Happy Hour with John Gaskins

Aaron Johnston on being a sports dad, Nancy Neiber (then and now), Brooklyn Meyer's dominance, identity of this year's team

USD's men have lost seven players to injury and another who left the team for personal reasons. The Coyotes even signed and enrolled two players — one from Arizona, another from Alaska — with eligbility who thought their college careers were over. Hear how fourth year coach Eric Peterson has handled the chaos, how he was able to sign new players mid-season, and how the Coyotes are navigating their schedule with seemingly one hand tied behind their backs.

The monster basketball showdowns SDSU's men and women have with North Dakota State this week — we need more of this! How good are the Jacks and Bison? Why is David Richman one of our favorite Dakotas coaches? Speaking of favorites, why is O'Gorman boys basketball coach Derek Robey — who announced Friday that after 40 seasons and six state titles that this season will be his last — is "one of the most underrated coaches in South Dakota history," not just for high school hoops, but all sports at all levels? But we start with, "holy (bleep), Nebraska is 17-0 and ranked in the Top 10!" Zim has a buzzkill "what if" for Husker fan John.

Should the Vikings once again go after Aaron Rodgers? Why will (likely) not nearly as many USD fans become as engaged in Hawkeye football with L.J. Phillips playing in Iowa as SDSU fans who hopped on the train with Mark Gronowski? Griffin Wilde is getting a much more experienced and famous offensive coordinator at Northwestern — former Oregon, 49ers, and Eagles head coach Chip Kelly — than his former SDSU OC Zach Lujan. Former SDSU and Washington State offensive coordinator Danny Freund lands not with former SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers at Iowa State, but back at North Dakota, where he was the OC before coming to Brookings in 2024 and Pullman in '25.  

The brilliance of Cignetti and Indiana's turnaround. Hoosiers vs Miamia for the title. Would Tucker Kraft's presence have reversed the Packers' loss to the Chicago Bears? Is Dallas Goedert and the Eagles offense being screwed by lousy play-calling? Which four teams will win the NFL divisional playoff games?