For a special edition of Happy Hour, we take you to the Denny Sanford Premiere Center, home of the Summit League Tournament. Fittingly, it was also home to Summit League Media Day on Tuesday. 

Marcus Traxler and Matt Zimmer sat down with the coaches and players for each Men's and Women's Team. 

You will also hear from USD, whose men's team had some holes to fill after losing players who played key roles last year, as they hope to maintain their up-tempo style of play. As for the women, they look for a bounce-back year after a lackluster finish to the season.

Lastly, you'll hear from coaches and players for NDSU, as both coaches look to make a move through the competitive Summit to make NCAA tournament appearances.

You can also find interviews with each of the other players on SiouxFallsLive.com and MidwestSportsPlus.com

Time to relax, unwind, and recover for both the Minnesota Vikings and their fans as the team sits through its bye week, then gears up for defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia next week.

Especially the recovery part.

Recovery from a couple of stomach-knotting, slobberknocking overseas games against the rough-and-tumble Steelers and Browns. Recovery for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, four starting offensive linemen, and three key defenders.

What should we make of a 3-2 start that included McCarthy's maligned play and high ankle sprain, veteran backup Carson Wentz winning two of three starts, the O-line's 13 different combinations that at times made it a swinging gate, and Brian Flores' banged-up defense that somehow is giving up the fifth fewest points in the NFL but can't stop a nosebleed on the ground?

Few people on the planet outside the Vikings' locker room have better access or acumen about the team than South Dakota Sports Hall of Famer Ben Leber, a former Vermillion High School Parade All-America running and 10-year NFL linebacker who spent five seasons with the Vikings (2006-10).

The sideline analyst for the Vikings Audio Network the last 10 years, Leber digs in to the perceived quarterback quandary between McCarthy and Wentz — or, really, is there one? — which of the two gives the team a better chance to beat the Eagles, and if Wentz deserves a shot at that gig even after McCarthy is cleared to play.

Leber also weighs in on what kind of moves the team should make on the market, if any, to provide help to the O-line, and how much the leaky rush defense will improve with linebackers Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel back in the lineup, plus safety Harrison Smith back to full strength.

The conversation starts with Leber's travel review of both Dublin and London, then ends with his thoughts on the Vikings' ceiling in a season that includes the Eagles, the Chargers, and five games against stout NFC North competition ahead.

Meanwhile, the Augustana Vikings are 6-0, ranked No. 7 (AFCA Coaches) and No. 12 (D2Football.com) nationally in Div. II, and sailing off a tidal wave of good vibrations from Saturday's fourth quarter comeback-for-the-ages at USF to retain the "Key to the City." 

Head coach Jerry Olszewski looks back at the epic win, especially the heroics of true quarterback Rich Lucero and the decision to pull the true freshman's redshirt and initiate him to college football in a heated road rivalry matchup instead of inserting a more experienced reserve.

"Coach OJ" walks through Lucero's recruitment out of Arizona, his impressive week of practice after learning he'd get the start, and how Lucero handled himself and led the Vikings with an 18-point fourth quarter deficit. The freshman guided three scores in the final 12 minutes, starting with a 99-yard touchdown drive to pull off an emotional win in one of the more memorable games in the rivalry's history.

Before all this, to start Thursday's show, Happy Hour host John Gaskins and Sioux Falls Live sportswriter Trent Singer walk through the storylines and make predictions for this weekend's local college and high school football games:

• South Dakota State hosting Northern Iowa
• South Dakota at Indiana State
• Augustana hosting Concordia-St. Paul
• USF at Southwest Minnesota State
• HSFB: #3 Harrisburg at #5 SF Jefferson
• HSFB: #4 O'Gorman hosting SF Washington

Time to relax, unwind, and recover for both the Minnesota Vikings and their fans as the team sits through its bye week, then gears up for defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia next week.

Especially the recovery part.

Recovery from a couple of stomach-knotting, slobberknocking overseas games against the rough-and-tumble Steelers and Browns. Recovery for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, four starting offensive linemen, and three key defenders.

What should we make of a 3-2 start that included McCarthy's maligned play and high ankle sprain, veteran backup Carson Wentz winning two of three starts, the O-line's 13 different combinations that at times made it a swinging gate, and Brian Flores' banged-up defense that somehow is giving up the fifth fewest points in the NFL but can't stop a nosebleed on the ground?

