Seattle sports guests, pressed for actual answers.
Softy & Dick Interviews pulls guest segments from a Seattle sports-radio desk that likes its questions loaded and its answers specific. The show ranges from Mariners and Huskies angst to Kraken roster audits, Sounders injuries, Patriots drama, golf, and whatever fan argument is loudest that afternoon.
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Softy & Dick Interviews works like a rotating guest chair inside a Seattle sports bar argument, except the microphones are better and the questions usually know where they are going. The format is straightforward. Bring in someone close to the story, set the fan anxiety on the table, and make that person talk through it. Sometimes the subject is hyperlocal: the Mariners coming out of a Houston series, the Kraken trying to find more offense, the Sounders dealing with injuries and a return to Lumen, or Washington trying to make Big Ten life fit its budget and roster. Sometimes the show wanders outside Seattle, as with Patriots questions around Mike Vrabel, Dianna Russini, Drake May, and what happens when a good-looking record starts meeting real doubt. It is still filtered through the same sports-radio instinct. What does this mean when the losses start? Who fits? Who is hurt? Who paid for the roster? Who is pretending the obvious problem is not obvious? The best segments have a nice little collision between local impatience and guest knowledge. Jon Wilner brings conference and college-sports context, then gets pushed into the practical stuff: NIL money, travel, basketball scheduling, and whether Washington and Washington State can still make room for each other. Al Kinisky talks Kraken structure, goaltending questions, Bobby McMahon, young players, and the need for more punch up front. Matt Thomas gives the Houston side of an Astros-Mariners matchup, including Tatsuya Imai's unusual slider and a rotation described as a mess. The show also has the usual radio clutter around it, with ads and network promos sometimes crowding the runway. Once it clears, the appeal is pretty direct. Softy & Dick Interviews is for listeners who want sports people challenged in plain language, with enough sarcasm to keep the segment awake and enough detail to make the argument useful.
Made for: Built for Seattle-area sports fans who already follow the teams and want sharper guest segments without a lot of scene-setting. It also suits national listeners who like roster talk, coaching pressure, college realignment, and blunt radio questions.
What sets it apart: The show keeps the interview feel but brings a stronger fan-facing premise than a standard guest hit. It is less polished explainer, more live argument with someone who knows the beat.
Full interviews from the Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain show, which airs every day from 3pm-6:30pm on 950 KJR in Seattle.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Focused guest interviews connect Seattle's teams to the tactical, roster and financial decisions shaping their competition.
Softy & Dick Interviews turns Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain's guest conversations into pointed examinations of decisions shaping Seattle teams.
Seattle sports arguments get an outside witness, then Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain start cross-examining.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A measured look at how UW's Big Ten fit, basketball spending, and schedule choices collide.
Washington's Big Ten transition is judged here through the practical question of fit. John Wilner and the hosts work through roster spending, injuries, schedule math, and the place of UW basketball inside a football-led athletic department.
A Patriots conversation that starts with old newsroom memory and ends with early-slump doubt.
The segment opens with Diana Rossini as a bridge into a wider Patriots discussion, along with an old Comcast-era memory from Boston TV days. From there, the hosts lean less on polish and more on the question of what happens if the wins stop and the team has to answer bigger…
The piece makes Tatsuya Imai feel relevant, while keeping the Astros rotation in clear focus.
The segment gives Tatsuya Imai a lively, useful spotlight. It leans into his backward slider, his shaky first start, and the idea that he was really good against the A's over the weekend.
A coach gives a plain-spoken view of red-zone inconsistency and the uneven work still ahead.
The review follows a coach weighing the gap between last season's finish and the higher standard the team is still chasing. Its strongest football thread is the red zone, where he acknowledges the team was likely too up and down over the course of the season.
A Twitter dispute turns into a comic standoff over memory, denial, and who gets to edit the week out.
The episode builds itself around a Twitter argument one speaker suggests the other would prefer to forget. One side keeps insisting the week is still on the record; the other is framed as pretending it never happened, or trying to smooth it out after the fact.
A troubled Astros rotation gets a grounded look at one new arm and his unusual slider.
This PlayNext review keeps the Astros' rotation problem at ground level by following one pitcher's uneven first stretch: a rough debut, a steadier turn against the A's, and the larger pressure around a staff described as a hot mess.
Twins therapy with a box score.
Nebraska athletics, close up and week by week.
Cubs recaps with bleacher-level patience.
Softy and Dick interview Matt Thomas of SportsTalk 790 in Houston after their station caught fire, forcing them off air.
Washington Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters discusses the team's outlook for the upcoming season.
Mike Holmgren tells Dave and Dick that Seattle outgained Washington 437-238 but still lost after three turnovers.
The show opens on Diana Rossini.
Softy & Dick Interviews features San Jose Mercury News reporter John Wilner discussing Learfield’s sale to TPG, college-sports ratings, UW basketball, young Husky linemen, and Big Ten power.
This episode features Eric Galco, director of the NFL's East-West Shrine Bowl, discussing insider evaluation of NFL draft prospects, including hidden traits, common mistakes, and underrated players.
This episode of the Sports Slice Podcast features Eric Galco, director of the NFL's East-West Shrine Bowl, providing insider analysis on evaluating draft prospects, including hidden traits, common franchise mistakes, and underrated players.
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A host and guest talk through Tatsuya Imai, the 28-year-old rookie on the mound, his backward slider, his shaky first start, and the way the Astros are trying to make sense of a rotation that still looks rough.
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Mike McDonald says the Seahawks are running the same system, but Brian Fleury's wording changes may deepen the offense.
This episode of the Sports Slice Podcast features Eric Galco, director of the NFL's East-West Shrine Bowl, providing insider analysis on evaluating draft prospects, including hidden traits teams look for, common franchise mistakes, and under-the-radar players.
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