Radio Voices of the Wolverines for 2006

After long and arduous negotiations it appears that U-M is close to announcing its radio broadcast package for the 2006 football season. This is according to an article by Detroit News columnist Angelique S. Chengelis (a/k/a "The Angel of the Big House"). The big news is that it appears that the dynamic duo of Frank Beckmann and Jim Brandstatter will continue to be the radio broadcast team for the upcoming season. In fact, it was U-M's desire to keep Beckmann (a WJR employee) as part of the broadcast team that kept throwing a monkey wrench into negotiations as U-M sought a new broadcast partner after it parted ways with WJR. Host Communications, who handles the syndication rights of Michigan football, has worked out a carefully crafted deal that has U-M spread out across the dial and which will allow Beckmann (who has been the play-by-play man since 1981) to stay in the booth with Brandstatter. Michigan football games will now be carried on CKLW 800, a Canadian 50,000-watt station, and simultaneously on WOMC 104.3. Both stations are owned by CBS Radio. The only casualty in the new deal appears to be sideline reporter Steve Courtney. No loss there in my opinion. The new sideline reporter will be Doug Karsch which is probably no improvement over Courtney but at least he's different.