Portions of this show are recorded. Strap in
and be prepared. Room for error is much slimmer
in basketball. You lose one player and it changes
your entire team. It's not like that in football.
It's just not. It's not. Interesting guests.
Kelly Graves, Mike Parker, Coach Mark Waskowski,
Noah Eagle, Melissa Lombardi, Kenyon Barnard,
Jonathan Stewart. Sharp opinions. Dana Altman
probably earned a pass for a down year after
almost 20 years. of what he's done for Oregon
basketball. And some smiles. Guys, I was stuck
in a car wash. Sounds like an R. Kelly song.
It's not an R. Kelly song. It's Danny Havel.
I can't remember, and I've been doing this for
longer than you've been alive, which is really
horrible that I have to say that, but it's the
truth. Justin Grossweiner. It's like the saying
in Alaska, that you don't have to be faster than
the bear, you just have to be faster than your
friend. Danny and Justin starts now on Fox Sports
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and Justin radio program. The fastest 60 minutes
in sports. We are rocketing towards a weekend.
It's Weekend Eve here on the Danny and Justin
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single. week. So thanks for letting us your ears
for the next hour. We got a good one for you.
Our first visit of the season with Gunner, the
head man. of Oregon baseball. Mark Wasikowski
as the Ducks entertain the Patriots of George
Mason this weekend. We'll talk about that. Oregon
State men's and women's basketball critical games
this weekend. Oregon men will play on Saturday.
Oregon women on Sunday. We'll leave that for
tomorrow's program. But we also have Ducks in
the combine. We have our Olympic update. We've
got intern Dom at the controls producing the
radio program today. I'm Doc Danny over there.
Is Justin gross winner we call him baby J Well,
I'm just enjoying the sunny skies for today because
like last weekend It's gonna get rainy It was
all sunny 50 all week 53 degrees took Bella for
a walk my wife and I report came into the studio
nice It's beautiful. I am fighting a head cold
right now. I know you're in pre recovery It's
I've I've been sick now a couple of times In
the last couple of weeks not great not great
at all and for radio This is like the the instrument
mm -hmm It's like you know the beauty of my rugged
handsomeness doesn't come across in the radio
waves I've never had this happen where like I've
had my my voice gone or anything like that But
that's something I've been concerned about as
someone that has a living speaking so the only
time my voice ever went was I was calling the
3A, maybe it was the 4A, state basketball championships
at Willamette University for the OSAA, and the
guy who was supposed to work alongside of me.
So when you do a tournament like this, it's normally
two main announcers and you trade off. One game,
guy does the next game, so you're not burning
yourselves out, because there are literally eight
games a day after the first day of the tournament.
From 9 a .m. In the morning the last one tips
off at 8 p .m. At night and you go all day long
The other guy got sick who could not make oh,
no I literally had to call eight basketball games
back to back in one day and My voice was gone.
I literally could not talk it hurt to talk by
the end of it I was I was texting people because
people are calling me. Hey, how's it going? I
can't talk. I literally was told not to speak
They have trainers and such, and I went to them
after. I said, what can I do? That was the way
I sounded. You sounded like you'd smoked cigarettes
for four years. And they basically said, do not
utter another word. And then they gave me some
things I could take to kind of... My vocal cords
were so strained. that I couldn't speak. That
was the only time in 40 years of broadcasting,
and I know some people want me to shut up sometimes,
but that was the only time that ever happened
to me. And it was because I called eight games.
Yeah. I guess if I ever don't want to do a show,
I'll just go into a room and just scream for
like 20 minutes. I don't know. I think that would
probably that would probably do it. Probably
would. Well, I mean, when you go like when you
go to an athletic event and you're cheering for
a team. I mean like when we went up and watched
the Packer game we were screaming and yelling
my voice was you could tell like I know it takes
a lot out of you yeah I know you can tell right
now that I don't have I've got I'm a little bit
more nasally than I normally would be better
than you think okay well that's good intern Dom
what do you think he's gonna chime in I definitely
agree I definitely agree I think you sound pretty
good yeah don't start sucking up to me on the
ol olympic thing Dom suck it up to me So thanks
to you we have a new segment on the program by
the way You know that don't you I did I was informed
of that right before the show. Oh Justin told
you I think the listeners will like it. I Well,
they've already heard yesterday. Yeah, we did
it We did it for the first time yesterday And
so you go back to listen to the podcast and you
had a little role to play in that So we've got
ducks in the combine Do you want to start there?
Sure, because I think that's pretty cool and
we've got draft day coming up and I think there
could be record I think there could be three
ducks drafted in the first round I'm just it
all depends on how the chips fall but we'll get
to that when we get closer to it well Kenyon
Sadiq could be one okay I think Emmanuel Pregnant
could be another one I mean offensive linemen
are at a premium and he was you know in a Joe
Moore award finalist group and one of the ones
that were coming out of that Who would be the
third I'm trying to think now well wide receiver
wise. It's a pretty Well, I have to take a look
at me to read the names of the combine invites
So and this because if you're not getting invited
the combine you're probably not gonna be a first
-round pick So it's Malik Benson Kenyon Sadiq
Noah Whittington Alex Harky Emanuel Pregnan and
Isaiah world I think Isaiah world might be another
one. I don't think he'll go first round I don't
think the tackles had and Pregnan had a good
enough Don't think they finished the year super
strong honestly I think that the general consensus
with the offensive line that it was a bunch of
guards playing tackle essentially So I'm not
sure if they'll end up first round if you're
if they're if they're tackles that'll push them
into the first round if They're viewed as guards.
