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Insights from Wild playoff hero Wes Walz + Josh Donaldson takes aim at cheating pitchers May 28, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Baseball has another cheating problem, and it's starting to come out more into the open: pitchers across the sport are reportedly doctoring baseballs with sunscreen, rosin and other substances to increase spin rate, movement and strikeouts. The issue became more public after Cardinals pitcher Giovanny Gallegos was asked to change his glove in a game earlier this week. St. Louis manager Mike Shildt was livid and called out cheating he says is widespread. Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson tweeted that he has "an entire catalog of video of these guys cheating."

5:00: A quick update on Jhoan Duran, the Twins prospect who had another eye-popping night pitching for St. Paul on Thursday.

6:00: Former Wild playoff hero Wes Walz joins Michael Rand for both a look ahead at Friday's Game 7 between the Wild and Vegas and a look back at the Wild's pair of Game 7 road wins back in 2003 when Walz was a player. Come for the great insights. Stay for the fantastic Todd Bertuzzi story.

28:00: The Heat is in trouble, down 3-0 to the Bucks. What does that mean for Jimmy Butler's future?

Coaching battle, Game 6 go to Wild + Gophers football recruiting update May 27, 2021

Show notes

Intro: A 3-0 victory by the Wild over Vegas in Game 6 of their playoff series on Wednesday had plenty of drama and momentum plays, but the biggest key according to Michael Rand was head coach Dean Evason pushing all the right buttons and outpacing Vegas coach Pete DeBoer. Evason stayed the course with his lineup and was rewarded. He kept faith in his best players and was rewarded. And he put Vegas in a desperate situation -- enough so that DeBore made an emotional challenge to a disallowed goal that went in the Wild's favor and changed the game.

Plus, plenty of talk about Zach Parise's big game -- and his future -- and postgame comments from Evason, Marcus Foligno and goalie Cam Talbot.

15:00: Randy Johnson joins the show to talk about the Gophers football team being able to hit the road recruiting next week for the first time in a while -- and the opportunity for P.J. Fleck's team in opening against Ohio State.

27:00: Remember the 2003 playoff run and setting up Friday's podcast appearance from Wes Walz.

Minnesota United's Adrian Heath + Twins help was a Refsnyder away May 26, 2021

Show notes

Intro: The Twins are on a mini-streak with five wins in their last six games, and a big part of their success is thanks to journeyman Rob Refsnyder. He cracked two doubles and a home run in a 7-4 win over Baltimore on Tuesday and is hitting .438 with a 1.191 OPS in 32 at bats this season. Refsnyder's run is a reminder that unexpected success is the best kind for a sports fan and team. Also, strange injury alert: A Cleveland pitcher broke his thumb taking off his shirt?

6:00: Minnesota United head coach Adrian Heath joins the show to talk about the team's 0-4 start despite massive expectations, his continued optimism after two victories and some key additions to the team, criticism from fans and plenty of other subjects.

27:00: Game 6 of Wild vs. Vegas will quite possibly turn in the second period. The Wild has been outscored 8-1 in that period in the series as Vegas has taken advantage of the "long change" and hemmed the Wild in its own defensive zone.

Wild fends off elimination with big win; Aaron Rodgers speaks! May 25, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Michael Rand dives into the Wild's Game 5 victory over Vegas, a 4-2 win in which Minnesota was outshot 40-14 but nonetheless prevailed. Zach Parise had a huge goal in his second game after being reinserted into the lineup, helping the Wild build a 3-1 lead and then hang on for dear life. You'll hear postgame clips from both Parise and head coach Dean Evason as well.

11:00: Rand welcomes a couple of Wild fans onto the show to hear their perspectives on Game 5 -- and to gauge where there overall confidence in the team is now compared to just before puck drop on Monday night.

19:00: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers made an appearance on SportsCenter anchor Kenny Mayne's final show Monday, helping clarify his situation with Green Bay. It sure sounds like he has already moved on from the organization in his mind.

26:00: Don't look now, but the Twins are starting to play better and win more. We're still at "enjoy any positive" instead of "check the standings" mode, but we'll see if that can still change.

Patrick Reusse + Phil's win, Twins breakthrough and Wild futility May 24, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Michael Rand examines the Wild's ongoing ability to score in the playoffs, a problem that goes back several periods, several games or an entire franchise history depending on how you want to look at it. But there is some hope: The Wild has rallied twice from 3-1 playoff deficits to win series.

5:00: Patrick Reusse joins for a breakdown of the weekend, including Phil Mickelson's stunning PGA Championship victory at age 50. Reusse might not like Mickelson, but he has to respect the accomplishment. Plus the Twins finally won an extra-inning game -- and they did it while Rand was scouting their next pitching prospect over in St. Paul.

28:00: 2020 NFL Draft regrade somehow finds the gap between the Vikings and Packers is even larger. Will that year go down as a huge Green Bay blunder?

