Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain

We're at a hockey bar, watching Stanley Cup Playoffs, so let's talk some hockey. The president of Seattle's new hockey team Tod Leiweke stops by The Angry Beaver to give us an update on the progress being made to secure the team. He explains why this is the perfect time for new fans to get into the sport. Hugh Millen also makes his way to the bar; talking a little hockey as well as UW and Seahawks football. Cam Cleeland, former Dawg and Portland talk show host joins us to talk a little Husky football as we count down the weeks to the 2018 season. Baseball's Heritage Pre-Game show gets you ready for tonight's opening game of a four-game series against the Tigers.

Celtics beat the Cavs last night, meaning they're now up 2 games to 0 over the Cavs. Warriors and Rockets play again tonight. There's a lot of talk about being tired of seeing the Cavs and Warriors, and that dominance by one or two teams is bad for the sport, but everyone wants to knock off the king of the hill. It's really creating motivation for everyone else to get better. Mariners lost today. Christian Bergman got the start, and actually did great, but the bullpen lost it for them yet again. Nicasio has really fallen off. His numbers in May are terrible. The M's are getting hit by pitches at an alarming rate and nothing is being done about it. Softy says it's time for pitchers to start retaliating, Dick isn't so sure last night's incidents warranted it. Do you want Softy or do you want Dick? We take your calls to see which side you're on.

The Mariners may have lost today, but Christian Bergman looked great in his first MLB start of 2018. He joins the program to talk about his performance today and how he's improved over last year, and gives his thoughts on pitcher retaliation following a number of beaned Mariners batters. Petros Papadakis weighs in on Robinson Cano's suspension, and reveals he ever knowingly used performance enhancing drugs. Textimonials react to the conversation about pitchers retaliating to protect their hitters.

Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird talks about her future as a player, if she expects to make the 2020 Olympic team, and whether she'd consider taking the UConn coaching job. We also discuss the increasing likelihood of seeing a female head coach in the NBA. Speaking of NBA head coaches, Dwane Casey reacts to being fired as the head coach of the Raptors, and what went wrong in the series against Cleveland. With tonight's Western Conference Final game about to get underway, we open Softy and Dick Sportsbook. We give you the bet, you make the pick.

We already knew Robinson Cano would be out for a few weeks with an injury, but today we learned that he'll serve an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. Cano says he didn't know he was taking the substance, but this seems pretty unlikely since the league has to prove the substance was being used as a masking agent in order to suspend him. Do you believe that he's telling the truth? We get your Regional Reaction, getting one listener from each of the five regions around the Puget Sound and gauge the overall opinion. We listen to Jerry Dipoto speak at Safeco Field with the press about the Cano incident.

We're live as Mariners manager Scott Servais talks to the media prior to tonight's game as he addresses the Cano suspension, and who will take his place at second base. Former Mariner Jeff Nelson comments on today's news of Cano's 80-game banned substance suspension. We decided maybe, given today's events, it was time to find some new walk up music for Robbie when he comes back in August. Textimonials are not buying Cano's claim that he didn't know what he was taking.

Dee Gordon addresses the possibility that he may move back to second base to fill the void left by Cano. Bill Krueger has a strong take on Cano's decision-making leading to his suspension. We give you the listeners the chance to sound off about the situation. On Baseball's Heritage Pre-Game Show: we hear from Scott Servais, and Bucky Jacobsen breaks down the Cano situation.

This weekend, Seahawks coaching legend Chuck Knox passed away at the age of 86. Some of Softy's earliest sports memories are of Knox's Seahawks teams of the 1980s. Knox, like his Hawks coaching counterparts Holmgren and Carroll, turned the team around in his first year, taking them all the way to the AFC Championship. We seem to be talking about it a lot this year, but Felix once again wasn't very impressive on the mound this weekend. It looks like we paid for a long-term ace, but only got three years of ace-level pitching. Speaking of the Mariners, the team is still five games above .500, but cracks in the dam are starting to show. Paxton seems to be the only consistent starter right now, and the bullpen has been struggling. Now, the one aspect of the team that seemed to be carrying the team, the offense, has taken a hit with Cano being injured. Hopefully everyone else will step up and the team will be in a solid place when he gets back. Former Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg joins the program to remember his former coach, Chuck Knox.