They'll be second third round picks. That's just
my opinion Not really anybody standing out on
the defensive side. Well, yeah betcher canaday
and thenaman thenaman is maybe a second round
pick Yes, I'm not I wouldn't elevate probably
was just positional value wise He's a safety
which is gonna be which is gonna be tough for
him because the NFL just doesn't value safety
is like they used to Caleb Downs Who is by far
considered one of the best defensive players
in college football? There's a lot of debate
where he's gonna go because there's no debate
on how good he is as a player as a safety But
at that top spot, you know the top five ten picks
If you're a team and you're looking at a safety,
it's just some teams don't like that. April 23rd
is the draft We're going to have a big party
up at the club room at Autzen for the Oak Club.
There's still tickets available if you go to
the Oregon Club. OregonClub .org. You can click
through to the link. Big draft party up there.
We started it last year, first year of it, and
it was fantastic. We're changing up the format
a little bit. In fact, you don't like change.
Well, I'm the one in charge of the program this
year, so I'm changing it up to have a little
bit more audience participation instead of having
the panel discussions. We will bring our YouTube
program there again, and we're going to be switching
it up with a few different hosts as well. Very
exciting. That'll be cool. We'll do that live
on YouTube for the three hours that will be up
there. And the first round, I think, will be
interesting to see where everybody falls. I've
got to start doing some research on who has declared
at the wide receiver position, because I think
Malik Benson has that combination of speed and
strength that... you know although he got hurt
for part of the season as well just like a lot
of that receiver room got dinged around a little
bit i think there's there's some stock value
there and again it's all team dependent what
are the team's needs like if you went out and
drafted a quarterback last year not going to
go out and draft another quarterback this year
if you didn't draft a running back last year
and you might be getting older that position
running back's a funny funny place to be because
you know the average life of an nfo running back
probably at a primary level three or four years
three to five years that's it so i mean those
are like changing a pair of jeans at times so
i don't think there's a whole lot of uh high
value you don't see a lot of running backs unless
you're a saquon barkley unless you're that top
Tier right julian love elite guy level that will
be a running back taken as far as receivers this
year Cardinal taint is going to be a top 15 pick
jordan tyson might be the first guy off the board
as well I believe are there five guys that are
ranked above malik? Well malik's not going to
go in the first round malik's a guy that was
very highly regarded out of high school And then
went bounced around a couple different schools
alabama florida state So I think that his draft
stock coming into the year was like undrafted
and now i'm guessing that's third round I don't
know. I I think he's like a sixth round picked
well I think a very good one one that I would
want my team to pick because he's a late riser
And those are the guys that his stock isn't as
high as maybe it could be If he basically played
another year of college, right? Right, so that
makes sense. Like I don't think he's a guy that
you can look at physically He's not like this
imposing type of receiver So I don't think that
he's gonna be a guy that's gonna go like in the
top four rounds Like i'd be really surprised.
Okay, I mean tez johnson Didn't go in the top.
What did he go fifth? I think fifth round fifth
round You got something to say intern? The tes
johnson was also 160 pounds Well, that's what
I was gonna say too is that that's why the combine
is gonna be super duper important for all these
guys because For someone like noah wittington.
We watched him with our eyes like this guy's
a good running back But the nfl really really
cares about those testing numbers So if noah
runs like a five or so like a four five nine
Like he's not going to be drafted in the first
like five or six rounds Well, they also care
about the interview room as well at the combine
They want that personality, the background checks,
all of that. They're going to dive into your
life and find out how you were in the locker
room, how you were with teammates, how you were
with coaches. Do you study? And they're going
to get teams that are going to be asking you
questions as well prior to the draft interviewing
you and doing personal workouts. That's where
I'm gonna find it interesting is that and I think
you did make a good point is For world and Pregnon
is where are they are they gonna be seen as guards
are gonna be seen as tackles And how do you value
those and again? It's all gonna be about the
class and if you played both positions, then
you become multifunctional and that becomes more
valuable Most offensive linemen can play pretty
much any position. They should be able to Oregon's
done a pretty good job of having people be multi
multi positional And that's probably where the
value of coming then i'll be a tip of the cat
to elite terry and that coaching staff that gets
them prepared for that next level So I I think
an outside chance of three I think definitely
two I think one of those two on the line are
going to go in the first round I think that kenyon
city should be one of those guys that the interview
is going to be more important than anything He
actually does at the combine because i'm guessing
I don't I don't even know if he's at a run to
be honest with you He might just be one of those
guys that like doesn't need to maybe he does
because he wants to really boost his stock but
I almost feel like Why why would you want to
the expectation level is so high exactly they're
gonna put him in a box. It's like Perceived value
of his speed. Why would you even mess with having
a lower number than you possibly? I would more
worried about the individual workouts with the
team the guy that I think could do the Most for
himself at the NFL combine would be Bryce better.
Yeah, I think that if he tests Really? Well,
especially because he's not the biggest guy in
the world That would be big for him, I think.
I think anybody gets in a room with Bryce Betcher.