Few people on the planet outside the Vikings' locker room have better access or acumen about the team than South Dakota Sports Hall of Famer Ben Leber, a former Vermillion High School Parade All-America running and 10-year NFL linebacker who spent five seasons with the Vikings (2006-10).

The sideline analyst for the Vikings Audio Network the last 10 years, Leber digs in to the perceived quarterback quandary between McCarthy and Wentz — or, really, is there one? — which of the two gives the team a better chance to beat the Eagles, and if Wentz deserves a shot at that gig even after McCarthy is cleared to play.

Leber also weighs in on what kind of moves the team should make on the market, if any, to provide help to the O-line, and how much the leaky rush defense will improve with linebackers Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel back in the lineup, plus safety Harrison Smith back to full strength.

The conversation starts with Leber's travel review of both Dublin and London, then ends with his thoughts on the Vikings' ceiling in a season that includes the Eagles, the Chargers, and all six games against stout NFC North competition ahead.

Happy Hour host John Gaskins and Sioux Falls Live sportswriter Trent Singer walk through the storylines and make predictions for this weekend's local college and high school football games:

• South Dakota State hosting Northern Iowa
• South Dakota at Indiana State
• Augustana hosting Concordia-St. Paul
• USF at Southwest Missouri State
• HSFB: #3 Harrisburg at #5 SF Jefferson
• HSFB: #4 O'Gorman hosting SF Washington

Augustana football coach Jerry Olszewski looks back at his Vikings' 18-point fourth quarter comeback to beat rival Sioux Falls last Saturday, especially the heroics of true quarterback Rich Lucero and the decision to pull the true freshman's redshirt to start pivotal "Key to the City" rivalry game on the road.

"Coach OJ" walks through Lucero's recruitment out of Arizona, his impressive week of practice after learning he'd get the start, and how Lucero handled himself and led the Vikings with an 18-point deficit. The freshman guided three scores in the final 12 minutes, starting with a 99-yard touchdown drive to pull off an emotional win in one of the more memorable games in the rivalry's history.

Hobo Day hiccup in 2025?

Hardly a chance, or so it appears, with No. 2 South Dakota State barging through the second half in Youngstown to improve to 5-0 while 2-3 Northern Iowa stumbles through growing pains with an entirely new coaching staff, most recently a 35-7 loss to North Dakota.

But whenever UNI is listed on SDSU's football schedule as the homecoming opponent, some Jackrabbit fans — especially alumni from 2015 and 2017 — might wince in trauma from past Panther upsets.

But is UNI worth any worry this Saturday? Sioux Falls Live sports editor Matt Zimmer has covered the Jacks for a decade and has his thoughts in the latest weekly edition of Happy Hour's "Nobody's Listening Anyway" with John Gaskins.

SDSU coach Dan Jackson, in his weekly Happy Hour chat on Monday, conveyed a clear message about what he wants out of Jacks fans on Saturday — strong attempts at the biggest and loudest crowd in Dykhouse Stadium history — and this leads to a discussion about Jackson as the football program's "brand manager" and how natural that unofficial role is for him.

Jackson credited his "great program" and "great culture" for the come-from-behind win at then-No. 24 YSU. But was it a great win? Zim and John break down what went wrong in the first half and why SDSU dominated the second half, assessed the latest performance from quarterback Chase Mason, and the emerging strength of running back Julius Loughridge and the "605 Hogs" up front.

From there, what is there to make of South Dakota's 49-24 win over Murray State, which has lost all of its nine Missouri Valley Conference games since joining the league last season, beside that Travis Johansen was right when he told John last week that his program has too strong of a culture to let the season go off the rails? (Here is Johansen's follow-up chat from Tuesday, with plenty of insight about his defense, penalties, playing violent, and an update on retired predecessor Bob Nielson).

The Coyotes have gone "back to the pack" of the rest of the MVFC challengers to NDSU and SDSU's supremacy, but where does USD, UND, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, and Youngstown State appear to be in the current picture?

