Happy Hour with John Gaskins

John Gaskins

Join John Gaskins for the hottest sports news from Sioux Falls and beyond.

  1. 21 HR AGO ·  BONUS

    Happy Hour Best of: USD legend Chris Streveler

    John returns from his vacation in Palm Springs tomorrow, so today we take you back to last December and our exciting chat with USD's Chris Strevler. That conversation went like this:     The swashbuckling, clutch playmaking. The larger-than-life personality. The fur coat with bare skin underneath in the sub-zero temperatures in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' CFL title parade.   There is only one Chris Streveler, and the South Dakota Coyotes enjoyed the spoils of Strevy in the program's first winning season in Div. I, first FCS Playoffs appearance and first D1 postseason win during his record-smashing senior season of 2017.   The Chicagoland native's two-year USD career ended in a blaze of glory as he threw for 520 yards and five touchdown passes — adding 52 rushing yards and a running score — in a wild comeback that fell short in a 1,300-yard, shootout-for-the-ages 54-42 loss at Sam Houston State in the Round of 16.   Streveler has vivid memories of that game and others from his indelible USD career in a 45-minute interview with Happy Hour host John Gaskins. He also regales with stories of his recruitment to Vermillion from the University of Minnesota, where he had switched to play wide receiver after losing battles to be the Gophers' starter.   What were his first impressions of program builder Bob Nielson and the DakotaDome? And what are his impressions of the program — particularly current quarterback Aidan Bouman — eight years later under Travis Johansen, with a surging squad that has reached the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season?   And then, there was that victory parade in Winnipeg that made Streveler an even bigger legend both in Canada and South Dakota. What led to his hypothermic fashion choice? And what marching order did he and teammates ignore (well, miss) to ensure an epic celebration?   You'll get the full Strevy, and you'll like it. Even if you're not a Coyote fan. Well... Jackrabbit fans may not love his memories of a 31-28 loss to SDSU that senior season.

    44 min
  2. 4 DAYS AGO

    Happy Hour Best of: SDSU quarterback legend Taryn Christion

    With John on Vacation in Palm Springs, we've decided to take a look back at some of our best interview since the show officially began last January.    On May 23rd, 2025, we sat down with one of SDSU's all-time great Taryn Christion. Here's how the conversation went:    He rewrote South Dakota State and Missouri Valley Football Conference record books as part of a juggernaut offense that vaulted the Jackrabbits into FCS national championship contention for the first time. Then, he had brief brushes with NFL royalty — Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott, Mike Tomlin — before coming back to start his new life and family back in his hometown. Before all that, he lit up South Dakota's largest class of high school football while developing under the state's all-time prep wins leader Kim Nelson. Through it all, there were legendary games — like the breakthrough win over No. 1 North Dakota State in the Fargodome his sophomore year — and deflating setbacks, including a devastating injury that ripped away his high school senior season and a turnover-heavy nightmare in the 2017 FCS semifinals. Taryn Christion sits down to tell all about it for over an hour with Happy Hour host John Gaskins at The Orion Pub in downtown Sioux Falls. While he is forever a warm spot in Jackrabbit hearts, the heartbreaks along the way make his story as human as it gets. A connective tissue to this day — the other SDSU quarterback legend Christion will be forever interwined, Zach Lujan, who is now the offensive coordinator at Northwestern and still a good friend. And, of course, there are stories about SDSU icons John Stiegelmeier, Dallas Goedert, Eric Eidsness, Jake Weineke, and more. And there is no way we could end the conversation without Christion's observations of the program's shakeup this past winter, what new head coach Dan Jackson will bring, and how the Jackrabbit Former Players Association is helping to keep SDSU on the forefront of the ever-changing FCS landscape.

    1hr 5min

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Join John Gaskins for the hottest sports news from Sioux Falls and beyond.

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