100%. If you're an NFL guy, you're gonna go,
I want that guy on my team. He will end up on
a team. I'm not, I couldn't tell you where he's
gonna get drafted. Like, he could be a guy that
ends up in the fourth or fifth round. Maybe he's
undrafted. I don't know. But again, it's a need.
What does a team need? Who are they going? It's
not just, well, let's just go and be a Patriot.
Well, wait a second. Are you three deep at that
position? They're not gonna draft you. They might
invite you. But they're not going to draft you.
Well, ultimately, you want to go to the right
spot. It really who you get drafted by is way
more important than where you get drafted. Well,
let's just talk about the guy who just won himself
the Super Bowl ring. Sam Darnold out of college.
I don't think Sam Darnold is seismically different
than he was in college. I think he learned a
few things along the way, but he just went to
a bad situation in the Jets, a horrible and it's
a franchise that's still bad. Just like the Browns.
They're whore. They're a mess They're just a
they're just a horrible mess. Can I just put
something out into the ethosphere? Just just
to try to like make this happen. Sure. You're
gonna really exist just to will it into existence
It'd be really cool to see Kenyon Siddiq get
drafted by like chiefs or something like that
Have Patrick Mahomes, you know one year into
Travis Kelsey 100 % go off into the sunset. Yep
And they've got the era parents sitting right
there and they can run that too tight end set.
How cool would that be? That's not a bad idea.
And Dan Lanning would love that. I know. I tell
you that. Coach Lanning would absolutely love
that. So it'll be interesting to the run up and
we'll be watching. We'll break it down more.
Yeah. When they come to the combine and then
kind of figure out where they got slotted. And
then again, go get your tickets for draft night.
Come join us. We'll have a big party up there
at the club at Otzen. So yeah. Well, the last
two years we've had Bucky Irving was two years
ago where it was like oh my gosh like how did
he have such a bad combine? And then he ended
up getting drafted being a great player obviously
great system the same team Ended up drafting
the other guy last year, which is Ted Johnson
We already talked about who? Tested in a way
that you know his numbers were all lower than
you thought but like it's the thing about the
combine So you we watched these guys we actually
watched them every single game And so it was
really easy for me to sit there and go okay.
I know Bucky Irving is a good player I know his
test Johnson's a good player so good on Tampa
Bay for any being able to them undersized guys
at those positions who are good football players
and who are good football players and have great
football IQ as well. So the combine is a little
overrated. Well there's been talk about getting
rid of the combine. It'd be interesting. Because
it's like why just do the individual pro days
at the campuses for the teams that are going
to be interested in doing it instead of and Oregon's
gonna have their pro day. So they're going to
have people out here. It's always fun as well.
Yeah. I think what would be interesting to do
is because there's those guys that go to the
combine that they don't have a lot of production,
but all of a sudden they test really well and
they're a top 10 pick. I think it'd be interesting
to look back and see how many of these guys that
we are like the combine warriors, how many of
them pan out versus how many of the guys that
are really productive players in college and
maybe are a little small or they run a little
slow. Jerry Rice. I think he ran a four or five
nine or something ridiculous like that like that's
the the best guy at receiver ever who it's a
position that you look for the four to two guy
you know what I mean right it doesn't ultimately
sometimes it just doesn't matter the Danny Justin
radio program on a Thursday weekend Eve I'm Danny
that's Justin and over there sitting in the producers
chairs intern Dom he will never have that taken
off of him until he earns it and then once I
start calling you producer Dom then you know
you've arrived Okay, Dom, just so you know. And
speaking of that, Dom helped us bring a new feature
aboard, which is our Olympic update. So let's
do that. I need the music for the Olympics. There
we go. Love it. All right, here we go. Chloe
Kim aims for an unprecedented third consecutive
Olympic gold in the half pipe at the Winter Olympics,
despite competing with a torn labrum. You ever
had a torn labrum, baby J? No. I hope never to.
Intern Dom? Ever had a torn labrum? No, I've
had a torn MCL. Do you know what a labrum is?
It's gotta be in the knee. Try again. I don't
know where it is. Look it up. She led the qualifiers
with a score of 90 .25, demonstrating remarkable
resilience. A torn labrum. Now you know where
it is? It's in the shoulder. There you go. It's
on the body. Italian skier Frederica Brignone
claimed her first Olympic gold in the women's
Super G. She's overcome a severe leg injury at
35, the oldest female alpine skiing gold medalist,
thrilling the home fans with her historic victory.
And NBC has apologized for misgendering Swedish
athlete Elise Lundholm during the women's moguls
event. The network emphasized inclusivity. following
the incident while Lundholm highlighted sportsmanship
and fair competition. So the medal count, Norway
still leads with seven golds, 13 overall. Italy
now with five golds, 14 overall. US four golds,
13 overall. Men's hockey just started. Women's
hockey really playing well for the US of A. Men's
hockey now with pros getting to play. They got
rid of the amateurism in the Olympics now. Love
that, right? Surprise, surprise. So there's your
Olympic update. We'll do one every day until
the Olympics are over. Thank you, Intern Dom,
for providing that for us. All right, so you
want to take our break? Or do you want to do
a football schedule? Oh, we can do the Oregon
State football schedule, which was announced
in the last segment. We'll do that in the last
segment. We don't want to make Gunner wait too
long, but I think we have time. All right, Mark
Wazikowski is next as we're going to talk about
Oregon baseball. We get to see the 2026 version
of Waz's team. They start out against another
A -10 opponent, George Mason, out of the Patriot
League. It's four games scheduled for this weekend.
