FULL SHOW: Jacks-Bison & other Summit/NSIC hoops, Stampede coach Ryan Cruthers, USF women's coach Travis Traphagen

Fans want to be entertained, and losing doesn't entertain them.   It is a simple but true statement, especially if your squad draws the biggest crowds in its league.   That's why Long Island native Ryan Cruthers has taken on a bullish approach to restore the order for the Sioux Falls Stampede — regularly the USHL's attendance leader but a non-playoff outfit in the three years before he arrived in South Dakota last season.   To him, that is an unacceptable way to play in front of an ever-dedicated fan base.   After leading the Herd to the second round of the playoffs in his first season behind the bench, Cruthers has the Stampede rumbling to at a 31-14-1-0 record and the second-highest points total in the league, keeping them on pace for a first round bye.   On Thursday's "Happy Hour with John Gaskins" from the Orion Pub, Cruthers details the types of players he prefers — his "PHD's" — that has fueled the team to this point. The launching pad of this rise was Cruthers' hellbent urge to make the Stampede deliver a product that honors the Stampede's proud winning tradition.   This has included efforts well beyond the ice to connect his teenagers from all over North America to the Sioux Falls community.    And, if you didn't think last Saturday's Weiner Dog Races Night — which drew a state record crowd for an indoor sporting event with 11,167 attendees — wasn't a bigger game than most because they all count the same, you'll want to hear what Cruthers said.   Speaking of packing them in, South Dakota State's men's basketball team played Summit League leader North Dakota State in front of 3,619 fans at FB&T Arena on Wednesday. The underdog Jackrabbits leaped to an early lead before a late first half run sprung the Bison on their way to a 74-66 win.   SDSU has lost six of its last eight games, with three of those losses coming in a building that had been one of the 10 toughest in the nation to play over the last decade-plus.  On a Thirsty Thursday local sports session over beers, the Happy Hour host opines with Sioux Falls Live sportswriter Trent Singer on why the Jacks' haven't lit a late-season spark yet. They also dig in to the weekend ahead for the Summit League, including a golden opportunity for the USD women at home on Saturday against conference leader North Dakota State, who is 12-0 in league play.   The two also preview Round 2 of Augustana vs USF hoops, which will be waged in Augie's Elmen Center on Saturday and where things sit heading into next week's Northern Sun conference tournament.    Heading into the backyard battle, the Cougars will be coming off one of the best individual performances in school history — true freshman Brogan Madson's 45-point barrage in a thrilling Thursday overtime home win over Wayne State to take the Coo step closer to hosting a first round game on Wednesday.    The USF women also beat the Wildcats to keep their hopes alive for a postseason game in the Stewart Center on Wednesday.    Everything has been hard-earned for Travis Traphagen's injury-riddled Cougars, who were picked to finish second in the NSIC but lost potential All-American center Kami Wadsworth — first team All-NSIC last year — to a torn knee ligament in their exhibition game at Utah in November.   At 12-15 (9-12 NSIC), it hasn't been the most dazzling of seasons, but there have been bright spots and a progression that makes Traphagen optimistic they could pop for a big late-season run. One freshman's recent surge wets the appetite for a monster season when she teams up with Wadsworth in the post next year.   Traphagen, now in his 18th year, describes the bumps, bruises, breakthroughs, and some big wins over some of his league's best teams that have come along the way.    "Trap" also regales of stories of Augie-USF past, when he went toe-to-toe with former Vikings coach Dave Krauth, who mentored Traghapen for five years before the latter took the head job three blocks up the street.