December 16, 2025 • 51 mins
This week, Bill and Alex take a pre-Christmas tour of all things UND Athletics, including a deep dive on the NCHC-leading NoDak hockey team, a look ahead to the end of the non-conference season for men’s and women’s basketball, and a conversation about the current NCAA landscape (5:27). Then, the B-Side looks into the current state of affairs at Tottenham (not good) and Liverpool (getting better?) before addressing the lack of hot stove activity for the Red Sox (36:35).
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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 Shaves Podcast, presented by mid
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Subscribe today at Midcastsports plus dot com. This is how
we do sports, and this is the Bill Shaves Podcast.
(00:22):
Welcome to another edition of the Bill Shaves Podcast. We
are taping this on a Monday afternoon, the fifteenth of December.
The IDEs of December. Bill are upontus Alex Heider, Bill
Shaves here with you. Bill.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
How are you?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
I'm doing great? How about you, Alex? I saw you
over the weekend and at the Ralph so that was fun.
And yeah, we're here on the fifteenth, and this will
be our final pod before Christmas, but then we'll do
one before.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
New Year's correct.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah, so not the final pot of twenty twenty five,
but the final one before the festive season really kicks
off in flush.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Are we going to the B side already with festive fixtures?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Well, save that, we'll put a little pit in that
that's to come. Yes, expect a good B side today,
a lot of good things good. Maybe he's not the
right ser much. You'd use a lot of interesting things
happening in our world on the b side that we
will discuss later on after a good discussion about all
things University of North Dakota Athletics. Busy time of year
with postseasons rapping and conference play getting set to begin
(01:27):
in hockey, of course, the one sport that just bridges
everything right in the thick of things. Just a busy time,
like as always, busy time in your world as students
wrap up their semester.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yeah, no doubt, Alex.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
And you know, for our listeners, we made a decision
this week we're just going to kind of wrap up
a little bit of this semester. And you know, we
do try to look ahead and say, all right, what's
pertinent or who would be pertinent to have a guest
on right now, And we felt like with finals week
upon us and actually on Friday, we've got graduation and
(02:00):
so we've got winter commencement here at und and so
we just figured, you know what, this would be a
good time.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
To just do a quick wrap.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
So, yeah, all is good, and uh, you know, winter
has come, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
We have found that out.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
It was cold in Grand Forks this weekend it was cold.
It's rebounded. Well, I think that's the one nice thing
we lit temperatures creeping beyond the negatives. But Friday night
walking back from the Ralph to our mid Cos Sports office,
which is just right across the street, like it's a
very convenient little walk, that's that's right up there, and
it's some of the coldest coldest evenings I've experienced in
(02:35):
my ten years of doing you in the hockey. It
was chilly.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Took your breath away, Bill Well many times, though, I
always look at it and just say, it does make.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
You enjoy all parts of the year.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
It does it.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Maybe some people enjoy that walk.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
God bless them. If they don't. I've not met anyone
yet that would be in that camp, But you are right,
like it does make like twy the twenty degree temperatures
that we're experiencing today, they look pretty nice, feels pretty
good compared to the feels like negative twenty seven or
whatever it was on.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Well, we're gonna be in a We're gonna be in
a situation where the temperature cage is interestingly like going
to almost mid thirties, almost forty here and then I
think it's gonna kick back down a little bit, but
uh yeah, no, it's a I appreciate our fan base
so much. I mean, braving the cold coming out and
you know, it was a it was a good, good finale,
(03:31):
you know, finality to the first part of the season
and uh again, such a great environment at the Ralph.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
So I appreciate everybody that did come out.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah, I think that's a great point. I mean it
was it was difficult if you were a family and
you're making the choice like do I want to get
my kids, yeah, bundled up and yeah, especially if you're
coming from out of town, et cetera, do I want
to make that drive and knowing it's going to be
that much colder at night. Just the ability the capacity
of the U and D fan to come out and
support like that and come and have a great time
(04:02):
and enjoy and celebrate this team that's had a phenomenal
first half of the Seasonally, it's another little reminder of
like how special this fan base is, how special these
programs are.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, no doubt about it.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
And you know, we had good crowds at the Betty
on Saturday and Sunday as well, and so you know,
I think you know, I've I've been fortunate to be
able to be in all parts of the country, and
every part of the country has their i'll call it time,
their time where maybe it's really hot, or it's you know,
really cold, or maybe you know, you just experience a
(04:36):
lot of wet weather or whatever it might be. But
the reality of it is, you make the best of
what you have where you are, and I think our
fans do a phenomenal job in that regard.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, I would agree with that. Yeah, So unless you're
living in San Diego, the weather is never going to
be perfect no matter where you are, so you might
as well put a smile on your face and enjoy
it and power through the tough months and real enjoy again.
I've always said it, whenever spring hits in Grand Forks,
whether it's March, yep, early April, all the way up
until the winter time, it is a beautiful place to live.
(05:09):
It is no humidity, it's seventy degrees in perfect in
the summertime. Like it's there's a lot of positive things
about it. Just got a couple of months there. You
gotta just put on an extra layer or two.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You gotta put on it right. You got to have
the right equipment, right.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
That's right. Well, I think that's a good segue too
what we've seen on the ice where I think for
this hockey team this year, they've got the right pieces,
they've got the right equipment, and we've seen that over
the course of certainly I would say the entire first
apt but especially over the last two months. Ten wins
now out of their last eleven. North Dakota goes into
this holiday break fourteen and four, top four in the country,
(05:43):
tops of the NCCHC, six straight wins bill against good opposition.
This has been an unmitigated success for Dan Jackson here
in his staff and you're number one.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, I agree with that, and I really appreciate the
makeup of the team. I feel like this is one
of those teams, you know, I've I've said it to
a few folks. It feels like they can play a
lot of different ways. And that's helpful, of course, because
you don't know, you know, on a week by week basis,
(06:16):
and if you're ever lucky enough to be in the
NCAA tournament at some point in time, you don't know
who you're going to play. And they could all play
different ways, and but I think, you know, some of
the tenants of a really good team is solid goaltending,
obviously good d and being able to play any which
way another team wants to play. And and I think
(06:36):
team first, and you saw in the depth Alex has
been pretty pretty amazing. Really, I mean to lose you know,
a Reshian Averrhoff this past weekend and really sliding some
folks in and really it becomes they get their opportunity.
It's not oh, you know we lost you know, we
(06:57):
lost those two. No, actually, you give an opportunity to
somebody and then they get to do their thing. So
it actually real fun. It sets up for it just
a fascinating and exciting second half of the season.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yeah, I would agree. Yeah, I think that's maybe the
biggest talking point out of this weekend was just the
fact that you this North DCODA team hasn't had really
their full complement of players since the beginning of November.
It has kind of been a shuffling really since the
Arizona State series of is getting banged up and being hurt,
and then they just get some of those injured players back,
just as their leading scorer and another first round draft
(07:34):
pick leave to go join Hockey Canada for World Junior
prep and they still keep grinding games out. And you've
got one goaltender that is nine to oh to oh,
and you feel confident enough to put the other guy
in there for the second half of the series, and
he goes out and puts up thirty saves and allows
one goal. And I think just different guys stepping up
(07:54):
and embracing whatever roles asked of them on any given night.
Like you said, that's a sign of a good team
and a comp a team. They played like a very
confident team this weekend, as they should they did.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
And I also think, you know, a team like Omaha
or whomever is in our league, it's going to come
at you the second night, especially if you're fortunate enough
to get the win on Friday. And that's what Omaha
did and scored first, which is exactly what a team
would want to do. And we we almost kind of
(08:27):
overcame in some ways ourselves, right, I mean, I don't
think going in I think Jacks was talking about, you know,
trying to stay out of the box and do those
types of things. But the game sometimes you know what
you intend to do, and what actually plays out can
be two different things, and so I think maybe they
were five to two in power play opportunities something like that,
(08:48):
and so that makes it difficult for a team. But
I think, you know, we kind of overcame, which was great,
and it was awesome to see Gibbey. You really have
a really good night in net.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
The great thing about where this teams now as we
go to the postgame press conference and you know, Dan
Jackson has led this team to the number one spot
in the league, and they've had this great run of success,
and there's just not a sense of satisfaction, like there's
a sense of like, yeah, we've had a pretty good
first staff, but we've got a lot of growth, Like
there's opportunity for growth that needs to be done in
(09:18):
the second half if we want to get to where
we want to go, and that's being a true national
championship contender, being there in Vegas for the Frozen Four,
being ready to push for a national title. And I
think the team understands that. I think when you talk
to the guys, like I think they're happy to be
winning these games and and love playing with each other,
and there's a really tight bond there, and yet they
(09:38):
still know there's a ceiling that we haven't reached yet,
like there's another level of hockey that we can get to.
And it's still a really young team that just is
still figuring out how to play with each other. And
I think we saw more and more glimpses of that
over the last month about how good this team can
possibly become.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Yeah, it'll be interesting, you know, knowing you know, obviously
with Abram and Jake going to Spangler, that'll be interesting.
And then obviously we still don't know at this point
in time, I guess whether Will or EJ Will ultimately
make the team for the Team USA, and and we
(10:15):
don't know enough about what's happening with with Cole or
Keaton on the Canadian side, so that you know, again,
I think when we flip the calendar to twenty six
and we have a Mercy Hurst team and who has
struggled admittedly, but you know, it's it's college hockey. I mean,
they will have some players on their team. I've looked
at their games along the way they've been in games
(10:39):
they just have found ways not to win a game.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
That's what's transpired. So you we're gonna have to.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
We're gonna have to make sure that we've got, you know,
everything rolling. And I think that's what Dane said in
postgame interviews both with you and Jim and then on
the radio as well, that we've got to get back
to work because when we flip that calendar, Mercy Hurst
would love nothing better than coming into the Ralph and
play spoiler for the Happy New Year.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Yes, that would be their mindset, you would imagine, Yeah,
those games again. The next time North Kota will take
the ice will be January second and third. In in
years past, there was typically an exhibition game kind of
after Christmas before the second half would begin, but given
the calendar and the way things worked out this year
in North Dcota took that exhibition prior to Thanksgiving against
the national team development program. So they will be playing
a couple of games that really really matter. And yeah,
(11:32):
depending on what happens with World Juniors and travel back
from Davos, Switzerland for two of their upper classmen defensemen,
they might be pretty shorthanded for that series and it
will make things. You know, on the one hands, you
really can't be complacent because you know, we don't have
a full They might not even have a full compliment
of guys, like if everybody's in the lineup, they might
be a couple of guys short. So there is that
(11:53):
I think that might end up being a benefit for them,
because you might look at a team that has not
yet won a game, and if you've got your full
team and you're coming back from break, it might be
easy to take your foot off the gas a little
bit and underestimated team like that. I'm not sure if
they'll be able to given the fact that if all
of those guys Emory, Zeller's, Hrhoff, Reshley, if they if
they all make their World Juniors team, I gotta think
(12:16):
Canda and the US are playing in the semis and final,
and that's the fourth and fifth of January. They're gonna
They're gonna be without all those guys and probably without
living Avage and we for that Friday. There's just a
lot of things going on there that the team will
have to sort out. But it does set up for
a really interesting start to the second half when you
get this matchup potentially with a less than full strength lineup.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Although interestingly, though Alex, unlike in other years, sometimes you
might be across the pond playing in the Juniors are
pretty close to home. I mean, so depending on what
happens with both of those teams, you know, could could
you see someone you know possibly play on a Saturday night?
