Sabres broadcaster Jeanneret cancer-free

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Longtime Buffalo Sabres announcer Rick Jeanneret said Friday night that he's free of the throat cancer he was diagnosed with during the summer.

On the television broadcast before the "Hockey Fights Cancer" game against the Edmonton Oilers, Jeanneret said he was told this week that the cancer was gone. The 72-year-old native of Ontario is missing the start of the season as he gets radiation treatment.

Jeanneret took part in a ceremonial puck drop with former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, who was declared free of jaw cancer in September.

Jeanneret, who received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award two years ago for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster, started calling games for the Sabres in the 1971-72 season, the team's second in the NHL.