StribSports Daily Delivery

Introduction: If you came here to get hard-hitting analysis of the Twins' upcoming series against Cleveland and the excellent final round of the U.S. Open, host Michael Rand and Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse provide that. But if you also came for a digression into the good old days of pro indoor soccer and a word that Reusse is trying to work back into circulation, they have you covered th...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand notes a recent ESPN article that suggests the White Sox are more likely to add players at the trade deadline than the Twins, even though the Twins are atop the AL Central at the moment. The sentiment makes some sense, but anyone who looks at the Twins' roster can see there are pieces they could add. 9:00: Star Tribune women's basketball writer Kent Youngblood joins...

Introduction: Twins pitcher Sonny Gray returned from injury and looked he hadn't missed a step, throwing five shutout innings in a 5-0 Twins win over Seattle. The Twins did well to maintain their first place standing in the AL Central while Gray and other key pitchers were out, but now that they are getting healthy it might be time to do some real damage. 7:00: Star Tribune Timberwolves beat write...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes note of the new agreement between Major League Soccer and Apple TV, which reportedly will pay the league a minimum of $250 million starting next year to stream all games to all markets. If we like to think of streaming and fragmenting as the future of sports on TV, that future is arriving quickly. This deal is an acceleration of that pace. 5:00: Star Tribune c...

Introduction: The two biggest fair criticisms of Andrew Wiggins when he was with the Timberwolves were his inconsistency and his tendency to shrink from big moments. But he is having a terrific NBA Finals for Golden State, including a 26-point, 13-rebound performance in Monday's critical Game 5 win that put the Warriors one game away from another championship. 6:00: Star Tribune Twins beat writer...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look at the Twins' 5-4 stretch against top AL East teams, which was fueled by a strong offensive showing against some of MLB's top starting pitchers. After predicting the Twins would not win a game during the nine-game stretch, Reusse is happy to admit he was wrong -- though you will be shocked to learn that he still has some grip...

Introduction: Just when you thought it was safe to think the Twins might beat the Yankees -- OK, let's be honest, nobody probably thought that, even with a 7-3 lead -- things fall apart. Even after battering ace Gerrit Cole for five home runs, continuing a trend of knocking out Yankees pitchers, the Twins lost 10-7 Thursday and lost the series two games to one. Manager Rocco Baldelli was inclined...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand spent a lot of time fixated on the Twins' sad two-decade history against the Yankees on Wednesday's show, so it's only fair to lead off with Minnesota's 8-1 win Wednesday, which was the first time all year New York has trailed by six or more runs. The Twins are now 3-2 in their tough nine-game stretch and have a chance to win the series Thursday. Plus Rand champions...

Introduction: The Twins became competitive in the early 2000s after a decade of misery and have played beyond the regularly scheduled season in half of the 20 years from 2002-2021. But that hasn't stopped them from being absolutely dominated by the Yankees, a trend that continued Tuesday at Target Field in a 10-4 loss. Minnesota is now 38-110 against the Yankees -- including 2-16 in the playoffs -...

Introduction: It's been a mixed bag over the last two weeks for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. The Avalanche are on a major upswing, having swept Edmonton to secure a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. But the Nuggets, another Denver team owned by the group, lost executive Tim Connelly to the Timberwolves. And that led vice chairman Josh Kroenke to ramp up the rhetoric in a recent media session, cal...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports, which included the Twins taking two of three from Toronto after coming into the series ice-cold while the Blue Jays were red-hot. Part of what sparked the Twins was the continued production of Luis Arraez, who had four hits Sunday and is hitting .358 on the season. Plus thoughts on Rafael Nadal,...