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Maybe I have no idea, so but I'll tell you
what I think. You know, our guys. If I'm anybody
on the roster, Hey, I'm excited. I might be. I
might be rolling in and let's go.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
If you're curious. By the way, the World Juniors do
start on the twenty sixth of December, and like you said,
they've not neither the US or Canada or really any
other country for that matter, have finalized their roster. All
of North Dakota's players are just in camp right now
and there will be a couple of cuts, so there's
no guarantees that all of these guys will make the
team for the US or for Canada, but if they do,
(13:32):
games are on the twenty sixth and twenty seventh, the
twenty ninth and thirty first for both for both Canada
and for the US at Mariucci and at Grand Casino Arena.
Which is still funny to say, but the former Excell
Energy Center in the Twin Cities great opportunity, by the way,
to go and watch these guys play in person representing
their countries. If you're ever going to have a chance
and you're living in this area and you want to
(13:53):
go see the World Juniors, this would probably be the
year to do it. But those preliminary games again all
the same for the US and Canada right after Ristmas
up until New Year's Eve. The quarter finals are the
second of January than the semis, and finals are the
fourth and the fifth. The US the two time defending
gold medal champions. It's got to be fun, always a
really fun tournament, even more fun when you've got so
much un D and NCC representation.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
And you know, there was a for those of you
that are out there that do get the athletic And
this is not a commercial for the athletic but I'm
just telling you where the article exists. There's a really
good article on Jake Sanderson, and Jake mentions how much
how impactful it was to play for Team USA during
(14:39):
the timeframe at the Olympics when they were not taking
professional players, and I think, you know you sometimes, you know,
I think it's interesting because Alex and I do a
lot of discussion about soccer on the B side, and
much to the chagrin of probably many people, But what
we do find out is the impact that it has
(15:02):
for players to play for their country. And you know,
so even though we may miss a couple of our
players during that mercy Hurst series, you know, I think
the player that comes back has a different perspective and
I think becomes just that much more of a better player,
(15:22):
maybe not even so much, maybe physically, but I think
psychologically too. I think there's just a different level when
you have that competition and you're you're fortunate enough to
do World Cup announcing. It's it is interesting how how
players think differently about their country. And it's awesome, isn't it.
It's awesome.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah. I think that's one of the unique things about sport,
especially hockey and soccer and you know basketball, trying to
make the Olympic team, et cetera. Like there's there's just
something different when you put on the jersey of your country,
and I think there's for a player, it's that mix
of like, hey, I'm now not just playing for my
(16:05):
college or from my club team, or from my you know,
pro team, whatever, I'm representing the United States of America.
I'm representing Canada, representing Mexico, and that's different. That hits home.
There's also an affirmation I think to that, like that's
something I'm sure these kids would have dreamed about doing.
Certainly Reshing and Verhoff would have grown up idle. I mean,
that's that's the biggest thing in Canada is being a
(16:26):
part Like when you're a young kid, the World Juniors
on Boxing Day is like that is Christmas. You know,
That's that's a huge part of culture there. So for
them to be able to check this box like that's, hey,
I accomplish something that I've wanted to do since I
am old enough to remember watching sports, and it lifts
you to different heights and it just it hits differently.
(16:46):
You see a lot of players at the international soccer
level that are maybe so so for their club, but
amazing for their country. Like they just they hit a
different level when they play for their country. And I
think we see that in hockey as well. And Jake
by the way is a great example played for Team
USA and the Olympics, played for Team USA and played
a bigger role than people expected in the Four Nations
face off as assuming they get the whole rink situation
(17:10):
figured out in Milan, probably going over it's Italy to
play in these Olympics, which is less than two months away,
so pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
The other thing that I listened to too, and it
feels like this is like this is like side C
because we're like getting things from the B side into
the A side. But I listened to Alex Korra, the
manager of the Red Sox, because the World Baseball Classic
is actually being played this year, and that always becomes
interesting too because it's high level leverage baseball at an
(17:41):
early early time. He just said, hey, look, everyone wants
to play in those games, so you just have to
make sure today in December or even you know, a
couple of weeks ago November, you're prepping yourself for a
different level of what's going to happen. I mean, and
again spring Train, all of these guys are so well
(18:01):
conditioned all the way through the year, but you're going
to have.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
To figure that out.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
And he said, look, guys can get hurt at Jet Blue,
they can get hurt in practice, they can get hurt.
They want to play for their country, and he said,
I was lucky enough to play for my country a
couple of times. I was a GM at one point,
I would never hold someone back from doing that because
at what the benefits you get out of it is
far exceeds any other risk.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
It's a really cool thing, really cool thing. So it'll
be fun to follow again our world junior players, and
we mentioned Jake Levanovic and Abram We've going to represent
the US College Selects in Davos, Switzerland at the Spangler Cup. Again.
That starts on Boxing Day. That's a little shorter tournament,
just a week, so there's a chance that you might
get both of those players back for Saturday's game against
Mercy Hurst. Again, they're coming from a little further away
(18:48):
than Minneapolis Saint Paul, but we will see. But that's again,
if you are you indie hockey fan, you've got a
lot to follow over the next couple of weeks when
the Fighting Hawks are on Christmas break and again when
the second half starts. It starts, Yes, it starts. It
starts with a pretty interesting slate of really good games
and tough teams at NCC opposition home and road. January again,
(19:12):
Mercy Rius the final Line Conference weekend of the season
at SEC the following week home against Denver at Arizona State.
It doesn't get an easier in February as well, so
this team will really get tested in the second half.
It's going to be fascinating to watch and see how
they navigate a really tough schedule is they continue to
push towards the Penrose Cup.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So last one for me on hockey at this point
in time.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
So I was at the Betty, you know, at our
women's basketball game yesterday, but then after I ended up
getting home, I was just curious. So I put on
a streaming network, let's just say a streaming network, and
very broadly at the end, Dartmouth playing unh it was interesting.
(19:52):
But then I was looking at Dartmouth schedule. I had
forgotten this, and I think maybe they ended up going
last year to Tempe. But Arizona State plays Dartmouth that
I think the same weekend, or it could be upcoming.
Long story short, there's a there coming that'll be interesting. Like,
so I'll say, for you NCCHC fans out there, you
(20:15):
want Arizona State like to go to Dartmouth, go to
Hanover and let's go.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Let's go. Coach Bauers.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Let's go Dartmouth. Currently, they've lost that game in overtime,
I believe to right, their first, their first blemish of
the season. They didn't lose in regulation the entire first half.
And yes they do host Arizona State the twenty seventh
and twenty eighth, So those are big games, big pairwise games,
but those are big games number one in the pairwise
or the NPI, I should.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Say the NPI.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
For those of you are wondering between pairwise and NPI,
I think it's how about this newer ways to statistically
look at some things, and so I think that's the
reason why there's been the evolution from pairwise to NPI.
But we we all get what it's happening. There's still
a statistical formula out there that will, in a sense
(21:08):
pick the field, Alex. I mean, that's ultimately what it
amounts to.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
That part hasn't changed.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
That part hasn't still.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yeah, we've just changed the name and tweaked a couple
of things. By the way, Dartmouth down number two in
the NPI behind Michigan after that overtime loss, North Dakota
number four. So if the season ended today, North Dakota
number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. So a lot
of games to go, of course, but exciting times.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Exciting times that I found interesting.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
You know, those are the kind of the sneaky, tricky
games that you know, from a conference standpoint, you know,
you really really want to support your conference mates at
that point.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Yeah, this is the last little stretch of non conference.
There'll be a couple of non conference games for everybody
over the course of New Year's and then it's conference
play the rest of the way, basically for the entire country,
and that's the last chance to make your state is
the top conference in the nation, and it's really now
the NCAC Big Ten. It's those two conferences up near
the top, and that really makes a huge difference when
(22:08):
it comes to how many bids your league will get
in the NCAA Tournament. So there's other stuff going on too.
You mentioned at the Betty men's and women's basketball teams,
both at home this past weekend. Both ready for a
lot of home games really between now and the start
of something league play at the beginning of January. I
know both have not had maybe the success they were
hoping for. Certainly a team in transition on the women's side,
(22:29):
the men's team incorporating all of these new players. What
have you made of Hoops to this point in the season.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Though, Yeah, you know, I think if on the lady
side we had the transition with coaches, and I would consider,
you know, coach Hutter and year zero, and I would
say he had to you know, formulate a roster very
very quickly when coach Bernhard decided to step down, and
(22:57):
I think he's really evaluating, you know, really really hard
where we are from a roster standpoint, and so I
just think, you know, I think this one's going to
be a year where we're going to be in transition,
you know. And then I think on the other side,
on the men's side, you know, we're really youthful and inexperienced.
(23:17):
And I would say, Alex where I think hockey to
some degree experienced the same thing. And we were fortunate
that we've had some players kind of come in but
probably has had they have had, you know, the ability
to play in the chl and they had more miles
or reps on the odometer. I just think we have
(23:39):
some players right now learning as they're going, and you know,
on both sides of it.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
I'll be honest with you. We just got to shoot
it better. I mean, there's some rhythm threes to some degree,
certainly on the men's side. Just got to shoot it better.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
And you know, and you can say all you want,
but the game becomes pretty simple in some ways. If
you get open looks, you got to bury them. And
unfortunately that just hasn't been the case. And so we've
been on the short end, and you know, it's gonna
be it's gonna be a little bit of a grind here,
and we've got to just continue to get better, not
not lose faith, and just got to make sure that,
(24:20):
you know, we just continue to get better and then
whatever better.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Is for us, that's that's what has to happen for
both those teams.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
The men will play for their next five at home,
a home game against Winthrop coming up on the eighteenth,
before a trip to Lincoln to play a corn Escer
team that's unbeaten, one of the few unbeatens left in
the country. Is still a bit of a surprise. They're
Nebraska having a great season than home against Dakota State,
then some league played begins, so really just three non
conference games left for the men before they'll host Oral
Roberts in South Dakota State on New Year's Day and
(24:49):
the third of January, respectively. The women kind of a
similar story, a couple of home games coming up before
Christmas against Mayville and Dickinson, and then they actually go
right into SETH League play on New Year's Day as
well on the road against the and then Oral Roberts.