We are putting that in air quotes and it could
be TBA because the weather... could be a little
frightful this weekend, but we'll talk to Gunner
next. Mark Wasikowski makes his first appearance
of the 2026 campaign next on the Danny and Justin
radio program. Danny and Justin program rolls
on for a weekend Eve. Tomorrow on the program,
Travis Immers, the mayor of Rip City will join
us. Talk blazers as they head into the stretch
for the All -Star break. I want his over under
on Damian Lillard in the three point contest.
In terms of points scored. But we've got opening
weekend of baseball. Oh my goodness, we have
been waiting a long time for this as we head
over to the Oregon Man Clinics hotline at 541
-343 -5673 and the first of many visits we're
going to have with the head coach of the Oregon
men's baseball program. It is the leader of the
flock gunner we call Mark Wasikowski coach. How's
the offseason been first for you? I'm glad that
was the first question because I don't know who
Damian Lillard is so you know I'm sure he's awesome
at whatever he does and and I just I'm glad that
wasn't my question but the offseason yeah I don't
know I think it was really good you know we really
we I the offseason is kind of a funny one for
me I'm not really off I'd like to I'd like to
really kind of just attack the things that we
feel like we need to really attack. So it doesn't
feel off. It feels like, boy, it's such a good
time to prepare and get you guys ready. New club,
the whole thing. These guys have been a lot of
fun to work with so far. It's a fun watch and
you know, yeah, we lost a lot, but I think that
we I think we're going to be able to put a product
out there that people are going to really appreciate
and enjoy. Well, the first view of that 2026
squad starts tomorrow afternoon 3 PM at PK and
a weekend series against George Mason for scheduled
a doubleheader on Saturday and then winding out
with a noon first pitch on Sunday. So a lot of
opportunities to see your ducks in the next couple
of. weeks as Youngstown State comes in early
start on a Thursday at 3 p .m. and rolling through
Sunday as well as the coach joins us. So let's
start there coach with your roster construction.
You lose a lot of the wins on your mound and
a lot of the run production but it seems like
you've filled in nicely so talk about what you
have to replace and what you see. Yeah, it's
like half the wins and two -thirds of the home
runs not on this year's roster that was on last
year's roster So that's a starting point. Yeah,
and then no you look at the guys that you got
in here right now either the guys that are former
Ducks that just were kind of in the in the background
a year ago or guys that that are new ducks that
are now here freshmen or transfer guys doesn't
matter and And why you just start liking what
you're seeing a lot because those guys are you
know, they look talented They look good. I mean
I don't know, I know there's a lot of guys that
get a lot of credit, a lot of respect, and there
should be because there's guys that are getting
buzz from the media gurus. But I mean, the straw
that stirs the drink of the program is the kid
out there at second base, Ryan Cooney. The guy
is unbelievable. He's a leader. He's gotten really
good. He's healthy. A couple of these kids that
are getting huge accolades, they deserve them.
Whether it's Maddox Maloney and some of these
other guys, they're getting some big accolades,
they deserve them. And yet, that's just how good
of a locker room culture and real player Ryan
Cooney is, is when you got guys like that, and
I can make that statement, that should tell you
a lot about where that guy individually is with
the other great players we have. One of the most
important things in baseball is to be able to
be present for the next pitch To be able to move
on from a bad moment the mental side of the game
How much mental training have you done coming
into the season compared to the physical training
that you have? Wow, how about that? I mean just
our entire office meeting this morning was on
the mental side of the game You sound like freaking
dorfman and cool and man brian cain. I mean these
guys You know, can revisit God rest his soul.
I mean, these guys were the gurus, right? And
they do. They talked about slowing the game down
using the controlling the speed of the game to
where it's manageable to where you can be present
on each and every pitch, because you got to get
rid of the negative, especially in a negative
base game like baseball. really quickly to where
it gives you the best chance for a positive on
the next pitch. And the guys that can't do that
usually really have a tough time with baseball.
And the guys that are really good at doing that
are the ones that can overcome the... Well, it's
a four -letter word that starts with an S and
ends with a T. I don't know if I can say that
on the... But they got to deal with that stuff.
And then when they deal with it in a positive
way, they're able to turn it into a positive.
So... You know, it's it's a it's a huge part
of our program We take a lot of time on that
and you know And I don't know if you can take
enough on it because it is that important How
where do you look for early on in the season
to tell you that this team is on the right track?
Well what we've looked for so far and everything
that we've done is first off are they What's
their desire to be around each other like, you
know, just when it's team time. Do they want
to? Do they like the team aspect of it? Do they
like the other guys that they're suiting up with
in the weight room, in the dugout, and all that
kind of stuff? The answer is, without a doubt,
yes. You know, have they been a pain in the butt,
you know, so far, you know, with missing classes,
missing tutors, missing stuff like that, which
can be a real indicator on what kind of culture
you got. We haven't had any issues there. And
so really, those two things are two of the three
that we focused on. And then the third thing
is, are they mature? And the answer to that is
no. The first two are yes is the answer the maturity
and how I define the maturity piece is this They're
fine young men, but are they mature to where
they they understand? What's going to allow them
to be successful in game not in scrimmage not
in practice Not in their BP rounds because they're
nailing all that it's just in game now Can you
show maturity in game? Which is just like you
hit on Justin the second ago with the middle
game That's what is going to be the focus to
where they can now see the best of what they
do in all the prep work or BP, all the scrimmages.
