USD's "Piv," Sam Herder (FCS analyst), and a state baseball preview: South Dakota Sports Lounge

SD Sports Lounge: Mike McFeely, USC coach Eric Musselman (on NIL payroll & USD transfer Isaac Bruns), Craig Mattick (SDPB prep sports), Zach Borg on Sioux Falls' NCAAA men's tourney bids

It's a small basketball world after all. At least in South Dakota. If you were wondering whether there was a local tie to USD and Summit League leading scorer Isaac Bruns' transfer portal landing spot at USC, you were correct. Well, kind of. South Dakotans know the name Eric Musselman well. The third-year Trojan head coach is the son of former Golden Gopher coach and the first-ever Minnesota Timberwolves coach Bill Musselman. He was in his 20's when the Thrillers and Sioux Falls Skyforce waged a heated in-state rivalry. In the 30 years since, he has stalked the sidelines in the CBA, USBL, and NBA—where he led both the Warriors and the Kings — the NBA D-League and G-League and, for the last 14 years, the college game. He took Nevada to its first Sweet 16 and Arkansas to its first Elite Eight since the Nolan Richardson glory years— and famously took his shirt of and twirling it around on-camera along the way. In part of his entertaining, engaging chat on Sioux Falls Live's "Happy Hour with John Gaskins," Musselman explains exactly how Isaac Bruns ended up in Los Angeles and what Bruns must do to see significant playing time at USC. Plus, how has Musselman's experience as a professional coach honed his ability to deal with NIL roster payroll? And just how does the construction of a roster in the NIL era work? The segments leads off this week's South Dakota Sports Lounge, a weekly digital TV show for Midwest Sports+ that takes hand-picked best segments from Forum Communications shows like Happy Hour, Hot Mic with Dom Izzo (Fargo), and the Nate Brown Show (Rapid City)— all which can be found and viewed on your TV (or any device) with the MS+ app. Other segments this week: Hot Mic w/ Dom Izzo (Fargo): Dom had Mike McFeely on for his weekly segment. They start by discussing the NBA Finals. Mike takes umbrage with NY Knicks fans complaining about officiating. Then, they discuss the national reaction to the Brendan Sorsby decision at Texas Tech. The Nate Brown Show (Rapid City): Craig Mattick, broadcaster for SDPB/ In Play Podcast host, starts his weekly segment by talking about why the South Dakotas state baseball tournament isn't a sanctioned high school varsity sport. Zach Borg feature: An investigative piece looking into the viability of Sioux Falls as a host site for the newly expanded first round of the NCAA basketball tournament.

FULL SHOW: Unpacking BONKERS Knicks' Finals comeback (USF coach Chris Johnson) & re-living GOAT South Dakota basketball games & buzzer beaters (with Trent Singer) on a Thirsty Thursday from Orion Pub

Does our modern culture frequently and recklessly crown the latest thrilling game or epic game-winning play as maybe the best damn greatest of all time? Guilty. But how can the Knicks' 29-point, largest comeback in NBA Finals history — capped by an insanely athletic put back off a missed three-pointer with one second left — not barge right into the conversation, recency bias and all? While Happy Hour is a local sports talk show that prefers to zero in on local sports events and topics, TV ratings show this Finals is the most-watched in almost 30 years, back to the Jordan era. So, yeah, we're going to talk about it— the thrilling, the epic, and the San Antonio Spurs' utter stupidity — on a Thirsty Thursday from the Orion Pub in downtown Sioux Falls, which was, no doubt, rocking with hysteria down the stretch on Wednesday night. University of Sioux Falls basketball coach Chris Johnson goes straight to the stupidity as Orion Pub co-owner Jon Oppold weighs in. Both men are die-hard Timberwolves fans and Happy Hour Timberwolves Talk podcast hosts, so, yes, there's some analysis of Karl-Anthony Towns' play in the series and a discussion on what (or who) could take the Wolves into the championship round next year. Then, we're going to conjure some of the most thrilling, epic games in Sioux Falls and South Dakota basketball history (preps, college, Skyforce), with submissions from the foremost chroniclers of such events like Stu Whitney, Craig Mattick, Terry Vandrovec, the Happy Hour host, and veteran local sportswriter Trent Singer of Sioux Falls Live. It might just be the best damn greatest local sports talk hour of all time that ever talked about the best damn greatest NBA Finals finish and best damn greatest local basketball finishes of all time. Did we hype this episode a bit too much? Guilty. Or not. Check it out and decide for yourself.

