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A dismal Kirk Cousins stat + New Vikings segment! + Can the Gophers win? + Joe Ryan's debut Sep 02, 2021

Show notes

Introduction: Host Michael Rand finds an interesting statistic that helps explain how perception matches reality with Vikings QB Kirk Cousins. In terms of expected points added in the final four minutes of the first half and end of game, Cousins lags near the bottom of NFL quarterbacks both in the last two years and 10 years. But so do several other former Vikings QBs. Is it an offensive line problem? A quarterback problem? A little of both? Regardless, not being able to make a play when it matters most is frustrating.

8:00: Can the Gophers beat Ohio State on Thursday? Rand thinks they can, and he will be disappointed if it at least isn't at least a one-score game deep into the second half.

10:00: A new weekly segment debuts with Rand's longtime friend Keith Richotte Jr. titled "My Least Favorite Team is My Favorite Team" -- an homage to a Vikings book Richotte wrote several years ago. This is the preseason edition, which delves into past pain and triumph, plus future pessimism and optimism.

28:00: Joe Ryan looked good in his Twins debut on Wednesday, but he will need to work on his pitch mix if he is going to succeed long-term.

Jenny Taft and Randy Johnson on the big Gophers vs. Ohio State game Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Host Michael Rand walks through the Vikings' roster cuts on Tuesday, which didn't reveal a whole lot of surprises but did clarify their quarterback situation. It sure seems like rookie third round pick Kellen Mond is the backup to Kirk Cousins, and it's hard to imagine that changing this season.

4:00: Edina native Jenny Taft joins the show to talk about the upcoming college football season. Taft, who works for Fox Sports 1, will be doing sideline reporting from Thursday's Gophers vs. Ohio State game at Huntington Bank Stadium. She gives her thoughts on the game, the upcoming college football season, her increasing role at FS1 and a viral moment a few weeks ago with "Undisputed" co-host Skip Bayless.

22:00: Gophers football beat writer Randy Johnson checks in with updates on the Gophers on the eve of their season opener against Ohio State.

30:00: How does a 3-1 regulation baseball game last 3 hours, 34 minutes?

Cheryl Reeve on Lynx success, lack of respect + high school football + Twins rotation help Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Host Michael Rand takes note of another good pitching outing by Twins rookie Bailey Ober. If he has a solid September on top of a standout August, you can at least pencil his name into the 2022 rotation (even if the other four spots are TBA). Plus we should get a first look soon at Joe Ryan -- maybe as soon as Wednesday -- and another look at Randy Dobnak during the final month of the season.

3:00: Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve joins the show to talk about the turnaround this season from an 0-4 start to the team's current 15-9 record. Layshia Clarendon has played a big role as has Sylvia Fowles and better continuity after a tough training camp, according to Reeve. She also delves into what she deems an ongoing lack of respect from the league for Fowles' accomplishments and revisits a recent free throw disparity.

21:00: Star Tribune high school sports writer Jim Paulsen comes on to discuss his recent story on the configuration of the largest football teams in the state and what impact that will have on their seasons. Most importantly, after last year's strangeness, we should be able to crown champions in 2021.

29:00: Vikings injury news is a mixed bag, with no timetable for Irv Smith Jr.'s return yet but some Mike Zimmer optimism on Anthony Barr.

Patrick Reusse on 'rebuilding' Twins, Vikings injury woes + golf's biggest villain Aug 30, 2021

Show notes

Introduction: Host Michael Rand is joined by columnist Patrick Reusse for a look at the Twins. on Sunday, manager Rocco Baldelli said the quiet part out loud: the Twins are rebuilding, and their roster decisions the rest of this year and heading into the offseason will be focused on player development. Fellow columnist Jim Souhan wrote on Monday that the Twins can't afford to be in that position, while Reusse challenges the idea that they have to rebuild even as a mid-market team.

15:00: The latest "dings of concern" has Rand and Reusse talking about the injury to tight end Irv Smith Jr., which reportedly will keep him out for the start of the season. Not much has gone right for the Vikings since the start of training camp. The news was offset somewhat by a contract extension for safety Harrison Smith.

22:00: Patrick Cantlay's thrilling six-hole playoff win over Bryson DeChambeau was a reminder of golf's great theater -- and what an excellent villain DeChambeau has become.

Get to know new Wolves owner Marc Lore + A newsy update from Gophers AD Mark Coyle Aug 27, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle is a man of few public words, but he recently sat down with several members of the Star Tribune sports staff for a question and answer session. Host Michael Rand found three things about the interview particularly enlightening: Where the department is with Gophers football season ticket sales, its policy on COVID and the final tally on the financial damage from the last year. Rand examines all three and notes that college football, like the NFL, will need to be nimble this fall.

7:00: Star Tribune Timberwolves beat writer Chris Hine joins the show to talk about new team owner Marc Lore. Hine spent time with Lore recently in Las Vegas for a long profile story that will be online Friday and in the Sunday Star Tribune. How did Lore make his fortune? What might that tell us about how he will eventually run the Wolves? Plus Hine and Rand discuss the Patrick Beverley trade and ponder any further offseason moves.

27:00: It was an immaculate inning in a far from immaculate Twins season, plus former Vikings great Alan Page sure seems "notable" even if Twitter disagrees.

