StribSports Daily Delivery

Host Michael Rand starts with a moment of pure sports-watching joy Wednesday, which came from the late drama in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Arizona State and Texas. Though the Longhorns prevailed, the Arizona State comeback gave us a game for the ages. 6:00: Rand runs through his list of the 10 biggest story lines in Minnesota sports in 2024. In the end, it was a year of a lo...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with a big week in Minnesota sports as things get serious with the turn of the calendar. The Wolves play the Thunder and Celtics, perhaps the two biggest NBA title contenders this season. The Wild have a big week. The Gophers men's basketball team hosts Purdue. The Gophers football team can extend its bowl streak. And the Vikings cap it all off. 9:00: Andrew...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse and host Michael Rand look back at the weekend in Minnesota sports, which of course begins with the Vikings' 27-25 win over the Packers on Sunday. The Vikings are now 14-2 with a chance to earn home-field advantage in the NFC next week vs. Detroit. Already this is the most surprising season in franchise history, Reusse says. Plus a discussion of Anthony Edward...

Host Michael Rand gives his quick postgame reactions to Sunday's 27-25 victory by the Vikings over the Packers.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Timberwolves, who look lost again after dropping their third game in a row. They are 14-14 after a defeat in Atlanta, and one of two things needs to happen soon: A lineup change bringing Naz Reid into the starting group and Julius Randle to the bench, or a second Randle trade. Plus the return of Filip Gustavsson predictably corrected the Wild's cours...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports, which included one of the best Vikings' wins of the season. Facing plenty of adversity in Seattle, Minnesota rallied for a 27-24 victory to keep pace in the NFC North at 13-2. Two more wins would give the Vikings the division title and the No. 1 seed in the conference. In news that is, um, less...

Host Michael Rand has postgame thoughts immediately after the Vikings' 27-24 victory in Seattle, with the winning points scored on a fourth-quarter TD pass from Sam Darnold to Justin Jefferson.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the unsightly mess that happened at Target Center on Thursday. In Karl-Anthony Towns' much-anticipated return after a trade just a few months ago, the Wolves were clobbered by Towns and the Knicks. Fans booed as the Wolves, who seemed to be getting themselves sorted out by winning six of their previous seven games, floundered. 11:00: Star Tribune Vikings...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Wild, who have lost three of their last four games, including another lopsided defeat (6-1) on Wednesday against Florida. Goaltending has been the biggest part of the Wild's resurgence this season, and they need Filip Gustavsson to recover soon from his lower body injury. Otherwise, advanced data says their season will be in peril. 7:00: Kirk Cousins...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the big NFL news from Tuesday that former Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has been benched by the Falcons in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. What does it mean for Cousins' future and how much more can we laud the Vikings' for their offseason decision to move on from Cousins? 8:00: Star Tribune Vikings writer Andrew Krammer joins Rand for three hot takeaways fr...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Vikings' 30-12 win over the Bears on Monday Night Football, which was a grinding affair but ultimately proved satisfying. Minnesota is now 12-2 with a chance to win both the NFC North and gain the No. 1 seed if it wins its final three games. But the Vikings will probably have to play more efficiently than they did Monday to earn those things. 12:00:...

On Monday's Daily Delivery podcast, host Michael Rand is joined by Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse for a look back at the weekend in sports. The Vikings don't play until Monday night, but two key games Sunday went their way. First the Lions lost to the Bills, giving the Vikings a path to home-field advantage in the playoffs. And the Seahawks lost, officially clinching a playoff berth for Min...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand's declaration the other day that it was time to start watching the Wild more closely could not have come at a worse time. Minnesota was drilled 7-1 on Thursday by Edmonton, a game that saw them lose another key player (Jake Middleton) to an injury. Plus Rand looks at Chris Hine's excellent story on the Wolves' group text and what it means to players. 8:00: Star Trib...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with three converging hypotheticals. What would have happened if Sam Darnold was on the Vikings last season? What might have happened if the Falcons had signed Darnold instead of Kirk Cousins this season? And how might all of this be different if Bill Belichick had become Falcons head coach instead of now taking the North Carolina job? 8:00: La Velle E. Neal...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand chats with Star Tribune Gophers writer Randy Johnson about both the football and men's hockey teams. It was a good week for both, with P.J. Fleck's squad getting an invite to the Duke's Mayo Bowl and Bob Motzko's team shutting out Michigan twice. 14:00: Musician and NBA writer Claire de Lune joins Rand for a sprawling conversation about the Lakers, LeBron James, the...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts off the 1,000th episode of Daily Delivery with a hard truth about the Gophers men's basketball team, which lost 82-67 to Indiana on Monday. Coach Ben Johnson wants more effort. But this team is clearly lacking in talent after major roster turnover, and effort can only make up for so much of that. 7:00: Star Tribune Vikings writer Andrew Krammer joins Rand for...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand and Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse break down the weekend in sports, which of course begins with the Vikings' 42-21 win over Kirk Cousins and the Falcons. By the end, Sam Darnold had five touchdown passes while Cousins had two interceptions. It couldn't have gone much better for anyone wearing purple. 17:00: Juan Soto is the $765 million man. What does his ne...

Michael Rand has the postgame breakdown after the Vikings' stirring 42-21 win over the Falcons.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Lions vs. Packers game on two fronts. First, it was a pure test of head vs. heart for Vikings fans. A Green Bay win would have been great for the Vikings' NFC North chances, but some people just can't root for Minnesota's biggest rival under any circumstances. Second, Detroit's 34-31 win gave us numerous examples of how stressful it is to play agains...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Timberwolves' second consecutive blowout win and third straight standout defensive performance overall, this time a 108-80 victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles. Have the Wolves found the spark that was missing earlier in the season? And did you stay up to watch the whole thing until around midnight? 11:00: Star Tribune columnist La Velle E. Neal...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Wild, who won their fourth straight game, all by one goal, with an overtime victory Tuesday over Vancouver. There are starting to be some striking similarities between the Wild and Vikings. Plus the Gophers women's basketball team is 10-0 while the Wolves are 10-10. What do we make of both starts? 11:00: Star Tribune Gophers football writer Randy Joh...

Introduction: It's a Vikings-heavy show with three different guests, starting with Nick Brady. He was sitting in the stands at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday when the Fox cameras caught him with the perfect expression. Soon thereafter, his phone started blowing up. Brady explains it all. 12:00: Vikings writer Andrew Krammer joins host Michael Rand for hot takeaways and a review of the film from the 2...

On a jam-packed Daily Delivery podcast, host Michael Rand and Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse start with the Vikings' stirring comeback victory over Arizona. To Reusse, what stood out the most was the Cardinals hurting themselves with penalties and coaching down the stretch. Regardless, the Vikings are 10-2 and have a chance for great things. The Gophers football team crushed a fading Wiscon...

Host Michael Rand breaks down the Vikings' 23-22 win over the Cardinals, which included a furious second-half rally and a key defensive stop in the closing moments.

On a standalone episode of Daily Delivery, Star Tribune Vikings writer Ben Goessling and host Michael Rand discuss this week's news that the Vikings have signed QB Daniel Jones to the practice squad. While likely just a preview of what might be possible in 2025, the move has plenty of intrigue given the Vikings' past, present and future at quarterback.