And that carries then over to Friday at three
o 'clock when, you know, supposedly the lights
go on, although the lights have been on. You
know, the lights have been on. The games have
been being played. It's just not on an official
schedule. And so can somehow, why is it different?
That's a great question. I don't think it is.
Some guys do think it is and for those guys that
do think it's a little different then that's
where you got to go to the middle game and coach
them up that no actually it's the same thing
you've been doing now with the lights on here
for the last month and even longer. The head
coach Mark Wasikowski joining us 294 wins going
to get his 300th win sometime this season to
super regional six regional appearances for the
head coach and a 610 winning percentage. He joins
us on the Danny Justin radio program. Let's talk
about not just on the field coach but off the
field. You replace pitching coach as hot goes
to Oklahoma State. Bring in Matt Flohr from San
Diego who brings along a sophomore right handed
pitcher Cal Scalari with him. You've got Ian
Umlock. You've got Colin Clark. You've got. a
good core for starting pitching. But you and
I, when we talked about this last year, it also
goes deep into that bullpen. You're going to
need a lot of arms this season. So talk about
how the pitching staff's shaped up. Yeah, so
far so good. And I love Hawk. He's moved on.
And now we have Matt Flohr, who is really good.
He's got a tremendous demeanor to him. He's very
knowledgeable. He's complete. He's a complete
coach, which is really fun to be around and so
you're right We're going to need a lot of arms
and luckily we you know We've been able to either
acquire or develop some arms that that look like
they've trended in a really good direction. I
mean, you know, we also, I mean, the Scaleri
kid has a huge arm, you know, he's got a huge
arm. He comes in and he was a post -op guy. He
had some surgery down there out of high school
and then he was with Coach Floor at San Diego
and, you know, he kind of groomed him and developed
him a little bit, but he was just coming off
of the arm injury and then this will be really
his first. Real true full go hundred percent
healthy year and boy. He's a horse. I mean he's
he's a horse You know and he can throw the ball
in the mid to high 90s with command and a very
good secondary pitch super competitive And then
there's some other guys that you know just didn't
nobody's I don't know I won't say nobody's ever
heard of them, but a kid like Devin Bell who
was a transfer He's a senior and he's like a
six foot four six foot five kid from Western
Oregon killed that level just all -american killed
it And you know, he's a mid 90s guy who's got
a heck of a breaking ball and a really loose,
whippy arm. And yet you go, wow, he was pitching
at Western Oregon. And it's just like, yeah,
he did. He developed really well. And you know,
now he's taking the chance here to come in here
and try to help us. He will. He'll be in the
back end of that bullpen that's really, really
got some names as well as a kid named Miles Castola,
who comes in from. from Gonzaga and he was their
Saturday guy at Gonzaga and he could be a starter.
He could be a closer. He could be a middle guy.
He's just good, you know, and he's a lefty. He's
kind of a lower slot guy and he's got a heck
of an arm. There's a lot of guys that fit this
bill. I said it the other day in a press deal.
R15 let's call it and even maybe a couple more
than that. I've never really seen like once you
get past eight usually it starts really dropping
off. And that is far from the case with this
group. Far from the case. Was I want to get to
the outfield in a minute, but also talking about
the power you mentioned at the top two thirds
of your your scoring offense went away either
to Major League Baseball or through the portal.
But we start with and you got a good core to
come back though with at first base. You bring
a kid from Northern Kentucky gave Miranda, but
also I call mayonnaise. Dominic Hellman has 123
starts for you starting 67 of his 85 career games
played and you've got some experience. over there
at first base and some power. So talk about where
you think the power is going to come from in
this lineup. Well, first off, we didn't lose
any position guys, the portal, you know, and
we take a great amount of pride in that because
we really don't want to lose anybody at all.
Not nobody. We don't want anybody to go. But
I will say this much. If where the power is,
you know, if dominant count and I'll make a prediction.
If that guy stays healthy in our main games we
play this year, let's say 75 games this year.
If he plays 75 games this year, he'll lead the
country in home runs. Like, the power this kid
brings to the plate is amazing. The only kryptonite
he's had is he hasn't been able to stay healthy
for a whole season yet. And it's been fluke stuff,
but if that kid can stay healthy and be in that
lineup each and every day for 75 games, he'll
lead the country in home runs. He's that good.
You know, and outside that you hit on Gabe Miranda.
You know, Gabe's a kid that came in from Northern
Kentucky. He's a Southern Cal kid. He went to
Orange Lutheran, which is in that Trinity League,
which is arguably the best high school baseball
league in the entire country. Um, and he's a,
he's a customer baseball family plays first base.
