Beaver Tales

Steve Johnson had his jersey retired at Oregon State for good reason: he was the 1981 Pac-10 Player of the Year and the conference's leading scorer, he broke the NCAA record for field goal percentage, and was selected 7th overall in the 1981 NBA Draft.

We reminisce about his path to OSU and why he only played one year of high school basketball, his time in Oregon playing for the Beavers and later the Blazers. Steve is now the Editor In Chief of Yachting Lifestyle 365: check out their website at https://www.yachtinglifestyle365.com/

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The Beaver Tales Documentary Series comes out later this year! To learn more about this in-depth project on the 2018 NCAA Champion baseball team, take a look at this website: https://the-beaver-tales-podcast-documentaries.mailchimpsites.com/

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Convoy of Hope is today's featured nonprofit and can be found at https://www.convoyofhope.org/

Charlie Sitton was one of the most highly prized recruits in Oregon State basketball history coming out of McMinnville High School, and he followed through on the expectations. A two-time All-American and skilled 6'8" forward, Charlie remains eighth in points scored in OSU history. The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and OSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee played in the NBA and in Europe and now owns the Century Hotel in Tualatin.

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For more on the Beaver Tales Documentaries, check out an upcoming project covering the 2018 Beaver Baseball Team: https://the-beaver-tales-podcast-documentaries.mailchimpsites.com/

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Food for the Hungry can be found at fh.org -- learn more and consider supporting their cause!

John Radetich joined the Beaver Tales Podcast back in June to talk about setting the indoor high jump world record in 1973, jumping 7 feet, 4.75 inches. This time on the podcast, we talk about his second world record: in 1976, he cleared 7 feet, 6 inches with ease.

Maybe the best part of the conversation was about how long it took for his world record to be broken (spoiler alert, it was pretty soon after). He's also got some great memories with his Oregon State teammate and fellow high jump legend, Dick Fosbury.

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Interested in listening to the Beaver Tales Documentaries? They will be just as accessible as the Beaver Tales Podcast, but even more in-depth content. Learn more here: https://the-beaver-tales-podcast-documentaries.mailchimpsites.com/

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Children's Garden is today's featured nonprofit. Check out their story and donate here: https://childrensgarden.ph/

Gabe Ovgard had a "storybook" season in 2015. A walk-on wide receiver from Klamath Falls, Ovgard switched to safety and started two games, recording an interception and later earning a scholarship. A few months later, his athletic career came to an end after his (estimated) 11th concussion.

Gabe has gone through ups and downs since then, struggling with the transition away from sports at first. Today, though, I can tell how much he's matured and learned from that process.

Gabe, 24, works full-time for Nike and will share his one-year anniversary in September with his wife, Rylee.

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The Beaver Tales Documentary Series comes out in a few months! Season one of these podcast documentaries tells the story of the Beaver Baseball team in 2018. Subscribe so you can be the first to listen here: https://the-beaver-tales-podcast-documentaries.mailchimpsites.com/

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For more on a great charity, Kingdom Home, check out https://kingdomhome.org/

Susan Crist now works as the Assistant Director of Employer Relations for the Oregon State College of Business. She knows what it takes to be set up for success, manage expectations and prepare for the next stage in a professional career. She also has fun memories of playing golf for the Beavers in the 1980s, from motor home transportation to calling in favors to the student newspaper after a particular meet.

Check out all those stories as I chat with the very first golfer on the podcast!

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The Beaver Tales Documentaries are coming later this year and they'll be some of the best OSU-related content you can find! Learn more and maybe get some perks by subscribing at this link: https://the-beaver-tales-podcast-documentaries.mailchimpsites.com/

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To check out Convoy of Hope, today's featured nonprofit, click here: https://www.convoyofhope.org/

When Oregon State baseball won its first ever national championship, Tyler Graham caught the ball that sealed the 3-2 win over North Carolina in 2006. That was the 151st and final game Tyler Graham played in for OSU; the senior from Great Falls, Montana went on to a pro career and even a brief stint in the major leagues. 

Tyler has since gotten into coaching and was the Director of Player Development in 2018 when Oregon State won its third national championship. He's since been hired by the Texas Rangers to be an assistant coach for their minor league affiliate, the Nashville Sounds, with manager Darwin Barney.

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Speaking of 2018 Beaver Baseball, were YOU aware of the documentary coming out soon on that championship squad? In fact, Tyler Graham is the 22nd interview I've conducted for this documentary. After you listen to this conversation, learn more here: https://the-beaver-tales-podcast-documentaries.mailchimpsites.com/

With 23 seasons coaching gymnastics at Oregon State, Michael Chaplin and I had plenty to talk about: how he's grown as a coach, what he's seen usually leads to athletes being successful after college, and how he transitioned away from his own gymnastics career.

Michael was a Pac-10 champion, a national champion and a two-time All-American at UCLA. Michael and his wife Tanya (a six-time All-American at UCLA) have been coaching in Corvallis since 1998. Tanya is OSU's head coach and Michael serves as associate head coach.

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Learn about the Beaver Tales Documentaries and join the email list for that project/this podcast at the following link! If you leave your email there, you can reply to any message I send to give me feedback and suggestions: https://the-beaver-tales-podcast-documentaries.mailchimpsites.com/

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FEATURED CHARITY: Food for the Hungry's website: https://www.fh.org/

Not only was Mary Jacobsen a four-time scholastic All-American (as a computer science major, no less) she earned second-team All-American status on the final vault of her career in the 2019 NCAA Championships. She now works for Google back in her home state of Washington.

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The Beaver Tales DOCUMENTARY series is coming up later this year! For another project that benefits charity and gives you an exclusive look at classic Beaver moments, please click this link and drop your email there to help me spread the word! https://the-beaver-tales-podcast-documentaries.mailchimpsites.com/

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If you're interested in donating to Children's Garden or just seeing the fantastic work they do, the website is childrensgarden.ph

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Brent Brennan spent six seasons as a wide receivers coach at OSU (2011-2016) before earning his first head coaching gig at San Jose State. After improving from 1-11 in 2018 to a 5-7 record in 2019, Brennan earned a three-year contract extension. 

Brent and I chatted about what it's like to be a head coach in a year like 2020 and what message he's sending to his players during the COVID crisis and the Black Lives Matter movement. Plus, we talk about the "thousands" of coaching connections he's made, including his friendship with former OSU head coach Gary Andersen. 

Brent Brennan is one of the nicest guys I've gotten to speak with and I hope you enjoy this episode- if you share it with a friend, you might join the "nicest person" category too!

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The Beaver Tales Documentary Series has a website! One of the future seasons will have an episode on a certain game Brent Brennan coached in, so make sure to check out this website and leave your email here: https://the-beaver-tales-podcast-documentaries.mailchimpsites.com/

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Find Kingdom Home at https://kingdomhome.org/