So it's it's wild the summer league is here basically,
like the conference season is a week and a half
away for both of these teams.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Yeah, and with both of those teams, you can't sugarcoat
the bottom line, the records and and not that I'm
looking to do that. The good news bad news, I
guess is your records. Your record is the bad news.
The good news is at some point you are going
to start zero and zero in the conference. And so
you know, in this like, our teams just need to
(25:31):
continue to figure out what what, how can this? How
can our teams be as good as they can be?
And I think you know, both coaches are grinding on
it for sure.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Yeah, I would say there's opportunity in the league for both.
I think if you look at the single league on
both the men's and women's side. It's not as though
there's either this incredible top half that has so many
established teams, it's we're not going to win these games.
I just I think there's opportunity to go out if
you play well. Really, with maybe one or two exceptions,
(26:03):
you're gonna be right there going into the game feeling like, hey,
we can beat this team. I mean, we have no
reason why we can't go show up and win this game,
whether it's home or road. So you hope that can
be the case as these programs continue to get a
little more experienced, these young teams get a little bit
more time together on the court, that the results start
to come.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yep, agreed.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Hoops very much. Transitioning from non conference to the conference season.
Indoor track and field, by the way, has just gotten
underway as well as we go from cross country to indoor.
A couple of meets, one in Boston, one in Fargo
in the last couple of weeks, probably no surprise. Jaden
Keeler continuing to do great things, broke a couple of
school records out in Boston two weeks ago. Brooke a
U twenty three Canadian record in the five k high
(26:46):
hopes again for both the men and the women. Just
as we saw in cross country, both pick to finish
highly on the indoor side. North Dakota, by the way,
hosting the similar indoor championships at the end of February
of this year's even more intensive to come out and
get to know these teams before they vy for chachampionships
a little bit past Valentine's Day.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
We're excited about that.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
You know, we were fortunate to do that a few
years ago, and I know our coaches along with our
operational staff have been working with the Summit League. You know,
they meet literally I think weekly on that particular event.
And yeah, that'll be exciting and you know, for those
of you that love to see awesome competition, that'll be
(27:26):
a lot of fun in the Pollard for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Yeah, mark that sound again right that last weekend of February,
that's going to be a fantastic event. I'd be a
great Pollard Center. That's what's kind of going on on
the sports that are active currently. We should wrap up,
by the way, since our last pod football had a
nice little run in the playoffs, got a great victory
over the number six team in the country Tennessee Tech
to open up, and then just it just felt like
(27:48):
injuries caught up at Tarleton, a very good Tarleton team,
and it just felt like one or one too many
playmakers went down in the playoffs for North Dakota to
kind of make that next step and move on to
the quarterfinals.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
Yeah, I think that's right, and I think what you're
going to find out and each if you go back
and look historically in this tournament, there's not many teams,
there's some. So you got two semi final games going
on this weekend. Illinois State Villanova have played from Week
(28:19):
one Montana Montana State first time they'll have played each
other in the playoffs in one hundred and twelve years.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
That's interesting.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
So they did not and to some degree, getting that
week off and getting a top eight seed is so critical,
and I think we kind of ran into that a
little bit in Tarleton where I felt like they were
definitely fresh, they were ready to go. And you know,
regardless of it all, I still think we challenged them.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
We just didn't.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
We didn't have enough in the tank at the end.
And I think what you saw Villanova do, they had
a running back that ran for over one hundred and fifty.
I think they ran for over two hundred and they
they kept Tarleton from running. I think it was less
than seventy yards on the ground. And so obviously that's
a formula right to win a game, and I think
(29:12):
it wasn't lost on our team to try to do that.
It just sometimes the other team is a little bit
better that day, and I thought Tarleton was really good
that day. We still had our chances, though, Alex. We
had moments. We had moments, but we didn't take full
advantage of them.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
Yeah, down by just a touchdown at the half, yep,
got it back within striking distance in the late third quarter.
It just, yeah, just one of those things needed a play,
needed somebody to make a play. And we saw that
in the first rounds. You know, Lance Rucker with three
strip sacks and your four six turnovers and like, guys
just kind of kept making plays to keep you in
it until the offense finally clicked. And in this game
(29:52):
it just didn't quite happen. But still again, a great
season for year one for Eric Smidt and this team.
They go eight and six outside of the tar game.
All those losses were single score losses, tight losses that
could have gone either way. There's lots to build on
for this group, and we've already started to see, as
is kind of the case now in college athletics. People
make their statements of who's coming back and who's leaving,
(30:12):
and there's been a lot of coming back. I think
that's what I think that's what should have people excited.
There's more I'm committed to this, I'm coming back, I'm
sticking around. I'm ready to go for next year than
there hasn't been so far.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Yeah, and you know, and maybe we end the A
side on this is, you know, there's just really interesting
times in college athletics. And I don't, like I said
I over the course of time, we are going to
have college athletics. You know what's interesting to me, Alex
if we're going to combine this ab side for a
hybrid whatever we're doing here, it's fascinating what's transpired in
(30:48):
England with the Independent Regulator through the House of Commons
and at the end of the day, so what's transpired
is they have a person that is reporting to the
government over there for the protection of the pyramid and
the pyramid for those of you that don't know is
ultimately the top to bottom, if you will, of all
(31:13):
soccer clubs, and ultimately, at some point in this country
we're going to need to get there. And I don't
know what that actually looks like, but we're not there yet,
and so we're going to have this interesting timeframe where students, players,
whatever you want to call it, are going to have
(31:34):
to make decisions where's my best place to get developed.
And it may be at the place you're at, or
it may be someone is telling you it might be
somewhere else, or it might be you saying it's someone
it's somewhere else. All is fine right now, but I
would say, we just have to make sure that we
(31:57):
sell why it's important to be at Undy and what
our coaches are going to be able to do for you.
And then from there decisions are made by others. And
you know, we're always going to have a few that
will depart, We'll have some that will come in, and
then we'll have some that will stay.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
And so that's just where we are. So the sooner
you just embrace that and just understand it. That's where
we are right now.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
But you know, the sanctity of the pyramid over in
Europe in England for soccer, if the base is strong,
the top is strong, and we have to make sure
the base is strong.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
In college athletics, you mentioned the hope, or maybe not
the hope, but the assumption that at some point there
will be a regulator or someone that will kind of
help keep these things in balance. In whatever the NCAA becomes.
There is currently do you think, not to make you
put on your prognostication hat, but are we somewhat close
(32:58):
to having some conversation to getting there or does that
still feel like we're a long ways away from reaching
that point.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
I think there's an act, and the one that has
more more bipartisan support than not is what's called the
Score Act. And the Score Act I think does a
couple things, but it really keeps some things out of
the court system. That's kind of what it does. But
(33:26):
in exchange, Alex, you're going to have to report to
some level to someone in DC, and I just think
that's where we are and heading in college athletics.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Now, you know who knows. No one has a crystal ball, but.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Anybody that's jumped in to the fray has, like I
think has great ideas until they figure out all the permutations.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Of why certain things are done the way they are.
Some has to do with federal laws, some has to
do with let's.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
Just say, passionate fan bases, and there's a lot of
things that have happened. But I do think we're gonna
have to get to a point where we have to
decide in this country what do we want to do
with intercollegiate athletics and how that connects with our Olympic
movement as well.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
There's a lot at stake. It feels like there's a lot.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Of feels that way. It feels that way.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Well, hopefully we can get it straightened out and help
it continue to go on and flourish, because again it
is like you see the scenes that we get to
see on a weekly basis at und sporting events and
the things that you watch on television with the college
football playoffs, or like all the incredible scenes this weekends
in Lincoln with Nebraska volleyball and Texas A and M
(34:50):
like that. That was an incredible moment. You know, this
undefeated team at home trying to make it to the
final four, and this team comes in just somehow when
one more point and gets the victory and has this
incredible upset and the emotions from both sides after. I
don't know if you saw, like any of the press
conference footage after the fact, Like there's so much good
(35:11):
and power that comes with what we have with college athletics,
and it affects so many people in such a positive way,
and you just hope we don't screw it up.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
Yeah, I think this is just part of sometimes an evolution.
And so I call me Pollyanna, call me half class
full or whatever, but it's just sometimes part of the process.
And I just you know, you're gonna find out like
it's on ABC this week, but you're gonna watch a
Montana Montana steak game, which they just might as well
(35:44):
bring in Wringling Brothers. It'll be just a circus in Bozeman,
a complete utter circus.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
And why is that? Because people love sport, they love
you know, they they love what they love and at
the end of the day, it's gonna be just crazy.
Speaker 3 (36:06):
And so that has nothing to do with make it
up what Miami playing Texas A and m this weekend.
It's gonna be the same passion in Bozeman, Montana.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
Maybe a little more. Maybe just a tick more might
mean a little bit more to those people in the
sky country. But yes, it's it's one of those things
you just hope it continues and persists because it's great.
It will It's been pretty good, been pretty good for
over over one hundred years, but.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
It will be.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
We want to flip, you want to go over to
the beach.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Quick, flip, quick, let's do let's do.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
A litle flip. We've kind of dipped our toe in
this a little bit throughout this episode, but there's a
lot going on in our respective worlds and we're gonna
we're gonna dig into this on the soccer side, especially.
So I pulled up my email this morning and the
subject I receive a newsletter from Jonathan Wilson of The Guardian. Okay,
fantastic football historian. He's written, he's written many, many leatherbound books.
(37:02):
He's wonderful. The subject heading Thomas Frank is running out
of time to fix Tottenham. Hm, he's probably not wrong.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Bill, Alex.
Speaker 3 (37:14):
Can you can you let people know how long Thomas
Frank has been the actual manager at Tottenham.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
About six months? Oh?
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Oh, got it?