Then, a recap of the latest, incredible chapter in the "Key to the City" series between backyard rivals Augustana and the University of Sioux Falls in which the Vikings came back from a 28-10 fourth quarter deficit to win 29-28:

• All of the crucial, compelling "swing plays" that built the Cougar's 18-point lead, then took it down
• The performance of true freshman Rich Lucero, Jr., in his first-ever college game, pulled from his redshirt and guiding the Vikings' three fourth quarter scoring drives after three difficult prior quarters
• The decision by coach Jerry Olszweski to pick Lucero over two other experienced Augie quarterbacks to put Augie's 5-0 record, top 10 national ranking, and bid for a third consecutive NSIC title and playoff berth all on the back of a true freshman
• The decision by "Coach OJ" to go for two points after Augie scored a touchdown with 1:50 left when an extra point kick would have tied the game, and the nifty reverse play that won the game
• How much did Augie seize the win and how much did USF blow it?

"Coach OJ," by the way, will join Happy Hour tomorrow (Thursday) for more of the anatomy of a legendary win, especially the Lucero decision and performance.

While Carson Wentz played "fine" in guiding the Minnesota Vikings to their own fourth quarterback in London in another "boring, non-descript" overseas game, what fascinated Zim more than anything on Sunday morning was Will Reichard's fourth quarter field goal kick that was veered off line by striking a seemingly invisible camera — and how nobody seemed to know what the hell happened for a while.

The episode ends with Zim's takeaway from Tuesday's Summit League men's and women's basketball media day, plus the battle between two native South Dakota head coaches in the WNBA Finals, Nate Tibbetts and Becky Hammon. As John mentioned to start Tuesday's show and Zim wrote in a Wednesday column, this source of Rushmore State pride has been decades in the making, a product of a state that has valued an supported girls and women's basketball since well before other states finally found it fashionable. 

Perhaps you've heard. Likely, you've heard it a hundred times within the last week:

The WNBA Finals features two head coaches who were born and raised in South Dakota, Nate Tibbetts (Jefferson and Sioux Falls) and Becky Hammon (Rapid City).

It is amazing if you consider the state's thin population, and moreso a source of immense pride for South Dakota sports fans. But it should not be surprising.

South Dakota has always been amazing at producing high-level women's basketball. It started well before South Dakota State and South Dakota combined for 16 of the 17 Summit League Touranment titles that have been staged in Sioux Falls, an event that annually draws some of the largest women's hoops tournament crowds in the nation.

The Jackrabbits and Coyotes were Division II powers in the 1980's and 1990's as well. Northern State won two national titles in the mid-1990's and continues to be a force. Augustana reached a Final Four as part of Dave Krauth's 34-year run of excellence in Div. II. Two blocks away, the University of Sioux Falls has sported successful women's teams off-and-on. Dakota Wesleyan has hung some banners, too.

For over 40 years, these programs have won big and taken down teams all over the region and nation with girls from South Dakota. That's not an accident.

Happy Hour host John Gaskins traces South Dakota girls basketball supremacy back to the bloodlines of Nate Tibbetts — his father Fred, who won 551 games (lost just 101) in 29 years as a high school coach at tiny Jefferson and then big city Roosevelt.

A larger-than-life personality, Fred Tibbetts mopped up 11 state titles inspired rivals and other towns statewide to catch up, spreading a girls basketball wildfire that helped fuel those juggernaut college programs, still to this very day. Tibbetts stated on record about 50 years ago how he wanted "girls basketball to be big in South Dakota."

Mission accomplished. Now his son — who played at Roosevelt and then USD and went up the coaching ranks through USF, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Tulsa 66ers, and as an NBA assistant for 12 years — stands at the coaching pinnacle of women's basketball with Hammon, one of the game's most decorated all-time players and coaches.

Nobody knows the roots of the quality of these coaches more intensely than Matt Wilber, the Northern State head men's coach who spent a year with the Mercury coaching under his long-time friend Tibbetts.

Wilber is a lifelong South Dakota hoophead who played (and reached the Top 10 chart in career three-pointers as a walk-on) at Augustana, was an assistant coach at Augie and USF and SDSU, and for 11 years guided Dakota Wesleyan to national heights. And he has been close to Tibbetts for over two decades.

The two were assistant coaches at USF in the early 2000's and started a local basketball camp together in 2006 when Tibbetts was an assistant with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Tibbetts eventually became the team's head coach, then cracked through in the NBA as an assistant for 12 years before taking the Phoenix Mercury head coaching job in 2024 and convincing Wilber to join him. After a season, Wilber came back to South Dakota to take the Northern State job in Aberdeen.

