Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain

One last time this season, we hear from Mike DeCourcy who recaps the Final Four and the NCAA Championship game, plus a look ahead to next season's Top 25, and UCLA's new coach. Softy make the trek over to a very windy Montlake this morning to check out some UW Spring football, and while there, eh could up with defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake to talk some Dawgs defense. Earl Thomas was on with Rich Eisen, and naturally he was asked about his time in Seattle. We've got the audio.

With Dick Fain still on vacation, Hugh Millen steps in to co-host once again. The NCAA Championship was last night, and yet again Virginia narrowly escapes defeat, beating the Red Raiders in overtime. Dave and Hugh recap the vents of the game, which ended up being far more interesting than expected. In case you missed it, and with the aforementioned basketball game on, you very well may have, the M's won again, blowing out KC 13-5. The Phillies are one of the best teams in the National League, and the Mariners have scored more than 40 more runs than Philly in just three extra games. Michael Bennett was on with Cliff and Gas earlier today, talking among other things about the Russell Wilson contract negotiations. Dave and Hugh react to the comments, plus a conversation about Aaron Rodgers as a teammate. Dylan Moore his his first Major League home run last night. The M's utility man joins the show to talk about this Mariners team, and his first couple of weeks in the big leagues.

It's another round of Predict the Pick, with a player today that isn't considered to be a first-round pick, which might make him a good candidate if the Hawks trade back, Juan Thornhill out of Virginia. Courtesy of Simply Seattle, Jon Wilner talks all things Pac-12. Did the showing in the NCAA Tournament help change the image of the conference at all? On Textimonials, it's a rare edition of Ask Hugh.

The Bleacher Report story on Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers continues to make waves, but do we really know how accurate the story is? Aaron Rodgers is probably difficult to deal with, largely because expectations are high, but what do we know for sure? On Fun with Audio, "The Pope" Mike Francesa proclaimed just two months ago that Virginia couldn't win a championship. Auburn's Bryce Brown was caught saying the NCAA needs new refs after the Tigers' Final Four loss. Michael Bennett had a number of interesting things to say when on with Cliff and Gas earlier today. Chris Petersen comments on the hype around quarterback Jacob Eason. Speaking of Eason, now that spring ball is underway, we get some chance to see a little bit of what he has to offer. Is the hype warranted at this point?

It's a shortened show today as our coverage of the NCAA Title Game between Virginia and Texas Tech begins at 4:30. Dick Fain is out today, Hugh Millen is guest hosting with Softy. The Mariners continue to be red hot, winning 9 of their first 11 games and averaging 7.7 runs a game. Are they going to be able to sustain this or will they cool way off? Right now this feels a lot like 2001, except that year the team had at least some expectations. Maybe Jerry Dipoto's plan is actually working. It was announced over the weekend that Jack Sikma would enter the Basketball Hall of Fame. He describes what the moment was like when he found out he was in. On Day 5 of Predict the Pick, Florida State's Brian Burns. Softy and Hugh discuss Russell Wilson's continued contract negotiations. Should he take a discount to help the Seahawks build around him the way Brady did? We wrap up the show with a little NCAA basketball talk to get you ready for tonight's game.

Softy and Dick Fain continues their broadcast live from Minneapolis just one day before the Final Four gets underway. The Mariners played a day game this afternoon and lose in frustrating fashion, finding themselves down early, coming back to take the lead, and then blowing it late in the game. This is pretty much what we can expect from this team this season; lots of offense, but subpar defense and an unreliable bullpen. Cory Gearrin looked particularly awful in the seventh inning, and Tim Beckham had three errors in one inning. Bill Walton joins the show from Radio Row, discussing all four Final Four teams, the Conference of Champions, the women's tournament, and more. Before the interview Softy asks how long of a gap there will be between the first and second questions he asks. The answer: about 8:30. The Voice of the Final Four Kevin Kugler talks all things college basketball from Minneapolis.

The Predict the Pick contest continues every day at 4pm. Today, listener Jeff selects Jeffery Simmons, defensive tackle, Mississippi State. Simmons has had injuries, but alsom some off the field problems that might cause him to fall in the draft, but maybe he's just the project the Seahawks are looking for. The Mariners played a makeup day game against the White Sox this afternoon, and lost. Bill Krueger talks with us about the team's first week, including today's frustrating loss. Can we expect the offense to keep putting up huge numbers, and more importantly, can the defense improve? Textimonials react to the first two hours of the show at 49451 via the Heritage Distilling Text Line.

After nearly a week of anticipation, the Final Four is nearly here. Looking ahead to the games, which coach has the advantage in these games? Izzo has been here before many times, but Pearl and Bennett have played their own fair share of big games, and Beard has proven himself at Texas Tech. On Fun with Audio, country singer Jake Owen calls out Phil Mickelson, Will Cain is pranked, there's a Stephen A. Smith imposter running around, and Virginia's Kyle Guy creates a wedding registry that fans quickly find. DeMarcus Lawrence has signed a huge $105 million multi-year deal, and Frank Clark has to be absolutely thrilled right now. As we've seen in the NFL, it's not about who is the best player, it's about timing when it comes to contracts. PJ Carlesimo talks with Softy and Dick about his experience coaching in the Final Four. How much does experience matter in these situations. He also comments on how soon we might see Mike Hopkins here, and we get his thoughts on Jack Sikma in the Hall of Fame. Doug Gottlieb rounds out the show talking all things college basketball.

Softy and Dick are live from Radio Row in Minneapolis before Saturday's Final Four. Before the show even started, Softy took a look at the text line and saw texters claiming that Russell Wilson is overrated. Really? There are seasons in which Russ has single-handedly saved the team. You don't just let guys like that go. Being on Radio Row is a chance to talk with some familiar voices in person. One such voice is Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News who justifies the idea of playing Final Four games in bigger venues rather than basketball arenas. Two former agents have both weighed in separately on the Seahawks contract situation with Russell Wilson and Frank Clark. We play back the audio and discuss.

It's the second hour of Softy and Dick's live broadcast from Radio Row in Minneapolis amidst the lead-up to the Final Four. Predict the Pick continues. It took three days, but we've finally got a Husky as Taylor Rapp is predicted to be the Hawks' first pick. Jason Terry, one of the College Basketball All Star coaches joins us. Does he maybe feel a tinge of regret about not playing for the Dawgs? Textimonials on the Heritage Distilling Text Line at 49451 continue the conversation on Russell Wilson.