Montana Mint Sports

In Chapter Eight of Land Grab, we take a deep dive into the  takeover of the Anaconda Company by Standard Oil, and  the vicious decades of hegemonic corporate rule  that followed in the 20th century. We look at how this reviled villain in “The Company”, and the devastating bust that brought an end to the homestead boom we covered in the  last two chapters, conspired to bring Joseph M. Dixon out of...

The Flathead Allotment Act was passed in 1904, but the reservation was not opened until 1910. But those 6 years were far from idle. This chapter of Land Grab looks at how the white community of Missoula circled around the reservation, smelling a profit, while the native Salish, Pend D'Oreille, and Kootenai people fought  to hold on to the last vestiges of their homeland.  This chapter also examine...

Land Grab is back with the first episode of the second part of our series on the history of the Missoula Mercantile Company, corporate control of Montana, and the allotment of the Flathead Indian Reservation at the turn of the 20th century in Western Montna. In this chapter, we look at the rise of Montana politician Joseph Dixon, a young North Carolinian who moved to Missoula and ascended rapidly...

Montana's spring camp has wrapped up and now the Grizzlies look to full prep for the 2022 season.  With Luke out on assignment, Mike and Brint, with guest Kyle got together to discuss what their overall thoughts on where the team is at right now.  Who stood out in spring ball?  What new names will you be hearing a lot from this season?  We're going to have a new QB this season as well, how did the...

Montana's current bearer of #37, Jace Lewis, joins the guys for beers to reflect on his time as a Griz.   We chat with Jace about his upbringing, playing football in Townsend, and his recruitment to Montana.   There's insights into what it was like during the coaching change at Montana.  Additionally there's plenty of stories from this season where fans will appreciate a players perspective from s...

It's been over a month since the GFP was together!  Now, with the holidays behind us, signing day complete, and the basketball season in full swing we found plenty of topics to cover.  There's plenty of discussion given to the newest additions to the football roster.  Where will the new transfers fit in?  Who should we expect to see right away?   What positions still need help?  For most of the fi...

Montana State's historic season has come to an end and Montana Parlay and Hot Take Nate give their first hand account of the Cats' dismantling at the hands of the Bison. Bear Tycoon gives a futile attempt at taking the luster off the Cats' first appearance in the National Championship since 1984 with little luck. It was a hell of a season so let's finalize it!

Montana State is heading to Frisco Texas to take on those pesky Bison of NDSU.  Hot Take Nate and Bear Tycoon are joined by Montana Parlay to talk the game, travel plans, and best man speeches. 

Holy cow, the Montana States Bobcats are going to the National Championship! Montana Parlay joins Hot Take Nate and Bear Tycoon to discuss this improbably outcome. 

In the cumulative chapter of the first half of our season, we find Andrew Hammond at the peak of his powers in Missoula in the 1890’s. The Bitterroot Salish have left the valley and Marcus Daly’s Anaconda Company fills the vacuum.  Statewide, the Capital and the University are up for grabs, and Hammond makes a number of under the table deals to try and secure Missoula the University, and Helena th...

Hot Take Nate and Bear Tycoon are joined by special guest Montana Parlay. BT reflects on the (very successful) Griz season and they guys look forward to MSU vs SDSU. 

In the fourth chapter of Land Grab,  20 years of pressure comes to a head, as Charlo’s bands of Salish people in the Bitterroot valley are finally forced out by troops from Fort Missoula, and make the long walk through downtown Missoula and up to the Jocko Reservation. We go deep into the circumstances that ultimately brought Charlo and his people to that  decision, and find Andrew Hammond’s influ...

The 2021 season for the Montana Grizzlies officially came to a close with a loss against James Madison.  With the season now in the rear view mirror the guys take time to discuss their thoughts and observations from the game.   The talk then spans out into a more broad discussion reflecting on the season as a whole.  While there's the pain of a playoff loss, we celebrate the many successes of this...

Hot Take Nate and Bear Tycoon discuss last weekend's big wins and predict this weekend's semifinal matchups.  Bear Tycoon is so excited he's barely coherent and Nate gives a geography lesson. 

The Montana Grizzlies are once again in the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs.  To get there, the Griz had to play the Eastern Washington Eagles again, a team they lost to in the regular season.  EWU was all talk in the weeks leading up to the game but in the end Montana came away with a decisive win.  With guest Kyle Sample the guys go over all aspects of the game.   From the atmosphere, to...

Welcome to Land Grab chapter three! In this chapter, the political intrigue really takes off on another level. Last episode, we laid out the formation of the Montana Improvement Company: a massive timber monopoly created to build the transcontinental railroad and the Anaconda Company smelter. In this episode, we dive into the actual operation of that monopoly, as Andrew Hammond, Marcus Daly, and t...

Hot Take Nate makes good on a bet (kind of) by singing the Griz fight song, and he and Bear Tycoon relive Cat/Griz after a week off. Then they preview this weekend's playoff games Griz vs EWU and Cats vs UT Martin .

On this playoff edition of the Griz Fan Podcast the guys are joined by Colt Palmer, a Griz player from 2001 - 2004.  Colt shares some incredible stories and insight from his time as a player.  What does a week of playoff prep look like?  How does this staff adjust it's schedule with a Friday game?  What is it like playing the same team twice in one season?  Colt goes on to share some memories from...

In chapter two of Land Grab, our narrative for the season kicks off in earnest. We meet the key figure for the rest of the show: Andrew B. Hammond, and chart his journey from teenage lumberjack to prospector to partner in the corporation that will become the Missoula Mercantile.  In the Bitterroot Valley, future President James Garfield arrives and forges an agreement that claims Chief Charlo’s Sa...

Welcome to the first season of Land Grab! In this first chapter, we’re laying out the terms of the story we’re going to tell in this season: the story of the opening of the Flathead Indian Reservation to white settlement; and the real foundations of Missoula and Western Montana.  This first chapter largely focuses on the precolonial history of Montana. We’ll learn about the origins of Montana’s ab...

Still euphoric, and with maybe 1 or 2 GFP members a little hungover, we're celebrating the Montana Grizzlies dismantling of the Bobcats.  Shaun Rainey with ABC/Fox, SWX joins us for this marathon pod to give his thoughts and insights every step of the way as well.   The Montana defense put forth its most dominant performance of the year.  The special teams were near perfect in every fashion, and t...

With the Brawl of the Wild just days away, we're happy to bring you a special roundtable episode featuring Griz and Cat fans from around the Big Sky Podcast Network realm.  Mike and Brint with the Griz Fan Pod share and discuss their thoughts and opinions of this game from the Montana Grizzlies perspective.  Both Ryan and Ryan from the R&R Cat Cast and Montana Parlay and Hot Take Nate from Montana...

WOOOOOOOOOOOO! Hot Take Nate and Bear Tycoon talk Cat/Griz. What more do you need?

The Brawl of the Wild awaits this Saturday and we've got plenty to cover on the GFP.   With Luke out for the week, Riley Corcoran joins Mike and Brint in person.  In our chat Riley goes over some final thoughts from NAU and looks ahead to the Cat game.  As the pod goes on, Andrew Schmidt, everyone's favorite backup running back, joins in virtually to chat all things cat week.   Both share great in...

Hot Take Nate and Bear Tycoon go over the Cats big win in Cheney, the Griz domination in Greeley, and preview this week's games.