For this edition of TWIMFbH we head back to October 30, 2004 and a game forever known as 'Braylonfest.' The stunning comeback against our in-state rivals was one of the ages, and coincidentally occurred 17 years to the day of the 2021 match-up against Michigan State for The Paul Bunyan Trophy.
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Getting Stuck with Krash
This season longtime local sports radio voice, M sideline reporter, & mgo-misc. host Doug Karsch will co-anchor the Michigan radio network Tailgate Show with former U-M All-American Jon Jansen. Karsch will also continue his sideline reporting duties as part of the play-by-play broadcast. I’m pulling together a piece on the new show and recently chatted with Karsch. Listeners of the radio broadcast know that Beckmann & Brandy referred to Karsch as “Krash”. I never knew why, admittedly never asked, but either way, I never really cared for it. I’m not sure why – I figured it obviously had something to do with Doug’s last name and I guess I assumed Frank or Brandy just thought it was funny to call him Krash. Meh. Anyway, when I chatted with Doug recently I asked him about the nickname and if ‘Krash’ was going to endure in Frank’s absence. Here’s what Doug told me: “I’ll tell you how it started and what’s funny is that I’ve been broadcasting since 1993 and I get asked more about that than anything else. It was my first year doing sideline, it was 2006 and Michigan had a game at Minnesota. The whole team arrives [at the hotel] and I was the last to check in. I was a rookie and I’m just waiting. The team checked…
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Sap’s Salute to Frank Beckmann
[Ed. Saturday night is of course the final call for longtime play-by-play man Frank Beckmann. I’ve offered up a couple of salutes on these pages around the Ohio State game, but this week Dr. Sap shared a few touching thoughts on Beckmann that I wanted to pass along.] Guest post by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis Before Frank Beckmann took over the reins from Bob Ufer as the “Voice of Michigan Football,” Frankie cut his teeth on the radio broadcasts by doing the locker room interviews. As a Michigan Fan who grew up with Bob Ufer, I gotta tell ya, I did NOT like Frank’s style initially. There was no horn blast after every TD.There was no, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1 TOUCHDOWN MEECHEEGAN!!” call. Ufer’s passing marked the end of my innocence for Michigan Football. It would never be the same again. Sure, I was 16 years old at the time, but to me, Ufer WAS Michigan Football. Who was this Beckmann guy, anyway? Frank’s tenure as the Voice of Michigan Football would signal a change in my Michigan fanhood. During Frank’s run, I grew up as a person and as a fan. Sure, I would continue to follow the maize and blue, but the result of the games would no longer determine my mood for the remainder of the…
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Passing the Broadcast Torch to Frankie
Ricky and Franky Saturday will be the home finale for many folks involved with Michigan football: the departing seniors of course, legendary equipment manager Jon Falk and longtime broadcaster Frank Beckmann (and yes, many longtime fans based on the recent tweets). Much has been said about about Falk but notsomuch about Frank. I think he’s done a great job broadcasting and he’s had some legendary calls. Following Bob Ufer behind the mic is beyond impossible and I tip my maize and blue fedora to Beckmann. So check this out. Thanks to the Art Vuolo and Dr. Sap archives here are a few clips from the radio broadcast of the 1981 Notre Dame game in Ann Arbor, Beckmann’s first season calling games. Ufer was ailing in ‘81 and Beckmann stepped in to call the opener against Wisconsin, a stunner where Bo’s #1-ranked crew fell to the Badgers. The Irish took over the top-ranking the following week and came to Ann Arbor to face the wounded blue. A few months back Sap told me that this game contained moments of Frank and Ufe on air together and I thought it’d be cool to share a few heading into the finale. Running down the clips: Clip #1. The transition from pregame to kickoff, as Ufer hands the broadcast over to “Frankie” Beckmann, but…