After Game 3 meltdown, will the Wild turn to the past or the future? May 21, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Michael Rand breaks down the Wild's 5-2 loss to Vegas in Game 3 of their playoff series on Thursday night, which put Minnesota in a 2-1 hole and restored home ice advantage for the Golden Knights. How did a red-hot start and 2-0 lead Thursday give way to such an utter collapse? Can the Wild expect anything different in Game 4 -- and who will be in the lineup for that game? Forward Marcus Johansson was injured early in Game 3 and isn't likely going to be available for Game 4 on Saturday. Does that mean Zach Parise re-enters the lineup? Rookie Matt Boldy? Maybe even both of them?

12:00: Local author Greg Larson joins the show to talk about his new book, "Clubbie: A Minor League Baseball Memoir" and the experiences as a clubhouse attendant in the minor leagues that led to the material for the book. It's all about the clubhouse spread.

27:00: Where would the Twins be in the last week without Miguel Sano?

Special Delivery: Who gets the blame for the Twins' woes? May 20, 2021

Show notes

Star Tribune columnists La Velle E. Neal III and Jim Souhan join host Michael Rand for a special edition of the podcast and an exploration of where the blame lies in a season that has gone off the rails at the one-quarter mark for the Twins. After entering the year with clear World Series hopes, the Twins instead have fashioned a 14-27 record -- the worst mark in the American League. Is it manager Rocco Baldelli's fault? Have players underperformed? Did Thad Levine and Derek Falvey put together a flawed roster? Are injuries the culprit? The answer is yes to all of them, but we try to get to the heart of the biggest problems.

Kirill Kaprizov's fan club + Never been angrier about officiating May 20, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Michael Rand doesn't like gimmicks in sports ... and yet he loves the NBA play-in tournament, which started Tuesday. He lays out the reasons why: It gives more teams something to play for (including potentially the Wolves next season); it gives a greater reward to the truly elite teams in each conference; and it creates immediate postseason tension.

5:00: Columnist Chip Scoggins joins Rand to talk about his latest column on a group of local fans from Russia that have made rookie Kirill Kaprizov feel particularly welcomed and adored in Minnesota. He also helps set up Game 3 of the Wild vs. Vegas playoff series. Scoggins isn't as concerned as Rand is about the Wild's lack of goal scoring so far in these playoffs.

21:00: We check in with local Twitter personality ChikenFingerz69, a regular contributor to The Sportive podcast, for the latest installment of "Have you ever been more angry." This one finds him particularly chagrined about the direction NHL officiating has gone lately.

Does Wild need Parise? + Rocco tossed, Sano blasts, Wolves wrap May 19, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Host Michael Rand talks through what was ultimately a fair split of Games 1 and 2 of the Wild's playoff series against Vegas. Minnesota might be disappointed it couldn't take a commanding lead in the series following Tuesday's 3-1 loss in Game 2, but it could also feel fortunate to have taken Game 1. That said: Two goals in two games is starting to feel all-too-familiar compared to other series in which the Wild has struggled. Maybe a familiar face -- scratched forward Zach Parise, with 101 career playoff games -- should be back in the lineup for Game 3?

5:00: Was a manufactured controversy just what the Twins needed? At least for one game it was. Miguel Sano blasted three home runs, including the tying two-run shot in the eighth inning, after Rocco Baldelli and Tyler Duffey were ejected in an escalation of Tuesday's late home run by Yermin Mercedes off of Willians Astudillo. Jorge Polanco's walk-off hit in the ninth gave the Twins a 5-4 win. At 14-26, it's probably just a moment of isolated joy. But it was fun for a night at least.

7:00: Timberwolves beat writer Chris Hine joins for a breakdown of that team's season, which ended Sunday. Will the Wolves mature enough in the offseason to have more success next year? And what are the other summer priorities?

29:00: Not even the Lynx are immune to these slow starts.

Wild's Nick Bonino + How to watch the miserable Twins May 18, 2021

Show notes

Intro: Michael Rand goes on a journey from blown saves to Robert Palmer in an attempt to help you, the listener, figure out how to watch a 13-26 Twins team for the rest of the summer. In short: The trip the Twins are on went off the rails at a number of places already this year. Analysis of what went wrong is fair, but at this point they are just bad. The only hope if you want to watch is to recalibrate your expectations away from imagining some grand turnaround and instead just allowing yourself to be occasionally pleasantly surprised.

9:00: Wild center Nick Bonino joins the podcast in advance of his 100th career playoff game on Tuesday night. What has he learned about postseason hockey in his path from 1 to 100 games? Is there certain wisdom he can convey to less-experienced Wild teammates? And can the Wild solve Marc-Andre Fleury -- Bonino's former Cup-winning teammate in Pittsburgh -- any more than they did Sunday?

15:00: Wild writer Sarah McLellan helps set up Game 2 of Wild vs. Vegas with an examination of what the Wild wants to keep doing after Sunday's 1-0 overtime win and what it might change in Game 2.

28:00: Unfortunate news for Ben Johnson and the Gophers: one of their most intriguing transfers is out 6-9 months.

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