May 13, 2025 • 45 mins
In this week’s episode, Bill and Alex discuss all things NCHC, Summit League, and Missouri Valley Football Conference in the midst of end-of-season meetings around the leagues (2:26). The guys then reflect on a special season for UND Softball before previewing the conference championships for Outdoor Track and Field and breaking down how the latest UND Athletics Hall of Fame class was selected (14:22). On this week’s B-Side (28:58), Tottenham Hotspur are inexplicably a win away from a major European trophy.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to the Bill Shapes Podcast, presented by Mid
Coast Sports. Mid cost Sports Plus has full coverage of
the Summer League Outdoor Trek and Field Championships this weekend
in Vermilion. Starting Thursday afternoon and continuing through Saturday, every
event on the track and in the field will be live,
So sign up today at midcasports plus dot com. This
is how we do spring and this is the Bill
(00:22):
Shapes Podcast. Welcome to another edition of the Bill Shapes Podcast.
We are taping this on a Monday morning, the twelfth
of May. Alex sinner Bilt shaves. It's just the two
of us this week as we've got some fun stuff
to dig into. How are things going in your world?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Thanks are great, Alex, appreciate it. Yeah, Happy Monday to you.
Happy ninety degree Monday to you in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wow,
summer coming early a little bit here, so but then
we'll jep back the other way and then I think
we'll get into more spring weather, so who knows. But also,
happy graduation week for the undergrounds, so we will we
(01:02):
will say congratulations to another class class of twenty twenty five.
And at the end of it all Alex, I mean truly,
that's what it's all about. That's the super Bowl for
a university, and so excited to see another class across
the stage.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
It's about crossing the finish line, you know, getting your diploma,
having the experiences that you've had in the classroom, in
the field of play, but then having a degree to
show forward at the end. So as you said, yes,
well done to those student athletes, to all of our graduates,
and then to their families as well for who make
these things possible. So pretty cool moment, pretty cool week.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Well what's really cool too is we're going to have
Jim kleinsauser via the graduation speaker, and so you know,
I think you know, his his journey. Everybody has their
own journey, right, and so at the end of the day,
you know, kind of kind of neat for us in
athletics to have someone of his stature to be able
(01:57):
to address, you know, the undergrads, and so that'll be
a lot of fun and I look forward to what
he has to say.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
College Football Hall of Famer Jim client Saucer. Very cool, right,
very very cool, with something to look forward to certainly
this weekend around campus as we transition from the end
of the school year into the summer. A lots to
get to between them, though certainly some of our teams
are still in action. Outdoor track and field championships coming
up this weekend. We'll talk about softball as well, coming
up during the course of this pod. First, though, even
(02:26):
though the school year is not quite done, it is
meetings season. League meetings are going on right now. You've
been involved with one so far. The NCCHC crew got
together this past week. You've got the summer league meeting
next week, we got the Missouri Valley Football Conference meeting
in early June. Let's start on the ice. What was
the big talking point coming out of NCHC meetings bill
that you can share.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, so you're right, Alex. You know, we're obviously a
part of three different conferences and literally you do get
to meet face to face during this timeframe. So the
first one up was ice hockey. Actually about a week
a little bit later, changed venues this year down Florida,
and so so we just went about one week later.
I think we're back to the normal schedule next year.
(03:10):
You know, lots of things really, but you know, it's
hard not to say everything seems to be dwarfed in
regards to the house settlement and what's transpiring with that.
And you know, we in the NCC we're just the
perfect conference to have conversations because you have a Division
(03:31):
III school, a couple of Division two schools, you have
an FCS school, you've got a Division one non football
playing school, you've got in football, you'd FBS schools, and
you have a power for school. And so you've checked
every single box literally that the NCAA has to offer.
And so you can only imagine, you know, as you're
(03:55):
trying to figure out what is next on literally a
daily basis, to have some of those types of conversations
with your peers, your counterparts. It's helpful for sure.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
What have you noticed from some of those conversations with
your fellow athletic directors in these other schools. What are
they going through as they try and sort this out?
I'm assuming very similar experiences that you've had of waiting
to hear the details of what this is going to be.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Back on February twenty eighth, there was a point in
time where we thought there had to be an opt
in or opt out based on each institution and then
excuse me on March one. So I sent out a
letter on February twenty eighth indicating what the University of
North Dakota was doing. And I'll say this from now
(04:44):
until as we record this today, I think that whole
thought process has aged pretty well because currently the settlement
hasn't occurred yet, and I was always questioning why you
would actually decide on settlement terms when you actually don't
know what the terms are that are being settled. And
(05:05):
then ultimately, as the judges had some questions regarding roster limits,
those are the things that are just still out there,
you know, wondering what is going to happen moving forward.
There's many schools that have already prepared as if the
settlement terms were going to happen as submitted. Now, who knows,
(05:31):
it might come back that way, and it might happen.
But as North Dakota is kind of taking a little
bit of a wait and see approach as far as
what the judge is ultimately going to come back with.
That to me, the more I talk with some peers
and counterparts, I still feel pretty good about the position
that UND took.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
It's as hard to make those decisions for your department.
As you said, when you don't really know the terms
of engagement, still.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
You have to assume that the settlement terms are going
to go through. Now you're right, there was a preapproval,
but that wasn't an approval, and because there was an
objection period of time, which I do believe from at
least reading some of the things that the judge has
indicated that you know, she's not incredibly comfortable with at
(06:18):
least the roster pieces of that puzzle in that settlement.
And so truth be told, if you really want to know,
the issues that we had here was the roster issues
to some degree. And ironically she's had some issues with
the rosters. So let's see how that plays itself out
and then go from there, because as we go forward,
(06:42):
we're all going to be playing by one set of
rules at some point. I just don't know when some point.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Is when that is exactly brats Lawson had some good
reporting about everything else that was going on in the
NCC meetings. NCAA president Charlie Baker was a part of
not just the NCCHC meetings, but just some of the
general college hockey meetings down in Naples. Just again, sounded
like positive conversation about deferred enrollment with college hockey where
(07:07):
players can be a little bit older before they begin
and start their clock. It sounds like they're amenable to that.
A lot of conversation about home regionals versus neutral sites,
and like kind of the normal beats that we've had recently.
It feels like, again that there was some concern that
college hockey would get lumped in with everybody else.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
It doesn't feel that way.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
It does feel like positive conversations have happened that it
will still sort of be its own entity kind of
just because the rules are just slightly different with college
hockey than what we see maybe with college basketball or
college football and other sports.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Yeah, so I was not a part of that meeting
because Josh Burlough, the athletic director at Denver, is actually
the chair, and so we just had shares of each
of the conferences be a part of that meeting. So
it wasn't kind of an overwhelming type of room for
President Baker. But yeah, it would seem like there were
(08:00):
some positives. You know, the devil be in the details.
I mean, you know, I think you can have a
good conversation, but having sat in some of those committee
type rooms in Indianapolis. Those discussions were being had back
in twenty sixteen and probably prior to that. So it's
(08:22):
just can you get to the execution side of doing
these things. It all sounds good. I'll believe it when
I see it.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Okay, From the NCC to the Summer League, there was
some big news about the some of league and the
Missouri Valley Football Conference forming a partnership. I know you're
going to have meetings with the rest of the SUMA
League comissioners coming up next week. That was big news,
A great partnership between these two leagues who now will
sort not quite share a commissioner, but Josh Betton is
going to serve as an advisor with the Missouri Valley
Football Conference. Jeff Jackson, who was the Valley commissioner, is
(08:56):
not going to take over for Patti Viverito for the
Valley Football Conference. Could you talk us through maybe some
of the specifics of what that partnership now means, if
anything really like in the day to day moving forward.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, good, good question. You know, when the release came out,
I knew it was a lot of inside baseball, but
the top line really of it is Patty Vivorito, commissioner
of forty years, steps down and retires. What's the next
governance structure for this Missouri Valley Football Conference, which is
(09:29):
really it's a separate entity. It's really a single sport conference.
And so I give a lot of credit to doctor
Armacost who's the president of the Presidents for the Missouri
Valley Football Conference, and you know, it was really his
charge to figure out what was going to be next administratively.
(09:51):
And so with two multi sport conferences making up the
majority of the membership, I think I think some of
the questions and conversations we had over time over the
last several years especially, it would seem like the most
logical time now to even form a tighter relationship. So
(10:12):
therefore Jeff Jackson will be the commissioner with really Josh
Fenton in the passenger seat with him, But then a
hiring of a chief operating officer that every day that
particular person will go in thinking through how can you
make the Missouri Football Conference as good as it can be?
And at the end of the day, this is the
(10:34):
kind of the key piece that's probably lost in some ways.
Maybe there's some value that we can have now, but
using some of the staff members both of the Valley
Conference and of the Summit League Conference. And so I
think that can be powerful because I think if you
talk to Jeff Jackson, he'll say, Hey, I think there's
(10:56):
an opportunity that we really can do a really great
job really branding the heck out of the best FCS
conference in the country. And so it's a lot inside
Baseball Alex but it made sense that you had these
conversations so that everybody knew that these schools were staying
together playing football against each other.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
That was my biggest takeaway where it did feel like
this was a statement of incent that we're just as
you said, getting closer. We're tightening those bonds. And obviously
it's not exactly the same membership between the Summer League
and the Valley but you do have a lot of
crossover between those two conferences, and with everything going on
in the world, it's nice to have some stability, a
statement of incent to remain stable in this at least
(11:39):
for the short term, that this is going to be
what it's going to be, and we're going to continue
to grow it and make it better and then see
what happens moving forward.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yeah, and I can't certainly it would never discount Youngstown State,
but that's really just one school. You can say there's
a third multi sport conference kind of in play, but
not really not when there's four and one in five
the other. So I think there just had to be
a conversation in the ever changing landscape of the multi
(12:06):
sport conference realm. It was good to have some conversations
and kind of set the parameters rules of engagement, especially
if let's just say the Summit League was thinking about
trying to figure out a tenth school and they had football.
