Happy Hour with John Gaskins

Few sports topics are as compelling as a title chase, if any.
 
But coaching moves are near the top of the list, and there is no shortage of interest — and some commotion in some USD fan circles — around the "change in leadership" in the Coyote softball program that was announced Tuesday.
 
So, yeah, Sioux Falls Live sports editor Matt Zimmer and the Happy Hour host went deep sea change diving on that Vermillion event in the latest weekly "Nobody's Listening Anyway" podcast for Happy Hour with John Gaskins. 
 
After the greatest run in the program's history, an NCAA tournament win, and a viral moment for Associate Head Coach Shannon Pivovar that she says sparked recruiting interest in the program, 10-year head coach Robert Wagner announced on Twitter he is "stepping away" while USD issued a statement about a "change in leadership" and "national search" for a new head coach not acknowledging Wagner.
 
Zim & the host believe this wasn't Wagner's decision and provide their reasoning. This leads to a larger conversation about the coaching shifts at USD since athletic director Jon Schemmel arrived in December 2023. 
 
How should his leadership style be classified now that there have been plenty of changes — Bob Nielson's retirement making way for Travis Johansen, Carrie Eighmey's hiring and contract extension, and Eric Peterson's non-extension entering the final year of his current deal?
 
With that backdrop, Wagner's departure after USD softball's brightest moment leaves a lot to unpack, including if Pivovar should be his successor.
 
Meanwhile, there are two title chases still going in Sioux Falls sports, and, yes, they were covered in the 70-minute conversation from Gateway Lounge:
 
* What is the biggest takeaway from the Sioux Falls Stampede being one win away from their first Clark Cup championship in seven years?
 
* How does Augustana baseball continue to go deep into the NCAA Tournament? With two wins in this weekend's super regional in Missouri, the Vikings would clinch their third Div. II world series in nine seasons
 
* The Sioux Falls Canaries were three outs away from their second American Association championship before it slipped away last September. What about the 2026 roster suggests another title chase is coming as they play out their seven-game opening homestand this week?
 
* South Dakota State's football team finally rounded out its 2026 schedule a couple of weeks ago, but this is the first time we have heard Zim's take on the slate.
 
* Former SDSU offensive lineman Mason McCormick will once again block for Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh this year. How does the former All-American and two-time national champion feel about that?
 
* Minneapolis will host the NFL Draft in 2028. Is this an event either Zim or the host would consider a bucket list item?
 
* Royce Lewis finally got called down to the minor leagues. How the hell did he go from "the next Kirby Puckett," in Zim's words, to... this?

USD softball went from "Wow! What a wonderful weekend! to "Whoa! Wait, what just happened?"
 
Head coach Robert Wagner and the school parted ways on Tuesday, abruptly ending his 10-year tenure.
 
This, just a few days after the Coyotes first-ever NCAA Tournament trip (and win) in the program's 48-year history, two days after a clip of Associate Head Coach Shannon Pivovar's uplifting "I'm so proud of you" video went viral for the all the right reasons, one day after Pivovar talked about that moment and the inspiring Coyotes run on Happy Hour.

 
What the heck happened? The Happy Hour host attempts to connect the dots and surmise what comes next.
 
Meanwhile, Sioux Falls is bidding to be the second host city for the expanded NCAA men's basketball tournament's new "opening round" games that start in 2027. Dayton has hosted opening round games — more accurately termed as the "play-in" games to enter the Round of 64 that starts on the Thursday and Friday of the first NCAA tourney week — since the field expanded from 64 to 68 teams in 2011.
 
Now, "March Madness" will feature a field of 76 teams, including 24 teams who will play 12 games to cut the field to 64 for those "first round games" you see on Thursday and Friday. Dayton will get six games. Another city will get the other six.
 
Sioux Falls Sports Authority program director Jerry Palleschi plays a major part in making the case for Sioux Falls to host NCAA events. This past March, The PREMIER Center hosted the NCAA Division II wrestling championships and an NCAA Division I men's hockey regional in back-to-back weeks. It also hosted an NCAA women's regional within the last decade and two men's Div. II national championships in hoops several years ago.
 
But multiple bids were placed for the golden goose of Div. I men's hoops have fallen short. So, why does Palleschi feel the "opening rounds" fit Sioux Falls better? What are the criteria for hosting, and how well does Sioux Falls meet them?
 
To round out Tuesday's show, a final three-man weave of Timberwolves Talk of the 2025-26 season with the Happy Hour host and die-hard fans Chris Johnson (USF men's basketball coach) and Jon Oppold (co-owner of Orion Pub, a Sioux Falls Wolves watch bar). 
 
The Spurs steamrolled the Wolves in both Game 5 and Game 6, advancing to the Western Conference Finals and denying the Wolves a third consecutive trip to that round. Now what?
 
How wide is the gap between Minnesota and San Antonio, not to mention the Spurs' conference finals opponent Oklahoma City, who waxed the Wolves in that round last year?

What roster moves must General Manager Tim Connelly make to keep up with those two titans and harness the athletic prime of precious franchise commodity Anthony Edwards?
 
Time to play armchair GM. Julius Randle and Rudy Goebert, beware!

USD softball went from "Wow! What a wonderful weekend! to "Whoa! Wait, what just happened?"
 
Head coach Robert Wagner and the school parted ways on Tuesday, abruptly ending his 10-year tenure.
 
This, just a few days after the Coyotes first-ever NCAA Tournament trip (and win) in the program's 48-year history, two days after a clip of Associate Head Coach Shannon Pivovar's uplifting "I'm so proud of you" video went viral for the all the right reasons, one day after Pivovar talked about that moment and the inspiring Coyotes run on Happy Hour.

 
What the heck happened? The Happy Hour host attempts to connect the dots and surmise what comes next.

All this talk about "moods." We know who Jaden and Naz are talking about. It is Julius Randle, who may as well have not showed up for the Spurs series. 
What roster moves would make sense for Tim Conley to make to narrow the gap between the Timberwolves and the two titans of the West, San Antonio and Oklahoma City?
Die-hards Chris Johnson (USF baskeball coach and Twin Cities native) and Jon Oppold (Orion Pub co-owner) join the host.

YES, Sioux Falls will bid to host new NCAA men's basketbal "opening round" (play-in) tournament games in '26 and beyond, opposite Dayton. Sioux Falls Sports Authority project director Jerry Palleschi joined us with PLENTY of details on how bidding works.