In this John-o-Logue, hear some of Wilber's remarks on why it is indeed no accident that Tibbetts and Hammon are where they are.

Then, check out the Matt Wilber interview from today.

Perhaps you've heard. Likely, you've heard it a hundred times within the last week:

The WNBA Finals features two head coaches who were born and raised in South Dakota, Nate Tibbetts (Jefferson and Sioux Falls) and Becky Hammon (Rapid City).

It is no doubt a source of immense pride for South Dakota sports fans. It is amazing if you consider the state's thin population. 

But it should not be surprising.

South Dakota has always been amazing at producing high-level women's basketball. It started well before South Dakota State and South Dakota combined for 16 of the 17 Summit League Women's Tournament titles that have been staged in Sioux Falls, an event that annually draws some of the largest women's hoops tournament crowds in the nation.

The Jackrabbits and Coyotes were Division II powerhouses in the 1980's and 1990's as well under coaches like Nancy Neiber and Chad Lavin. Northern State won two national titles in the mid-1990's under Curt Fredrickson and continues to be a force. 

Augustana reached a Final Four as part of Dave Krauth's 34-year run of excellence in Div. II. Two blocks away, the University of Sioux Falls has sported successful women's teams off-and-on. Dakota Wesleyan has hung some banners, including the 2018 NAIA National Championship.

For over 40 years, these programs have won big and taken down teams all over the region and nation with girls from South Dakota. That's not an accident.

Happy Hour host John Gaskins traces South Dakota girls basketball supremacy back to the bloodlines of Nate Tibbetts — his father Fred, who won 551 games (lost just 101) in 29 years as a high school coach at tiny Jefferson and then big city Sioux Falls Roosevelt.

A larger-than-life personality who was a master motivator and stickler for fundamentals, Tibbetts mopped up 11 state titles and inspired rivals and other towns statewide to catch up, spreading a girls basketball wildfire that helped fuel those juggernaut college programs, still to this very day. Tibbetts stated on record about 50 years ago how he wanted "girls basketball to be big in South Dakota."

Mission accomplished. Now his son — who played at Roosevelt and then USD and went up the coaching ranks through USF, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Tulsa 66ers, and as an NBA assistant for 12 years — stands at the coaching pinnacle of women's basketball with Hammon, one of the game's most decorated all-time players and coaches.

Nobody knows the roots of the quality of these coaches more intensely than Matt Wilber, the Northern State head men's coach who spent a year with the Mercury coaching under his long-time friend Tibbetts in 2024.

Wilber is a lifelong South Dakota hoophead who played (and reached the Top 10 chart in career three-pointers as a walk-on) at Augustana, was an assistant coach at Augie and USF and SDSU, and for 11 years guided Dakota Wesleyan to national heights. He has been close to Tibbetts for over two decades.

The two were assistant coaches at USF in the early 2000's and started a local basketball camp together in 2006 when Tibbetts was an assistant with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Tibbetts eventually became the team's head coach, then cracked through in the NBA as an assistant for 12 years before taking the Mercury head coaching job in 2024 and convincing Wilber to join him. After a season, Wilber came back to South Dakota to take the Northern State job in Aberdeen.

In a 40-minute conversation, Wilber describes his 25-year friendship with Tibbetts, what makes Tibbetts a successful head coach — no doubt, the brilliance of Tibbetts' legendary girls basketball coaching father, Fred, played a part — and what Wilber experienced and learned about women's basketball at the highest level during his year in Arizona.

Wilber also breaks down the matchup between the Mercury and Hammon's Las Vegas Aces, the two-time WNBA champions (2022 and '23) who are playing in their fourth consecutive Finals.

Before the Wilber conversation, hear Gaskins' weekly chat with USD football coach Travis Johansen.

 A week ago, just two days after the Coyotes' nightmare 51-13 loss at North Dakota State, Johansen told Gaskins his program's culture was too strong to let the 2025 season go off the rails.

So far, he's right.

The Yotes dominated last-place Murray State from the jump in their MVFC home opener, leading 14-0 after the first quarter and 35-7 at halftime en route to a 49-24 victory (that was not as close as the score indicates) to improve to 3-3.