The Miguel Sano conundrum; Kirk on Everson; Minnesota United's Ethan Finlay Aug 26, 2021

Show notes

Introduction: Enough happened in Wednesday's Twins game for host Michael Rand to make several notes and for columnist Patrick Reusse to urgently text late at night with the message "call me." Turns out he just wanted to cackle about Alex Colome, Hansel Robles and all that unfolded late in the game when Colome blew a save but Robles returned the favor. Other items of interest: The Twins are now 11-2 in extra inning games since starting 0-8. And Miguel Sano launched the longest home run in the majors this season (495 feet), leading Rand down a path of wondering what to do about the inconsistent slugger next season.

8:00: Vikings QB Kirk Cousins spoke for the first time since Everson Griffen was re-signed by the Vikings and had a pretty short -- but smile-filled -- answer when asked about Griffen's social media posts earlier this year. You can hear the audio for yourself.

10:00: Minnesota United's Ethan Finlay joins the show and discusses a number of subjects, including: the Loons' rebound after a slow start this season; the identity of this year's team beyond "get the ball to Reynoso"; the joy and stress of being a new father; whether being born in Duluth but moving away at a young age makes Finlay "one of us"; and the Loons' fantasy football league.

28:00: A Little League World Series performance for the ages by a Sioux Falls 12-year-old.

Drew Magary on the Vikings; Lynx center Sylvia Fowles is the GOAT Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Lynx center Sylvia Fowles had one of the greatest games in WNBA history on Tuesday, scoring 29 points to go with 20 rebounds, four steals and three blocks -- without committing a foul or a turnover along the way. Her dominant performance helped Minnesota to a 76-70 win over Seattle and provided a platform for Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve to point out that Fowles is still one of the WNBA's best players -- and that she's underappreciated even after a storied career.

6:00: The Twins, on the other hand, are not among the greatest of all time. Their improved recent play was short-lived as they have now lost four in a row to the Yankees and Red Sox. In a lost season, there's only one thing host Michael Rand cares about: 2022 and the development of players.

8:00: Drew Magary of Defector Media joins the podcast to help Rand preview the Vikings season as only Magary can. Kirk Cousins, the coordinators and a lot of other people associated with the Vikings are on notice -- though Magary, a noted Vikings fan, still has optimism for the year. Magary has a memoir coming out in about a month that should be fascinating as well.

28:00: An NBA player is suing his agent, and Rand is amused.

Everson Griffen's return + Youth sports and gambling + Good Bally Sports North news? Aug 24, 2021

Show notes

Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes a look at the Vikings' decision to bring back defensive end Everson Griffen from a number of angles -- a couple of them unsurprising and one of them fairly surprising. He's the fourth former member of the defense to return in 2021, joining Mackensie Alexander, Sheldon Richardson and Stephen Weatherly. He's part of an overall defensive upgrade in the offseason that has seen the Vikings dole out more than 200 times as much guaranteed money to that side of the ball than to outside free agents on offense. And Griffen has the potential to be a disruption in the locker room after social media comments critical of Kirk Cousins.

8:00: Columnist Chip Scoggins joins the show to talk about his recent story on the big business of charitable gaming and how it funds a lot of youth sports initiatives in Minnesota. Youth sports organizations in the state generated more than $100 million in net receipts -- no, that's not a misprint -- in 2020, and the number could go up this year. Scoggins discusses how we got to this point, where the money is doing and what the potential problems are with all of this.

28:00: Is there finally good news for people trying to watch the Twins, Wild, Wolves and other teams on Bally Sports North? That's the message from a recent report. Also, a brief Kirill Kaprizov update and an appreciation of the St. Paul Saints.

Patrick Reusse on the most pressure Kirk Cousins has ever felt Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

Host Michael Rand is joined by Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse for a look at where the Vikings stand with just one preseason game left before a critical 2021 season. The offense hasn't scored a touchdown in eight quarters of preseason football, which included three shaky drives (and five short completions) from starting QB Kirk Cousins in a 12-10 loss Saturday to the Colts. While the preseason doesn't technically matter, it is contributing to an overall negative vibe on the team, Reusse says. And he is of the belief that Cousins is under more pressure now than at any other point in his career.

15:00: A look at Twins prospect Jose Miranda, who has been written about by both Reusse and Rand in the last couple months. Miranda is hitting a combined .342 with 25 home runs between Class AA and Class AAA this season and should warrant a look with the Twins down the stretch. The problem is that he figures to be a third baseman in the majors. The Twins are paying Josh Donaldson a lot of money to play that position and have other options there as well.

28:00: Appreciation for Tigers all-time great Miguel Cabrera, who hit his 500th home run on Sunday -- and a vintage Reusse rant about "groups."

Best and worst Timberwolves trades ever + Minnesota United talk with Jon Marthaler Aug 20, 2021

Show notes

Intro: A listener asked host Michael Rand to rank the three best and worst Timberwolves trades in that franchise's history, so he took a swing at it. The usual suspects are on the list, but did Rand put the trade to get Jimmy Butler on his best or worst list? You'll have to listen to find out.

7:00: Longtime Star Tribune soccer insider Jon Marthaler joins the show to talk about Minnesota United past and present. It's been five years since the franchise announced it was launching in St. Paul, and the trajectory has been mostly positive since then. But the historical marker gives a chance to look back at what might have been: What if the franchise had folded when it was a second-division club, something that was very possible? And what if the Vikings' ownership group had won the bid to get the MLS franchise instead of the current group? Plus Marthaler and Rand will look at the current team's identity heading into a big match vs. Kansas City and a big U.S. Women's match coming in October.

27:00: The Lynx were quite mad about the free throw discrepancy in recent games against Connecticut, and let it be known in an unusual postgame news conference. Plus, do you remember Byron Buxton the baseball player? He's starting another rehab stint with the Saints starting Friday in St. Paul.

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