Speaker 1 (37:26):
And yet he's running out of time. This is the
world we live in in that level of the pyramid
of soccer.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
The average, the average tenure for a Premier League manager,
I think now is less than two years. I think
that's what I read, so sure I would look. I
watch a lot of Spurs matches. I'm at that point
(37:53):
in life I can do it. So it's not just
the manager, it's the players too. And I would suggest
when you get into the cycle of changing your manager out,
you have a puzzle that doesn't fit. And that's what's
(38:14):
transpired there. They have players that at one point were
wingbacks that are now playing full back and you know,
I think, honestly, if they're really honest with themselves, they
should look and assess who has value on that team
and everyone's available, and then really then figure out how
(38:36):
do you want to play? And you know, I listened
to one of the Spur Spurs podcasts and Danny Kelly,
who is a pretty good order and his h and
he's you know, on on a lot of I'll just
say he's a Spurs fan, but he does a lot
of things over there. But the bottom line is, somewhere
(38:56):
along the line, you have to decide who you want
to be how you want to play and fit everything
to that. And i AX is kind of a good example.
I X has a system on how they do some things.
You know what Tottenham system is.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
They have no system.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
It's difficult when you go from such an idiologue like
anng Pastacoclu who did have a system that he wanted
to employ, like this very how long did he he lasted?
Speaker 2 (39:28):
You know?
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Two years? Yep, right on bang on average. What a trophy.
I got that trophy for you. But I think you
see this shift and yes, it would be doing a
disservice to Thomas Frank who comes in after a really
great spell at Brentford and you give him six months
and it's like, yeah, the players that worked in Ange's system,
can I say worked because they finished seventeenth last year,
(39:51):
but they worked in Ange's system don't necessarily translate to
Thomas Frank's system. And they've had injuries, like you're missing
a lot of key pieces, especially in midfield. But it's
like that, it's that balance of like, well is it
it will this ever work? Or do we need to
make a change to prevent this from getting worse? Because
you lost three nothing to forests and as a as
(40:14):
a fan of a club that also lost three nothing
to Forest not that long ago. It doesn't feel great.
It's not great. But is changing is just firing your
manager or the answer probably not?
Speaker 2 (40:25):
Yeah. I well I just before we started this pod.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
Apparently there's something out there in the athletic that he's
gotten support from the ownership group. So, and the reason
why it's interesting with Tottenham is so Alex supports a
team like Liverpool that has had tremendous history and and
has won a lot over the course of time.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Spurs have not.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
But the one thing they are they have some history
though to some level, but they are very from a
financial standpoint, they're one of the top teams in the world.
So there's a frustration among the fan base why can't
(41:10):
we be like others because we actually generate a lot
of financial you know, I mean financially in pretty good state.
Maybe what the ninth, ninth or tenth.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
Top ten, top top ten, right as far as value
for the club.
Speaker 3 (41:28):
So, but it's a it's a roller coaster. If it's
it's drama every day and if you want to lose,
have drama.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
No, with all that said, With all that said, again,
you've won one of your last seven league games. Like
it's been it's been a tough little spell, but you're
doing all right in Europe again. They qualified for the
Champions League last year because you won the Europa League,
so you get this pass into the top European club competition.
You're eleventh right now in the table, which is not great,
but you also all you're only four points away from fifth.
(42:04):
Like it's so congested. There are so many teams. I
think Bournemouth has twenty points their fifteenth. Crystal Palace is
fifth with twenty six that's two games, I know, and
there's there's a lot of season left. You've only played
sixteen matches this year, so assuming you get some guys
healthy again, you don't panic. It's not it's not the
(42:26):
end of the world right now. The sky shouldn't be falling.
Speaker 3 (42:29):
So I'll transition between the other team that we like
to follow, the Red Sox is sometimes you've met the
enemy and the enemies us is. There's so much chatter
and noise at some point that it's just an iyroll
for me. It's just at some point, can we just
(42:50):
enjoy the thirty eight matches. I know you want to
pick apart every single pass that happens. But I will
tell you this, you're gonna be really sad at some
point in time because every pass is not gonna go
where you think it's gonna.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
Go, and and they're gonna have to figure it out.
I just don't know if they have a cohesive, puzzled team.
Speaker 3 (43:13):
I think that's their issue. So we'll see what ends
up happening. But the Red Sox same thing.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
They come out of the Winter meetings like they were
gonna win what the World Series?
Speaker 1 (43:23):
Like?
Speaker 3 (43:23):
Okay, so they didn't get one of their thumpers. Yeah,
they weren't gonna get Schwarber. This just in and Alonso. Eh,
you know what, They've done some sneaky things before the
Rule five draft to kind of screw around with their
top their forty man roster because they were gonna lose
(43:43):
some players. They've had a sneaky okay off season. Now
they still have until the season starts to make some moves.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
So can we just hit a pause button on some things?
You know?
Speaker 3 (43:58):
And as much as a life like, Yeah, he's gonna
hit forty home runs, but it's gonna come at a price.
And I just think they made a choice at this point.
Now they're still gonna have to get rid of their
outfield glut to some degree. There's something going on there.
They have to make moves. They have to make moves.
(44:19):
They just haven't done it yet, And it's like, okay,
can we just wait a little bit until they get
to Jet Blue to figure that out?
Speaker 1 (44:27):
Yeah, it is only December fifteenth. I know that it
is hard to see some of the guys you targeted
sign for other clubs, especially the Orioles, Like you see
the Orioles shaping up people like come on. But at
the same time, yeah, I don't engage. I just don't
even I don't engage because you just get worked up.
It's really easy to sort of read those things or
you see like that, well, this is who he might
(44:49):
be interested in, or this is the guy that might
make the difference, and then when he doesn't come and
you're frustrated, but it's like, what was that just you
like projecting like what you hope to versus what actually
reality is. This is a very brief side step. We
took our family to Disney this last week. We did
a very quick trip to Disney Worlds in Orlando. My
kids had never been there before, made it back in
(45:11):
time for the Omaha series. It was great, but it
was we were watching, you know, just some like videos
to kind of get an idea of like, well where
do you go and what do you see? And you know,
some of the it's a very common thing now they
have all these video bloggers that are there at these
theme parks, and some of the commentary was like sort
of based on what they hoped something would be versus
(45:31):
what the reality is, Like, well, this ride would be
better if they did this, this, and this, or they
should have done this, this, and this with the land
but like but yeah, but they weren't actually gonna do that.
Those aren't realistic expectations for this, this park that's been
opened since the nineteen seventies. Put yourself into a different
frame of mind and just say this is all great.
I think this is all wonderful and we're going to
make the most of it. I know sports isn't exactly
(45:52):
the same, but I find that more and more with
commentary of like well why didn't they go sign this guy?
That guy was never gonna come, or that doesn't fit
in the cap, or that's just not realistic. We saw
that with the Quinn Hughes trade this week a little
bit to some extent like why didn't this team go
out and get him because they didn't have four first
round pick assets like the wild Ditch. It's different. It
(46:13):
just everybody got it has to get back into reality.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
And the other thing is, I do believe they're spinning
multiple plates at once. And at the end of the day,
you know, just because this didn't happen doesn't mean something
else isn't gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
But it might.
Speaker 3 (46:27):
It might then put you in a position to say, Okay,
this a didn't happen. Now we can maybe do BC
and D maybe and you know, I look, it's it's
nice to be the flashy team that wins the offseason.
Which and again Alex's team, which I was amazed last year,
(46:48):
didn't make a move and brought in a manager first
year and they had a magical year. I mean, the
only thing you would say, maybe, eh, you didn't do
whatever the Chancepions League thing, but you had a magical year, right,
but then you lost players. You had a really sad
tragedy that was real. But the reality of it is
(47:10):
you won the off season and now you are trying
to figure out how that puzzle works together.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
I think that that is a great example that titles
aren't won based on just the players that you sign
or how much money you spend, whether that's in Major
League Baseball, although the Dodgers maybe would say otherwise, but
major League Baseball or in soccer, et cetera, when there
is no salary cap. Liverpool spent five hundred million dollars
five hundred million dollars in the off season. They were
(47:38):
cooped a lot of that money because they sold the
aagees in Darwin Nunez, et cetera. But still they brought
in a lot of world class talent and it just
hasn't quite worked. And now, the first thing that you
said to me when we saw each other on Friday
night most sala. That was the first word that came
out of your mouth. And we have since had some
(47:58):
more clarity on that particular front. But this is their
star player who has been frustrated by how the season
is gone and about his usage and navigating all these
new attacking players they've brought in. And he gave an
incendiary kind of postmatch press conference basically after he was
left on the bench in a three to three draw
against Leeds last week, in which he basically said, like,
(48:19):
I feel like I'm being thrown under the bench. Somebody
at the club wants to get rid of me. They're
blaming me for the team not doing very well. I
don't understand it. I'm getting all the blame, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (48:29):
Like, what a.
Speaker 1 (48:30):
Difficult position to play as a player, to put your manager,
to put your club in that position like hofta. Now
they've since kind of made up. They had talks after
the fact that manager Mo he played had an assist
and they won against Brighton on Saturday. So but now
here's but now he leaves for the Africa compan Nations.
(48:50):
He's going to be gone until the end of January.
So it just is kind of hanging out there for
a little while. Bill is is this crazy? What what
a what a what a world? Drama sport?
Speaker 3 (49:01):
Well, and I'll end it with this, end it with this.
As we know, drama sells nuance doesn't. I got nothing
else for you.
Speaker 2 (49:18):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (49:19):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
I mean, if if you had a podcast.
Speaker 3 (49:25):
And it was about college football at the FBS level,
and you agreed with the committee, you'd go great.
Speaker 2 (49:33):
Job podcast over it would last twenty seconds.
Speaker 1 (49:39):
Yeah, wouldn't. You wouldn't have a lot of views, not
a lot of subscribers if that was the concept, unfortunately,
And that's yeah. So that's that's where we are here
in December of twenty twenty five. But well, we will
see how both of our soccer clubs do over a busy,
festive fixed er season. They play each other, by the
way this weekend they do, so that'll be fun. So
(50:01):
in this something's got to give Darby.
Speaker 2 (50:05):
Better than us.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
We've been we've been playing a little better lately. Yeah,
that's true, so maybe maybe maybe turning a corner.
Speaker 2 (50:10):
We don't even like playing at home.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
Yeah, that's well, your fans, your fans are booing your
goalkeeper and various other members are staff and others. So
that's not great. Yeah, it's never good when like your
captain tells the team not to applaud the away end
when you were on the road because they had been
booing the goalie. Like that's when you know you're sort
of crossing you've crossed something at that point. But it's
(50:36):
not a good I digress. It's not great. It's not
not a good not a good threshold across. So that's uh,
that might be where we end it today. Oh hey,
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, but always a pleasure to
catch up. Yes, oh no, I tell you what. It's
a great time of year. We hope you can get
out and enjoy some of you and the athletics in
(50:56):
the coming days. Again, so many home basketball games on
the way. Enjoy all of that coming up at the
Betty and then again lots of great stuff coming in
twenty twenty six. Will be back prior to the new year,
but until then, big thanks to Paul Rawlson and Alex
Locker Johnson for making this podcast go on the back end,
Thanks as always to Bill I'm Alex. Merry Christmas everybody,
and we'll talk to you soon.
