Happy Hour with John Gaskins

North Dakota State isn't ready to play in the FBS.
 
It's ready to win the Mountain West Conference. Right now.
 
That is at least the conclusion you could make if you go by Collin Wilson of Action Network HQ — a sports media company featuring news and analysis focused on sports betting —  a who pegs North Dakota State as one of the six FBS teams out of 139 projected to be favored in each of its 12 regular season games in 2026.
 
Yes, the Bison are projected to be favored in every game in their first year at "the next level."
 
The Happy Host starts Wednesday's show not only breaking down why NDSU is an immediate MWC contender, but also breaks down NDSU's schedule, which was unveiled on Tuesday.
 
Hear Bison coach Tim Polasek's remarks on the reality of living in the FBS coaching world and what it will mean for the beefing up of his staff and types of players he recruits.
 
Then, hear from NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen, who remarked recently on the stability of the Summit League. There are some who wonder if the conference is on shaky ground, with Denver's departure after this school year leaving the Summit with just eight teams for men's and women's basketball.
 
With the inside ropes on the President's Council meetings, does Larsen believe there should be concern about other teams leaving and the conference not being "one big happy family?"


Craig Mattick, SDPB state championships broadcaster
The original co-host and producer of the first daily sports talk show in South Dakota history, Mattick teamed with the Happy Hour host for seven of the 19 years the show was on the air until its cancellation two months into the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
 
"Sports Talk with Craig & John" reunited for 50 minutes on Tuesday at Gibs Sports Bar, mainly to talk about the big picture of state tournament hoops in South Dakota.
 
It is an annual rite of passage — the discussion of state tourney venues, specifically if South Dakota would be better off to have all of its state tourneys in one city, like Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, and most others. 
 
There's a sticking point: Would the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center ever want to host all-class state championships? This year marks the first time Sioux Falls won't host a state basketball tournament in over 60 years.
 
Also, there's the format and the process at the AA level to qualify for state. Mattick digs into how the "rank and file" who decides these matters operates.
 
Mattick looked back at how the Sioux Falls and South Dakota sporting landscape changed in 2002 when SDSU decided to join NDSU in Division I. I — a move Mattick constantly derided as the wrong one when it was happening — and when the Summit League Tournament came in 2009.
 
But how bright is that event's future?

North Dakota State isn't ready to play in the FBS.
 
It's ready to win the Mountain West Conference. Right now.
 
That is at least the conclusion you could make if you go by Collin Wilson of Action Network HQ — a sports media company featuring news and analysis focused on sports betting —  a who pegs North Dakota State as one of the six FBS teams out of 139 projected to be favored in each of its 12 regular season games in 2026.
 
Yes, the Bison are projected to be favored in every game in their first year at "the next level."
 
The Happy Host starts Wednesday's show not only breaking down why NDSU is an immediate MWC contender, but also breaks down NDSU's schedule, which was unveiled on Tuesday.
 
Hear Bison coach Tim Polasek's remarks on the reality of living in the FBS coaching world and what it will mean for the beefing up of his staff and types of players he recruits.
 
Then, hear from NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen, who remarked recently on the stability of the Summit League. There are some who wonder if the conference is on shaky ground, with Denver's departure after this school year leaving the Summit with just eight teams for men's and women's basketball.
 
With the inside ropes on the President's Council meetings, does Larsen believe there should be concern about other teams leaving and the conference not being "one big happy family?"

The original co-host and producer of the first daily sports talk show in South Dakota history, Mattick teamed with the Happy Hour host for seven of the 19 years the show was on the air until its cancellation two months into the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
 
"Sports Talk with Craig & John" reunited for 50 minutes on Tuesday at Gibs Sports Bar, mainly to talk about the big picture of state tournament hoops in South Dakota.
 
It is an annual rite of passage — the discussion of state tourney venues, specifically if South Dakota would be better off to have all of its state tourneys in one city, like Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, and most others. 
 
There's a sticking point: Would the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center ever want to host all-class state championships? This year marks the first time Sioux Falls won't host a state basketball tournament in over 60 years.
 
Also, there's the format and the process at the AA level to qualify for state. Mattick digs into how the "rank and file" who decides these matters operates.
 
Mattick looked back at how the Sioux Falls and South Dakota sporting landscape changed in 2002 when SDSU decided to join NDSU in Division I. I — a move Mattick constantly derided as the wrong one when it was happening — and when the Summit League Tournament came in 2009.
 
But how bright is that event's future?

Here we go again.
 
The South Dakota State women's basketball team won its 13th Summit League Tournament championship in the 18 years of the event in Sioux Falls on Sunday, and this leaves some fans outside the state crying over spilled basketballs.
 
Those would be the four North Dakota State turnovers in the final two minutes that helped the Jackrabbits stave off the regular season champions down the stretch 64-51.
 
Some Bison fans — and other fans outside South Dakota's borders — are tired of seeing SDSU hoist the trophy, powered by the blue tidal wave of fans who make every Jacks game in the SLT a road game for the opponent.
 
Is it fair? How much of the Jacks' success actually has to do with the home cooking?
 
The Happy Hour host dives into the performances by both teams in Sunday's game and the history of both the women's and men's tourney in Sioux Falls that points to the real reason the SDSU women usually come out on top.
 
Then, CBS Sports Network Missy Heidrick, who was on the call for Sunday's game, gives an astute basketball mind's view of how SDSU beat NDSU and how tourney MVP Brooklyn Meyer won the "game within the game" against Avery Koenen.
 
Heidrick weighs in on the "home court" topic and if the Summit League should consider hosting the tournament somewhere else. She also breaks down why the North Dakota State men won their sixth Summit tourney title, but NDSU's first in six years.

Heidrick, who was on the call for Sunday's game, gives an astute basketball mind's view of how SDSU beat NDSU and how tourney MVP Brooklyn Meyer won the "game within the game" against Avery Koenen.
 
Heidrick weighs in on the "home court" topic and if the Summit League should consider hosting the tournament somewhere else. She also breaks down why the North Dakota State men won their sixth Summit tourney title, but NDSU's first in six years.