Happy Hour with John Gaskins

Just when we thought the Minnesota Twins would be an afterthought all spring and summer, here they go on a heater to seize the best record in the American League.
 
So, what do we make of it? 
 
In Tuesday's weekly "Nobody's Listening Anyway" podcast on Happy Hour, the conversation about the Twins somehow turns into an intriguing history lesson of the Pohlad's ownership, which swerves into a discussion about Target Field, U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Metrodome.
 
Should the Twins' ballpark have a retractable roof, considering all these April home games in lousy weather? For that matter, should the Vikings have built their current stadium without a roof, like the old Met Stadium, when the team was reaching Super Bowls?
 
Speaking of indoor football, the Jackrabbits continue spring practice inside the SJAC — where they'll also play Saturday's spring game — thanks to the new turf installation at Dykhouse Stadium. Which position groups have caught Zim's eye and which should SDSU fans be concerned about?
 
Also, what captured Zim's attention the most in his latest "Jacks Chat" with quarterback Chase Mason?
 
While there is no longer a spring football portal, the transfer window for college basketball remains open for a couple more days. What should we make of 7'1 former Sioux Falls Lincoln standout JT Rock landing at Kansas State, his third school in three seasons (Iowa State, New Mexico)?
 
Zim and the Happy Hour host discuss the other side of the portal: how coaches find ways to nudge out players to make room for potential transfers they perceive as more impactful.
 
While NIL has caused much more roster movement, it has also undoubtedly ignited a stronger urgency in high school athletes to push harder for an eventual college payday, or at least play day.
 
Tuesday's chat includes the specialization of youth sports because of that incentive, plus the way parents have become over-involved, especially at Fargo Shanley High School, where both the boys and girls varsity basketball coaches were fired a few days ago, reportedly as a result of parental mutiny.
 
It is enough to make one wonder why a young man like Dan Jansen would want to get into prep coaching, but the new O'Gorman coach said in Monday's Happy Hour chat he has felt support from the parents and community during his year as the junior varsity coach.
 
Zim weighs in on the replacement for six-time state champion legend Derek Robey and looks back on the kind of player Jansen was while climbing to the top of Augustana's career scoring list and leading the Vikings to the 2016 national championship.
 
But we start with two tried-and-true topics: Construction season and alcohol consumption.

Replacing a coaching legend is never easy, both for the program making the hire and for the new coach.
 
O'Gorman High School is replacing its boys basketball coaching legend with one of the playing legends from a college just over a mile up the road in Sioux Falls.
 
Dan Jansen — who spent this past season as Derek Robey's junior varsity coach — is 
Augustana's all-time leading scorer and was the 2016 NCAA Div. II national player of the year, leading the Vikings to their only national championship that season.
 
The Orange City, Iowa, native replaces Robey, who retired after 21 seasons at the O'G helm, a run that included six state championships (2006, '07, '10, '11, '12, '17), three state runner-up finishes, and a 327-158 record.
 
So why did OGHS leadership decide the Knights already had their man on the bench after just one year at the school?
 
Happy Hour went to the Knights gym to get the answer from long-time activities director Steve Kueter — himself a nine-time state football champion head coach.
 
We also chatted with Jansen, an Advanced Placement history teacher at the school, about his journey since he hoisted the national title trophy with the Vikings in Frisco, Texas, a decade ago.
 
Jansen's journey took him from professional hoops in Belgium and Macedonia back to Sioux Falls. There, he began his coaching career as an assistant at Sioux Falls Roosevelt for three years before becoming a head coach at a Christian academy in South Carolina and then an assistant for a year at a private Catholic school in Iowa City. 
 
Jansen discussed how his experiences growing up in Orange City, his years at Augie under Tom Billeter, and his other prep stops prepared him for one of South Dakota's most prestigious basketball jobs.
 
Before all that, the Happy Hour host weighs in on the hire and looks back on a monumental day for volleyball in South Dakota — O'Gorman alumnus Bergen Reilly's homecoming with the Huskers in Sioux Falls.

The Happy Hour host reacts to O'Gorman hiring Augustana legend Dan Jackson to replace legendary boys basketball coach Derek Robey. A rival school is a common thread in Jansen's journey since leading the Vikings to the 2016 national championship.
Also, how big of a deal was not just Nebraska volleyball's maiden voyage to Sioux Falls on Saturday, but the Bergen Reilly Bash the spring exhibition game with Iowa State turned out to be?

After one season as Knights JV coach, Jansen takes over Derek Robey, who retired after 21 years and six state championships at the helm. Hear about how Jansen's journey took him back to Sioux Falls nine years after he led Augie to the 2016 national title, what he'll take from Robey and former Vikings coach Tom Billeter, and how he'll navigate the year-round grind of a prep head coach.

Steve Kueter (O'Gorman A.D.) on hiring of new boys basketball coach Dan Jansen, the Knights' JV coach last season and Augustana's all-time leading scorer. He replaces Derek Robey, who won six state championships in his 21 years at the school and announced his retirement in January.