The Supreme Court today struck down a federal ban on sportsbetting, giving states the opportunity to make betting on sports legal. Could Washington state be one of the states that makes this move? We have a lot of problems in this region, and revenue from gambling could do a lot of good, but it seems like the politicians here aren't going to get behind this. ROOT Sports' Bill Krueger joins us for his weekly look at the Mariners. Who does he think should fill in for Cano at second base? Textimonials give feedback on the Mariners, and sports betting.

Brian Schmetzer, coach of the Sounders talks about the team's last week, including a win in Toronto, and a painful loss against rival Portland. Brett Smiley of SportsHandle.com talks about today's Supreme Court decision to strike down a ban on sportsbetting, and what it could mean for gambling on games in the future. Mike Holmgren speaks on the life of former Seahawks coach Chuck Knox who passed away at 86. It's the inaugural edition of Softy and Dick's Sportsbook. We give you the bet; you tell us which side you're on.

The Mariners won again last night and are on pace to win 94 games. Odds are they'll fall back a little, but it still seems likely that they'll win at least 85 games and will be in contention for the wild card until the very end. It's pretty clear at this point, the M's are for real. Sonics coaching legend George Karl joins the show to talk about his time in Seattle and his thoughts on the team moving. Dwane Casey was fired today. Coach Karl was in a similar situation a few years ago, and weighs in on the situation. How would he handle Carmelo Anthony saying he won't come off the bench on Oklahoma City? He also responds to the never-ending LeBron vs. Jordan debate. George Karl is obviously one of the greatest coaches in Seattle pro sports history, but would he make the Mt. Rushmore of Seattle coaches?

A year ago, the Rams were clearly becoming a serious contender in the NFC West, but now with the 49ers having a quarterback, and Rosen seemingly the future of the Cardinals, is there reason to be concerned about the strength of other QB's in the division? It's pretty common to hear college sports fans justify rooting for their rivals if they think it'll help their conference. Is it really acceptable to "back the Pac?" Corey Brock comments on a story he wrote for the Athletic about a Mariners fan and his dying mother watching James Paxton's no-hitter in their last hours together. Textimonials weigh in with their Mt. Rushmore of Seattle coaches, and if it's okay to "back the Pac".

Jon Wilner of The Mercury News explains the way in which the Pac-12 has put its top teams at a disadvantage compared to other conferences like the SEC. He addresses Washington State's improper distribution of tickets, the expanded UW Assistant Coaches' salary pool, and the conferences income tax discrepancy. On Hey, Did You Hear That?: Kenyon Martin says Chris Paul is selfish for passing the ball, David Price admits video games might have contributed to his carpal tunnel, Steve Kerr isn't worried about Houston because his guys already have rings, and Kevin Love on the drama in Cleveland. Is there a shot the M's are in first place in the division by Monday? We discuss on SHOT! or NO SHOT!

Softy made a bet with Jason Puckett before yesterday's show that he could make it to Mill Creek in 50 minutes to make a tee time at 4:20. The problem? The start of the Sounders match was postponed, meaning the show didn't end at 3:30 as scheduled, and the tee time was canceled. Puckett says because Softy didn't make the tee time, he loses. Softy says because the golf game was cancelled, the bet is postponed. Who's right? Juan Nicasio has looked terrible in his last few appearances. It's a small sample size, and it isn't surprising that he took a bit of a step back, but the real takeaway here is that the starting rotation needs to do more. Is it possible the Seahawks use Rashaad Penny as a kickoff returner? He was one of the best kickoff returners in college football? It's crazy not to at least consider this.

It's been ten years since the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City. Is it possible we get an NBA team back before all of the players from that era retire? It'd be great if we got a team just in time for Durant to play his last season here. Eldridge Recasner joins the program to debate LeBron vs. MJ, and break down Cavs vs. Celtics, and Houston vs. Golden State. Textimonials weigh in on the great Softy/Puckett bet debate.