Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain

The MLS regular season is underway once again with the Sounders taking on FC Cincinnati on Saturday. Head coach Brian Schmetzer gives us a look at the team, and what we can expect in the 2019 season. Russell Wilson is traveling to Brazil, but not before he makes another awkward video with Ciara on Fun with Audio. Twenty dollar gift cards to Taco Time are up for grabs on another installment of You Don't Know Dick! The NHL trade deadline has come and gone. We get thoughts on the moves teams made and more from NHL Seattle's Senior Adviser Dave Tippett on Tuesdays with Tipp.

Details continue to emerge on the prostitution sting story allegedly involving Robert Kraft. Authorities claim they have him on camera (no one needs to see that). Kraft's probably only going to get a slap on the wrist from all of this, but what should his punishment be? Should he be forced to sell the team? Does it change things if he knew how deep the human trafficking actually went? On a more upbeat note, the Dawgs have won yet again, and are now Pac-12 champions with four games still to go. Just a week or so ago we talked about the potential for Matisse Thybulle to break GP's conference steal record. Well, he picked up a bunch more and the record is poised to fall, especially if the team makes a run. Washington has come a long way from where they were just two months ago. Have your expectations changed? If they made the tournament and were bounced in the first round, that would have been considered successful two months ago, but now? Mariners infield coach Perry Hill has had great praise heaped upon him. He joins us to talk about his approach to coaching, his turning-around of Dee Gordon a few years ago, and his initial thoughts of a few Mariners infielders.

Is Bryce Harper on his way to Philly? It certainly looked like it, although now a couple of other teams are in the mix. Rhea Hughes of 94 WIP tells us where the Phillies stand in the hopes to land him. We've had a chance to see the Mariners in action now in the first few Spring Training games. The Athletic's Corey Brock has early analysis of some of the new guys on the team, plus the plan for Ichiro, and will we see Felix in a Mariner uniform in 2020? Textimonials weigh in on Robert Kraft, and Baby Shark makes yet another appearance in this segment (yes, again).

A lot happened in the world of sports while Softy was gone. One of the big stories locally was Colin Cowherd's claim that Russell Wilson could end up playing football in New York, but that's not going to happen. Softy believes that a lot of his "good guy" image is contrived to some extent, and it stems from his insecurities. Those same insecurities will prevent him from playing in a market that'll be much harder on him, in an unfamiliar environment. The Dawgs keep rolling, and Matisse Thybulle continues to be the standout on defense. We might just be witnessing his star rising high enough to become a first round draft pick this Spring. The XFL is coming to Seattle with a team led by Jim Zorn, but is there room for it here? In Seattle the team won't compete with much of anything locally except maybe Husky basketball (and eventually NHL hockey). There will probably only be one secondary league in a few years though. One of the two (XFL and AAF) will fold, or they'll merge. Are people really criticizing Kaep for taking the money? It's just money that the would have made if he had been playing. If he knew the impact this would have when it started, would he have done it? Well, maybe now that he's made millions form a settlement he still would. We know the M's aren't likely to win the World Series this year, and that's fine. The 2013 Astros lost 110 games, but they built themselves for the future. No one thinks the Mariners will be that bad this year, but they're in a similar overall situation. This year will be a success if at the end we can point to a handful of guys and say "they'll be the ones to take us deep into the playoffs in a year or two." The goal of the Mariners this year is to show us the future of the team.

It's Softy's last day on vacation. Today, sitting in with Dick Fain is Spencer Hawes who was supposed to join us two weeks ago but was sidelined by snowpocalypse. We take this opportunity to get Spencer's take on everything happening in the world of college basketball. The Dawgs continue to tear their way through the Pac-12. How highly will they get seeded, and how far are they likely to go in the tournament? Is the Pac-12 proposal for outside investors good for the conference in the long run? Spencer shares his thoughts on Zion Williamson, player compensation, and the proposal to lower the NBA draft age.

