Happy Hour with John Gaskins

The man who changed the face of South Dakota State football isn't John Stiegelmeier.   It was the head coach who preceded Stig: Mike Daly.   At least, that is what Stigelmeier said in his recently-released biography book  Stig & The Rise of South Dakota State Football  by Tanner Castora. A Fairmont, Minnesota, and Augustana football standout, Daly was a young SDSU defensive coordinator when he hir...

Nobody prepares to be diagnosed with cancer.   But nobody seems better equipped to handle and battle it than Nate Malchow.   After 40 years of competing and coaching sports (and some music) at a high level and with unrelenting focus and conviction, Malchow says he had the right mindset to tackle the chemotherapy, radiation, physical and mental fatigue, worries and doubts, and ability to keep loved...

Nobody prepares to be diagnosed with cancer.   But nobody seems better equipped to handle and battle it than Nate Malchow.   After 40 years of competing and coaching sports (and some music) at a high level and with unrelenting focus and conviction, Malchow says he had the right mindset to tackle the chemotherapy, radiation, physical and mental fatigue, worries and doubts, and ability to keep loved...

News flash: North Dakota State is no longer in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.   Safe to say, the league is now up for grabs without the team that won 12 titles in 15 years, right?   Or will South Dakota State just perk back up to No. 1, as the Jackrabbits did for three out of four seasons in 2020-23?   That's one MVFC topic the Happy Hour host and Sioux Falls Live sports reporter Trent S...

The man who changed the face of South Dakota State football isn't John Stiegelmeier.   It was the head coach who preceded Stig: Mike Daly.   At least, that is what Stig said in his recently-released biography book  Stig & The Rise of South Dakota State Football.   Daly hired Stig twice. First, as a volunteer student assistant when Daly was the Jackrabbits defensive coordinator in 1977. Fourteen ye...

The stories of the turnaround in Brookings are just a fraction of Daly's rich football life.   There was growing up in Fairmont, Minnesota, without his father — a World War II Presidential Unit Citation honoree who died of polio when Mike was a year old.   There were his college days and early coaching days at Augustana, where he met and enjoyed the beer-tapped refrigerator of fellow assistant Don...

The man who changed the face of South Dakota State football isn't John Stiegelmeier.   It was the head coach who preceded Stig: Mike Daly.   At least, that is what Stig said in his recently-released biography book  Stig & The Rise of South Dakota State Football.   Daly hired Stig twice. First, as a volunteer student assistant when Daly was the Jackrabbits defensive coordinator in 1977. Fourteen ye...

Goodbye, lakeside grillouts, fireworks and family reunions.  Hello, pigskin.   The second the Fourth of July hits the rear view mirror, it feels like it is time to talk football. And just to ensure there is no confusion regarding which football we're talking about on this week's "Nobody's Listening Anyway" podcast with Sioux Falls Live sports editor Matt Zimmer this week, the American soccer team...

Happy Monday and Happy Sixth of July!   As we continue to celebrate America's 250th & the holiday, enjoy conversations All-American football players: USD running back Charles Pierre, Jr., before his season-ending injury and SDSU's Quentin Christensen, the cattle farming offensive lineman who became a folk hero among Jackrabbit fans even before an outstanding 2025 that led to million dollar deals a...

Happy Monday and Happy Sixth of July!   As we continue to celebrate America's 250th & the holiday, enjoy conversations with All-American football players: USD running back Charles Pierre, Jr., before his season-ending injury and SDSU's Quentin Christensen, the cattle farming offensive lineman who became a folk hero among Jackrabbit fans even before an outstanding 2025 that led to million-dollar de...

Happy Monday and Happy Sixth of July!   As we continue to celebrate America's 250th & the holiday, enjoy conversations with All-American football players: USD running back Charles Pierre, Jr., before his season-ending injury, and SDSU's Quentin Christensen, the cattle-farming offensive lineman who became a folk hero among Jackrabbit fans even before an outstanding 2025 that led to million-dollar d...

The last time Staff Sgt. Kim Hubers was in New Orleans, she spent six weeks helping clean up the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina as a member of the South Dakota Army National Guard. People who had lost everything in their lives literally fell into her arms. Twenty years later, the lifelong Vikings fan was wrapped in Justin Jefferson's arms as part of a Super Bowl trip rewarded to her through the USA...