Introduction: The Twins head to Toronto in free-fall mode after losing seven of their last 10 against bottom-feeders Detroit and Kansas City. Will they get enough key players back -- and simply start playing/hitting better -- to compete with Toronto, New York and Tampa Bay in the next couple weeks? Or is this the start of a plummet out of first place? 6:00: La Velle E. Neal III joins host Michael...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand looks at the latest punchless Twins effort -- two hits, no runs in a second consecutive shutout loss to the Tigers -- and notes that there is some urgency in Thursday's series finale against Detroit. A loss Thursday leading into a tough nine-game stretch could send the Twins into a spiral with so many key players out. 5:00: But as rough as things have been lately, t...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand explores three paths the Wolves could go down this offseason as they look to improve on last year's 46-win team. Will they run it back? Will new President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly look to reshape the core of the team by trading D'Angelo Russell? Or is blowing up the roster something to consider? 10:00: Chip Scoggins joins Rand to dissect three key thing...

Host Michael Rand is joined by Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse who -- you might not believe this -- is not optimistic about how the Twins are doing even though they are in first place. He sees a June swoon coming as their pitching comes back down to earth, players miss time for various reasons and the schedule gets tougher. Plus Rand and Reusse talk through the Wolves' offseason to-do list f...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand laments the Twins' missed chances in a bad 3-2 loss to the Royals on Thursday and takes note of how during their hot streak the Twins went 14-2 in games decided by one run or two runs. They have dropped two close games since then, and that might happen more as the year goes on. The Twins will hope that Byron Buxton is due for a progression, not more regression, afte...

Introduction: Minnesota United lost 2-1 at home in a U.S. Open Cup match to third division Union Omaha on Wednesday, a defeat Loons manager Adrian Heath called "embarrassing." It was another inconsistent performance from United this season, and it probably won't lead to more playing time for the Loons reserves who had a chance to play. 6:00: Minnesota Aurora President and co-founder Andrea Yoch jo...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand can't help but notice that Byron Buxton is 1 for his last 24, with the slump coinciding with the Twins disclosing a little over a week ago their plan to rest him so he stays healthy enough to play 100 games this season. Buxton's batting average is all the way down to .211. But the Twins have continued to win even without Buxton contributing at the plate, in large pa...

Introduction: The Timberwolves hired executive Tim Connelly away from Denver to be their President of Basketball Operations for a reported 5 years and $40 million plus an ownership stake in the team. It's a big-time move, but it's not without risk. While Connelly has a track record of building a team primarily through the draft, the Nuggets haven't even played for a championship let alone won a ti...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports, which included two stunning comebacks on Sunday: the Twins rallied from a 6-0 deficit in the eighth inning to defeat Kansas City 7-6, while Justin Thomas started the day seven shots off the lead but came back to win the PGA Championship in a playoff. Reusse still doesn't trust the Twins pitching...

Bud Grant, the legendary Vikings coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer, turned 95 on Friday and was a very special guest on today's show. Host Michael Rand and Bud talk about the interesting progression of aging, the joy of living a good, long life, Grant's path into coaching and how he copes with surviving a near-death experience when he was 29. Plus Rand's thoughts on the Lynx, Vikings and the Ni...

Introduction: We've spent the last few days debating two big decisions by the Twins: Limiting Byron Buxton's workload to 100 (or a few more) games this season and sending promising rookie shortstop Royce Lewis back to the minors. While these are good fodder for discussion, we also shouldn't let those narratives overtake the whole conversation. This is a first-place team on pace to win 94 games. 8:...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand notes that the NBA Draft lottery, normally a major event for Wolves fans, passed without as much as a whisper on Tuesday because Minnesota was a rare non-participant. Orlando ended up with the No. 1 pick, which could mean Chet Holmgren is reunited with former Minnehaha Academy teammate Jalen Suggs. 6:00: Star Tribune writer Jerry Zgoda joins the show to help break d...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand catches up on the Vikings' schedule, which was released late last week in the midst of the Wild's playoff series against the Blues, and gives his thoughts on story lines and predictions for each game. Rand sees reason for optimism, but the Vikings had better take advantage of favorable stretches in their 17-game season. 10:00: Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan joins...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand after Sunday's revelation that the Twins have a plan to limit Byron Buxton's playing time in hopes of preserving his health. The magic number is getting him in at least 100 games, which would be more than Buxton has typically played but far fewer than fans might want. Reusse, as you might expect, is not a fan of the plan. Plus a deeper...