Big 3 Sports Report recap

Guest: Jeff Heinlein of Grizzly Lanes covered the busy league calendar (men’s, women’s, mixed, kids, seniors, plus a Monday Night Football league and team-logo bowling balls for the Sunday night league). He closed by pitching the bar, casino and comfort food as a good family spot.

Standings: Last week’s guest, Justin Lovett of Stockman Bank, beat both hosts for the first time. One host went 0-for-college and is now tied with the other, with the guest right behind.

Sponsor: Grouchy Grizzly in Whitefish (burgers, ribs, all-Montana draft beers, football on the screens).

High school: Columbia Falls (coming off a thriller over Whitefish) visits Polson, Glacier hosts Flathead Thursday night at Legend Stadium, Bigfork travels to Ronan, and Billings Central meets Sidney in the Class A marquee game.

College: Montana hosts Idaho, Montana State visits Eastern Washington, plus Ohio State at Indiana, Alabama at Tennessee, and Notre Dame at BYU.

NFL: Seahawks at Broncos, Bills at Raiders, Cowboys at Packers. The hosts split on a few games, including Denver-Seattle and Dallas-Green Bay.

The show ends with a plug for the Glacier-Flathead “black and blue brawl” on the Big 3 on the Big Sky.

Guests & Sponsors: The show features host Hammer, co-host "The Gooch," and special guest Justin Lovett from Stockman Bank, highlighting their new Columbia Falls branch. The episode is sponsored by the Grouchy Grizzly restaurant and bar in the Flathead Valley.

Standings Update: Hammer leads the season pick standings with a 56-19 record, followed by The Gooch (51-24) and guest pickers (49-26).

Local High School Game Previews:

• Glacier vs. Helena High: The crew heavily favors the undefeated Glacier Wolfpack to dominate.
• Flathead vs. Butte: After a three-game slide, the crew expects the Braves to bounce back on the road in Butte.
• Columbia Falls vs. Whitefish (Game of the Week): Highlighted as a massive local cross-town rivalry and senior night matchup in Columbia Falls, with the crew backing the Wildcats.
• Polson vs. Big Fork: The panel picks the Polson Pirates in this "Battle of the Lake" matchup.

College & NFL Slate: The hosts previewed a heavy lineup of games, including Montana at Northern Arizona, UCLA at Oregon, Georgia at Alabama, Iowa at Washington, and several key NFL matchups (Broncos/Chargers, Bears/Packers, 49ers/Seahawks, and Bills/Rams on Monday Night Football).

The hosts of the Big 3 Sports Report are joined by special guest Dylan Tabish from Flathead Electric Co-op to discuss local high school matchups, college football, and NFL games. They begin by highlighting Flathead Electric’s annual Washington, D.C. youth tour essay contest for high school students. Afterward, they review their previous week's sports betting/pick standings, talk about sponsor Grouchy Grizzly in Whitefish, and go through a full slate of upcoming football picks ranging from local high schools (Glacier, Flathead, Columbia Falls, and Whitefish) to college and NFL matchups.

Sponsor Spotlight: Brian Sift, General Manager of Grouchy Grizzly (Whitefish), joined the show to highlight their popular menu items (huckleberry bison burger, 8-hour smoked ribs, and the "Grizzly Feast" platter), game-day drink specials, and upcoming Phase 2 expansions.

Local High School Matchups: The crew reviewed upcoming games for the Glacier Wolfpack, Flathead Braves, Columbia Falls Wildcats, and Billings West Golden Bears.

College Football Slate: Discussions covered matchups for the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats, alongside major national games including Texas at Tennessee, Ole Miss at Florida, and Oregon at USC.

NFL Week Highlights: The hosts previewed select professional matchups featuring the Denver Broncos, LA Rams, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Chicago Bears.

Sponsor & Special Guest: Broadcast sponsored by Grouchy Grizzly in Whitefish (featuring smash burgers, ribs, and 100% Montana beers), with special guest Jay P. celebrating 56 years in radio.

High School Football Slate: The crew previewed upcoming regional matchups for the Glacier Wolfpack, Flathead Braves, Whitefish Bulldogs, and Glasgow Scotties.

College Football Highlights: Discussion covered key matchups for the Montana Grizzlies, Montana State Bobcats, LSU, Ole Miss, SMU, and Louisville.

NFL Week Slate: The hosts previewed professional matchups featuring the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants, and LA Rams.

Guest: Shane Reese of Farmers Insurance joined hosts Mike Hammer and Austin Martin. He plugged bundling insurance and getting a Farmers Insurance quote, and noted his agency ranked 109th out of 14,000 agents nationally last year.

Top story: Extended discussion of the Michigan–Western Michigan controversy — a replay-review error wiped out what would have been a Western Michigan win, sparking a MAC conference statement and a Western Michigan protest.

Sponsor read: Grouchy Grizzly (Whitefish) — burgers, ribs, Montana beers.

Picks segment (season records: Hammer 22-5, Martin 20-7, guest Reese 19-8):

• High school: Glacier over Butte, Flathead over Hellgate (unanimous), split on Columbia Falls/East Helena, Billings Central over Frenchtown (2-1)
• College: Montana over Utah Tech, Montana State over Nevada (unanimous), split on Oklahoma/Michigan, all three took Texas over Ohio State
• NFL Week 1: split on Seahawks/Patriots, unanimous Ravens, unanimous Packers, split on Cowboys/Giants (2-1 Giants), split on Broncos/Chiefs

Host Intro & Personal News: Hosts Gooch, Austin Martin, and Johnny Mack recap last week’s sports picks (won by Hammer at 13-4) and discuss upcoming travel plans to see Minnesota sports games.

High School Football Predictions:

• Glacier at Bozeman: Split predictions between Glacier and Bozeman.
• Frenchtown at Columbia Falls: Split between Columbia Falls and Frenchtown.
• Flathead vs. Billings Senior: Unanimous pick for Flathead to start 2-0.
• Whitefish at Hamilton: Unanimous pick for Whitefish.

College Football Picks:

• Division I: Unanimous picks for Montana (vs. Drake), Montana State (vs. Butler), LSU (vs. Clemson), and Ole Miss (vs. Louisville).
• NAIA & Mountain West: Picks favor Montana Tech over Carroll College and Colorado State over Wyoming in the Border War.

This week's top picks and analysis for local and regional football. Special pick guests: Big Dave and Scott Davis from the 94.3 Lake Morning Show.