Nothing is more American than daring to dream big. Of imagining the impossible and at least trying to make it happen.   So, what better way to celebrate our nation's 250th birthday on Happy Hour than to think big about Team USA's chances of winning the World Cup? The idea that they could play well enough to win is not absurd.   How can it get any bolder or more absurd than that?   By enthusiastica...

Happy 4th of July  Weekend. I t's time for another South Dakota Sports Lounge, where we take you to the best segments of the week across our Forum for an inside look at sports in the Midwest.  Hot Mic with Dom Izzo kicks off our show with guest Jeff Kolpack. It was a big week for NDSU, which officially became an FBS football team on Wednesday according to the NCAA calendar. Expectations could not...

Nothing is more American than daring to dream big. Of imagining the impossible and at least trying to make it happen.   So, what better way to celebrate our nation's 250th birthday on Happy Hour than to think big about Team USA's chances of winning the World Cup? The idea that they could play well enough to win is not absurd.   How can it get any bolder or more absurd than that?   By enthusiastica...

Few letters are more of a lightning rod in sports right now than "NIL."    It is difficult to have a discussion about the state of college sports without bringing up "Name, Image, and Likeness" which has seemingly transformed from, "let's give athletes a chance to pocket money that is rightfully theirs from, say, endorsements and jersey sales" to, seemingly,  this is their salary—this is what it c...

Few letters are more of a lightning rod in sports right now than "NIL."    It is difficult to have a discussion about the state of college sports without bringing up "Name, Image, and Likeness" which has seemingly transformed from, "let's give athletes a chance to pocket money that is rightfully theirs from, say, endorsements and jersey sales" to, seemingly,  this is their salary—this is what it c...

Few letters are more of a lightning rod in sports right now than "NIL."    It is difficult to have a discussion about the state of college sports without bringing up "Name, Image, and Likeness" which has seemingly transformed from, "let's give athletes a chance to pocket money that is rightfully theirs from, say, endorsements and jersey sales" to, seemingly,  this is their salary—this is what it c...

It's the last day of June.   The first day of July means a return to football practice to start a new season is on the calendar for almost every team at every level.   The calendar flip also means North Dakota State is  officially and legally  no longer a member of the FCS and Missouri Valley Football Conference.   It is another reason to anticipate life for schools like SDSU and USD without the 8...

Sioux Falls native and lifelong resident J.J. Hartigan has spent his entire play-by-play career in Sioux Falls and Brookings, calling games and working with legendary coaches, athletes, and broadcasters along the way. Currently, Hartigan is now the sole voice of Augustana football and basketball (radio and streaming) after the recent passing of the 42-year "Voice of the Vikings" Jeff Fylling.  Fyl...

Hartigan has called play-by-play for two colleges in South Dakota (SDSU & Augustana) and two Sioux Falls minor league squads (Canaries and Storm).  In part 2 of our conversation about his career, he takes us to Brookings to call games for legendary Jackrabbit teams, coaches, and players— like Aaron Johnston, Scott Nagy, Jill Young, and Nate Wolters. What was it like being around championship teams...

It might be a bit much to call someone under age 40 "living, walking history," but veteran local sportscaster J.J. Hartigan is undeniably someone who has called some history and gotten to know well some of the sporting legends of South Dakota over his 16-year career:   C.J. Ham Nate Wolters Aaron Johnston Scott Nagy Tom Billeter Dan Jansen Kurtiss Riggs Lorenzo Brown Steve Shirley Ben Moore   And,...

So, you want to be a Div. I mid-major basketball coach? Invest in plenty of Pepto Bismol for the stomach knots in those tight games, Nyquil to put to rest those sleepless nights, caffeine to keep you going through endless hours on the recruiting trail, and perhaps even Novocain to numb the pain of 18-to-22-year-olds breaking your heart.   The latter has been in greater supply the last few years du...

Nobody ever said that being the head coach or a fan of college or pro sports team is easy.   But as Rockford Peaches manager Jimmy Dugan — played by Tom Hanks — said in "A League of their Own:"   "It's the hard that makes it great."   Will the hard turn out to be great for University of South Dakota basketball coach Eric Peterson after losing most of his roster to the transfer portal?   Will the h...

Jackson Rentschler, bartender at kRav'N Bar & Grill and Team USA watch party organizer, joined to evaluate the Americans' first two rollicking World Cup wins, their chances of going deep into the event, the atmosphere at kRav'N for the official American Outlaws watch parties, and his once-in-a-lifetime experience attending a World Cup soccer game featuring arguably the GOAT of the sport, Lionel Me...