Wrestling Federation. Shortly after that, he went on to WLIG-TV in Long Island, NY.

In 1989, he joined WPBF-TV in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he received two Associated Press awards for best sports reporting. He also began and continues to serve as the South Florida correspondent for MSG Network.

Minervini has worked as a play-by-play sports commentator for ESPN and ESPN2, for which he reported on ice and roller hockey while serving as the host of ESPN2's RHI Rewind. He has also handled play-by-play for Prime Network's "Toughman" competitions and contributed for a special on the boxing career of Mike Tyson.

Most recently, Craig did play-by-play for NBC's Notre Dame football and is also the TV voice of the Miami Fusion of MLS.

BOB GOLIC

UPN ANALYST

The colorful Golic brings an extensive broadcasting career coupled with an all-pro football career to his role as lead analyst on the UPN broadcasts of the XFL.

Golic starred in the late 1970s at Notre Dame, when he we was a member of the 1977 national championship team, and was a unanimous All-American linebacker in 1978. Besides football, Golic also wrestled for the Fighting Irish, finishing his career with a 54-4-1 mark and top-four finishes in the NCAA in 1976 and 1977.

Golic was a second-round draft pick of the New England Patriots in the 1979 NFL Draft and began a career which would last through 1992 and also included stints with the Cleveland Browns and the Los Angeles Raiders. Off the field, he has been referred to as "The Human Sound Bite," as he was one of the most popular and sought-after interviews in professional sports.

Following the completion of his playing career, Golic launched a broadcasting career, becoming an analyst for NBC's NFL telecasts and also going on to serve as an NFL analyst for CNN/SI. Golic would also embark on an acting career which spanned both movies and television.

He currently serves as an NFL analyst for Fox Sports Net's "NFL This Morning," co-hosts "Football Today" on the same network, and hosts "The Bob Golic Show" on Fox Sports Radio Network.

KIP LEWIS

UPN SIDELINE REPORTER

Kip Lewis brings a solid one-two combination of a strong on-air background and being a former professional football player to his position as a sideline reporter for UPN's XFL telecasts.

Lewis, who is the son of Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Sherm Lewis, played at the University of Arizona before going onto a professional career. Lewis began his career by signing as a free agent with the NFL's Detroit Lions in 1990. In 1991, he joined the World League's NY/NJ Knights, where he led the team in receiving and his 9 catches for 245 yards receiving set single-game playoff records. Lewis then went on to become a starting wide receiver for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts.

Having received a BA in Communications at Arizona, Lewis began a career in television, working as a sports anchor and reporter in Lansing, Mich., Green Bay, Wisc., and currently at the NBC affiliate in Cincinnati.

He has now taken his impressive career national, serving as a reporter for NBC's coverage of the 2001 Gator Bowl prior to the beginning of the XFL season.

LEE REHERMAN

UPN SIDELINE REPORTER

Lee Reherman brings a strong and diverse background to his role as sideline reporter for the XFL broadcasts on UPN. Reherman, who captained the Cornell University football team and spent one year with the Miami Dolphins, has hosted several television shows, while also building up an impressive resume as an actor through various television and movie roles.

His broadcast background includes NBC's Gator Bowl coverage in 2001, and also includes hosting ESPN' "Fitness Club," TNN's "RollerJam," UPN's "I Dare You - The Ultimate Challenge," as well as "Fantasy Football Weekly." While playing football and building a broadcasting career are no easy tasks, perhaps his most grueling assignment came when he was one of the "American Gladiators," where he was known as "Hawk."

Reherman's acting career has seen him appear in movies such as "The Last Action Hero" with Arnold Schwarzenegger and on the small screen in programs such as "Caroline In The City" and "Coach."

Reherman also holds an MBA in Finance, Economics at UCLA and is working towards a Ph.D. in Business Economics from the same school.