70Won Sportscast

Ben Jacobson won Mr. Basketball in North Dakota in 1989 (he reminds us he shared it with Chris Gardner, who joined him on the UND squad the following year), coached as an assistant at UND and NDSU (a move we chuckle over for a few minutes), then at the University of Northern Iowa where he was promoted to head coach in 2006. Five trips to the NCAA Tourney, an upset over a #1 overall seed, and a 20-...

We kick off Season 2 the same way we started this thing - talking about Jackson Blake, born in Fargo, and this year hoisting the Stanley Cup with his Carolina Hurricanes.  While we're on hockey, Britta Curl was in the news again (always love that!). Then, because football is king, we kick that around a bit, talk some World Cup, and provide updates on some ND natives in the big time of their sport....

Tom Dunkel wrote the book Color Blind: The Forgotten Team That Broke Baseball's Color Line. It's a fascinating and fun history of amateur baseball in North Dakota, primarily surrounding the team from Bismarck. Operated by long time Bismarck businessman Neill Churchill, and anchored by the arm of the one and only Satchel Paige, integrated races and lifestyles to go on a national championship run th...

We're all over the place in this one. It starts though with the NFL schedule release, because the NFL is king. From there we touch on Britta Curl and her Minnesota Frost, our guy Jackson Blake and the Carolina Hurricanes kicking butt in the NHL Playoffs. Then we wind our way through some listener comments about the people we're not talking about...yet! There's a question we pose during the show th...

We're mildly obsessed with the NFL Draft, so we spent a lot of minutes on that topic - including some time on the two NDSU players selected this year. We also reminisce a bit (yeah, that's what we do) about past drafts. In the NFL portion we also update fans on North Dakotans playing in the NFL, two of whom are coming off injuries.  There's a few minutes on UND Hockey, a few more on Our Olympian B...

The Bismarck Bobcats won the NAHL league title last year under head coach Garrett Roth, and with only two returning players from that team, the 'Cats are ready to challenge again. As playoffs approach we thought it would be a good time to catch up with Roth on the team, his lengthy relationship with the Bobcats and Bismarck, and playoff hockey. We hope you find Roth's energy, enthusiasm, and stori...

UND's off to the Frozen Four with a loaded line-up and lots of momentum. In our first regular episode in a long while, we talk about the energy around the team and new coach Dane Jackson. Then we dive into some college hoops, relive some NFL Draft memories, and as always, drop a nugget or two about things we just can't stop thinking about. 

March Madness is here! And have we got a podcast for you. Bismarck High and NDSU basketball star (he was actually good at a lot of sports) Dexter Werner had one of the most celebrated and talked about games in NCAA Tournament history when at 6'6", he dropped 22 points on a highly touted Gonzaga team that featured a front court with a pair of 7-footers.  He tells us that he kind of blacked out duri...

Blair Backes, creator of North Dakota Blast to the Past on Facebook and Twitter (X), started posting some old school stats, stories, and photos of high school basketball players when COVID hit. A little over five years later he has more than 20,000 followers!  Recently he posted all-time great lists for boys and girls in ND hoops history. And it caught Tom's eye. So, we all decide to grill him for...

This is our post-Olympics and post-Super Bowl episode. But we also landed a special guest! Coach Rick Neumann, University of Mary Women's Basketball Coach, joined us for those conversations. Then, he let us grill him about his team, and the North Dakota stars on it, the upcoming conference tournament, and he shares some hilarious stories about players forgetting things for games (news broke this w...

Carrington native, Bridger Anderson is fresh off a 9th place finish in Steer Wrestling (Bulldogging in the biz) at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. What a cool guy, with a hell of a story. If you don't know much about rodeo, this interview will also be a bit of a lesson - it sure was for us. But we can all say this, we're a heck of a lot more interested now than ever.  You'll find Bridger t...

We've noticed that when we interview people, they respond with really good games/events! We might brag about this a bit in this episode. We, of course, lead with more on Britta Curl-Salemme and her Olympic debut. Here's the schedule for the US Women's Hockey team so you can catch #17 in action: Feb. 5 at 9:30 a.m. is game 1 - and of course against Czech Republic. Game 2 is Feb. 7 at 9:30 a.m. agai...