He's super smooth over there and a kid can hit,
you know, he's not just a dead red guy, but he
can hit a breaking ball. He can go the other
way with pitch. You know, he's a really skilled
player. He's gonna be able to help us quite a
bit there, you know And and and then you got
a guy like like I already mentioned Ryan Cooney's
powers developed Maddox Maloney is a guy that's
already a preseason all -american And then there's
a couple other kids in that outfield that haven't
gotten a run yet Named, you know, Jax Jimenez
when we signed Jax Jimenez He was like five foot
eight 150 pounds and he's six foot two two hundred
ten pounds right now This guy went from the best
hitter in Sacramento Led the area in high school
in hitting to now I mean when you put that that
hitting ability if As long as he continues to
stay focused on being a great hitter the power
is now there This guy's got real freak potential
reminds me of a kid years ago that ironically
played for me at Arizona from Portland named
Trevor Crowe Very skilled player came second
in the Golden Spikes award his junior year and
was a major leaguer for several years This kind
of player reminds me, Jack Jimenez reminds me
of. So, he's out there as an option. There's
a couple other kids that are super skilled and
talented. Elijah Cook, who transferred in here,
who's a senior. He's one of the fastest runners
in the entire country. Also a kid named Jack
Brooks, who's had a lot of injuries in his past.
He seems healthy right now, and he's a really
elite player as well. And he's in that outfield.
So there's some options there. And these guys,
they're not just speed guys or guys that can
slap it around, which they can do. They can hit
the ball over the fence and you know I do think
that we're probably Not going to equal the home
run totals of a naville and a Walsh in a helmet
of a year's past But I think you're going to
see an exciting offense when it comes to a lot
more stolen bases A lot more balls in the gaps
and a lot more singles that are turned into doubles
because of some athleticism And I apologize coach
for that Offhand comment about the transfer.
I was thinking it was erroneous. Yeah, it was
erroneous I was thinking about the guys up north.
They lost some guys to the transfer portal. That's
the guys I was thinking about so Well, we lost
it. Hey, we like you're not wrong. We lost a
couple that's still burning my crotch You know
some talented kids, you know a kid named Santiago
Garcia and he's one heck of an army went to LSU
We lost another kid named Cole Stokes who went
to Florida State Yeah, and so, you know not we're
not immune to it and these are kids that had
great experiences and gosh darn it we just we
weren't able to keep them and and it burns me
and they're great kids. I don't hate on them
for it. I just, I don't want to lose anybody
guys. You know what I mean? I want to keep them.
I want to develop them old school and especially
when they're super talented. I mean, you don't
want to let those guys go. Nobody does. No, the
coach Mark Waskowski joining us. We call him
Gunner. Fourth time in the last five years, Oregon
sets a new program record for home runs back
in 2025. And by the way, that kid cook that he
just mentioned, Justin, a gold Glover as well
at Azusa Pacific. So he's got a glove as well.
Brooks in. and Jimenez are both, those guys used
to be in the infield, right coach? And now they're
converting to full -time outfielders, Jack and
Jax. Yeah, you're right. They sure did. Good
memory. Yep. So where is the fight for positioning?
How has that been rolling up to this first game?
And I know it's going to keep evolving throughout
the season. I mean, you're going to start looking
at your starting lineup, and it's going to be
matchups as well. It's going to be who's hot.
So how is that fight for getting that starting
position worked in the offseason or in the roll
up, not the offseason, in the preseason? Yeah,
good good question You know starting lineup isn't
going to be the ending lineup. I know that right
I think that's a safe bet you know I think when
you look at you know you you start with you know
the catching position We've got two really good
ones a really high profile Freshman kid Braden
Jackson who's was team USA's MVP on the gold
medal winning team And you know he can really
hit he's six foot five. He's got a bazooka for
an arm He's our second catcher Burke may be us
returns. He's our number one catcher. It's like
1A and 1B. These guys are really elite behind
the dish, which is a lot of fun to watch those
guys. And then when you go from there and you
move to the middle, you go, OK, well, the shortstop
position. I mean, you really have two, 1A and
1B at shortstop as well. You got both Cooney
and you got Maloney. Maloney's going to start
at short, and Cooney's going to start at second
with Drew Smith over at third. And it's just
because that's where the flow is best. I mean,
Ryan Cooney, maybe he reminds me of a kid named
Mark Ellis that played for me at the University
of Florida. And I think he had only like a 14
year major league career. You know, that's all.
And this guy is real similar to that. Actually,
I think he does some things even better than
Mark did when he played for me at Florida. So
I don't know. These guys are one and one be up
the middle, which tells me you're going to have
a really strong middle, you know, drill over
at third base. He's really skilled elite. Old,
you know, he should provide a lot of stability
over there right in between Miranda and Hellman
at first You know, those two guys are really
really good over there as well So, you know,
it doesn't feel to me like wow coach, you know,
you lost a lot. You're probably gonna have a
down year furthest thing from the truth this
this I I think this team is got chance to be
a really really good team You talked about him
a little bit already, but I had the opportunity
to meet Berkeley Mabeus at the the other night
at the first pitch dinner I want to give you
a good report. He came up. He introduced himself
to me. He was very very nice He said hey, I'm
at your table tonight. Like I just want to come
up and introduce myself So we had some very good
conversations but can you just tell me a little
bit more about him as a player and just kind
of how his personality Lends to him as a catcher,
which is obviously one of the most important
positions on the field kind of the quarterback.