At least some of these conversations have been had already,
so we're not starting at zero. And so that that
(12:27):
was kind of the release that was sent out. But
there's just a lot of nuance to it. But long
story short, here's the governance structure now that Patty Vivto
is stepping away as of I think that you know
here in the next month or so.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Yeah, friend of the pod, Patty Rito, former guests of
the belt Taips.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Podcast multi Time Right, multi Time multi Time.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
We've had Patty on several times, so we wish Patty
best of luck on her retirement does feel like the
structures in place to keep it going.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Mid Bard.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
You do get to meet with some of the folks
next week, Valley coming up in the future. I'm assuming
this will be part of the conversation. What are some
of the other things besides the house settlement, which will
probably dominate a lot of the conversation, Anything in particular
that you can share that you're looking forward to having
conversations about with those two groups.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
A lot of the conversations being dominated by what's happening
in the courts and then and ultimately what's happening in Washington,
d C. As well, you know, whatever you know it's
going to transpire with the Trump administration and whatever committee
is going to be put together there. I think we've
got to keep our eye on that as well. So
you know, Josh is always a wealth of knowledge because
(13:33):
he's certainly one of thirty two Multi Sport Commissioners, and
then you know he's in various meetings that is helpful
for us to be able to understand and bring back
to campus maybe what's you know transpiring at his level.
And then then it's a lot of the wash Rents
repeat conversations officiating replay each sport, what what's their necessary
(14:01):
nuance that they're looking to do, you know, as you
go through them all. So sometimes you just have a
lot of same sort of conversations or bullet points or
agenda items because you have to talk about it on
an annual basis.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
We'll have fun with those conversations. Hopefully it's productive and
fruitful as always, and we keep the train rolling on
the tracks.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Let's just go down to the field to play for
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
We had softball wrap up their season at the SEMA
League Softball Championships and Brookings this past week. You know,
it capped off a great season. I know, the ultimate
goal was to win the thing, and un D came
up just a couple of games short, but Jordan Stevens
and company do finish with twenty six wins that tied
the program record for most wins in a single season.
The hammered North Dakota State in the first game. You've
(14:47):
finished off that contest in five innings, and then just
had a couple of tough ones against Omaha who would
become the eventuable champions four to two, and then South
Dakota who would be runners up, you know, up by
three runs in the seventh Bill, this close to moving on,
and then it just wasn't in the cards.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
You've got to get all twenty one outs right, and
you know, give South Dakota credit. They they fought, they battled.
You know, they let off that inning with a triple,
which which was fine in a sense because you're up
five too, so you know you're almost like, well let's
start the inning right now. But you know, they they
they did a great job with some at bats and
unfortunately we lost an extras and you know, I mean
(15:25):
I think, you know, in talking with coach Stevens when
he returned, you know, just a sour taste in our
team's mouth, and that's a good thing. And so you
know they wanted to of course get to the next
day and that's that would be the next frontier for
this program. So you're right, I thought, all in all,
I mean, if you look at it on a continuum
(15:46):
over a timeline, certainly the trajectory's good. If you think
about how many times you do not play in Grand Forks,
so you know, there's just so many times where a
lot of times we're playing neutral psyche games too. So
I have to admit that especially during the non conference,
but you know, you're playing a lot of non home games,
(16:07):
and so it's a sport where you know, if you
do come out five hundred, especially in a mid major scenario,
you've probably done a pretty good job. Now the next
frontier for us is to take that next step and
try to figure out how can we get to a
place where, say, you know in Omaha is right now
where you know they've they've done a pretty good job
(16:29):
over the last several years.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, third straight some of league championship for the Mavericks,
and they've had some success when they've gone on to
the region.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
So that's a bad blueprint.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
So we've seen that with North Dakota State South Dakota
State in previous years as well. You can be successful
coming out of the Summit League in North Dakota. You
get the sense thanks to facilities, thanks to again the
coaching staff and things that are in place. This was
a really big step forward to your point, by the way,
to fifty six games this last season, North Dakota played,
twelve were at home. Yeah, So that's the nature of
(16:59):
the Beast when you were in North Dakota, and I.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Think it's more for the folks that are listening. It's
not a whine or a complaint, it's just fact, right.
I just want to make sure folks know that's what
it is. Now. A lot of schools are in the
same boat doing similar types of things, especially if you're
north of the Mason Dixon line. I mean, that's just
what happens and so in those particular sports. But the
(17:23):
good news is, you know, if we call it year
one in the book for Allbrot fields, certainly to turf
makes a difference. You know, you get to play once
the tempts get to a certain point, and as long
as we haven't had two damaging of a winter, especially
with ice and things to try to remove things from
the field, you have a shot to play. And for
(17:44):
us to get in all of our home games this year,
it's a big deal.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
I would say I should have looked this up.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I feel like in previous years you would maybe get
five home games, maybe maybe six, maybe three some years.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
I just remember there were so.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Many years where we were going to broadcast North Dakota
softball on Mid Coast Sports and we'd have three different
doubleheaders lined up in in late April, early May and
maybe one of those would actually happen, and that was
every year just about, like I just it would be
the weather would be too bad and you'd have to
flip it and go on the road instead, or the
series would just get canceled.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
And that was about.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
The success rate was very small. And it's great to
see you even got twelve games in this year and
that that can kind of be you know, somewhere with
some somewhere in double digits now is possible every season
because of that facility, no.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Doubt about it. And and lights too. So those are
the two. Those are the two variables that we didn't
have before, and that'll make a big, big difference certainly,
you know, if we if we get in clement weather
on the day you're supposed to play. But but then again,
you can get rain in July, so I mean, you know,
and you could be you could be rained out, So
(18:55):
things can happen in that sense. But if the tempts
in its clear enough and we can clear the field,
we've got a shot.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
That's exciting, and it's exciting what this team is going
to be able to do thanks to that so great
job agad by coach Stevens and the women twenty six
and thirty on the year, seven to eleven in conference,
again twenty six wins, tying the program record for most
in a single season. The futures bright for softball. You
could say the same thing for outdoor track and field
as they get set to transition to their championship season
(19:23):
coming up this weekend in Vermilion. It starts on Thursday.
I would say that this is about as good as
this North Dakota team on the men's and women's side.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Hiss.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Look, I did the research coming in. We've got in
fifteen different events, there's a North Dcota athlete ranks first
or second in fifteen across both of those disciplines, and
they're number one in a number of those.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
And it doesn't mean you're.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Going to win an outdoor track and field championship, but
the women certainly came close on the indoor scene, the
men weren't too far off. Great opportunity again this weekends
for Jim Barrenkamp's crew to go out and have a
lot of success in a place where they've done pretty
well before out at the Little Bridge Complex in Vermillion.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, Alex. It'll be it'll
be fascinating. Obviously, the indoors championship were very very good,
and I know coaches optimistic, but it's you know, we
say it every time when we get to championship time.
It's you know, you've you've got to perform that day,
and as as many of us know, you know, sometimes
(20:23):
things can happen, and you know, you just you hope
that you feel good that day and you hope you
have a great performance.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Weather it looks like it's going to be all right
this week. I think there's some rain in the forecast,
maybe on Thursday, that's the one. But temperatures shouldn't be
I mean the nineties, the eighties and nineties that we've
experienced that have been a little bit unique for early May.
That's supposed to taper off. It's supposed to be in
the seventies. So I mean, again, if the rain stays away,
very pleasant, positive opportunity to go out and really do
(20:52):
something special. So it's going to be fun to watch.
You mentioned at the very top that meet will be
on the Summit League Network on the co Sports Plus,
so you have a chance to come and in the
indoor season, the opportunity was there to click on different events.
So if you really just want to watch Ethan Thomas
throw the javelin on Thursday afternoon, there will be a
(21:13):
camera a feed dedicated to that, just like you'd see
for like ESPN Plus's coverage of the NCAA Outdoor Track
and Field Championships. So the SEC Championships, I assume, and
I apologize because I don't know this one hundred percent.
I am assuming that will be the same case this
weekend for the Outdoor Track and Field Championships. It's been
the case in recent years. But it's a cool tool
to be able to go in and sit. I really
(21:34):
just want to watch whatever it is. I just want
to watch Tiffany Magnus and compete in the triple jump.
You can do that and you can just watch the
triple and not have to worry about missing anything. Every
jump will be on those things, so be sure to
check that out if you if you want to, it's
gonna be really fun. And Kenna Curry's number six in
the nation and the hammer throw and top fifty and
another number of other the throwing events. We got a
(21:54):
number of young ladies, Jaden Keeler's top twenty five and
a couple of the distance runs. It's gonna be fun
to see how they compete as they begin to peak.
I mean, as you mentioned, this is their championship season,
this is what they've been pushing themselves for all season long.
