Mr. Basketball to Mr. Coach - Ep. 26 - Interview with ND hoops legend Ben Jacobson

Mr. Basketball to Mr. Coach - Ep. 26 - Interview with ND hoops legend Ben Jacobson

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-year run landed him his next opportunity. Now, head coach at Utah State University, a school moving to the Pac12 this year, he's looking at what's next for himself, his players, and his new basketball program. We spend about 40 minutes with Coach Jacobson talking hoops, reminiscing about his time at UND, UNI, and some of his memories growing up in Bismarck, Fargo, and Mayville. His stories about how awesome the NCAA Tournament is - and those thrilling moments when he found out his team(s) made it - highlight this awesome conversation.

Season 2 Oi! Oi! Oi! - Ep25

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. And Mike's got this thing about the active Mt. Rushmore, and he just can't stop bringing it up. As always, send comments, suggestions, and stories to 70WonSportscast@gmail.com

Satchel Paige and Bismarck's Fascinating Amateur Baseball History - Interview with Author Tom Dunkel

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 that helped pave the way for integrated baseball across the country.  We talk with Tom for a little over an hour about what inspired him to write this book, how it came together, and what he learned along the way.  Coincidentally, a fundraising campaign to erect a Satchel Paige statue at Bismarck's Municipal Ball Park is close to reaching it's goal. Here's a link to learn more about the project and donate to the campaign: https://www.bisparks.org/about-us/bismarck-recreation-council/brc-capital-campaigns/

Scheduling (and why we care) - Ep 23

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 that could get one listener a sweet t-shirt we've had printed! Listen and then send us a comment at 70WonSportscast@gmail.com. Enjoy!

Going Pro - Ep22

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 Britta Curl and her Minnesota Frost PWHL team, then we head down memory lane before our final question. The final question has us texting each other back and forth and hopefully draws in some listener emails - 70WonSportscast@gmail.com Thanks for listening!