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 stories to be as fun and interesting as we did. We're more fired up that ever about hockey -- oy, oy, oy!

Remember to email [email protected] with your stories, questions, comments, or just to say hello.

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 during the game and shots just started falling! 
Other stories from Dexter include a stint with pro ball in Europe, his brushes with some NBA greats, and he even dipped his toes in a tryout for the NFL.

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 about an hour. 
You'll agree with some, disagree with others, and recall some things you forgot. And that's the whole point!

If you haven't seen his Facebook page, here it is. You'll be hooked. 
https://www.facebook.com/blasttothepastnd

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 week about a North Dakota athlete who ran during a game to fetch his inhaler!) and his overpriced, but effective, good luck charm.

Thanks for listening! And remember to follow us on Facebook and X, that is, when your not email us at [email protected].

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 to be entertaining, sincere, and humble. Very North Dakotan!!
Enjoy.

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. against Finland.Game 3 is Feb. 9 at 1:40 p.m. against SwitzerlandGame 4 is Feb. 10 at 1:10 p.m. against Canada. All games will be on USA Network. If they make it to the Gold Medal game, that will be on Feb. 19.

We also talk Super Bowl and our growing fascination with Grey Zabel, Football Mt. Rushmore's, some college hoops (Treysen Eaglestaff got hot), and we had a fan tell us about a young ND man who chased his UNC hoops dream. We reference a great story in the Bismarck High student newspaper you can read here: https://bhsnews.org/3069/sports/pivoting-persistency/

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 great memories. And that is what this sportscast is all about!
The many NBC channels will broadcast her games on the Olympic ice. But she also informed us we can watch her Minnesota Frost games free on YouTube! Just regular old YouTube. Here's a link to the team channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PWHL_Minnesota

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 UND guys made the men's roster.
We touch on some college hoops, both men's and women's, then we spend a few minutes on North Dakota's all-time leading scorer in high school basketball. It's a cool story that stemmed from a listener email. This type of stuff is really what we're trying to create - memories for people who love North Dakota and love sports. Super fun segment.

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 her up sooner. 
And Carrington native Bridger Anderson had a heck of a run at the National Finals Rodeo. We celebrate the heck out of that! For video of his steer wrestling runs check out his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bridgerandersonprofessionalsteerwrestler