I got a feeling we're gonna have some school records
broken and some really game professor performances show up.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
I agree, it should be a lot of fun. So
we're excited about it for sure.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Awesome, that's my pitch. By the way, tune in, tune
in this weekend.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
To watch.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
That's kind of the one of the last big competitions
of the year coming up, the last big when obviously
Track and Field will still have the West Regional coming
up and hopefully some outdoor competition out in Eugene for
the national Championships. It's wild to think that this is
kind of the end of competition season, Bill Crazy.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
We're done. We're done. I know it. You know, it's
a always this time of year, you know, the track
with graduation and I don't know, it's you kind of
the bow's getting put on, right, it's the chapter, final chapter,
if you will. So hopefully we have some great performances
and maybe there's some some of our student athletes, and
(23:00):
we'll move on to the NCAAs as well, I certainly hope.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
So before we flip over to the B side, we
should mention we have a Hall of Fame class for
twenty twenty five for University of North Dakota Athletics. Eight
individuals plus the two thousand and two thousand and one
women's basketball team will be inducted in a beautiful ceremony
at the Alera Center on Friday, September the nineteenth, the
part of Hall of Fame weekends that includes the football
team playing Valpraso the next day. A really great class again,
(23:25):
as always, some great individuals from all different sports coming aboard.
Can you talk us a bit about this class, and
first of all, just the process of how you choose,
how you make these decisions of who gets into this
hallowed group.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Yeah, so let's go behind the curtain a little bit.
So I love, I really do love the Letter Winners group.
That we have a Letter Winners Committee and they are
charged ultimately with selecting a class annually. That's their ultimate charge.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
They meet.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
End up taking the summer off once the once the
class is announced, and then we'll get back into it
following the actual Hall of Fame itself in September. Then
they'll have their final meeting in early November, like this
Letter Winners Group, and then eventually we'll pick back up.
(24:20):
We might have a meeting in early December with the
new group, if you will, because there'll be like some
some folks sliding off and some sliding on, and then
you go right back at it again in January, February, March,
and it really is. It's a three year commitment if
you're on the on the Letter Winners Board. And the
good news is you always have two thirds of the
committee that knows what was discussed the year before. So
(24:43):
so at the end of it all, each class is
its own note based on that snapshot in time of
who's on that Letter Winners Board. So you know this year,
you know we're gonna have a class of eight individuals,
a few special awards like we always do, and then
of course one team. And so I will say this
to you, Alex, I'm there, Bubba Schweiger is there. From
(25:07):
our staff, Lindsay. Lindsay my assistant. She kind of works
things through, kind of coordinates things. Valve Sussex and Colton
Sanderson and Tim Bellmore they join we don't vote. We
don't vote, so alls we do, we're there for support.
Oh and I should say Alex Stocker Johnson as well.
(25:29):
And so at the end of the day, we're there
for complete support of the actual committee Committee of seven.
And so you know, they get after it and I'll
tell you what they they should take it seriously because
and I don't want to be morbid on you, but
it's an obituary moment. I mean, at the end of
the day that will be in someone's line as it says,
(25:51):
you know, was a member of the you know, twenty
twenty three, twenty four, twenty five Hall of Fame. So
we're excited about it. It's the fiftieth year this year,
and so that's exciting. And so you know, like I said,
Brian Westland was the president this year, and you know,
everyone does a marvelous job. And I say this all
(26:12):
the time. I say it at the Hall of Fame.
It's my favorite event. It just is because we get
to we get to celebrate what came before us and
the reasons why we're in the chairs we're in right now.
And if if you said, what are one of the
jobs that an athletic director or head coach has to
do or anybody in our department is connect heiress and
(26:35):
you never want to forget the past, and so this
is a way to do that. So if you go
on to Fighting Hawks dot com you can read all
about the folks. I won't go into each of the
folks that are deserving of this, but I'll tell you
what I can tell you. They're deserving because they have
been vetted, They've been discussed.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, I love that there's you mentioned connecting eras. I
love that there are so many different eras represent I
think from the sixties to the seventies, to the eighties,
to the nineties to the two thousands. It's just cool
to see that length and breadth of athlete being represented here.
And obviously a special thing for them and for their families,
for their teammates too that were a part of their
(27:15):
success and their journey, and that that becomes such a
homecoming is its own thing. This becomes like a little
mini homecoming where you get these different groups from different
areas coming back to celebrate an individual or a team.
And I've been there at the event before and it
is really special. So just maybe jot that down on
your calendar. September nineteenth and twentieth coming up the Hall
of Fame weekend for you and the athletics well.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
And I think the most important probably change that we've
made in recent years is the ability to actually introduce
the candidate that's going to be inducted via video. And
I will say Mid Coast been unbelievable in that regard
working with our folks, and it's been really helpful because
(27:59):
we've been able to then maybe put one more person
in because it really moves the night along. And you know,
we make a really concerted effort that while you're going
through the induction and the dinner, we don't want it
to run all that long, be honest with you, because
you want the folks to really enjoy themselves prior to
(28:20):
that and post and and it's a way for them
to revisit and reconnect. And although it's special the dinner
in the induction, you're not going to be there till midnight.
I mean, we make it pretty clear we we kind
of want to move the night along because the end,
you know, everybody's there to want and really commits before
(28:42):
and afterwards.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
It's a fellowship right, it's the fellowship person is the
most important thing beyond just the recognition.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
So well done.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
That's the right mindset to have for an event like
this for sure. So Bill, anything else on your plate,
on your agenda, on your minds is before we flip
over to the B side today.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
No, let's do a quick flip. We've got a few
things to discuss.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
We do, yes, we do.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
I think most pressingly the fact that your club, Bill
Toottnam Hotspur are in a European final. You have reached
the final of the Europa League after coolly dispatching Norway's
finest Bodo Glimpse over two legs. You have a three
to one lead going into the game in the Arctic.
Any nerves did you have to feel pretty confident like
(29:27):
we're going to get the job done right? Did you
feel pretty good about that or reservedrepidation based on how
this Spurs team has handled business all season?
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Well, don't you end up going into every game going
how are they going to handle it? Like, what's the
what kind of style are they going to play? And
if for those of you that don't know, the Spurs
do like to press and get on the front foot
and make things happen going forward, and the question was
going to be would they be more pragmatic and try
(29:57):
to just in a sense see the game through because
that score doesn't matter as long as you've got one
more and you want to get to the final. And
I thought, once I saw them play for about the
first fifteen minutes, I said, it feels pretty comfortable, but
it just takes one set piece and next thing you know,
you're only up a goal. And you know, once they
(30:19):
scored the first goal and made it for to one,
that felt like it was a It was a mountain
too steep for the Norwegian side, so.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
It finishes five to one on aggregate. So ironic that
you will play in bill bow Span in the final
Manchester United, who has basically had the exact same season
that you've had. You are separated by one point in
the Premier League. You were sixteenth and seventeenth in this
twenty team division. The three below you were already relegated,
(30:50):
like you. You just there is no threat of being
dropped down to the lower division. But that's that's the
company you've kept. And here you are one game away
from earning Champions League football next year.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Can you believe it.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Though, where where do you put the fork in the road,
because because one team is going to come out of
that one match and they're gonna say it was a
glorious year, and then the other team's going to come
out and say it was easily the worst season we've had,
(31:25):
maybe ever in.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Our history, in our club's history.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
That's that's that is it. It's is it the biggest
zero or one game you've seen in your life?
Speaker 1 (31:35):
I mean pretty close, right, I think you you see
the comparables sometimes for the Championship playoff, where you you
were a team that has maybe finished sixth in the
English Championship, but you've made your way through the playoff
and you're in the final at Wembley and if you win,
you get promoted to the Premier League. If you lose,
(31:55):
you basically were a mid table side and you got
to go back and do it all over again next year.
But obviously this is this is so much more heightened
because it's not just promotion. This is a major European trophy.
This is a major be Spurs first since two thousand
and eight, and it's the caveat of now we have
Champions League football to offer any player that wants to
(32:16):
come and it just feels like, as you said, it
puts a positive spin on an otherwise pretty dreadful season
for both of these really big I mean, these are
the we always talk in England like the Big six
or the whatever whatever number it is anymore. These are
two of the legendary certainly man United one of the
legendary teams. Twenty League titled lobby.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
You don't have to.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Everybody knows who Manchester United is. Spurs is very much
in that category, just a little below that, but very
much in that conversation, and you have a chance to, yes,
change the trajectory of your season, the perception, maybe save
Ange's job. That was one of the questions I wanted
to ask. If they win this match, which is Wednesday,
May twenty first, just around the corner nine days from now,
(32:57):
does and remain or do you get rid even though
he wins the European Trophy?
Speaker 2 (33:03):
All right, so some additional context all of what you
just said. The three teams that are getting relegated back
to the Championship. By the way, I heard a stat
first time in Premier League history since what two thousand
and two thousand and one, whenever it turned into this
twenty team Premiership first time that the same seventeen teams
(33:30):
will have been in the league for three consecutive years.
So ultimately the Championship teams have come up and they've
gone right back down. That The context is both for
MANU and Tottenham, the league was rendered useless for both
of them long ago. So every week I see it
(33:54):
eight guys changed out. There's been no rhythm, no nothing
in the league. They have literally discounted the Premier League.
