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Patrick Reusse on the Twins' low-speed pennant chase and one thing to like about the Vikings Sep 06, 2022

Show notes

Host Michael Rand is joined by Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse for a look at the week in Minnesota sports. The Twins have been decimated by injuries and have lost four of their last five games, but they have still managed to stay afloat in the AL Central race. But in any other division, they would be trailing by at least 10 games. What is the end-game here?

Plus Reusse and Rand get into a Vikings/Packers preview of sorts. They both agree the Vikings have an alarming lack of depth, but Reusse makes it known that the Vikings have enough talent to be competitive in 2022 even if we don't know much about them yet.

The ideal game for Gophers football; in-depth with the Gophers volleyball powerhouse program Sep 02, 2022

Show notes

Introduction: The Gophers showed they can run. They showed they can pass. They showed they have a stout defense. Head coach P.J. Fleck shook hands with Jerry Kill not once but twice. It was pretty much everything they could have asked for in an opener, including the convincing 38-0 result against New Mexico State.

7:00: The Star Tribune's Jeff Day goes in-depth on the Gophers volleyball program with host Michael Rand. It's a powerhouse program from the standpoint of both on-court success and increasing fan interest. But is there another level? That's the big question in 2022 and beyond.

29:00: The Twins are just one game out of the AL Central lead heading into a critical stretch of their schedule.

Trader Kwesi does it again; an important year for Gophers football Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

Introduction: Host Michael Rand can't help but be frustrated by the Twins' 6-5 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday. The near-comeback was a good effort, but Nick Gordon's baserunning blunder in the eighth and disappointing at bats from Luis Arraez and Carlos Correa in the ninth cost the Twins a chance for a truly special night and an opportunity to gain a game on Cleveland. Now the schedule stiffens considerably.

8:00: Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins joins Rand for a big-picture look at the Gophers football program as head coach P.J. Fleck prepares to begin Year 6 against New Mexico State on Thursday. Will there be more balance on offense? And can the Gophers start to establish themselves as regular contenders?

24:00: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah pulled off his fourth recent trade, this time sending a seventh-round pick and conditional fourth-round pick to Philadelphia for 2020 first round pick WR Jalen Reagor. It was another sign that the Vikings aren't happy with their depth nor impressed by the final draft of the Rick Spielman era as Reagor figures to replace Ihmir Smith-Marsette, a fifth-round pick in 2021 who was cut on Wednesday.

Revealing roster cuts by Vikings; the line between cheating and 'innovation' in baseball Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes note of the Vikings' roster cuts on Tuesday, which included six of the 11 players chosen -- three of them third-round picks -- during Rick Spielman's final draft as GM in 2021. Tuesday was the clearest signal of a regime change, and it was a reminder that rebuilding depth could be a multi-year process. Plus Rand looks at the Twins' five-game winning streak and where they stand.

10:00: Local baseball historian Dan Levitt joins Rand to talk about his new book, "Intentional Balk: Baseball's Thin Line Between Innovation and Cheating."

29:00: Is Gophers men's basketball coach Ben Johnson on the verge of landing a top-30 recruit?

Wolves President Tim Connelly on the Rudy Gobert trade; Good and bad news for Twins Aug 30, 2022

Show notes

Introduction: The Twins had an impressive win keyed by Gio Urshela's big hit and solid work from their bullpen on Monday to pull within 1.5 games of Cleveland. On the flip side, it sounds like Byron Buxton's return is far from imminent and that he won't go with the team on its upcoming road trip to Chicago and New York. In a similar vein, Minnesota United keeps winning but suffered a key setback when it lost Bakaye Dibassy for the season.

10:00: Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly joins Michael Rand from the Star Tribune's State Fair stage to talk about the offseason deal for Rudy Gobert, big expectations and more.

29:00: NFL cutdown day is coming.