Yeah Total leader, you know Type a alpha male
flat out just me, you know, yeah, he's respectful
But when he gets between those lines, he's he's
animalistic. He really is You know, there was
a time a year ago where two of our most alpha
males him and Colin Clark I mean they got into
it one game over. I don't even know what it was
It was like it was the one of the stupidest things
and these guys literally almost came to blows
Because it was almost like well Yeah, you know
I said blue and I thought you said green it was
so stupid And yet these guys are that competitive
these guys are super all you know super Yeah
They're just the alpha touch and and that's what
you want You want that in in a guy behind the
dishes you only play on the whole field see the
whole field right right catcher and and I'm glad
he came across very respectful. He is he's very
nice tremendous student. I mean But what he is
is these guys are big, man. These guys are these
guys is strength. You know, I pushed the weight
room hard, but that doesn't mean they're going
to grab a grab a hold of it and really try to
get big. These guys are freaking big and they're
strong. And and it's a lot of fun being around
them with that sort of desire to become great
pros. And that's what Burke is. He's a guy who
really wants to be not only a great college player,
he's he's not only a good catcher. That dude
he could he could be the best offensive catcher
in the country as well. You know, he'll be healthy
this year. He'd be ready to go. It's going to
be a lot of fun watching that guy play. Alright
coach, last question for you. You might be able
to answer it. I don't know if you've announced
yet who gets the ball to start the first game
against George Mason or are you ready to say?
Yeah, Will Sanford does and it's we could have
probably had three or four guys to get the ball
on game one But will Sanford gonna get the ball
on game one Then we're gonna go Colin Clark and
Cal Scaleri in the doubleheader and then the
four starter and again There's probably another
four guys that could have easily been slotted
in any of this stuff But the fourth guy is going
to be Ryan Featherston whose pitch very very
well You're going to see a lot of guys pitch
though. You're going to see a lot of guys. It's
early season. Nobody's going to get stretched
out too far. And by the way, I don't know if
you guys have heard this, but this is probably
pretty big for fans. They just figured out some
way to do a happy hour deal out there where you
get a real size beer for five bucks. I saw that.
Real size beer for five bucks. I heard that the
other day. I was like, hell yeah, that's a good
job. That a boy coach. All right. Well the first
of many with you this year coach I'll be out
there three o 'clock tomorrow afternoon first
pitch at 305 at PK Park as They start the season
off with a bang as the Oregon Ducks take on George
Mason the Patriots coach. Thanks for your time
as always You got it guys. Have a great day.
Go Ducks the coach Mark Waskowski, we call him
gunner I'm sorry. I just got distracted USA hockey
just finished in the Olympics against Latvia
men's hockey 5 -1 win over Latvia women play
tomorrow 1210 Pacific time us against Italy the
home Standing Italians. You ready to talk a little
Oregon State football schedule just got announced.
Yeah excited about it They start on the road
will reveal that next and Oregon we just talked
about Oregon baseball Oregon State baseball is
gonna be on the road will kind of skim over that
but more importantly Oregon State men's and women's
basketball big games tonight for both USA men's
hockey will take on Denmark Saturday and pool
play they're in group C Germany on Sunday quick
turnaround for USA men's hockey they just beat
Latvia 5 -1 there in Italy and Cortina the Olympics.
We'll have another Olympic update tomorrow thanks
to intern Don who fired me up. So the Danny and
Justin radio program rolls on tomorrow on the
program. Travis Demers, the mayor of Rip City,
will discuss all things Blazers. Kind of up and
down. They were up for a second, yes, as soon
as I said it. And then they get bounced hard
by Minnesota. That was U -G -L -Y ugly yesterday.
Quick road trip. Yeah start break blazers are
it's gonna be the time the team They are they're
gonna be a little bit good a little bit of bad,
but when they're bad man They're bad. That's
that's just that's bad. So we'll hear the The
insight from the mayor. He's always really always
up front with us. Yeah, the man Travis Demers
beyond program tomorrow if you missed any of
Was Gunner as we call him here on the Danny and
Justin radio program. Mark Wasikowski who is
the head man for the Oregon Ducks baseball program
starting their season tomorrow against George
Mason at PK Park 305 first pitch. You can go
back to the podcast to listen to it'll be up
shortly after the program. Oregon State's football
released their schedule. The Jamarca Shepherd
era will begin Saturday September 5th when they
head to as I always like to say the planet Houston.
You know where I pull that line, right? It's
the original Superman, General Zod, because they
refer to Houston, and he says, what is this planet
Houston? That's why I do that. That's old. The
old Christopher Reeve Supermans were the best.
Beavers are going to host six games at Reecer
this season, including San Diego State, Washington
State, Texas State, Utah State. It's the Pac
-12. It's back. Yeah, the new Pac -12. Road games
at University of Texas El Paso Intercepto, Colorado
State, Fresno State, Boise State. They have a
flex game, which is going to be a road game.
Did you print the schedule? Did you see this?
I'm looking at it right now. It's November 28th.
It says flex road game. Which I have no idea
what that means. Well, I have it says projected
right here. So does that mean that they're just
projecting Washington State? So if you go to
the second, yeah, that's what they're saying.
The second one. Is this like the title game?
I'm a little confused too. No, the title game
is going to be on December the 4th. So the league's
home and home flex matchups to conclude the regular
season in week 13. They're going to retain the
right to adjust the matchups. How would you like
that as a head football coach? To go you're not
gonna know who your opponent is until maybe a
couple of weeks before Yeah, so it's gonna be
based on the best interests of the league including
the CFP Consideration so the projected matchups
will not be confirmed until six days prior so
even less time I actually immediately now think
it's very smart So the projected matchups would
be Boise State at Utah State Texas State at Colorado
State San Diego State at Fresno State and then
Oregon State Washington State playing Again,
I know for the second year in a row playing two
games against each other. Okay, but that's actually
like not a bad idea It's not a bad idea except
is everybody gonna want to watch Oregon State
Washington State play another game No, but if
you're the conference it totally makes sense
to be able to choose the matchup that you want
to determine how things go I don't know. I think
that actually We might start seeing that a little
bit more than just maybe they'll be trendsetters.