And so although yes they are gonna it's the battle
of sixteen and seventeen, it's relative to I'm not sure
in the last seven weeks either side was concerned because
(34:16):
they wanted to put their best teams out midweek.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
To that point, since since February, Spurs one win, one
win in the EPL, one seven and two. Yes, so
you've lost seven of your last ten. Man United is
in the same boat. You both lost four your last
five in the league.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
I mean, yes, you can. You've lost matches. We're gonna
thirty eight matches, we've lost twenty twenty of them. There's
two left. We might lose twenty two matches and go
to Champions League. Which they always say financially, as you
mentioned the league below, the Premier League has the first
(34:53):
top two teams get automatically promoted, but three play six,
four plays five and then the winners play in a
one match take all to go up to the Premier League.
They always say that's the most you know, expensive or
the most you know game lucrative match in soccer. I
think this one might be.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Yeah, I think it's I think so too. Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
So now on on the plus, as we look at
the match itself, you've played Man United three times.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
This season, of course we're three and oh beat them
all three times?
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Of course? Yeah? Perfect. Do you remember when Guinnipiac lost
to Yale they beat them three times in the season
two and when did they lose to them?
Speaker 3 (35:31):
The when that mattered? Yeah, the one that really mattered.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Yeah, So well that's hopefully that's not the case in
this particular situation. I feel like, again Spurs are the
people's choice right now. I feel like, unless you're a
diehard Man United fan, everybody's going for Tottenham in this game,
and you hope they can find a way. It'd be
awesome against next Wednesday made the twenty first, it's going
to be on Paramount Plus and I think on Big
CBS as well. I think I think it's on the
(35:54):
main the mother Ship, I think, but it's it will
make for a tremendous day in the sun in Bilbao.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
I hope you can get the job done.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Bell Well, the irony of all of this was you
could see this coming like a freight train about you know,
six weeks ago. I mean, how it was going to go.
And you can't make up the fact that Manchester United
played Athletic Bilbo where they could have been at home
for this game, and they found a way not to
(36:22):
beat man You. So I don't know. I don't know
what to expect, Alex, I really don't. I just know this.
There's some guys that need to be in bubble wrap
between now and the twenty.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
First, well, you kept him in bubble wrap this weekend
against Crystal Palace.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
On Friday.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
Yeah, I would say, I would say, don't roll anybody
out for this coming match day and then get ready
to go for Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
So there's a good chance you might be playing that
day for to I mean, they are not going to
mess around with Villa. Villa's just give him the three points,
so that's done.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
It's so funny the league is so weird this year
because yes, relegation had been decided long ago. Liverpool won
the league thanks to a five to one winn against
Tottenham of course a couple of weeks ago too, But
like the top four places, which are maybe top five
now because of coefficients, those are all still kind of
up for grabs. But it's so funny that teams like
(37:19):
Villa and Newcastle and Art like you're playing. They're playing
teams who have nothing to play for.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
So it's this unique.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
It's just been a really unique.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Stretch of time where it feels like none of these
games matter to half the teams in them. It's not
been the most entertaining final stretch of the Premier League season.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
But what do you mean?
Speaker 2 (37:36):
So here's here's my two cents on Ange. I believe
that whether they win or not, I don't think he'll
be back, but I think for him and career wise,
if you can win a trophy at Spurs, that's pretty good.
Now they would have to come back out and almost
(38:00):
rehire him again if they do keep them on. What
I've learned over the last two years and how we're
going to rebuild and continue to build this because he has,
whether he likes to admit it or not, has played
a lot more practical over the last several matches when
(38:20):
needed in Europe, in Europe, in the Premier League. No,
I mean, you know, the Robbie's heads are going to explode,
you know. I mean at the end, they just can't
see what they're seeing. Well, you know what you're going
to get. I mean, they're just trying to save themselves.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
It's I like that point that if if he does,
when if they really do want to go down this
road again, it would have to be there'd have to
be some pretty high level conversations about like, hey, what
is this going to be about? Like what are we
going to see the Spurs that made their way through
Europe successfully or are we going to see the one
that just recklessly kind of plowed forward in this style
(38:57):
that just clearly wasn't sustainable throughout a thirty eight game.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
Yeah, and I think there's some some really fair opportunities.
Of course, you want to win the match a Gettin's
Champions League, because then your budget's going to be larger
to bring players in. All of that but there's some
players on their current roster right now, like have an
awesome day on the twenty first, have an awesome day,
(39:21):
and then if you want to go to Real Madrid
or go to the La Liga or something to that effect,
go for it, you know, Christian Romero. I mean it
just you know, at the end of the day, those
are some of the things that I wouldn't be all
that excited about hitting a reset personally, but I don't
know what's going on inside those doors.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
I would think a reset's probably the way to go.
I think we had we had this experiment for two years.
If you can get a trophy out of it and
send the ad zone his way, I think I think
everyone would be okay probably with that parting and then
find someone else start a new project. We'll finish on
this before we talk about a couple other things. I
think it would be very fitting if the same sea
that Harry Kane won his first trophy that Spurs could
(40:03):
get one as well.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
The last time they were in a final was against
Liverpool and you know, literally one minute in the game
really changed, so.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
It was basically over. The game was basically over ninety
seconds in at least it felt that way. As funny
as that was, it kind of felt like, oh, well,
they're not gonna win now after the handball decision in
the penalty kick, and they're like, well, that's it, that's
the game.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
Set manage, the game's over. Just give them the trophy
and we're good.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
I hope this particular experience is more pleasant for you
and there's a little more joy at the end of it.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
But we will see a couple.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
Of quick Boston things before we get out of here.
Unique times in Red Sox Nation with raphaels Ever's basically
calling out upper management about the way they've handled the
situation this year after they asked them to go to
first base when Tristan cass was ruled out for the season.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
Your thoughts, Bill, Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
Was disappointed, I you know. And now Romey Gonzalez, who
was playing first base, he's on the IL as well,
and so I don't know what's going on there, but
it doesn't feel great. It does some of the comments.
It's not as if they're asking him to catch, it's
not asking him to play right field. In Boston. It
(41:16):
feels a little strange to me. There's been a lot
of a lot of Hall of Famers over the course
of time that have like certainly gone and changed positions.
Many have gone to first base. I don't think he'd
be that bad, I'll be honest with you. I mean, ultimately,
it just now I think it's there's a stubbornness to
(41:36):
it that The question that I had was the timing
was weird. They were going on the road on a
ten day road trip, and it's almost as if it
just didn't feel great. And then when the owner has
to fly in and you know, I don't know, and
if you're going to call someone the general manager and
not use the word craig. I mean, it just all
(41:57):
of it doesn't feel great.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
Yes, when you search Rafael Devers, the fact that like
all these articles about trade requests and potential landing spots
for Devils, Devers pop up. I don't think we're at
that point yet. But that's an indication of how bad
things got in just the course of a couple of
couple of weeks really, and I think it's maybe the
case of they didn't handle perhaps the Bregman signing the
(42:22):
best or there wasn't enough of a heads up in
Raphael's mind in the off season, and then this is
kind of the next thing. And I guess it's just
never a good idea to voice your disappointment with the
front office publicly to the media, et cetera, in the
way that mister Devers did after he signed the contract
that he did.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Yeah, I just it's you know again, Pete Rose moved
to third base to have George Foster play left field,
Miguel Coruberrera had gone from third to first back to third.
I mean, there's just a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
I mean, Bryce Harper, it's it's this isn't exactly I mean,
it's not it's position. Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
You know, We've had Jim Labert's over there. We've had
Mike Stanley over there, We've had Kyle Schwarber. Tried to
do it from a team perspective, so you know, I
it's not a crazy ask. And then you know, to say, well,
you went from third base to DH which you didn't
have to play a position, and maybe that's a different
mindset that I get. That I fully get. But if
(43:28):
you're really about the team, I think you might maybe
get a glove and just start taking balls there. If
I knew he was just he's not even doing that.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Yeah, it's too bad. Disappointing what otherwise has been a
fun Red Sox season. Disappointing, blowing twenty point leads at
home for the Boston Celtics. As we stay in being
sound big game three win, being four is tonight. So
as you listen to this, you probably already know if
it's either tied up at two or if the Celtics
are one game away from the elimination. What have you
made of this postseason for Boston?
Speaker 2 (43:58):
Yeah, they you know, as Bill Simmons went into went
too prevent offense too early, and their prevent offense is
pretty stale, it's pretty sticky. So once they once they
don't get into that. And Peyton Pritchard, I think is
a good matchup for us playing the Knicks. So I
think you're going to see a little bit more Peyton
(44:19):
because Porzingis doesn't look himself. He looks really tired, literally tired.
So we'll see, I see if they can knod it
up at two. And you know, once you get into
these series, if you recall, you know it was difficult
against Golden State. Once Golden State figured out the Celtics
in twenty two, it was like they weren't going to
lose to them. So I'm hopeful tonight if they can
(44:42):
make some shots, which obviously the first couple of games
they were historically bad. So you know, we'll see, but
you know, I still am hopeful. I'm optimistic. I mean,
we'll see what happens. But they got to get after
it tonight. For sure. They got to get off to
a good start.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
It feels like they're the better I think that that's
gonna keep going back to. I think they're the better
team in this matchup, and I think they're still capable
of winning this series. But you got to make some
shots and get some stops, as simple as god. We
got to get out of here. Bill Jafs. Always a pleasure.
We have one more of these coming up in a
couple of weeks. We'll wrap up the season.
Speaker 2 (45:15):
Then yes, we are going to record our last one
on May twenty seven, and that'll be the final pods
for the year.
Speaker 1 (45:20):
Incredible, another season, another season nearly in the books. So
I appreciate you as always, enjoy graduation and enjoy the
rest of this week.
