StribSports Daily Delivery

If you have two minutes to spare, dear listeners, please use them to fill out this Daily Delivery survey: https://forms.gle/bKYgzAXct842LFaG8 Introduction: Host Michael Rand hits on a number of topics, including Aaron Rodgers clearing the air (sort of) about his future with the Jets and his past with Packers and the Vikings retaining running back Alexander Mattison. 16:00: Let's focus in on Gopher...

If you have two minutes to spare, dear listeners, please use them to fill out this Daily Delivery survey. https://forms.gle/bKYgzAXct842LFaG8 Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes a look at three moves the Vikings made Tuesday that he thinks were very smart: signing a shutdown corner, creating cap space with Kirk Cousins without doing a contract extension, and keeping their kicking game intact for...

If you have two minutes to spare, dear listeners, please use them to fill out this Daily Delivery survey. Introduction: The Vikings are making some necessary and hard choices this offseason to get younger and shed salary with an eye toward the future. But in losing key players like Adam Thielen, Dalvin Tomlinson, Eric Kendricks and Patrick Peterson (so far), it sure looks like we are very much int...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a remembrance of Bud Grant, the legendary Vikings coach who died Saturday at age 95. From Grant's stoic sideline nature to his friendship with Sid Hartman to his sustained relevance late in life, Reusse and Rand go on a journey. Reusse has no shortage of Grant stories, though he does have a regret: missing a recent chance to hear a...

If you have two minutes to spare, dear listeners, please use them to fill out this Daily Delivery survey. Introduction: In a jam-packed episode, host Michael Rand can't help but notice that it took the Minnesota Wild less than 24 hours to do what the Timberwolves haven't been able to do in 102 days: provide a clear timeline of when a star player is going to return. Kirill Kaprizov is expected to m...

Introduction: The unofficial "Gordie Howe hat trick" in hockey consists of a goal, assist and a fight in the same game. The Wild had a variation on that Wednesday in terms of making news: a victory, an injury and a mystery. The victory in Winnipeg moved Minnesota into a first place tie; the injury to Kirill Kaprizov overshadowed it; and the mystery is why Wild players didn't wear rainbow warmup je...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes note of the lack of offense for the Wolves and Wild during Tuesday home games, including the increasingly conspicuous absence of Karl-Anthony Towns during a 117-94 loss to the 76ers. The Wild went into overtime tied 0-0 before losing in a shootout. 8:00: Star Tribune Vikings writer Ben Goessling joins Rand for another award-winning "Where's the money, Brzezins...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes a pause from frantically analyzing the Vikings' salary cap situation to note that the business side of the NFL -- and sports in general -- kind of stinks. In what other industry would an exemplary employee like Eric Kendricks be a logical candidate to be fired? 7:00: Wild beat writer Sarah McLellan joins Rand for a look at a busy stretch that saw GM Bill Gueri...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse and host Michael Rand had a number of topics to tackle on Monday's show. Among them: Lindsay Whalen and the Gophers going their separate ways during the Big Ten Tournament; the Wolves suddenly coming back to life; the Wild in contention for a top seed in the West; Gophers baseball starting the year 0-11; and Adam Thielen's future with the Vikings.

Introduction: We dealt with the news of the day on a special episode Thursday after Lindsay Whalen stepped down as Gophers women's basketball coach. On this show, host Michael Rand got into more of the emotion of the day -- one that stood in stark contrast to men's basketball coach Ben Johnson's uplifting Thursday on two fronts. 9:00: Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey joins the show for a...

Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins joins host Michael Rand off of Thursday's breaking news that Lindsay Whalen has stepped down as Gophers women's basketball coach after five seasons. Why didn't things work out, and where do the Gophers (and Whalen) go from here?

Introduction: Host Michael Rand plays a clip of Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah talking at the Scouting Combine about Kirk Cousins and how QB play can be compared to a math problem. It was a complicated way of talking through a familiar question about what the Vikings should do at that position. Meanwhile, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy wants to run the ball to control the clock, which should make Dall...

Introduction: Tuesday could be an important day to remember when we look back on the Wild and Wolves seasons. The Wild won another close one, 2-1 in a shootout over the Islanders, continuing a recent trend of low-scoring wins. They also added two forwards to their roster who could give them more scoring punch going forward. Meanwhile, the Wolves showed an uncanny ability to win just as all hope se...