You're listening to the Bill Shaves Podcast, presented by mid
Coast Sports. Give the gift of live sports this holiday
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Subscribe today at Midcastsports plus dot com. This is how
we do sports, and this is the Bill Shaves Podcast.
(00:22):
Welcome to another edition of the Bill Shaves Podcast. We
are taping this on a Monday afternoon, the fifteenth of December.
The IDEs of December. Bill are upontus Alex Heider, Bill
Shaves here with you. Bill.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
How are you?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
I'm doing great? How about you, Alex? I saw you
over the weekend and at the Ralph so that was fun.
And yeah, we're here on the fifteenth, and this will
be our final pod before Christmas, but then we'll do
one before.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
New Year's correct.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah, so not the final pot of twenty twenty five,
but the final one before the festive season really kicks
off in flush.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Are we going to the B side already with festive fixtures?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Well, save that, we'll put a little pit in that
that's to come. Yes, expect a good B side today,
a lot of good things good. Maybe he's not the
right ser much. You'd use a lot of interesting things
happening in our world on the b side that we
will discuss later on after a good discussion about all
things University of North Dakota Athletics. Busy time of year
with postseasons rapping and conference play getting set to begin
(01:27):
in hockey, of course, the one sport that just bridges
everything right in the thick of things. Just a busy time,
like as always, busy time in your world as students
wrap up their semester.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yeah, no doubt, Alex.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
And you know, for our listeners, we made a decision
this week we're just going to kind of wrap up
a little bit of this semester. And you know, we
do try to look ahead and say, all right, what's
pertinent or who would be pertinent to have a guest
on right now, And we felt like with finals week
upon us and actually on Friday, we've got graduation and
(02:00):
so we've got winter commencement here at und and so
we just figured, you know what, this would be a
good time.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
To just do a quick wrap.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
So, yeah, all is good, and uh, you know, winter
has come, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
We have found that out.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
It was cold in Grand Forks this weekend it was cold.
It's rebounded. Well, I think that's the one nice thing
we lit temperatures creeping beyond the negatives. But Friday night
walking back from the Ralph to our mid Cos Sports office,
which is just right across the street, like it's a
very convenient little walk, that's that's right up there, and
it's some of the coldest coldest evenings I've experienced in
(02:35):
my ten years of doing you in the hockey. It
was chilly.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Took your breath away, Bill Well many times, though, I
always look at it and just say, it does make.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
You enjoy all parts of the year.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
It does it.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Maybe some people enjoy that walk.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
God bless them. If they don't. I've not met anyone
yet that would be in that camp, But you are right,
like it does make like twy the twenty degree temperatures
that we're experiencing today, they look pretty nice, feels pretty
good compared to the feels like negative twenty seven or
whatever it was on.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Well, we're gonna be in a We're gonna be in
a situation where the temperature cage is interestingly like going
to almost mid thirties, almost forty here and then I
think it's gonna kick back down a little bit, but
uh yeah, no, it's a I appreciate our fan base
so much. I mean, braving the cold coming out and
you know, it was a it was a good, good finale,
(03:31):
you know, finality to the first part of the season
and uh again, such a great environment at the Ralph.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
So I appreciate everybody that did come out.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah, I think that's a great point. I mean it
was it was difficult if you were a family and
you're making the choice like do I want to get
my kids, yeah, bundled up and yeah, especially if you're
coming from out of town, et cetera, do I want
to make that drive and knowing it's going to be
that much colder at night. Just the ability the capacity
of the U and D fan to come out and
support like that and come and have a great time
(04:02):
and enjoy and celebrate this team that's had a phenomenal
first half of the Seasonally, it's another little reminder of
like how special this fan base is, how special these
programs are.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, no doubt about it.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
And you know, we had good crowds at the Betty
on Saturday and Sunday as well, and so you know,
I think you know, I've I've been fortunate to be
able to be in all parts of the country, and
every part of the country has their i'll call it time,
their time where maybe it's really hot, or it's you know,
really cold, or maybe you know, you just experience a
(04:36):
lot of wet weather or whatever it might be. But
the reality of it is, you make the best of
what you have where you are, and I think our
fans do a phenomenal job in that regard.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, I would agree with that. Yeah, So unless you're
living in San Diego, the weather is never going to
be perfect no matter where you are, so you might
as well put a smile on your face and enjoy
it and power through the tough months and real enjoy again.
I've always said it, whenever spring hits in Grand Forks,
whether it's March, yep, early April, all the way up
until the winter time, it is a beautiful place to live.
(05:09):
It is no humidity, it's seventy degrees in perfect in
the summertime. Like it's there's a lot of positive things
about it. Just got a couple of months there. You
gotta just put on an extra layer or two.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You gotta put on it right. You got to have
the right equipment, right.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
That's right. Well, I think that's a good segue too
what we've seen on the ice where I think for
this hockey team this year, they've got the right pieces,
they've got the right equipment, and we've seen that over
the course of certainly I would say the entire first
apt but especially over the last two months. Ten wins
now out of their last eleven. North Dakota goes into
this holiday break fourteen and four, top four in the country,
(05:43):
tops of the NCCHC, six straight wins bill against good opposition.
This has been an unmitigated success for Dan Jackson here
in his staff and you're number one.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, I agree with that, and I really appreciate the
makeup of the team. I feel like this is one
of those teams, you know, I've I've said it to
a few folks. It feels like they can play a
lot of different ways. And that's helpful, of course, because
you don't know, you know, on a week by week basis,
(06:16):
and if you're ever lucky enough to be in the
NCAA tournament at some point in time, you don't know
who you're going to play. And they could all play
different ways, and but I think, you know, some of
the tenants of a really good team is solid goaltending,
obviously good d and being able to play any which
way another team wants to play. And and I think
(06:36):
team first, and you saw in the depth Alex has
been pretty pretty amazing. Really, I mean to lose you know,
a Reshian Averrhoff this past weekend and really sliding some
folks in and really it becomes they get their opportunity.
It's not oh, you know we lost you know, we
(06:57):
lost those two. No, actually, you give an opportunity to
somebody and then they get to do their thing. So
it actually real fun. It sets up for it just
a fascinating and exciting second half of the season.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yeah, I would agree. Yeah, I think that's maybe the
biggest talking point out of this weekend was just the
fact that you this North DCODA team hasn't had really
their full complement of players since the beginning of November.
It has kind of been a shuffling really since the
Arizona State series of is getting banged up and being hurt,
and then they just get some of those injured players back,
just as their leading scorer and another first round draft
(07:34):
pick leave to go join Hockey Canada for World Junior
prep and they still keep grinding games out. And you've
got one goaltender that is nine to oh to oh,
and you feel confident enough to put the other guy
in there for the second half of the series, and
he goes out and puts up thirty saves and allows
one goal. And I think just different guys stepping up
(07:54):
and embracing whatever roles asked of them on any given night.
Like you said, that's a sign of a good team
and a comp a team. They played like a very
confident team this weekend, as they should they did.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
And I also think, you know, a team like Omaha
or whomever is in our league, it's going to come
at you the second night, especially if you're fortunate enough
to get the win on Friday. And that's what Omaha
did and scored first, which is exactly what a team
would want to do. And we we almost kind of
(08:27):
overcame in some ways ourselves, right, I mean, I don't
think going in I think Jacks was talking about, you know,
trying to stay out of the box and do those
types of things. But the game sometimes you know what
you intend to do, and what actually plays out can
be two different things, and so I think maybe they
were five to two in power play opportunities something like that,
(08:48):
and so that makes it difficult for a team. But
I think, you know, we kind of overcame, which was great,
and it was awesome to see Gibbey. You really have
a really good night in net.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
The great thing about where this teams now as we
go to the postgame press conference and you know, Dan
Jackson has led this team to the number one spot
in the league, and they've had this great run of success,
and there's just not a sense of satisfaction, like there's
a sense of like, yeah, we've had a pretty good
first staff, but we've got a lot of growth, Like
there's opportunity for growth that needs to be done in
(09:18):
the second half if we want to get to where
we want to go, and that's being a true national
championship contender, being there in Vegas for the Frozen Four,
being ready to push for a national title. And I
think the team understands that. I think when you talk
to the guys, like I think they're happy to be
winning these games and and love playing with each other,
and there's a really tight bond there, and yet they
(09:38):
still know there's a ceiling that we haven't reached yet,
like there's another level of hockey that we can get to.
And it's still a really young team that just is
still figuring out how to play with each other. And
I think we saw more and more glimpses of that
over the last month about how good this team can
possibly become.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Yeah, it'll be interesting, you know, knowing you know, obviously
with Abram and Jake going to Spangler, that'll be interesting.
And then obviously we still don't know at this point
in time, I guess whether Will or EJ Will ultimately
make the team for the Team USA, and and we
(10:15):
don't know enough about what's happening with with Cole or
Keaton on the Canadian side, so that you know, again,
I think when we flip the calendar to twenty six
and we have a Mercy Hurst team and who has
struggled admittedly, but you know, it's it's college hockey. I mean,
they will have some players on their team. I've looked
at their games along the way they've been in games
(10:39):
they just have found ways not to win a game.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
That's what's transpired. So you we're gonna have to.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
We're gonna have to make sure that we've got, you know,
everything rolling. And I think that's what Dane said in
postgame interviews both with you and Jim and then on
the radio as well, that we've got to get back
to work because when we flip that calendar, Mercy Hurst
would love nothing better than coming into the Ralph and
play spoiler for the Happy New Year.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Yes, that would be their mindset, you would imagine, Yeah,
those games again. The next time North Kota will take
the ice will be January second and third. In in
years past, there was typically an exhibition game kind of
after Christmas before the second half would begin, but given
the calendar and the way things worked out this year
in North Dcota took that exhibition prior to Thanksgiving against
the national team development program. So they will be playing
a couple of games that really really matter. And yeah,
(11:32):
depending on what happens with World Juniors and travel back
from Davos, Switzerland for two of their upper classmen defensemen,
they might be pretty shorthanded for that series and it
will make things. You know, on the one hands, you
really can't be complacent because you know, we don't have
a full They might not even have a full compliment
of guys, like if everybody's in the lineup, they might
be a couple of guys short. So there is that
(11:53):
I think that might end up being a benefit for them,
because you might look at a team that has not
yet won a game, and if you've got your full
team and you're coming back from break, it might be
easy to take your foot off the gas a little
bit and underestimated team like that. I'm not sure if
they'll be able to given the fact that if all
of those guys Emory, Zeller's, Hrhoff, Reshley, if they if
they all make their World Juniors team, I gotta think
(12:16):
Canda and the US are playing in the semis and final,
and that's the fourth and fifth of January. They're gonna
They're gonna be without all those guys and probably without
living Avage and we for that Friday. There's just a
lot of things going on there that the team will
have to sort out. But it does set up for
a really interesting start to the second half when you
get this matchup potentially with a less than full strength lineup.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Although interestingly, though Alex, unlike in other years, sometimes you
might be across the pond playing in the Juniors are
pretty close to home. I mean, so depending on what
happens with both of those teams, you know, could could
you see someone you know possibly play on a Saturday night?