Speaker 3 (45:27):
Thank you for listening.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
Big thanks to Alex Socker Johnson and Paul Rawson on
the backhands.
Speaker 3 (45:31):
He's Bill. I'm Alex. We'll talk to you soon.
You're listening to the Bill Shapes Podcast, presented by Mid
Coast Sports. Mid cost Sports Plus has full coverage of
the Summer League Outdoor Trek and Field Championships this weekend
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So sign up today at midcasports plus dot com. This
is how we do spring and this is the Bill
(00:22):
Shapes Podcast. Welcome to another edition of the Bill Shapes Podcast.
We are taping this on a Monday morning, the twelfth
of May. Alex sinner Bilt shaves. It's just the two
of us this week as we've got some fun stuff
to dig into. How are things going in your world?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Thanks are great, Alex, appreciate it. Yeah, Happy Monday to you.
Happy ninety degree Monday to you in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wow,
summer coming early a little bit here, so but then
we'll jep back the other way and then I think
we'll get into more spring weather, so who knows. But also,
happy graduation week for the undergrounds, so we will we
(01:02):
will say congratulations to another class class of twenty twenty five.
And at the end of it all Alex, I mean truly,
that's what it's all about. That's the super Bowl for
a university, and so excited to see another class across
the stage.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
It's about crossing the finish line, you know, getting your diploma,
having the experiences that you've had in the classroom, in
the field of play, but then having a degree to
show forward at the end. So as you said, yes,
well done to those student athletes, to all of our graduates,
and then to their families as well for who make
these things possible. So pretty cool moment, pretty cool week.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Well what's really cool too is we're going to have
Jim kleinsauser via the graduation speaker, and so you know,
I think you know, his his journey. Everybody has their
own journey, right, and so at the end of the day,
you know, kind of kind of neat for us in
athletics to have someone of his stature to be able
(01:57):
to address, you know, the undergrads, and so that'll be
a lot of fun and I look forward to what
he has to say.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
College Football Hall of Famer Jim client Saucer. Very cool, right,
very very cool, with something to look forward to certainly
this weekend around campus as we transition from the end
of the school year into the summer. A lots to
get to between them, though certainly some of our teams
are still in action. Outdoor track and field championships coming
up this weekend. We'll talk about softball as well, coming
up during the course of this pod. First, though, even
(02:26):
though the school year is not quite done, it is
meetings season. League meetings are going on right now. You've
been involved with one so far. The NCCHC crew got
together this past week. You've got the summer league meeting
next week, we got the Missouri Valley Football Conference meeting
in early June. Let's start on the ice. What was
the big talking point coming out of NCHC meetings bill
that you can share.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, so you're right, Alex. You know, we're obviously a
part of three different conferences and literally you do get
to meet face to face during this timeframe. So the
first one up was ice hockey. Actually about a week
a little bit later, changed venues this year down Florida,
and so so we just went about one week later.
I think we're back to the normal schedule next year.
(03:10):
You know, lots of things really, but you know, it's
hard not to say everything seems to be dwarfed in
regards to the house settlement and what's transpiring with that.
And you know, we in the NCC we're just the
perfect conference to have conversations because you have a Division
(03:31):
III school, a couple of Division two schools, you have
an FCS school, you've got a Division one non football
playing school, you've got in football, you'd FBS schools, and
you have a power for school. And so you've checked
every single box literally that the NCAA has to offer.
And so you can only imagine, you know, as you're
(03:55):
trying to figure out what is next on literally a
daily basis, to have some of those types of conversations
with your peers, your counterparts. It's helpful for sure.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
What have you noticed from some of those conversations with
your fellow athletic directors in these other schools. What are
they going through as they try and sort this out?
I'm assuming very similar experiences that you've had of waiting
to hear the details of what this is going to be.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Back on February twenty eighth, there was a point in
time where we thought there had to be an opt
in or opt out based on each institution and then
excuse me on March one. So I sent out a
letter on February twenty eighth indicating what the University of
North Dakota was doing. And I'll say this from now
(04:44):
until as we record this today, I think that whole
thought process has aged pretty well because currently the settlement
hasn't occurred yet, and I was always questioning why you
would actually decide on settlement terms when you actually don't
know what the terms are that are being settled. And
(05:05):
then ultimately, as the judges had some questions regarding roster limits,
those are the things that are just still out there,
you know, wondering what is going to happen moving forward.
There's many schools that have already prepared as if the
settlement terms were going to happen as submitted. Now, who knows,
(05:31):
it might come back that way, and it might happen.
But as North Dakota is kind of taking a little
bit of a wait and see approach as far as
what the judge is ultimately going to come back with.
That to me, the more I talk with some peers
and counterparts, I still feel pretty good about the position
that UND took.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
It's as hard to make those decisions for your department.
As you said, when you don't really know the terms
of engagement, still.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
You have to assume that the settlement terms are going
to go through. Now you're right, there was a preapproval,
but that wasn't an approval, and because there was an
objection period of time, which I do believe from at
least reading some of the things that the judge has
indicated that you know, she's not incredibly comfortable with at
(06:18):
least the roster pieces of that puzzle in that settlement.
And so truth be told, if you really want to know,
the issues that we had here was the roster issues
to some degree. And ironically she's had some issues with
the rosters. So let's see how that plays itself out
and then go from there, because as we go forward,
(06:42):
we're all going to be playing by one set of
rules at some point. I just don't know when some point.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Is when that is exactly brats Lawson had some good
reporting about everything else that was going on in the
NCC meetings. NCAA president Charlie Baker was a part of
not just the NCCHC meetings, but just some of the
general college hockey meetings down in Naples. Just again, sounded
like positive conversation about deferred enrollment with college hockey where
(07:07):
players can be a little bit older before they begin
and start their clock. It sounds like they're amenable to that.
A lot of conversation about home regionals versus neutral sites,
and like kind of the normal beats that we've had recently.
It feels like, again that there was some concern that
college hockey would get lumped in with everybody else.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
It doesn't feel that way.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
It does feel like positive conversations have happened that it
will still sort of be its own entity kind of
just because the rules are just slightly different with college
hockey than what we see maybe with college basketball or
college football and other sports.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Yeah, so I was not a part of that meeting
because Josh Burlough, the athletic director at Denver, is actually
the chair, and so we just had shares of each
of the conferences be a part of that meeting. So
it wasn't kind of an overwhelming type of room for
President Baker. But yeah, it would seem like there were
(08:00):
some positives. You know, the devil be in the details.
I mean, you know, I think you can have a
good conversation, but having sat in some of those committee
type rooms in Indianapolis. Those discussions were being had back
in twenty sixteen and probably prior to that. So it's
(08:22):
just can you get to the execution side of doing
these things. It all sounds good. I'll believe it when
I see it.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Okay, From the NCC to the Summer League, there was
some big news about the some of league and the
Missouri Valley Football Conference forming a partnership. I know you're
going to have meetings with the rest of the SUMA
League comissioners coming up next week. That was big news,
A great partnership between these two leagues who now will
sort not quite share a commissioner, but Josh Betton is
going to serve as an advisor with the Missouri Valley
Football Conference. Jeff Jackson, who was the Valley commissioner, is
(08:56):
not going to take over for Patti Viverito for the
Valley Football Conference. Could you talk us through maybe some
of the specifics of what that partnership now means, if
anything really like in the day to day moving forward.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, good, good question. You know, when the release came out,
I knew it was a lot of inside baseball, but
the top line really of it is Patty Vivorito, commissioner
of forty years, steps down and retires. What's the next
governance structure for this Missouri Valley Football Conference, which is
(09:29):
really it's a separate entity. It's really a single sport conference.
And so I give a lot of credit to doctor
Armacost who's the president of the Presidents for the Missouri
Valley Football Conference, and you know, it was really his
charge to figure out what was going to be next administratively.
(09:51):
And so with two multi sport conferences making up the
majority of the membership, I think I think some of
the questions and conversations we had over time over the
last several years especially, it would seem like the most
logical time now to even form a tighter relationship. So
(10:12):
therefore Jeff Jackson will be the commissioner with really Josh
Fenton in the passenger seat with him, But then a
hiring of a chief operating officer that every day that
particular person will go in thinking through how can you
make the Missouri Football Conference as good as it can be?
And at the end of the day, this is the
(10:34):
kind of the key piece that's probably lost in some ways.
Maybe there's some value that we can have now, but
using some of the staff members both of the Valley
Conference and of the Summit League Conference. And so I
think that can be powerful because I think if you
talk to Jeff Jackson, he'll say, Hey, I think there's
(10:56):
an opportunity that we really can do a really great
job really branding the heck out of the best FCS
conference in the country. And so it's a lot inside
Baseball Alex but it made sense that you had these
conversations so that everybody knew that these schools were staying
together playing football against each other.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
That was my biggest takeaway where it did feel like
this was a statement of incent that we're just as
you said, getting closer. We're tightening those bonds. And obviously
it's not exactly the same membership between the Summer League
and the Valley but you do have a lot of
crossover between those two conferences, and with everything going on
in the world, it's nice to have some stability, a
statement of incent to remain stable in this at least
(11:39):
for the short term, that this is going to be
what it's going to be, and we're going to continue
to grow it and make it better and then see
what happens moving forward.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yeah, and I can't certainly it would never discount Youngstown State,
but that's really just one school. You can say there's
a third multi sport conference kind of in play, but
not really not when there's four and one in five
the other. So I think there just had to be
a conversation in the ever changing landscape of the multi
(12:06):
sport conference realm. It was good to have some conversations
and kind of set the parameters rules of engagement, especially
if let's just say the Summit League was thinking about
trying to figure out a tenth school and they had football.