Patrick Reusse on the comeback Twins, worrisome Vikings and Jerry Kill coming to town Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look at the Twins, who have been buried and revived a few times already this year. They are in a comeback cycle after sweeping the Giants over the weekend to pull within two games of Cleveland. With some key players perhaps returning soon from injury, it should be a fun stretch run.

Rand expresses pessimism -- perhaps prematurely -- about the Vikings after looking at their depth in the preseason. In a role reversal, Reusse is still in wait-and-see mode.

And Reusse caught up recently with former Gophers football coach Jerry Kill, who brings his New Mexico State squad to town against P.J. Fleck's Gophers on Thursday.

Wild GM Bill Guerin on Kirill Kaprizov, roster battles and expectations Aug 26, 2022

Show notes

Introduction: Host Michael Rand goes "micro" on a couple of fringe moves by the Vikings and Twins on Thursday. First, he takes note of the Vikings' decision to keep rookie punter Ryan Wright instead of veteran Jordan Berry. How does it impact kicker Greg Joseph, who had Berry as his holder all of last season? Plus the Twins signed veteran outfielder Billy Hamilton to a minor league contract. Rand wonders why the Twins didn't make any sort of outfield depth move even sooner.

10:00: Wild General Manager Bill Guerin joins the show with a free-flowing conversation from the State Fair. Guerin touches on the dicey offseason situation involving Kirill Kaprizov, how he and head coach Dean Evason have changed their postgame communication and expectations he has for young players trying to stick on this year's roster.

27:00: Wolves forward Taurean Prince was arrested Thursday; former Minnehaha Academy standout and No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren is going to miss the entire NBA season with a foot injury.

Admitting what we don't know about the Vikings; Minnesota United's hot streak Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

Introduction: One of the hardest things for an "expert" to admit is that they don't know something. But when it comes to the 2022 Vikings, we are dealing with such incomplete information heading into the season that anyone trying to predict how the year will go is ripe with overconfidence. The nature of everything that has transpired this offseason means we are in for surprises when the year actually starts.

9:00: Star Tribune Minnesota United beat writer Jerry Zgoda joins host Michael Rand for a look at the red-hot Loons. They've scored 25 goals in their past 10 matches, losing just once in that span, after averaging about a goal per game until that point. Can United sustain that going forward?

21:00: Rocco Baldelli wants the Twins to play loose. Is that the problem, or do they just not have enough talent in the lineup right now with all the injuries?

26:00: Patrick Beverley is on the move to the Lakers.

Rocco Baldelli's frustration mounts; Chip Scoggins on Byron Buxton; Nick Mullens is focused Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Introduction: Ejections were the norm during the Ron Gardenhire era, as the Twins manager either led the American League outright or tied for the league lead in ejections every year from 2006-2011. Rocco Baldelli has tended to be much more mild-mannered, but lately he has been positively Gardy-esque. On Tuesday he was ejected for the second time this month and fourth time this season after being tossed just six times combined in his first three seasons as a manager.

7:00: Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins joins host Michael Rand for a look at Byron Buxton and another stint on the injured list and thoughts on the Vikings' acquisition of Nick Mullens as their presumed backup quarterback.

28:00: Mullens met with the media on Tuesday and vowed to be focused on the task at hand.

Going deep on the new Vikings quarterback; Bad news for Byron Buxton, Twins Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

Introduction: Host Michael Rand is disturbed by the latest Byron Buxton injury news on a couple of fronts. First, the fact that he had to leave Monday's game with hip soreness is a bad sign for the Twins as they try to hang around in the American League Central race. Second, if the Twins haven't been forthright about all of Buxton's injury problems this season they aren't doing anyone a favor.

9:00: Star Tribune Vikings writer Andrew Krammer joins Rand to dissect the Monday trade for quarterback Nick Mullens. Though nothing is official in the depth chart, Mullens presumably will be the No. 2 quarterback behind Kirk Cousins, ending an underwhelming camp battle between second-year QB Kellen Mond and veteran Sean Mannion.

26:00: Speaking of QBs, Tom Brady is back while Aaron Rodgers is still being himself.

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