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Maybe I have no idea, so but I'll tell you
what I think. You know, our guys. If I'm anybody
on the roster, Hey, I'm excited. I might be. I
might be rolling in and let's go.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
If you're curious. By the way, the World Juniors do
start on the twenty sixth of December, and like you said,
they've not neither the US or Canada or really any
other country for that matter, have finalized their roster. All
of North Dakota's players are just in camp right now
and there will be a couple of cuts, so there's
no guarantees that all of these guys will make the
team for the US or for Canada, but if they do,
(13:32):
games are on the twenty sixth and twenty seventh, the
twenty ninth and thirty first for both for both Canada
and for the US at Mariucci and at Grand Casino Arena.
Which is still funny to say, but the former Excell
Energy Center in the Twin Cities great opportunity, by the way,
to go and watch these guys play in person representing
their countries. If you're ever going to have a chance
and you're living in this area and you want to
(13:53):
go see the World Juniors, this would probably be the
year to do it. But those preliminary games again all
the same for the US and Canada right after Ristmas
up until New Year's Eve. The quarter finals are the
second of January than the semis, and finals are the
fourth and the fifth. The US the two time defending
gold medal champions. It's got to be fun, always a
really fun tournament, even more fun when you've got so
much un D and NCC representation.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
And you know, there was a for those of you
that are out there that do get the athletic And
this is not a commercial for the athletic but I'm
just telling you where the article exists. There's a really
good article on Jake Sanderson, and Jake mentions how much
how impactful it was to play for Team USA during
(14:39):
the timeframe at the Olympics when they were not taking
professional players, and I think, you know you sometimes, you know,
I think it's interesting because Alex and I do a
lot of discussion about soccer on the B side, and
much to the chagrin of probably many people, But what
we do find out is the impact that it has
(15:02):
for players to play for their country. And you know,
so even though we may miss a couple of our
players during that mercy Hurst series, you know, I think
the player that comes back has a different perspective and
I think becomes just that much more of a better player,
(15:22):
maybe not even so much, maybe physically, but I think
psychologically too. I think there's just a different level when
you have that competition and you're you're fortunate enough to
do World Cup announcing. It's it is interesting how how
players think differently about their country. And it's awesome, isn't it.
It's awesome.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah. I think that's one of the unique things about sport,
especially hockey and soccer and you know basketball, trying to
make the Olympic team, et cetera. Like there's there's just
something different when you put on the jersey of your country,
and I think there's for a player, it's that mix
of like, hey, I'm now not just playing for my
(16:05):
college or from my club team, or from my you know,
pro team, whatever, I'm representing the United States of America.
I'm representing Canada, representing Mexico, and that's different. That hits home.
There's also an affirmation I think to that, like that's
something I'm sure these kids would have dreamed about doing.
Certainly Reshing and Verhoff would have grown up idle. I mean,
that's that's the biggest thing in Canada is being a
(16:26):
part Like when you're a young kid, the World Juniors
on Boxing Day is like that is Christmas. You know,
That's that's a huge part of culture there. So for
them to be able to check this box like that's, hey,
I accomplish something that I've wanted to do since I
am old enough to remember watching sports, and it lifts
you to different heights and it just it hits differently.
(16:46):
You see a lot of players at the international soccer
level that are maybe so so for their club, but
amazing for their country. Like they just they hit a
different level when they play for their country. And I
think we see that in hockey as well. And Jake
by the way is a great example played for Team
USA and the Olympics, played for Team USA and played
a bigger role than people expected in the Four Nations
face off as assuming they get the whole rink situation
(17:10):
figured out in Milan, probably going over it's Italy to
play in these Olympics, which is less than two months away,
so pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
The other thing that I listened to too, and it
feels like this is like this is like side C
because we're like getting things from the B side into
the A side. But I listened to Alex Korra, the
manager of the Red Sox, because the World Baseball Classic
is actually being played this year, and that always becomes
interesting too because it's high level leverage baseball at an
(17:41):
early early time. He just said, hey, look, everyone wants
to play in those games, so you just have to
make sure today in December or even you know, a
couple of weeks ago November, you're prepping yourself for a
different level of what's going to happen. I mean, and
again spring Train, all of these guys are so well
(18:01):
conditioned all the way through the year, but you're going
to have.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
To figure that out.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
And he said, look, guys can get hurt at Jet Blue,
they can get hurt in practice, they can get hurt.
They want to play for their country, and he said,
I was lucky enough to play for my country a
couple of times. I was a GM at one point,
I would never hold someone back from doing that because
at what the benefits you get out of it is
far exceeds any other risk.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
It's a really cool thing, really cool thing. So it'll
be fun to follow again our world junior players, and
we mentioned Jake Levanovic and Abram We've going to represent
the US College Selects in Davos, Switzerland at the Spangler Cup. Again.
That starts on Boxing Day. That's a little shorter tournament,
just a week, so there's a chance that you might
get both of those players back for Saturday's game against
Mercy Hurst. Again, they're coming from a little further away
(18:48):
than Minneapolis Saint Paul, but we will see. But that's again,
if you are you indie hockey fan, you've got a
lot to follow over the next couple of weeks when
the Fighting Hawks are on Christmas break and again when
the second half starts. It starts, Yes, it starts. It
starts with a pretty interesting slate of really good games
and tough teams at NCC opposition home and road. January again,
(19:12):
Mercy Rius the final Line Conference weekend of the season
at SEC the following week home against Denver at Arizona State.
It doesn't get an easier in February as well, so
this team will really get tested in the second half.
It's going to be fascinating to watch and see how
they navigate a really tough schedule is they continue to
push towards the Penrose Cup.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So last one for me on hockey at this point
in time.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
So I was at the Betty, you know, at our
women's basketball game yesterday, but then after I ended up
getting home, I was just curious. So I put on
a streaming network, let's just say a streaming network, and
very broadly at the end, Dartmouth playing unh it was interesting.
(19:52):
But then I was looking at Dartmouth schedule. I had
forgotten this, and I think maybe they ended up going
last year to Tempe. But Arizona State plays Dartmouth that
I think the same weekend, or it could be upcoming.
Long story short, there's a there coming that'll be interesting. Like,
so I'll say, for you NCCHC fans out there, you
(20:15):
want Arizona State like to go to Dartmouth, go to
Hanover and let's go.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Let's go. Coach Bauers.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Let's go Dartmouth. Currently, they've lost that game in overtime,
I believe to right, their first, their first blemish of
the season. They didn't lose in regulation the entire first half.
And yes they do host Arizona State the twenty seventh
and twenty eighth, So those are big games, big pairwise games,
but those are big games number one in the pairwise
or the NPI, I should.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Say the NPI.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
For those of you are wondering between pairwise and NPI,
I think it's how about this newer ways to statistically
look at some things, and so I think that's the
reason why there's been the evolution from pairwise to NPI.
But we we all get what it's happening. There's still
a statistical formula out there that will, in a sense
(21:08):
pick the field, Alex. I mean, that's ultimately what it
amounts to.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
That part hasn't changed.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
That part hasn't still.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yeah, we've just changed the name and tweaked a couple
of things. By the way, Dartmouth down number two in
the NPI behind Michigan after that overtime loss, North Dakota
number four. So if the season ended today, North Dakota
number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. So a lot
of games to go, of course, but exciting times.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Exciting times that I found interesting.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
You know, those are the kind of the sneaky, tricky
games that you know, from a conference standpoint, you know,
you really really want to support your conference mates at
that point.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Yeah, this is the last little stretch of non conference.
There'll be a couple of non conference games for everybody
over the course of New Year's and then it's conference
play the rest of the way, basically for the entire country,
and that's the last chance to make your state is
the top conference in the nation, and it's really now
the NCAC Big Ten. It's those two conferences up near
the top, and that really makes a huge difference when
(22:08):
it comes to how many bids your league will get
in the NCAA Tournament. So there's other stuff going on too.
You mentioned at the Betty men's and women's basketball teams,
both at home this past weekend. Both ready for a
lot of home games really between now and the start
of something league play at the beginning of January. I
know both have not had maybe the success they were
hoping for. Certainly a team in transition on the women's side,
(22:29):
the men's team incorporating all of these new players. What
have you made of Hoops to this point in the season.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Though, Yeah, you know, I think if on the lady
side we had the transition with coaches, and I would consider,
you know, coach Hutter and year zero, and I would
say he had to you know, formulate a roster very
very quickly when coach Bernhard decided to step down, and
(22:57):
I think he's really evaluating, you know, really really hard
where we are from a roster standpoint, and so I
just think, you know, I think this one's going to
be a year where we're going to be in transition,
you know. And then I think on the other side,
on the men's side, you know, we're really youthful and inexperienced.
(23:17):
And I would say, Alex where I think hockey to
some degree experienced the same thing. And we were fortunate
that we've had some players kind of come in but
probably has had they have had, you know, the ability
to play in the chl and they had more miles
or reps on the odometer. I just think we have
(23:39):
some players right now learning as they're going, and you know,
on both sides of it.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
I'll be honest with you. We just got to shoot
it better. I mean, there's some rhythm threes to some degree,
certainly on the men's side. Just got to shoot it better.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
And you know, and you can say all you want,
but the game becomes pretty simple in some ways. If
you get open looks, you got to bury them. And
unfortunately that just hasn't been the case. And so we've
been on the short end, and you know, it's gonna
be it's gonna be a little bit of a grind here,
and we've got to just continue to get better, not
not lose faith, and just got to make sure that,
(24:20):
you know, we just continue to get better and then
whatever better.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Is for us, that's that's what has to happen for
both those teams.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
The men will play for their next five at home,
a home game against Winthrop coming up on the eighteenth,
before a trip to Lincoln to play a corn Escer
team that's unbeaten, one of the few unbeatens left in
the country. Is still a bit of a surprise. They're
Nebraska having a great season than home against Dakota State,
then some league played begins, so really just three non
conference games left for the men before they'll host Oral
Roberts in South Dakota State on New Year's Day and
(24:49):
the third of January, respectively. The women kind of a
similar story, a couple of home games coming up before
Christmas against Mayville and Dickinson, and then they actually go
right into SETH League play on New Year's Day as
well on the road against the and then Oral Roberts.