As crisp and wildly productive as the offense was in the Dakota Dome (568 total yards), the defense impressively shut down the Racers. Johansen provides insight into the maturation of the defense over the first six games, despite taking heavy lumps from teams like Iowa State and North Dakota State.

Who are some of the playmakers consistently stepping up now that 2024 MVFC Defensive Player of the Year Mi'Quise Grace, '24 leading tackler Gary Bryant, and lock down All-American defensive back Dennis Shorter are no longer on the roster?

Johansen also gives insight into another massive output by running back L.J. Phillips (244 yards, 4 TD), who has run for 140 or more yards in three of his four starts. Phillips plays a major role, sure, but so does the offensive line and even receivers. Also, a word about the dangerous potential of receiver and returner Tennel Bryant.

The interview concludes with the challenges of playing a road game at Indiana State and preparing for a Sycamore squad that is now starting its third string quarterback and backup running back. 

Finally, an update on retired USD coach Bob Nielson — how he continues to have an impact on Johansen, the Coyotes operation, and FCS football at-large. 

Perhaps you've heard. Likely, you've heard it a hundred times within the last week:

The WNBA Finals features two head coaches who were born and raised in South Dakota, Nate Tibbetts (Jefferson and Sioux Falls) and Becky Hammon (Rapid City).

It is a source of immense pride for South Dakota sports fans, most intensely Matt Wilber, the Northern State head men's coach who spent a year with the Phoenix Mercury coaching under his long-time friend Tibbetts.

A lifelong South Dakota hoophead who played (and reached the Top 10 chart in career three-pointers as a walk-on) at Augustana, Wilber was an assistant coach at Augie and USF and SDSU, and for 11 years guided Dakota Wesleyan to national heights, Wilber has been close to Tibbetts for over two decades.

The two were assistant coaches at USF in the early 2000's and started a local basketball camp together in 2006 when Tibbetts was an assistant with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Tibbetts eventually became the team's head coach, then cracked through in the NBA as an assistant for 12 years before taking the Phoenix Mercury head coaching job in 2024 and convincing Wilber to join him. After a season, Wilber came back to South Dakota to take the Northern State job in Aberdeen.

In a 40-minute conversation with Happy Hour host John Gaskins, Wilber describes his 25-year friendship with Tibbetts, what makes Tibbetts a successful head coach — no doubt, the brilliance of Tibbetts' legendary girls basketball coaching father, Fred, played a part — and what Wilber experienced and learned about women's basketball at the highest level during his year in Arizona.

 Wilber also breaks down the matchup between the Mercury and Hammon's Las Vegas Aces, the two-time WNBA champions (2022 and '23) who are playing in their fourth consecutive Finals.

A week ago, just two days after South Dakota's nightmare 51-13 loss at North Dakota State, USD coach Travis Johansen told Happy Hour host John Gaskins the Coyotes' culture was too strong to let the 2025 season go off the rails.

So far, he's right.

The Yotes dominated last-place Murray State from the jump in their MVFC home opener, leading 14-0 after the first quarter and 35-7 at halftime en route to a 49-24 victory (that was not as close as the score indicates) to improve to 3-3.

As crisp and wildly productive as the offense played (568 yards) in the Dakota Dome, where USD is 3-0 this season, Happy Hour's weekly conversation with Johansen starts with the way the defense shut down the Racers, plus a several other insights into the maturation of the defense over the first six games.

Who are some of the playmakers consistently stepping up now that 2024 MVFC Defensive Player of the Year Mi'Quise Grace, '24 leading tackler Gary Bryant, and lock down All-American defensive back Dennis Shorter are no longer on the roster?

Johansen also gives insight into another massive output by running back L.J. Phillips (244 yards, 4 TD), who has ran for 140 or more yards in three of his four starts. Phillips plays a major role, sure, but so does the offensive line and even receivers. Also, a word about the dangerous potential of receiver and returner Tennel Bryant.

The interview concludes with the challenges of playing a road game at Indiana State and preparing for a Sycamore squad that is now starting its third string quarterback and backup running back. Finally, an update on retired USD coach Bob Nielson — how he continues to have an impact on Johansen, the Coyotes operation, and FCS football at-large.