Chris Johnson on Knicks all-time BONKERS NBA Finals game with & Jon Oppold (Orion Pub)... plus, some Timberwolves "what will it take to make the Finals" discussion

Does our modern culture frequently and recklessly crown the latest thrilling game or epic game-winning play as maybe the best damn greatest of all time? Guilty. But how can the Knicks' 29-point, largest comeback in NBA Finals history — capped by an insanely athletic put back off a missed three-pointer with one second left — not barge right into the conversation, recency bias and all? While Happy Hour is a local sports talk show that prefers to zero in on local sports events and topics, TV ratings show this Finals is the most-watched in almost 30 years, back to the Jordan era. So, yeah, we're going to talk about it— the thrilling, the epic, and the San Antonio Spurs' utter stupidity — on a Thirsty Thursday from the Orion Pub in downtown Sioux Falls, which was, no doubt, rocking with hysteria down the stretch on Wednesday night. University of Sioux Falls basketball coach Chris Johnson goes straight to the stupidity as Orion Pub co-owner Jon Oppold weighs in. Both men are die-hard Timberwolves fans and Happy Hour Timberwolves Talk podcast hosts, so, yes, there's some analysis of Karl-Anthony Towns' play in the series and a discussion on what (or who) could take the Wolves into the championship round next year.

Best BONKERS basketball games, comebacks, finishes in South Dakota history on a Thirsty Thursday from Orion Pub with Trent Singer (Sioux Falls Live)

Coming off Wednesday's insane Knicks comeback win and last-second shot in the NBA Finals, we're going to conjure some of the most thrilling, epic games in Sioux Falls and South Dakota basketball history (preps, college, Skyforce), with submissions from the foremost chroniclers of such events like Stu Whitney, Craig Mattick, Terry Vandrovec, the Happy Hour host, and veteran local sportswriter Trent Singer of Sioux Falls Live. It might just be the best damn greatest local sports talk hour of all time that ever talked about the best damn greatest NBA Finals finish and best damn greatest local basketball finishes of all time. Did we hype this episode a bit too much? Guilty. Or not. Check it out and decide for yourself.

FULL SHOW: UND coach speaks about tampering, Kyler Murray's new lot in life with Vikings, and World Cup 101 for Dummies: Where to watch in Sioux Falls and what to know

It's party time for both soccer die-hards and those who watch the sport only when Team USA plays in the World Cup. For the American men, it has been 12 years. Welcome back to the party, indeed, pal. The first USA game is on Friday night against Paraguay, and Happy Hour provided an entertaining "World Cup 101 for Dummies" cram session for those who want some idea of what to expect on Friday and beyond, but haven't studied yet. Happy Hour isn't taking you to the library. Instead, on Wednesday, the show traveled to kRav'N at 69th and near Louise Avenue, the new World Cup watch party venue for the American Outlaws' Sioux Falls chapter. So, pull up a bar stool, order a cold pint, and enjoy the hosts pepper the American Outlaws of South Dakota president Clint Krahn and kRav'N bartender Jackson Rentschler about the big event. * Who are the players to watch? * What are realistic USA expectations? * Why "style" do the Americans play? * How pivotal is a successful World Cup to "the growth of the game?" * How much has soccer's popularity in Sioux Falls grown since the last men's World Cup came to the U.S. in 1994? Before all this, the Happy Hour host reacts to University of North Dakota football coach Eric Schmidt's explanation of the "tampering violation" the Fighting Hawks self-reported the the NCAA and the recruiting penalties that resulted. Upon further review, maybe this publicity will actually help UND more than hurt it. Plus, Cam Newton provided a quirky but effective analogy comparing Kyler Murray's situation in Minnesota to his conditions in Arizona. In the host's mind, it's more evidence that Murray should not only start over J.J. McCarthy, but there's a decent chance Murray will thrive.