At least some of these conversations have been had already,
so we're not starting at zero. And so that that
(12:27):
was kind of the release that was sent out. But
there's just a lot of nuance to it. But long
story short, here's the governance structure now that Patty Vivto
is stepping away as of I think that you know
here in the next month or so.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Yeah, friend of the pod, Patty Rito, former guests of
the belt Taips.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Podcast multi Time Right, multi Time multi Time.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
We've had Patty on several times, so we wish Patty
best of luck on her retirement does feel like the
structures in place to keep it going.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Mid Bard.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
You do get to meet with some of the folks
next week, Valley coming up in the future. I'm assuming
this will be part of the conversation. What are some
of the other things besides the house settlement, which will
probably dominate a lot of the conversation, Anything in particular
that you can share that you're looking forward to having
conversations about with those two groups.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
A lot of the conversations being dominated by what's happening
in the courts and then and ultimately what's happening in Washington,
d C. As well, you know, whatever you know it's
going to transpire with the Trump administration and whatever committee
is going to be put together there. I think we've
got to keep our eye on that as well. So
you know, Josh is always a wealth of knowledge because
(13:33):
he's certainly one of thirty two Multi Sport Commissioners, and
then you know he's in various meetings that is helpful
for us to be able to understand and bring back
to campus maybe what's you know transpiring at his level.
And then then it's a lot of the wash Rents
repeat conversations officiating replay each sport, what what's their necessary
(14:01):
nuance that they're looking to do, you know, as you
go through them all. So sometimes you just have a
lot of same sort of conversations or bullet points or
agenda items because you have to talk about it on
an annual basis.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
We'll have fun with those conversations. Hopefully it's productive and
fruitful as always, and we keep the train rolling on
the tracks.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Let's just go down to the field to play for
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
We had softball wrap up their season at the SEMA
League Softball Championships and Brookings this past week. You know,
it capped off a great season. I know, the ultimate
goal was to win the thing, and un D came
up just a couple of games short, but Jordan Stevens
and company do finish with twenty six wins that tied
the program record for most wins in a single season.
The hammered North Dakota State in the first game. You've
(14:47):
finished off that contest in five innings, and then just
had a couple of tough ones against Omaha who would
become the eventuable champions four to two, and then South
Dakota who would be runners up, you know, up by
three runs in the seventh Bill, this close to moving on,
and then it just wasn't in the cards.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
You've got to get all twenty one outs right, and
you know, give South Dakota credit. They they fought, they battled.
You know, they let off that inning with a triple,
which which was fine in a sense because you're up
five too, so you know you're almost like, well let's
start the inning right now. But you know, they they
they did a great job with some at bats and
unfortunately we lost an extras and you know, I mean
(15:25):
I think, you know, in talking with coach Stevens when
he returned, you know, just a sour taste in our
team's mouth, and that's a good thing. And so you
know they wanted to of course get to the next
day and that's that would be the next frontier for
this program. So you're right, I thought, all in all,
I mean, if you look at it on a continuum
(15:46):
over a timeline, certainly the trajectory's good. If you think
about how many times you do not play in Grand Forks,
so you know, there's just so many times where a
lot of times we're playing neutral psyche games too. So
I have to admit that especially during the non conference,
but you know, you're playing a lot of non home games,
(16:07):
and so it's a sport where you know, if you
do come out five hundred, especially in a mid major scenario,
you've probably done a pretty good job. Now the next
frontier for us is to take that next step and
try to figure out how can we get to a
place where, say, you know in Omaha is right now
where you know they've they've done a pretty good job
(16:29):
over the last several years.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, third straight some of league championship for the Mavericks,
and they've had some success when they've gone on to
the region.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
So that's a bad blueprint.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
So we've seen that with North Dakota State South Dakota
State in previous years as well. You can be successful
coming out of the Summit League in North Dakota. You
get the sense thanks to facilities, thanks to again the
coaching staff and things that are in place. This was
a really big step forward to your point, by the way,
to fifty six games this last season, North Dakota played,
twelve were at home. Yeah, So that's the nature of
(16:59):
the Beast when you were in North Dakota, and I.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Think it's more for the folks that are listening. It's
not a whine or a complaint, it's just fact, right.
I just want to make sure folks know that's what
it is. Now. A lot of schools are in the
same boat doing similar types of things, especially if you're
north of the Mason Dixon line. I mean, that's just
what happens and so in those particular sports. But the
(17:23):
good news is, you know, if we call it year
one in the book for Allbrot fields, certainly to turf
makes a difference. You know, you get to play once
the tempts get to a certain point, and as long
as we haven't had two damaging of a winter, especially
with ice and things to try to remove things from
the field, you have a shot to play. And for
(17:44):
us to get in all of our home games this year,
it's a big deal.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
I would say I should have looked this up.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I feel like in previous years you would maybe get
five home games, maybe maybe six, maybe three some years.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
I just remember there were so.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Many years where we were going to broadcast North Dakota
softball on Mid Coast Sports and we'd have three different
doubleheaders lined up in in late April, early May and
maybe one of those would actually happen, and that was
every year just about, like I just it would be
the weather would be too bad and you'd have to
flip it and go on the road instead, or the
series would just get canceled.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
And that was about.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
The success rate was very small. And it's great to
see you even got twelve games in this year and
that that can kind of be you know, somewhere with
some somewhere in double digits now is possible every season
because of that facility, no.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Doubt about it. And and lights too. So those are
the two. Those are the two variables that we didn't
have before, and that'll make a big, big difference certainly,
you know, if we if we get in clement weather
on the day you're supposed to play. But but then again,
you can get rain in July, so I mean, you know,
and you could be you could be rained out, So
(18:55):
things can happen in that sense. But if the tempts
in its clear enough and we can clear the field,
we've got a shot.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
That's exciting, and it's exciting what this team is going
to be able to do thanks to that so great
job agad by coach Stevens and the women twenty six
and thirty on the year, seven to eleven in conference,
again twenty six wins, tying the program record for most
in a single season. The futures bright for softball. You
could say the same thing for outdoor track and field
as they get set to transition to their championship season
(19:23):
coming up this weekend in Vermilion. It starts on Thursday.
I would say that this is about as good as
this North Dakota team on the men's and women's side.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Hiss.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Look, I did the research coming in. We've got in
fifteen different events, there's a North Dcota athlete ranks first
or second in fifteen across both of those disciplines, and
they're number one in a number of those.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
And it doesn't mean you're.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Going to win an outdoor track and field championship, but
the women certainly came close on the indoor scene, the
men weren't too far off. Great opportunity again this weekends
for Jim Barrenkamp's crew to go out and have a
lot of success in a place where they've done pretty
well before out at the Little Bridge Complex in Vermillion.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, Alex. It'll be it'll
be fascinating. Obviously, the indoors championship were very very good,
and I know coaches optimistic, but it's you know, we
say it every time when we get to championship time.
It's you know, you've you've got to perform that day,
and as as many of us know, you know, sometimes
(20:23):
things can happen, and you know, you just you hope
that you feel good that day and you hope you
have a great performance.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Weather it looks like it's going to be all right
this week. I think there's some rain in the forecast,
maybe on Thursday, that's the one. But temperatures shouldn't be
I mean the nineties, the eighties and nineties that we've
experienced that have been a little bit unique for early May.
That's supposed to taper off. It's supposed to be in
the seventies. So I mean, again, if the rain stays away,
very pleasant, positive opportunity to go out and really do
(20:52):
something special. So it's going to be fun to watch.
You mentioned at the very top that meet will be
on the Summit League Network on the co Sports Plus,
so you have a chance to come and in the
indoor season, the opportunity was there to click on different events.
So if you really just want to watch Ethan Thomas
throw the javelin on Thursday afternoon, there will be a
(21:13):
camera a feed dedicated to that, just like you'd see
for like ESPN Plus's coverage of the NCAA Outdoor Track
and Field Championships. So the SEC Championships, I assume, and
I apologize because I don't know this one hundred percent.
I am assuming that will be the same case this
weekend for the Outdoor Track and Field Championships. It's been
the case in recent years. But it's a cool tool
to be able to go in and sit. I really
(21:34):
just want to watch whatever it is. I just want
to watch Tiffany Magnus and compete in the triple jump.
You can do that and you can just watch the
triple and not have to worry about missing anything. Every
jump will be on those things, so be sure to
check that out if you if you want to, it's
gonna be really fun. And Kenna Curry's number six in
the nation and the hammer throw and top fifty and
another number of other the throwing events. We got a
(21:54):
number of young ladies, Jaden Keeler's top twenty five and
a couple of the distance runs. It's gonna be fun
to see how they compete as they begin to peak.
I mean, as you mentioned, this is their championship season,
this is what they've been pushing themselves for all season long.