After missing him yesterday, we finally got a chance to talk with Donald Watts today about the Dawgs after the python that is the Husky defense strangled Utah for over an hour of real time on Wednesday. We also get Don's take on Shoegate, and more. Speaking of things we were hoping for that didn't happen yesterday; the first full Spring Training game was supposed to happen on Thursday but was rained out after less than two innings. Today however, the M's managed to get a game in. From Peoria, one of the rising stars in the Mariners organization, centerfielder Braden Bishop talks with us about the changes in the clubhouse, his own continued development, and his 4MOM charity. On an abbreviated Fun with Audio, we get the latest on the Robert Kraft investigation: Adam Schefter says this goes far beyond Robert Kraft, and Stephen A. Smith thinks it's no big deal. Paul George is forced to respond after a shoe with his name eon it blows apart, and more. On Textimonials, Spencer receives a complimentary text, a thing not common on the text line, and Baby Shark resurfaces... again (you've been warned).

It's been a busy week for KJR's Chuck and Buck this week in Peoria. They're finally headed home, but Bucky checks in one more time to wrap up the week. He explains why this "re-imagining" is different than a full blown rebuild, and why Mariners fans should be enthusiastic about the 2019 season. The Dawgs keep rolling, getting another win at home against Utah on Wednesday. The Huskies football and basketball teams combined remain unbeaten at home in the 2018-2019 season. Mike Hopkins makes his weekly appearance on the show, describing the environment on campus that's bred such success, the defensive python that strangled Utah, his perspective on Zion Williamson, and players sitting out to protect their draft stock. The Dawgs play again tomorrow with a chance to clinch the conference. Dick's son Dixon predicts the outcome of the game, and the Dawgs' tournament chances.

It's the Husky and the Cougar as Jed Collins sits in for Softy with Dick Fain. Despite their natural instincts, both spend a few minutes complementing their respective rival's school (yeah it's a love fest, but we can hope for metaphorical bloodshed later in the show). The biggest rivalry in college basketball basically ended as soon as it started with Zion Williamson getting injured and his Nike shoe falling apart. The incident has sent shockwaves through the sports and business worlds with Nike losing billions of dollars in value today as their stock sank, and renewed calls to overhaul the handling of college players. The question right now is, should he come back and play the rest of the season, or does he risk further injury, potentially causing his draft stock to fall like Nike's after a shoe explosion? The Dawgs win again last night, completely shutting down Utah, and improving their record to 12-1. Jed knew Coach Hop a bit from his AAU days. Dick asks him if he sees Hopkins leaving or Arizona or UCLA if they come calling.

The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy joins us every Thursday at 4, sponsored by Zeeks Pizza. Today, there's plenty to talk about after the Duke/UNC game and the Zion Williamson injury, Washington smothering Utah, and more. Unrelated to the Zion Williamson drama, the NBA is proposing to lower the draft age minimum from 19 to 18. Dick gets Jed's thoughts on that, plus whether or not players in college should be compensated. Textimonials at 49451 react to the first two hours of the show.

Bucky Jacobsen and Chuck Powell continue their broadcasts from Spring Training in Peoria this week. Today was the first Spring Training game, and it lasted all of an inning and a half; canceled due to rain. The good news is the team is on pace to score 45 runs a game... There's still plenty to talk about though. Chuck goes over his interview with Dee Gordon, the overall charisma of the clubhouse, and more as we all await the first full game of camp. Maybe tomorrow. It's no secret the Pac-12 is in a bad state. Now the conference is hoping to sell equity, generating upwards of $500 million. That's great in the short-term, but it'll mean less revenue in a couple of years. Coaching is a bit of an issue here too obviously. How many Pac-12 football and basketball coaches are household names big enough to be known by sports fans on the other side of the country? Maybe four or five? Jed explains why a lack of revenue does absolutely impact the level of talent a school can get. There is a ray of hope though for basketball, as several of the top 25 recruits are slated to land in the conference next season.