Happy Hour with John Gaskins

The thrills and spills of South Dakota's own March Madness aren't limited to what happens on the court, as long-time SDPB-TV sportscasters (and former Sioux Falls radio partners) Mike Henriksen and Craig Mattick can attest.
They called high school state tournament basketball and football together for over 20 years, narrating some of the most memorable moments in the lives of thousands of young athletes and their families.
Their own memories of wild and bizarre moments that happened off the court, either during a broadcast or somewhere else, are vivid and wildly entertaining, and they have plenty to share in the hour-plus chat:
"The truck blew up!"
"Tom Daschle hit the wall of stench that stood between us"
"There was an ashtray the size of a Buick hubcap, and it was full by the end of the night"
"We are NOT TOAST!"
Find out the stories behind these lines, plus what Craig and Mike think of the state's rule not allowing students and fans to storm the court, a topic that became a massive controversy at the Class A girls tournament last weekend. The two also discuss South Dakota's unique way of presenting six different state tournaments in 4-6 different venues each year.

And, so here we are again, at that week on the sports calendar unlike any other.
 
The national sports holiday of March Madness in the NCAA men's basketball tournament unfolds on TV's in sports bars and computer monitors in cubicles all over the country.
 
Meanwhile, South Dakotans are also occupied by the boys state basketball tourneys and which major conference squad the Jackrabbits women are revving up to "upset" in the NCAA tourney.
 
And with these rites of passage come the annual Happy Hour deep dives into them with basketball analysts who are paid deep dive on such matters.
 
For SDSU's showdown with Washington in Fort Worth, the host once again enlisted Missy Heidrick, who called all the Jacks games in the Summit League Tournament for Midco Sports and CBS Sports Network. 
 
Heidrick calls games in other conferences, including the Big 12, whose regular season champion TCU would likely host SDSU in the second round should the Jacks advance past the Huskies.  
 
What aspects of the matchup favor SDSU, and what (and who) should concern Jacks fans?
 
For previews of the boys Class AA and A tourneys, Happy Hour turns to Nate Kaeding, who has been an analyst all season long for Midwest Sports Plus (some games, with the Happy Hour host on the play-by-play mic) and will be on the call for every Class A tourney game in Rapid City on SDPB.
 
For the second consecutive year, Sioux Falls Lincoln comes in as the far-and-away No. 1 seed, this time at 21-0. But the Patriots' 22-2 squad last year dropped its semifinal game to Mitchell and this year's field features several teams that could not just upset Lincoln but win it all. 
 
Kaeding examines every quarterfinal game and predicts Saturday's final. 

In Class A, the field seems a little less open. Why are two teams expected to roll into a clash of titans on Saturday?

Kaeding has been an analyst all season long for Midwest Sports Plus (mostly for Class AA games and some games with the Happy Hour host on the play-by-play mic) and will be on the call for every Class A tourney game in Rapid City on SDPB.
 
For the second consecutive year, Sioux Falls Lincoln comes in as the far-and-away AA No. 1 seed, this time at 21-0. But the Patriots' 22-2 squad last year dropped its semifinal game to Mitchell and this year's field features several teams that could not just upset Lincoln but win it all. 
 
Kaeding examines every quarterfinal game and predicts Saturday's final. 

In Class A, the field seems a little less open. Why are two teams expected to roll into a clash of titans on Saturday?

And, so here we are again, at that week on the sports calendar unlike any other.
 
The national sports holiday of March Madness in the NCAA men's basketball tournament unfolds on TV's in sports bars and computer monitors in cubicles all over the country.
 
Meanwhile, South Dakotans are also occupied by the boys state basketball tourneys and which major conference squad the Jackrabbits women are revving up to "upset" in the NCAA tourney.
 
And with these rites of passage come the annual Happy Hour deep dives into them with basketball analysts who are paid deep dive on such matters.
 
For SDSU's showdown with Washington in Fort Worth, the host once again enlisted Missy Heidrick, who called all the Jacks games in the Summit League Tournament for Midco Sports and CBS Sports Network. 
 
Heidrick calls games in other conferences, including the Big 12, whose regular season champion TCU would likely host SDSU in the second round should the Jacks advance past the Huskies.  
 
What aspects of the matchup favor SDSU, and what (and who) should concern Jacks fans?

Zim and the Happy Hour host go down a rabbit hole of Matt describing some of his favorite sporting events he has ever covered — which leads to a story about the presence (and scent) of Alex Rodriguez.
 
Also covered in this epsiode:
 
* Kyler Murry to the Vikings — good thing?
 
* Zim's new "Jacks Chats" series of 1-on-1 conversations with football players
 
* Biggest takeaways from SDSU spring practice so far
 
* A preview of the boys state AA basketball tourney, which is seeping with storylines
 
* A pair of Mick Garry stories from Rapid City state basketball tourneys of the past