Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain

The Dawgs play the Utah State Aggies on Friday afternoon in Columbus, but who are they, and how do they match up? Shawn Harrison, the Utah State beat writer for the Logan Herald Journal joins us with some thoughts on the team, and who expects to come out on top. On Fun with Audio, a couple of choice clips from Mike Francesa, including one showing he knows nothing about Washington or Utah State basketball, Joe Lunardi predicting a Dawgs loss, more Rough and Rowdy fighters, and Conor McGregor firing up the Boston Bruins. Malik McDowell is apparently visiting the Dallas Cowboys, but wait, wasn't he supposed to be too injured to play football again? It's going to be especially frustrating to watch them in Dallas because they're contenders, assuming he actually goes there of course. If he can play, shouldn't he still be here? Friday's tournament game will be the biggest basketball game in Seattle in at least eight years. Despite all of the negativity brought on by some fans, just try to enjoy the game.

The Dawgs are in the Pac-12 semi-finals, and we're seeing some of the most energy we've seen around this basketball team in years. This is a chance to prove that this is a college basketball town, that young players don't have to go to Eugene or Spokane to get recognized. It's a chance to reclaim this town from Gonzaga who has gotten the local limelight in college basketball for years. Dick says the key to tonight's game is rebound margin against a team that is 12th in rebound margin in college basketball. Bob Rondeau was the voice of the Huskies for many years, but he's also a Colorado alum, so where do his allegiances lie tonight? He tells us who he's rooting for, plus thoughts on the game and the conference. We're making our final decisions for Put Up or Shut Up offers today. Some new offers make the cut, but who do we have to drop?

KJ Wright has re-signed with Seattle. Earlier this afternoon, he sat down with Jason Puckett and Cliff Avril for a compelling hour of content. In case you missed it, we're playing it back.

We've got the Washington vs. Colorado game on 950 KJR with P. J. Carlesimo on the call. He joins us to talk about the game, with analysis of both teams, and who would the Dawgs rather face tomorrow if they win. On Fun with Audio, another Mike Francesa clip, Eric Weddle makes some interesting comments about the Hawks, Jon Gruden doesn't want to hear about Amari Cooper, and we check in with West Virginia's Rough N' Rowdy. It's almost game time. We get some final thoughts from Donald Watts as we do before every Husky game.

The general consensus has been that if the Dawgs could win at least one game in the Pac-12 Tournament, they'd be in the NCAA Tournament. Today, they've done it, beating USC. There are things every team needs to be successful in the tournament; playing consistent solid defense, and veteran guard play, and the Dawgs have it. Joining us from Las Vegas after today's win to discuss the game, and the strategy going forward are Noah Dickerson and Dominic Green. The Seahawks are making some free agency moves, re-signing KJ Wright, which was not necessarily expected after making a deal with Mychal Kendricks yesterday. They also added NFC West mainstay Mike Iupati at guard. There are still some positional question marks, but if they can solidify those, this team could do some serious damage.

After finding out the Hawks reached a deal with Mychal Kendricks yesterday, we weren't sure what KJ's future would look like, but it turns out the team made a deal with him as well. KJ's former teammate and KJR midday co-host Cliff Avril joins the show to talk about KJ as a leader on the team, how the Hawks will use him and Kendricks next season, and how Seattle deals with contracts differently than most other teams. Scott Wolf of InsideUSC explains the latest train wreck that is USC. When will it end? Maybe the Pac-12 doesn't need USC to be good after all. One texter points out that they've been down the last five times the Dawgs have been in the Rose Bowl. Maybe we've stumbled onto something.

KJ Wright is staying with the Seahawks, and he's exactly the type of leader we need on this team. Before last season, Softy asked him why he chose not to hold out the way Earl did, and his answer demonstrated his value to the locker room. It's good to see that he's sticking around. The Huskies got a win today in Vegas, but is it enough to ensure a tournament spot on Selection Sunday? Mike DeCourcy answers that as he talks all things college basketball. We continue to add and drop prizes in the Put Up or Shut Up contest. The Hawks have solidified their linebacker core with both KJ and Kendricks, and they're looking solid once again next year, but they still need another edge rusher to compliment Frank Clark, a safety, and depth at receiver. Those are the three biggest question marks still on this team.

We all knew it was coming. If the incident in Dallas on Christmas Eve 2017 didn't confirm it, the desert digit last season did; Earl Thomas was going to leave Seattle. Now it's official as he agrees to a deal with the Baltimore Ravens. Even though today's news was inevitable, it still stings to have it confirmed that we're not going to see Earl in a Seahawks uniform again. We get Hugh Millen's reaction to today's news. What kind of player are the Ravens getting from a 30-year-old Earl Thomas? What will the secondary look like without him? With another big piece of the Super Bowl-winning defense gone, did the team underachieve? We only got one trophy out of it after all. The Ravens and the 1985 Bears only won one championship also, but those teams didn't have a quarterback like Russell Wilson.

Earl Thomas may be gone, but the discussion of his legacy here in Seattle continues. With everything that's happened with ET, good and bad, should he have his number retired here? With the latest bribery scandal the problems at USC continue. Have they hit rock bottom? We get Petros' thoughts on that, and outsider's take on the Hawks and the LOB era, and more. Textimonials react to the Earl Thomas news, plus the "12's since '12" discussion.

Now that free agency is officially underway, and we've got a better idea of who is going and who's staying, we check back in with The News Tribune's Gregg Bell for his thoughts on the Hawks. With Earl leaving, what is his legacy in Seattle. New prices added, and others dropped in Put Up or Shut Up. Will you be able to root for Earl Thomas now that he's with the Ravens? He's in a different division, in a different conference, so the circumstances are a little different than Sherman playing with the Niners. We'll see the Ravens at CenturyLink this season which is going to be interesting. Speaking of Earl, Softy and Dick spend a few minutes speaking with "Earl Thomas" about the move. Eamonn Brennan from The Athletic ends the show talking about the Dawgs, the NCAA Tournament, and all things college basketball.