I got a feeling we're gonna have some school records
broken and some really game professor performances show up.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
I agree, it should be a lot of fun. So
we're excited about it for sure.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Awesome, that's my pitch. By the way, tune in, tune
in this weekend.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
To watch.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
That's kind of the one of the last big competitions
of the year coming up, the last big when obviously
Track and Field will still have the West Regional coming
up and hopefully some outdoor competition out in Eugene for
the national Championships. It's wild to think that this is
kind of the end of competition season, Bill Crazy.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
We're done. We're done. I know it. You know, it's
a always this time of year, you know, the track
with graduation and I don't know, it's you kind of
the bow's getting put on, right, it's the chapter, final chapter,
if you will. So hopefully we have some great performances
and maybe there's some some of our student athletes, and
(23:00):
we'll move on to the NCAAs as well, I certainly hope.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
So before we flip over to the B side, we
should mention we have a Hall of Fame class for
twenty twenty five for University of North Dakota Athletics. Eight
individuals plus the two thousand and two thousand and one
women's basketball team will be inducted in a beautiful ceremony
at the Alera Center on Friday, September the nineteenth, the
part of Hall of Fame weekends that includes the football
team playing Valpraso the next day. A really great class again,
(23:25):
as always, some great individuals from all different sports coming aboard.
Can you talk us a bit about this class, and
first of all, just the process of how you choose,
how you make these decisions of who gets into this
hallowed group.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Yeah, so let's go behind the curtain a little bit.
So I love, I really do love the Letter Winners group.
That we have a Letter Winners Committee and they are
charged ultimately with selecting a class annually. That's their ultimate charge.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
They meet.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
End up taking the summer off once the once the
class is announced, and then we'll get back into it
following the actual Hall of Fame itself in September. Then
they'll have their final meeting in early November, like this
Letter Winners Group, and then eventually we'll pick back up.
(24:20):
We might have a meeting in early December with the
new group, if you will, because there'll be like some
some folks sliding off and some sliding on, and then
you go right back at it again in January, February, March,
and it really is. It's a three year commitment if
you're on the on the Letter Winners Board. And the
good news is you always have two thirds of the
committee that knows what was discussed the year before. So
(24:43):
so at the end of it all, each class is
its own note based on that snapshot in time of
who's on that Letter Winners Board. So you know this year,
you know we're gonna have a class of eight individuals,
a few special awards like we always do, and then
of course one team. And so I will say this
to you, Alex, I'm there, Bubba Schweiger is there. From
(25:07):
our staff, Lindsay. Lindsay my assistant. She kind of works
things through, kind of coordinates things. Valve Sussex and Colton
Sanderson and Tim Bellmore they join we don't vote. We
don't vote, so alls we do, we're there for support.
Oh and I should say Alex Stocker Johnson as well.
(25:29):
And so at the end of the day, we're there
for complete support of the actual committee Committee of seven.
And so you know, they get after it and I'll
tell you what they they should take it seriously because
and I don't want to be morbid on you, but
it's an obituary moment. I mean, at the end of
the day that will be in someone's line as it says,
(25:51):
you know, was a member of the you know, twenty
twenty three, twenty four, twenty five Hall of Fame. So
we're excited about it. It's the fiftieth year this year,
and so that's exciting. And so you know, like I said,
Brian Westland was the president this year, and you know,
everyone does a marvelous job. And I say this all
(26:12):
the time. I say it at the Hall of Fame.
It's my favorite event. It just is because we get
to we get to celebrate what came before us and
the reasons why we're in the chairs we're in right now.
And if if you said, what are one of the
jobs that an athletic director or head coach has to
do or anybody in our department is connect heiress and
(26:35):
you never want to forget the past, and so this
is a way to do that. So if you go
on to Fighting Hawks dot com you can read all
about the folks. I won't go into each of the
folks that are deserving of this, but I'll tell you
what I can tell you. They're deserving because they have
been vetted, They've been discussed.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, I love that there's you mentioned connecting eras. I
love that there are so many different eras represent I
think from the sixties to the seventies, to the eighties,
to the nineties to the two thousands. It's just cool
to see that length and breadth of athlete being represented here.
And obviously a special thing for them and for their families,
for their teammates too that were a part of their
(27:15):
success and their journey, and that that becomes such a
homecoming is its own thing. This becomes like a little
mini homecoming where you get these different groups from different
areas coming back to celebrate an individual or a team.
And I've been there at the event before and it
is really special. So just maybe jot that down on
your calendar. September nineteenth and twentieth coming up the Hall
of Fame weekend for you and the athletics well.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
And I think the most important probably change that we've
made in recent years is the ability to actually introduce
the candidate that's going to be inducted via video. And
I will say Mid Coast been unbelievable in that regard
working with our folks, and it's been really helpful because
(27:59):
we've been able to then maybe put one more person
in because it really moves the night along. And you know,
we make a really concerted effort that while you're going
through the induction and the dinner, we don't want it
to run all that long, be honest with you, because
you want the folks to really enjoy themselves prior to
(28:20):
that and post and and it's a way for them
to revisit and reconnect. And although it's special the dinner
in the induction, you're not going to be there till midnight.
I mean, we make it pretty clear we we kind
of want to move the night along because the end,
you know, everybody's there to want and really commits before
(28:42):
and afterwards.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
It's a fellowship right, it's the fellowship person is the
most important thing beyond just the recognition.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
So well done.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
That's the right mindset to have for an event like
this for sure. So Bill, anything else on your plate,
on your agenda, on your minds is before we flip
over to the B side today.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
No, let's do a quick flip. We've got a few
things to discuss.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
We do, yes, we do.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
I think most pressingly the fact that your club, Bill
Toottnam Hotspur are in a European final. You have reached
the final of the Europa League after coolly dispatching Norway's
finest Bodo Glimpse over two legs. You have a three
to one lead going into the game in the Arctic.
Any nerves did you have to feel pretty confident like
(29:27):
we're going to get the job done right? Did you
feel pretty good about that or reservedrepidation based on how
this Spurs team has handled business all season?
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Well, don't you end up going into every game going
how are they going to handle it? Like, what's the
what kind of style are they going to play? And
if for those of you that don't know, the Spurs
do like to press and get on the front foot
and make things happen going forward, and the question was
going to be would they be more pragmatic and try
(29:57):
to just in a sense see the game through because
that score doesn't matter as long as you've got one
more and you want to get to the final. And
I thought, once I saw them play for about the
first fifteen minutes, I said, it feels pretty comfortable, but
it just takes one set piece and next thing you know,
you're only up a goal. And you know, once they
(30:19):
scored the first goal and made it for to one,
that felt like it was a It was a mountain
too steep for the Norwegian side, so.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
It finishes five to one on aggregate. So ironic that
you will play in bill bow Span in the final
Manchester United, who has basically had the exact same season
that you've had. You are separated by one point in
the Premier League. You were sixteenth and seventeenth in this
twenty team division. The three below you were already relegated,
(30:50):
like you. You just there is no threat of being
dropped down to the lower division. But that's that's the
company you've kept. And here you are one game away
from earning Champions League football next year.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Can you believe it.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Though, where where do you put the fork in the road,
because because one team is going to come out of
that one match and they're gonna say it was a
glorious year, and then the other team's going to come
out and say it was easily the worst season we've had,
(31:25):
maybe ever in.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Our history, in our club's history.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
That's that's that is it. It's is it the biggest
zero or one game you've seen in your life?
Speaker 1 (31:35):
I mean pretty close, right, I think you you see
the comparables sometimes for the Championship playoff, where you you
were a team that has maybe finished sixth in the
English Championship, but you've made your way through the playoff
and you're in the final at Wembley and if you win,
you get promoted to the Premier League. If you lose,
(31:55):
you basically were a mid table side and you got
to go back and do it all over again next year.
But obviously this is this is so much more heightened
because it's not just promotion. This is a major European trophy.
This is a major be Spurs first since two thousand
and eight, and it's the caveat of now we have
Champions League football to offer any player that wants to
(32:16):
come and it just feels like, as you said, it
puts a positive spin on an otherwise pretty dreadful season
for both of these really big I mean, these are
the we always talk in England like the Big six
or the whatever whatever number it is anymore. These are
two of the legendary certainly man United one of the
legendary teams. Twenty League titled lobby.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
You don't have to.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Everybody knows who Manchester United is. Spurs is very much
in that category, just a little below that, but very
much in that conversation, and you have a chance to, yes,
change the trajectory of your season, the perception, maybe save
Ange's job. That was one of the questions I wanted
to ask. If they win this match, which is Wednesday,
May twenty first, just around the corner nine days from now,
(32:57):
does and remain or do you get rid even though
he wins the European Trophy?
Speaker 2 (33:03):
All right, so some additional context all of what you
just said. The three teams that are getting relegated back
to the Championship. By the way, I heard a stat
first time in Premier League history since what two thousand
and two thousand and one, whenever it turned into this
twenty team Premiership first time that the same seventeen teams
(33:30):
will have been in the league for three consecutive years.
So ultimately the Championship teams have come up and they've
gone right back down. That The context is both for
MANU and Tottenham, the league was rendered useless for both
of them long ago. So every week I see it
(33:54):
eight guys changed out. There's been no rhythm, no nothing
in the league. They have literally discounted the Premier League.
And so although yes they are gonna it's the battle
of sixteen and seventeen, it's relative to I'm not sure
in the last seven weeks either side was concerned because
(34:16):
they wanted to put their best teams out midweek.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
To that point, since since February, Spurs one win, one
win in the EPL, one seven and two. Yes, so
you've lost seven of your last ten. Man United is
in the same boat. You both lost four your last
five in the league.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
I mean, yes, you can. You've lost matches. We're gonna
thirty eight matches, we've lost twenty twenty of them. There's
two left. We might lose twenty two matches and go
to Champions League. Which they always say financially, as you
mentioned the league below, the Premier League has the first
(34:53):
top two teams get automatically promoted, but three play six,
four plays five and then the winners play in a
one match take all to go up to the Premier League.