Recently named to the US Women's National Olympic Hockey Team, Bismarck native Britta Curl-Salemme joins us for a conversation about her journey to making the team, her hot start to the professional season, and all the championship rings she now owns. Plus, we reminisce about the capital city and her time growing up in North Dakota - from backyard ice rinks to "kicking the box" - she shared some g...

We seem to start with NFL most of the time. In this episode the Vikings fans ruminate on their season and who might QB the squad next year.  Then we pivot to the North Dakota scene with conversations about who made Olympic rosters - including Bismarck native Britta Curl-Salamme on the Olympic Women's Hockey Team, who Tom thinks might be the first Olympian from the capital city. A couple of former...

It's a new year, so yeah, there are resolutions, but also a conversation about some First experiences we remember vividly. For real content, as always, there's football. But hang around for hockey and college hoops updates.  Then, Tom reminded us of a North Dakota athlete that was such a big deal for a time that she had a stint on Saturday Night Live! Scott gets embarrassed that he didn't bring he...

We award Christmas gifts to our Mt. Rushmore members (all time and active), plus a North Dakotan who just deserves a present to make their impact that much greater. Lots of other stuff comes up, of course, including Bison/Fighting Hawks bowing out of the playoffs early, some college football coaching shake-ups (all ND related!), and college hoops again. One of Mike's gifts goes to PGA golfer Tom H...

Emails drove a good chunk of the conversation, and we're honestly embarrassed about a couple of the North Dakotans repping the 70Won that we hadn't discussed yet! The emails were spurred by our ongoing discussion about who would fill out an Active Mt. Rushmore.  We talk Bison. Because it's football season. We talk Fighting Hawks, Marauders, Dakota Wizards, and some BIG DUDES. And rodeo keeps poppi...

The Mt. Rushmore conversation is fun - we expand on it in Episode 9, limiting it to North Dakotans who are still playing or coaching. Tom has some off-the-radar additions that deserve lots more coverage.  We also add some chatter about the Bison v Fighting Hawks rivalry, another coach or two we need to be following, and, of course, there are more North Dakotans doing remarkable things on the field...

We start with a few minutes on that Mr. Rushmore list we bantered about last episode. We might have come to some consensus. Tell us where we're wrong at 70WonSportscast@gmail.com! We know we've missed some honorable mentions at least. A little Bison/FightingHawks football follows (are the Bison too good?), then we get to some phenomenal stuff happening in the NHL with former UND players right up t...

We start with UND/NDSU football, merge into a discussion we should all be having about the greatest ND athletes, yap a little about Carson Wentz and his role with the Vikings, and round out the show with some cool UND Hockey nuggets. We also introduce a newbie (yet, a ND sportscasting veteran) to the show who immediately drew a flag for misinformation!! He made a nice recovery, so we'll keep him....

You've seen her on Fox Sports North and heard her regularly on KFAN radio - now, hear from North Dakota's own Marney Gellner as she chats with the guys about her journey from small town weekend sports anchor to the spotlight of the Twin Cities. There, she's shined as a host, play-by-play announcer, sideline reporter, and analyst for the Twins, Timberwolves, Lynx, and many other Minnesota sports te...

Carson Wentz a starter again?!! It's likely to happen. Mike and Scott lead Episode 5 with a conversation about Carson's potential impact on the Vikings and wrap it up with their favorite memories of the Bismarck native. We also chat about a local legend who will be inducted to the National Rodeo Hall of Fame, and one of the bulls who helped get him there. (we talk about this awesome video in the s...

The stories in this episode are epic! From being picked last in a grade school football game (and the dummy who didn't pick him got called out!) to the play that could have led to making an NFL roster, you'll hear some fascinating and fun stories from Canadian Football Hall of Famer and Bismarck native Weston Dressler. He joins Mike and Scott for their first interview episode. Join us for 50 minut...

Inspired by our first listener email, we dive into the prominent football coaches who got their start in North Dakota. Most of them emerging from The Program, NDSU. But all took different and impressive paths to the pros.  Some names you'll recognize, and some names might just give you some more teams to pay attention to this season. We also mention a campaign in Bismarck to erect a statue at the...

Two players from NDSU were drafted into the NFL this April. They continue to build a legitimate pipeline of talent to the pros that got more and more surprising as we dug into it. More than we thought grew up in our state! Plus, a bit more hockey talk as a Bismarck native got drafted to an NHL team.