So it's it's wild the summer league is here basically,
like the conference season is a week and a half
away for both of these teams.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Yeah, and with both of those teams, you can't sugarcoat
the bottom line, the records and and not that I'm
looking to do that. The good news bad news, I
guess is your records. Your record is the bad news.
The good news is at some point you are going
to start zero and zero in the conference. And so
you know, in this like, our teams just need to
(25:31):
continue to figure out what what, how can this? How
can our teams be as good as they can be?
And I think you know, both coaches are grinding on
it for sure.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Yeah, I would say there's opportunity in the league for both.
I think if you look at the single league on
both the men's and women's side. It's not as though
there's either this incredible top half that has so many
established teams, it's we're not going to win these games.
I just I think there's opportunity to go out if
you play well. Really, with maybe one or two exceptions,
(26:03):
you're gonna be right there going into the game feeling like, hey,
we can beat this team. I mean, we have no
reason why we can't go show up and win this game,
whether it's home or road. So you hope that can
be the case as these programs continue to get a
little more experienced, these young teams get a little bit
more time together on the court, that the results start
to come.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yep, agreed.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Hoops very much. Transitioning from non conference to the conference season.
Indoor track and field, by the way, has just gotten
underway as well as we go from cross country to indoor.
A couple of meets, one in Boston, one in Fargo
in the last couple of weeks, probably no surprise. Jaden
Keeler continuing to do great things, broke a couple of
school records out in Boston two weeks ago. Brooke a
U twenty three Canadian record in the five k high
(26:46):
hopes again for both the men and the women. Just
as we saw in cross country, both pick to finish
highly on the indoor side. North Dakota, by the way,
hosting the similar indoor championships at the end of February
of this year's even more intensive to come out and
get to know these teams before they vy for chachampionships
a little bit past Valentine's Day.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
We're excited about that.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
You know, we were fortunate to do that a few
years ago, and I know our coaches along with our
operational staff have been working with the Summit League. You know,
they meet literally I think weekly on that particular event.
And yeah, that'll be exciting and you know, for those
of you that love to see awesome competition, that'll be
(27:26):
a lot of fun in the Pollard for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Yeah, mark that sound again right that last weekend of February,
that's going to be a fantastic event. I'd be a
great Pollard Center. That's what's kind of going on on
the sports that are active currently. We should wrap up,
by the way, since our last pod football had a
nice little run in the playoffs, got a great victory
over the number six team in the country Tennessee Tech
to open up, and then just it just felt like
(27:48):
injuries caught up at Tarleton, a very good Tarleton team,
and it just felt like one or one too many
playmakers went down in the playoffs for North Dakota to
kind of make that next step and move on to
the quarterfinals.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
Yeah, I think that's right, and I think what you're
going to find out and each if you go back
and look historically in this tournament, there's not many teams,
there's some. So you got two semi final games going
on this weekend. Illinois State Villanova have played from Week
(28:19):
one Montana Montana State first time they'll have played each
other in the playoffs in one hundred and twelve years.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
That's interesting.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
So they did not and to some degree, getting that
week off and getting a top eight seed is so critical,
and I think we kind of ran into that a
little bit in Tarleton where I felt like they were
definitely fresh, they were ready to go. And you know,
regardless of it all, I still think we challenged them.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
We just didn't.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
We didn't have enough in the tank at the end.
And I think what you saw Villanova do, they had
a running back that ran for over one hundred and fifty.
I think they ran for over two hundred and they
they kept Tarleton from running. I think it was less
than seventy yards on the ground. And so obviously that's
a formula right to win a game, and I think
(29:12):
it wasn't lost on our team to try to do that.
It just sometimes the other team is a little bit
better that day, and I thought Tarleton was really good
that day. We still had our chances, though, Alex. We
had moments. We had moments, but we didn't take full
advantage of them.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
Yeah, down by just a touchdown at the half, yep,
got it back within striking distance in the late third quarter.
It just, yeah, just one of those things needed a play,
needed somebody to make a play. And we saw that
in the first rounds. You know, Lance Rucker with three
strip sacks and your four six turnovers and like, guys
just kind of kept making plays to keep you in
it until the offense finally clicked. And in this game
(29:52):
it just didn't quite happen. But still again, a great
season for year one for Eric Smidt and this team.
They go eight and six outside of the tar game.
All those losses were single score losses, tight losses that
could have gone either way. There's lots to build on
for this group, and we've already started to see, as
is kind of the case now in college athletics. People
make their statements of who's coming back and who's leaving,
(30:12):
and there's been a lot of coming back. I think
that's what I think that's what should have people excited.
There's more I'm committed to this, I'm coming back, I'm
sticking around. I'm ready to go for next year than
there hasn't been so far.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Yeah, and you know, and maybe we end the A
side on this is, you know, there's just really interesting
times in college athletics. And I don't, like I said
I over the course of time, we are going to
have college athletics. You know what's interesting to me, Alex
if we're going to combine this ab side for a
hybrid whatever we're doing here, it's fascinating what's transpired in
(30:48):
England with the Independent Regulator through the House of Commons
and at the end of the day, so what's transpired
is they have a person that is reporting to the
government over there for the protection of the pyramid and
the pyramid for those of you that don't know is
ultimately the top to bottom, if you will, of all
(31:13):
soccer clubs, and ultimately, at some point in this country
we're going to need to get there. And I don't
know what that actually looks like, but we're not there yet,
and so we're going to have this interesting timeframe where students, players,
whatever you want to call it, are going to have
(31:34):
to make decisions where's my best place to get developed.
And it may be at the place you're at, or
it may be someone is telling you it might be
somewhere else, or it might be you saying it's someone
it's somewhere else. All is fine right now, but I
would say, we just have to make sure that we
(31:57):
sell why it's important to be at Undy and what
our coaches are going to be able to do for you.
And then from there decisions are made by others. And
you know, we're always going to have a few that
will depart, We'll have some that will come in, and
then we'll have some that will stay.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
And so that's just where we are. So the sooner
you just embrace that and just understand it. That's where
we are right now.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
But you know, the sanctity of the pyramid over in
Europe in England for soccer, if the base is strong,
the top is strong, and we have to make sure
the base is strong.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
In college athletics, you mentioned the hope, or maybe not
the hope, but the assumption that at some point there
will be a regulator or someone that will kind of
help keep these things in balance. In whatever the NCAA becomes.
There is currently do you think, not to make you
put on your prognostication hat, but are we somewhat close
(32:58):
to having some conversation to getting there or does that
still feel like we're a long ways away from reaching
that point.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
I think there's an act, and the one that has
more more bipartisan support than not is what's called the
Score Act. And the Score Act I think does a
couple things, but it really keeps some things out of
the court system. That's kind of what it does. But
(33:26):
in exchange, Alex, you're going to have to report to
some level to someone in DC, and I just think
that's where we are and heading in college athletics.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Now, you know who knows. No one has a crystal ball, but.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Anybody that's jumped in to the fray has, like I
think has great ideas until they figure out all the permutations.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Of why certain things are done the way they are.
Some has to do with federal laws, some has to
do with let's.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
Just say, passionate fan bases, and there's a lot of
things that have happened. But I do think we're gonna
have to get to a point where we have to
decide in this country what do we want to do
with intercollegiate athletics and how that connects with our Olympic
movement as well.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
There's a lot at stake. It feels like there's a lot.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Of feels that way. It feels that way.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Well, hopefully we can get it straightened out and help
it continue to go on and flourish, because again it
is like you see the scenes that we get to
see on a weekly basis at und sporting events and
the things that you watch on television with the college
football playoffs, or like all the incredible scenes this weekends
in Lincoln with Nebraska volleyball and Texas A and M
(34:50):
like that. That was an incredible moment. You know, this
undefeated team at home trying to make it to the
final four, and this team comes in just somehow when
one more point and gets the victory and has this
incredible upset and the emotions from both sides after. I
don't know if you saw, like any of the press
conference footage after the fact, Like there's so much good
(35:11):
and power that comes with what we have with college athletics,
and it affects so many people in such a positive way,
and you just hope we don't screw it up.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
Yeah, I think this is just part of sometimes an evolution.
And so I call me Pollyanna, call me half class
full or whatever, but it's just sometimes part of the process.
And I just you know, you're gonna find out like
it's on ABC this week, but you're gonna watch a
Montana Montana steak game, which they just might as well
(35:44):
bring in Wringling Brothers. It'll be just a circus in Bozeman,
a complete utter circus.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
And why is that? Because people love sport, they love
you know, they they love what they love and at
the end of the day, it's gonna be just crazy.
Speaker 3 (36:06):
And so that has nothing to do with make it
up what Miami playing Texas A and m this weekend.
It's gonna be the same passion in Bozeman, Montana.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
Maybe a little more. Maybe just a tick more might
mean a little bit more to those people in the
sky country. But yes, it's it's one of those things
you just hope it continues and persists because it's great.
It will It's been pretty good, been pretty good for
over over one hundred years, but.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
It will be.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
We want to flip, you want to go over to
the beach.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Quick, flip, quick, let's do let's do.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
A litle flip. We've kind of dipped our toe in
this a little bit throughout this episode, but there's a
lot going on in our respective worlds and we're gonna
we're gonna dig into this on the soccer side, especially.
So I pulled up my email this morning and the
subject I receive a newsletter from Jonathan Wilson of The Guardian. Okay,
fantastic football historian. He's written, he's written many, many leatherbound books.
(37:02):
He's wonderful. The subject heading Thomas Frank is running out
of time to fix Tottenham. Hm, he's probably not wrong.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Bill, Alex.
Speaker 3 (37:14):
Can you can you let people know how long Thomas
Frank has been the actual manager at Tottenham.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
About six months? Oh?
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Oh, got it?
Speaker 1 (37:26):
And yet he's running out of time. This is the
world we live in in that level of the pyramid
of soccer.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
The average, the average tenure for a Premier League manager,
I think now is less than two years. I think
that's what I read, so sure I would look. I
watch a lot of Spurs matches. I'm at that point
(37:53):
in life I can do it. So it's not just
the manager, it's the players too. And I would suggest
when you get into the cycle of changing your manager out,
you have a puzzle that doesn't fit. And that's what's
(38:14):
transpired there. They have players that at one point were
wingbacks that are now playing full back and you know,
I think, honestly, if they're really honest with themselves, they
should look and assess who has value on that team
and everyone's available, and then really then figure out how
(38:36):
do you want to play? And you know, I listened
to one of the Spur Spurs podcasts and Danny Kelly,
who is a pretty good order and his h and
he's you know, on on a lot of I'll just
say he's a Spurs fan, but he does a lot
of things over there. But the bottom line is, somewhere
(38:56):
along the line, you have to decide who you want
to be how you want to play and fit everything
to that. And i AX is kind of a good example.