They always say that's the most you know, expensive or
the most you know game lucrative match in soccer. I
think this one might be.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Yeah, I think it's I think so too. Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
So now on on the plus, as we look at
the match itself, you've played Man United three times.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
This season, of course we're three and oh beat them
all three times?
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Of course? Yeah? Perfect. Do you remember when Guinnipiac lost
to Yale they beat them three times in the season
two and when did they lose to them?
Speaker 3 (35:31):
The when that mattered? Yeah, the one that really mattered.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Yeah, So well that's hopefully that's not the case in
this particular situation. I feel like, again Spurs are the
people's choice right now. I feel like, unless you're a
diehard Man United fan, everybody's going for Tottenham in this game,
and you hope they can find a way. It'd be
awesome against next Wednesday made the twenty first, it's going
to be on Paramount Plus and I think on Big
CBS as well. I think I think it's on the
(35:54):
main the mother Ship, I think, but it's it will
make for a tremendous day in the sun in Bilbao.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
I hope you can get the job done.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Bell Well, the irony of all of this was you
could see this coming like a freight train about you know,
six weeks ago. I mean, how it was going to go.
And you can't make up the fact that Manchester United
played Athletic Bilbo where they could have been at home
for this game, and they found a way not to
(36:22):
beat man You. So I don't know. I don't know
what to expect, Alex, I really don't. I just know this.
There's some guys that need to be in bubble wrap
between now and the twenty.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
First, well, you kept him in bubble wrap this weekend
against Crystal Palace.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
On Friday.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
Yeah, I would say, I would say, don't roll anybody
out for this coming match day and then get ready
to go for Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
So there's a good chance you might be playing that
day for to I mean, they are not going to
mess around with Villa. Villa's just give him the three points,
so that's done.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
It's so funny the league is so weird this year
because yes, relegation had been decided long ago. Liverpool won
the league thanks to a five to one winn against
Tottenham of course a couple of weeks ago too, But
like the top four places, which are maybe top five
now because of coefficients, those are all still kind of
up for grabs. But it's so funny that teams like
(37:19):
Villa and Newcastle and Art like you're playing. They're playing
teams who have nothing to play for.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
So it's this unique.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
It's just been a really unique.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Stretch of time where it feels like none of these
games matter to half the teams in them. It's not
been the most entertaining final stretch of the Premier League season.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
But what do you mean?
Speaker 2 (37:36):
So here's here's my two cents on Ange. I believe
that whether they win or not, I don't think he'll
be back, but I think for him and career wise,
if you can win a trophy at Spurs, that's pretty good.
Now they would have to come back out and almost
(38:00):
rehire him again if they do keep them on. What
I've learned over the last two years and how we're
going to rebuild and continue to build this because he has,
whether he likes to admit it or not, has played
a lot more practical over the last several matches when
(38:20):
needed in Europe, in Europe, in the Premier League. No,
I mean, you know, the Robbie's heads are going to explode,
you know. I mean at the end, they just can't
see what they're seeing. Well, you know what you're going
to get. I mean, they're just trying to save themselves.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
It's I like that point that if if he does,
when if they really do want to go down this
road again, it would have to be there'd have to
be some pretty high level conversations about like, hey, what
is this going to be about? Like what are we
going to see the Spurs that made their way through
Europe successfully or are we going to see the one
that just recklessly kind of plowed forward in this style
(38:57):
that just clearly wasn't sustainable throughout a thirty eight game.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
Yeah, and I think there's some some really fair opportunities.
Of course, you want to win the match a Gettin's
Champions League, because then your budget's going to be larger
to bring players in. All of that but there's some
players on their current roster right now, like have an
awesome day on the twenty first, have an awesome day,
(39:21):
and then if you want to go to Real Madrid
or go to the La Liga or something to that effect,
go for it, you know, Christian Romero. I mean it
just you know, at the end of the day, those
are some of the things that I wouldn't be all
that excited about hitting a reset personally, but I don't
know what's going on inside those doors.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
I would think a reset's probably the way to go.
I think we had we had this experiment for two years.
If you can get a trophy out of it and
send the ad zone his way, I think I think
everyone would be okay probably with that parting and then
find someone else start a new project. We'll finish on
this before we talk about a couple other things. I
think it would be very fitting if the same sea
that Harry Kane won his first trophy that Spurs could
(40:03):
get one as well.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
The last time they were in a final was against
Liverpool and you know, literally one minute in the game
really changed, so.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
It was basically over. The game was basically over ninety
seconds in at least it felt that way. As funny
as that was, it kind of felt like, oh, well,
they're not gonna win now after the handball decision in
the penalty kick, and they're like, well, that's it, that's
the game.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
Set manage, the game's over. Just give them the trophy
and we're good.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
I hope this particular experience is more pleasant for you
and there's a little more joy at the end of it.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
But we will see a couple.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
Of quick Boston things before we get out of here.
Unique times in Red Sox Nation with raphaels Ever's basically
calling out upper management about the way they've handled the
situation this year after they asked them to go to
first base when Tristan cass was ruled out for the season.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
Your thoughts, Bill, Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
Was disappointed, I you know. And now Romey Gonzalez, who
was playing first base, he's on the IL as well,
and so I don't know what's going on there, but
it doesn't feel great. It does some of the comments.
It's not as if they're asking him to catch, it's
not asking him to play right field. In Boston. It
(41:16):
feels a little strange to me. There's been a lot
of a lot of Hall of Famers over the course
of time that have like certainly gone and changed positions.
Many have gone to first base. I don't think he'd
be that bad, I'll be honest with you. I mean, ultimately,
it just now I think it's there's a stubbornness to
(41:36):
it that The question that I had was the timing
was weird. They were going on the road on a
ten day road trip, and it's almost as if it
just didn't feel great. And then when the owner has
to fly in and you know, I don't know, and
if you're going to call someone the general manager and
not use the word craig. I mean, it just all
(41:57):
of it doesn't feel great.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
Yes, when you search Rafael Devers, the fact that like
all these articles about trade requests and potential landing spots
for Devils, Devers pop up. I don't think we're at
that point yet. But that's an indication of how bad
things got in just the course of a couple of
couple of weeks really, and I think it's maybe the
case of they didn't handle perhaps the Bregman signing the
(42:22):
best or there wasn't enough of a heads up in
Raphael's mind in the off season, and then this is
kind of the next thing. And I guess it's just
never a good idea to voice your disappointment with the
front office publicly to the media, et cetera, in the
way that mister Devers did after he signed the contract
that he did.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Yeah, I just it's you know again, Pete Rose moved
to third base to have George Foster play left field,
Miguel Coruberrera had gone from third to first back to third.
I mean, there's just a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
I mean, Bryce Harper, it's it's this isn't exactly I mean,
it's not it's position. Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
You know, We've had Jim Labert's over there. We've had
Mike Stanley over there, We've had Kyle Schwarber. Tried to
do it from a team perspective, so you know, I
it's not a crazy ask. And then you know, to say, well,
you went from third base to DH which you didn't
have to play a position, and maybe that's a different
mindset that I get. That I fully get. But if
(43:28):
you're really about the team, I think you might maybe
get a glove and just start taking balls there. If
I knew he was just he's not even doing that.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Yeah, it's too bad. Disappointing what otherwise has been a
fun Red Sox season. Disappointing, blowing twenty point leads at
home for the Boston Celtics. As we stay in being
sound big game three win, being four is tonight. So
as you listen to this, you probably already know if
it's either tied up at two or if the Celtics
are one game away from the elimination. What have you
made of this postseason for Boston?
Speaker 2 (43:58):
Yeah, they you know, as Bill Simmons went into went
too prevent offense too early, and their prevent offense is
pretty stale, it's pretty sticky. So once they once they
don't get into that. And Peyton Pritchard, I think is
a good matchup for us playing the Knicks. So I
think you're going to see a little bit more Peyton
(44:19):
because Porzingis doesn't look himself. He looks really tired, literally tired.
So we'll see, I see if they can knod it
up at two. And you know, once you get into
these series, if you recall, you know it was difficult
against Golden State. Once Golden State figured out the Celtics
in twenty two, it was like they weren't going to
lose to them. So I'm hopeful tonight if they can
(44:42):
make some shots, which obviously the first couple of games
they were historically bad. So you know, we'll see, but
you know, I still am hopeful. I'm optimistic. I mean,
we'll see what happens. But they got to get after
it tonight. For sure. They got to get off to
a good start.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
It feels like they're the better I think that that's
gonna keep going back to. I think they're the better
team in this matchup, and I think they're still capable
of winning this series. But you got to make some
shots and get some stops, as simple as god. We
got to get out of here. Bill Jafs. Always a pleasure.
We have one more of these coming up in a
couple of weeks. We'll wrap up the season.
Speaker 2 (45:15):
Then yes, we are going to record our last one
on May twenty seven, and that'll be the final pods
for the year.
Speaker 1 (45:20):
Incredible, another season, another season nearly in the books. So
I appreciate you as always, enjoy graduation and enjoy the
rest of this week.
Speaker 3 (45:27):
Thank you for listening.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
Big thanks to Alex Socker Johnson and Paul Rawson on
the backhands.
Speaker 3 (45:31):
He's Bill. I'm Alex. We'll talk to you soon.
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