Introduction: Two quotes -- one each from Wild GM Bill Guerin and Wolves coach Chris Finch -- gave a pretty good summary of where both franchises are in their evolution right now. In short: They are both still trying to figure out who they are pretty late into their seasons. 8:00: Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins joins Rand as they try to answer this question in the wake of news that Dennis Ev...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports, which included another letdown by the Timberwolves, a natural hat trick for Kirill Kaprizov and more bad news for the Gophers men's basketball team. With a difficult schedule ahead, Reusse and Rand decide the Wolves won't even make the play-in, and they speculate on Karl-Anthony Towns' future. M...

Host Michael Rand and Gophers basketball writer Marcus Fuller hop on for a special edition of the podcast in the wake of Friday's news -- broken by Fuller -- that five-star recruit Dennis Evans has asked to be released from his National Letter of Intent. Why did Evans make that decision, what is the impact on the Gophers and where do they go from here?

Introduction: Host Michael Rand saw the Timberwolves injury report to star the post-break schedule and shook his head at Karl-Anthony Towns still being listed as "out" with his calf strain. It's been almost 13 weeks since he injured the calf. We need some transparency soon because right now incomplete information about his injury is inviting speculation. ... Plus a good win for the Wild and goalie...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand lays out three things he wants clarity on as the Wolves get set to resume play after the All-Star break on Friday. The big one: When (or if) Karl-Anthony Towns is returning from his calf injury. 6:00: La Velle E. Neal III joins Rand as they both offer predictions on how many games Byron Buxton will play in the outfield, how many more years Kirk Cousins will be the V...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand identifies three big takeaways from the Wild's recent homestand, which concluded with a 2-1 win over the Kings on Tuesday. Ryan Hartman's re-emergence and Filip Gustavsson's ascent were major keys. 9:00: Clem Haskins unlocked the key to modern coaching. 13:00: Andrew Krammer joins Rand for a breakdown of the Vikings' defensive outlook -- and needs -- under new coord...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand loosely ties together three very different stories under the broad umbrella of "football personalities," taking note of the Monday death at age 95 of former Vikings owner Red McCombs and trying to define McCombs' legacy. Plus Jerry Kill has a permanent reminder of his 2022 New Mexico State team and new Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon considers Mike Zimmer a "me...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports, starting with a conversation about when Anthony Edwards' concept of trying to play every game became such a novel idea in the NBA. Plus Reusse and Rand have some optimism for the 2023 Twins as the full squad prepares for spring workouts and their first game Saturday. This is very much a wait-and...

Host Michael Rand pulls out five key quotes from Brian Flores' introductory news conference as defensive coordinator with the Vikings and tries to add context. 11:00: Randy Johnson joins Rand for a breakdown of the Big Ten champion Gophers men's hockey team. Do they have what it takes to win it all? 21:00: The Wolves blew a 20-point lead and revealed a late-game offensive problem.

Introduction: Wednesday's 3-2 Wild loss to Colorado wasn't for a lack of effort or shot attempts, as Minnesota piled up 43 to just 19 for Colorado. But it did illustrate again an alarming lack of offensive capability, one that will need to be addressed before the trade deadline. 7:00: Host Michael Rand is joined by Timberwolves podcaster Dane Moore (The Dane Moore NBA Podcast) for an early look at...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand runs through three items that caught his eye in the last 24 hours. An ESPN mock draft has the Vikings taking a wide receiver No. 23 overall, which doesn't seem like a bad idea. The QB carousel is about to spin again in the NFL. And Minnesota United is preparing for life without Emanuel Reynoso. 7:00: Star Tribune Twins beat writer Phil Miller joins Rand for an early...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand notes how much different the second game with Mike Conley Jr. was for the Wolves, as he helped unlock Rudy Gobert's offense and ran the point efficiently in a 124-121 win over Dallas. Plus a 2-1 shootout loss for the Wild was a continuation of a goal drought. 9:00: Chris Preston from local ad agency Preston Spire joins Rand for a look at the best and worst Super Bow...