"Michigan Replay" is no more.

The Michigan football coach's show, which reviewed the previous game and looked ahead, will no longer be on the air Sunday mornings.

"It was the greatest thing I ever did professionally," said Bob Lipson, who created the show in 1975 and produced it for 33 years. "It's me. That's my identity. I absolutely loved it and worked with three great coaches. Nobody had it better than me. It was a great run."

So what's to become of new coach Rich Rodriguez's show this fall?

One thing is certain: it will not be called "Michigan Replay."

"I own the name," Lipson said. "It's not for sale."

But multiple sources indicated that while a concept still is in development, expect a preview show and not a review. The show will be produced in-house and offer fewer highlights from previous games and focus more on players.

Rodriguez has said he's not interested in hanging around after games to tape a show because he would rather use the time visiting with recruits and spending time with his family.

What remains unclear, however, is when the show will air and which network will carry it. Its most likely destination is FSN Detroit, perhaps on Thursdays, and the Big Ten Network.

An obvious destination would be Channel 7, the ABC affiliate since ABC and its ESPN affiliate, carry such a large part of the college football schedule.

"I know there are Michigan fans who will be mad about not having a show on Sunday mornings," said Jim Brandstatter, the show's host the last 28 years who will return to host the new show this fall. "But this is a new coach and this is just part of that change."

Brentwood Academy lineman Alex Bullard has picked South Bend over Ann Arbor. Bullard, a 6-foot-4, 275-pound offensive guard, will announce his commitment to play football for the Irish at 10 a.m. today. He selected Notre Dame over Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and more than 15 other scholarship offers.

Grand Valley State announced Wednesday that former Michigan point guard Jerret Smith will transfer to the school for the upcoming season.

“We are excited to have Jerret Smith become a part of our basketball program at Grand Valley State,” GVSU coach Rick Wesley said in a release. “Jerret is a nice addition to our basketball team and he fills a need that we had for a point guard with experience.”

Smith was dismissed from the U-M team in December by coach John Beilein after failing to meet expectations, Beilein said at the time.

Robert "Tractor" Traylor returns

Posted by Branson Wright May 24, 2008 23:40PM

From John Heuser M-Live:

Less than three weeks after sophomore Ekpe Udoh transferred from the University of Michigan men's basketball program, the team landed a frontcourt replacement.

Robin Benzing, a 6-foot, 10-inch forward from Germany, has signed a letter of intent for the coming season, Michigan coach John Beilein announced Thursday morning.

"With a lot of hard work we feel Robin will be a valuable asset to the program," Beilein said in a statement. "He is long, versatile and at 6-10 has a high skill level."

The coach did note that the NCAA has yet to clear Benzing to play in the coming season.

"The recruitment of foreign players is a bit more complicated now than in the past," Beilein said. "The NCAA's current academic and amateur certification process may affect Robin's initial eligibility to play at Michigan. We will follow the situation closely and hopefully know more as soon as possible."

A veteran of Germany's national Under-16 and Under-18 teams, Benzing averaged 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals at last year's Under-18 European Championships.

If given the OK to play for Michigan in 2008-09, Benzing will join four other newcomers to the team: guards Stu Douglass, Zack Novak and Laval Lucas-Perry, and center Ben Cronin.

Rich Rodriguez wasn't trying to disrespect the legacy of the No. 1. Honest.

The first-year University of Michigan football coach was merely trying to match uniform numbers with players a few weeks back when he suggested No. 1 be assigned to someone who wasn't a wide receiver.

"I was giving (equipment manager) big Jon (Falk) the roster and I had a skill number and the kid didn't even ask for it," Rodriguez said Tuesday at Schembechler Hall. "So I plead ignorant in that. I'm better educated now."

Educated in the tradition of the No. 1, made famous at Michigan by wideout Anthony Carter and worn most recently by record-setting receiver Braylon Edwards in 2004.

The concept of Rodriguez moving the digit outside the receiver position group rankled some fans and seemed to miff Edwards, who endowed a $500,000 football scholarship with the caveat that it be used for players donning the No. 1. In years when no one wears the number, the scholarship goes to another Michigan player.

Rodriguez said he and Edwards talked briefly about the situation at a fund-raising event in Ann Arbor last weekend. All is well, it appears. For the coming season, No. 1 will go unused, Rodriguez said. And when the number is designated in the future, expect it to go to a wide receiver.

"If I can fix all problems as easy as I can fix than one," Rodriguez said. "then we're all in a good place."