I X has a system on how they do some things.
You know what Tottenham system is.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
They have no system.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
It's difficult when you go from such an idiologue like
anng Pastacoclu who did have a system that he wanted
to employ, like this very how long did he he lasted?
Speaker 2 (39:28):
You know?
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Two years? Yep, right on bang on average. What a trophy.
I got that trophy for you. But I think you
see this shift and yes, it would be doing a
disservice to Thomas Frank who comes in after a really
great spell at Brentford and you give him six months
and it's like, yeah, the players that worked in Ange's system,
can I say worked because they finished seventeenth last year,
(39:51):
but they worked in Ange's system don't necessarily translate to
Thomas Frank's system. And they've had injuries, like you're missing
a lot of key pieces, especially in midfield. But it's
like that, it's that balance of like, well is it
it will this ever work? Or do we need to
make a change to prevent this from getting worse? Because
you lost three nothing to forests and as a as
(40:14):
a fan of a club that also lost three nothing
to Forest not that long ago. It doesn't feel great.
It's not great. But is changing is just firing your
manager or the answer probably not?
Speaker 2 (40:25):
Yeah. I well I just before we started this pod.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
Apparently there's something out there in the athletic that he's
gotten support from the ownership group. So, and the reason
why it's interesting with Tottenham is so Alex supports a
team like Liverpool that has had tremendous history and and
has won a lot over the course of time.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Spurs have not.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
But the one thing they are they have some history
though to some level, but they are very from a
financial standpoint, they're one of the top teams in the world.
So there's a frustration among the fan base why can't
(41:10):
we be like others because we actually generate a lot
of financial you know, I mean financially in pretty good state.
Maybe what the ninth, ninth or tenth.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
Top ten, top top ten, right as far as value
for the club.
Speaker 3 (41:28):
So, but it's a it's a roller coaster. If it's
it's drama every day and if you want to lose,
have drama.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
No, with all that said, With all that said, again,
you've won one of your last seven league games. Like
it's been it's been a tough little spell, but you're
doing all right in Europe again. They qualified for the
Champions League last year because you won the Europa League,
so you get this pass into the top European club competition.
You're eleventh right now in the table, which is not great,
but you also all you're only four points away from fifth.
(42:04):
Like it's so congested. There are so many teams. I
think Bournemouth has twenty points their fifteenth. Crystal Palace is
fifth with twenty six that's two games, I know, and
there's there's a lot of season left. You've only played
sixteen matches this year, so assuming you get some guys
healthy again, you don't panic. It's not it's not the
(42:26):
end of the world right now. The sky shouldn't be falling.
Speaker 3 (42:29):
So I'll transition between the other team that we like
to follow, the Red Sox is sometimes you've met the
enemy and the enemies us is. There's so much chatter
and noise at some point that it's just an iyroll
for me. It's just at some point, can we just
(42:50):
enjoy the thirty eight matches. I know you want to
pick apart every single pass that happens. But I will
tell you this, you're gonna be really sad at some
point in time because every pass is not gonna go
where you think it's gonna.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
Go, and and they're gonna have to figure it out.
I just don't know if they have a cohesive, puzzled team.
Speaker 3 (43:13):
I think that's their issue. So we'll see what ends
up happening. But the Red Sox same thing.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
They come out of the Winter meetings like they were
gonna win what the World Series?
Speaker 1 (43:23):
Like?
Speaker 3 (43:23):
Okay, so they didn't get one of their thumpers. Yeah,
they weren't gonna get Schwarber. This just in and Alonso. Eh,
you know what, They've done some sneaky things before the
Rule five draft to kind of screw around with their
top their forty man roster because they were gonna lose
(43:43):
some players. They've had a sneaky okay off season. Now
they still have until the season starts to make some moves.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
So can we just hit a pause button on some things?
You know?
Speaker 3 (43:58):
And as much as a life like, Yeah, he's gonna
hit forty home runs, but it's gonna come at a price.
And I just think they made a choice at this point.
Now they're still gonna have to get rid of their
outfield glut to some degree. There's something going on there.
They have to make moves. They have to make moves.
(44:19):
They just haven't done it yet, And it's like, okay,
can we just wait a little bit until they get
to Jet Blue to figure that out?
Speaker 1 (44:27):
Yeah, it is only December fifteenth. I know that it
is hard to see some of the guys you targeted
sign for other clubs, especially the Orioles, Like you see
the Orioles shaping up people like come on. But at
the same time, yeah, I don't engage. I just don't
even I don't engage because you just get worked up.
It's really easy to sort of read those things or
you see like that, well, this is who he might
(44:49):
be interested in, or this is the guy that might
make the difference, and then when he doesn't come and
you're frustrated, but it's like, what was that just you
like projecting like what you hope to versus what actually
reality is. This is a very brief side step. We
took our family to Disney this last week. We did
a very quick trip to Disney Worlds in Orlando. My
kids had never been there before, made it back in
(45:11):
time for the Omaha series. It was great, but it
was we were watching, you know, just some like videos
to kind of get an idea of like, well where
do you go and what do you see? And you know,
some of the it's a very common thing now they
have all these video bloggers that are there at these
theme parks, and some of the commentary was like sort
of based on what they hoped something would be versus
(45:31):
what the reality is, Like, well, this ride would be
better if they did this, this, and this, or they
should have done this, this, and this with the land
but like but yeah, but they weren't actually gonna do that.
Those aren't realistic expectations for this, this park that's been
opened since the nineteen seventies. Put yourself into a different
frame of mind and just say this is all great.
I think this is all wonderful and we're going to
make the most of it. I know sports isn't exactly
(45:52):
the same, but I find that more and more with
commentary of like well why didn't they go sign this guy?
That guy was never gonna come, or that doesn't fit
in the cap, or that's just not realistic. We saw
that with the Quinn Hughes trade this week a little
bit to some extent like why didn't this team go
out and get him because they didn't have four first
round pick assets like the wild Ditch. It's different. It
(46:13):
just everybody got it has to get back into reality.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
And the other thing is, I do believe they're spinning
multiple plates at once. And at the end of the day,
you know, just because this didn't happen doesn't mean something
else isn't gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
But it might.
Speaker 3 (46:27):
It might then put you in a position to say, Okay,
this a didn't happen. Now we can maybe do BC
and D maybe and you know, I look, it's it's
nice to be the flashy team that wins the offseason.
Which and again Alex's team, which I was amazed last year,
(46:48):
didn't make a move and brought in a manager first
year and they had a magical year. I mean, the
only thing you would say, maybe, eh, you didn't do
whatever the Chancepions League thing, but you had a magical year, right,
but then you lost players. You had a really sad
tragedy that was real. But the reality of it is
(47:10):
you won the off season and now you are trying
to figure out how that puzzle works together.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
I think that that is a great example that titles
aren't won based on just the players that you sign
or how much money you spend, whether that's in Major
League Baseball, although the Dodgers maybe would say otherwise, but
major League Baseball or in soccer, et cetera, when there
is no salary cap. Liverpool spent five hundred million dollars
five hundred million dollars in the off season. They were
(47:38):
cooped a lot of that money because they sold the
aagees in Darwin Nunez, et cetera. But still they brought
in a lot of world class talent and it just
hasn't quite worked. And now, the first thing that you
said to me when we saw each other on Friday
night most sala. That was the first word that came
out of your mouth. And we have since had some
(47:58):
more clarity on that particular front. But this is their
star player who has been frustrated by how the season
is gone and about his usage and navigating all these
new attacking players they've brought in. And he gave an
incendiary kind of postmatch press conference basically after he was
left on the bench in a three to three draw
against Leeds last week, in which he basically said, like,
(48:19):
I feel like I'm being thrown under the bench. Somebody
at the club wants to get rid of me. They're
blaming me for the team not doing very well. I
don't understand it. I'm getting all the blame, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (48:29):
Like, what a.
Speaker 1 (48:30):
Difficult position to play as a player, to put your manager,
to put your club in that position like hofta. Now
they've since kind of made up. They had talks after
the fact that manager Mo he played had an assist
and they won against Brighton on Saturday. So but now
here's but now he leaves for the Africa compan Nations.
(48:50):
He's going to be gone until the end of January.
So it just is kind of hanging out there for
a little while. Bill is is this crazy? What what
a what a what a world? Drama sport?
Speaker 3 (49:01):
Well, and I'll end it with this, end it with this.
As we know, drama sells nuance doesn't. I got nothing
else for you.
Speaker 2 (49:18):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (49:19):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
I mean, if if you had a podcast.
Speaker 3 (49:25):
And it was about college football at the FBS level,
and you agreed with the committee, you'd go great.
Speaker 2 (49:33):
Job podcast over it would last twenty seconds.
Speaker 1 (49:39):
Yeah, wouldn't. You wouldn't have a lot of views, not
a lot of subscribers if that was the concept, unfortunately,
And that's yeah. So that's that's where we are here
in December of twenty twenty five. But well, we will
see how both of our soccer clubs do over a busy,
festive fixed er season. They play each other, by the
way this weekend they do, so that'll be fun. So
(50:01):
in this something's got to give Darby.
Speaker 2 (50:05):
Better than us.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
We've been we've been playing a little better lately. Yeah,
that's true, so maybe maybe maybe turning a corner.
Speaker 2 (50:10):
We don't even like playing at home.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
Yeah, that's well, your fans, your fans are booing your
goalkeeper and various other members are staff and others. So
that's not great. Yeah, it's never good when like your
captain tells the team not to applaud the away end
when you were on the road because they had been
booing the goalie. Like that's when you know you're sort
of crossing you've crossed something at that point. But it's
(50:36):
not a good I digress. It's not great. It's not
not a good not a good threshold across. So that's uh,
that might be where we end it today. Oh hey,
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, but always a pleasure to
catch up. Yes, oh no, I tell you what. It's
a great time of year. We hope you can get
out and enjoy some of you and the athletics in
(50:56):
the coming days. Again, so many home basketball games on
the way. Enjoy all of that coming up at the
Betty and then again lots of great stuff coming in
twenty twenty six. Will be back prior to the new year,
but until then, big thanks to Paul Rawlson and Alex
Locker Johnson for making this podcast go on the back end,
Thanks as always to Bill I'm Alex. Merry Christmas everybody,
and we'll talk to you soon.
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The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.