I don't know That's definitely interesting. So
I mean like a light bulb just went over yet to
talk about this though I mean, yeah the first
three games that's tough Yeah at Houston, Texas
Tech who there is no reason not to believe that
they're not gonna be a playoff team next year
as well Oh, they're gonna be really good and
then Montana. I mean Montana like they could
we went to the FCS semifinals last year Head
coach like I don't want to say this but I'm a
little concerned looking at this schedule that
it's just oh and three to start off this off
the Year, I mean even if you're a pretty good
team Houston was a ranked team last year I'm
not sure exactly what's going on with Houston,
but they're generally a very solid program Obviously
they played a tough game with the on there and
that's a big 12 opponent exactly non -conference
So you got a big 12 big 12 opponents and then
a really good. Yes Yes, yeah, and I don't know
about universe. So there used to be a guy who
came out with a pole He called it the bottom
10. It appeared in newspapers all over. And he
would list the worst programs. Oregon State made
that list for several years as well. This was
like decades ago. And he always used to call,
and UTEP was there as well, the UTEP minors.
He would call them University of Texas El Paso
Interceptor. I always wonder why you say this.
So we got a lot of grief last year for our over
-under. Selection. No, I did. Well, I was right
with you. Okay. Well, I'm glad you jumped into
myself along with I thought it was nine one I
think that we're gonna be a little bit more tempered
with our I think the over -under line is gonna
be right at five. I think so All right, let's
talk a little hoops for Oregon State men's and
women's basketball The men are on the road 6
p .m. Tonight. Beaves are at 13 and 13 Overall,
they're taking on San Francisco the Don's tonight
before they head up to Seattle for a Sunday game
and on the women's side This is where it's getting
interesting by the way the Beavs are I think
what fifth in the WCC WCC The women who were
in first for most of the season now dropped a
third just a game behind But they are taking
on Santa Clara the Broncos At home at Gil Coliseum
and then they tangle with Pacific on Saturday
that game tonight at Gil 6 p .m. Oregon State
under Scott Rueck 17 and 8 overall and the Broncos
come in at 18 and 7 and in the standings the
It looks like this is Gonzaga who Oregon State
has a win over that 10 and 2 and then the lumped
group at 9 and 3 but By virtue of the head -to
-heads, Oregon State sits in third because LMU
beat them earlier in the season. Oregon State's
lost two in a row now, but they're both at nine
and three. They still play LMU one more time.
I actually see them at second. Okay, well I've
got them in third here. Okay, and then Portland
and Santa Clara at eight and four so Santa Clara
is just one game behind Oregon State in the standings
So what I I think here's what the deal is they
play they have played LMU once any loss to them
They actually do play them one more time They
do and last game season that game will be on
very big game February 28th at 1 p .m So at guilt
calcium so it's it's all there for the taking
for Scott Rueck's team with the schedule in front
of them They've already played All the games
are going to play against Gonzaga and they split
them. So now it's going to be like beating everybody
else behind you and hopefully somebody knocks
off Gonzaga. That's the way you got to look at
it. And if they do, I think they'll have the
advantage in terms of their schedule over Gonzaga
to be able to, I think, a virtual tie for first
place. But that's an automatic bid to the NCAA
tournament. I believe regular season champ gets
one of those bids. So the tournament coming up
as well. So it'll be interesting to watch. And
Oregon State baseball, by the way, they're on
the road in Surprise, Arizona. as they will take
on Michigan first. That'll be tomorrow at 1 p
.m. So before we get on the air, we'll update
you as we go through the program. And then Arizona
on Saturday, Sunday against Stanford, Michigan
again on Monday. If you want to watch it, go
to Flow Baseball, F -L -O. All right, let's do
a dad joke real quick. Oh, a joke! I got fired
from the bank today. A woman asked me to check
her balance, so I pushed her. Dad jokes! Why'd
the computer catch a cold? Oh, I don't know I
have no idea. I left a window open That you can
crash everything and crash you That was that
was pretty good. It's pretty good leaving a window
open. I've done that before Come on. Well. Have
you lived the window open? Yeah, yeah I had a
friend that almost left a window open that my
cat would have gotten out of if I didn't see
it. Yeah Yeah, he didn't know what those screen
on the on the window. I had a dog jump out of
the back of a pickup truck before. Oh, no. While
it was going at 35 miles an hour. Oh, yeah, dog.
Dog was fine. It was it was not a very smart
dog. Clearly. Tomorrow on the old radio program,
we will have the mayor of Rip City, Travis Demers.
So you want to hear anything about the Blazers,
we will have it for you on Fox Sports Eugene,
the home of the Blazers, of course, also on Fox
Sports Newport. You can hear this little radio
program from two to three. Covino and Rich is
going to be next on the number one station in
the valley, the number one sports station in
the valley. Let me be clear. The Danny and Justin
radio program on Fox Sports Eugene, Fox Sports
Newport. God bless. Put a smile on your face.
Someone else's. They deserve it. So do you.