StribSports Daily Delivery

Introduction: The Vikings are scheduled to interview Jim Harbaugh on Wednesday, a stunning development based on where their coaching search presumably started. With one report suggesting Harbaugh's hiring is a done deal. It will be interesting to monitor Wednesday's developments -- particularly against the backdrop of a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Brian Flores. 9:00: Star Tribune soccer writer Jerry...

Introduction: The Wild signed wing Jordan Greenway to a three-year contract extension, signaling some stability to their core top nine players. Greenway has improved his two-way game in recent years and drew praise from GM Bill Guerin. 5:00: Vikings beat writer Ben Goessling joins to talk through the team's expanding coaching search which now includes an interview with Jim Harbaugh on Wednesday. E...

On a special edition of Daily Delivery, host Michael Rand looks back at one year and more than 260 episodes of the podcast. He gives a shout-out to listeners and curates some of his favorite interview clips from the last year.

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look at a compelling weekend in football and the latest Vikings drama. Kansas City seemed to be cruising to another Super Bowl appearance before everything fell apart in the second half against the Bengals in an eventual overtime loss. The second half performance by Patrick Mahomes is making Reusse reevaluate what he thinks of the...

Introduction: On a night when the Gophers men's and women's basketball teams as well as the Timberwolves all lost, host Michael Rand answers a listener question about the Wolves roster assembled largely by former team president Gersson Rosas. How much credit does the since-fired Rosas deserve for the team's 24-24 record this season? 11:00: Mark Craig joins for his weekly NFL picks segment and offe...

Introduction: Ahead of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's introduction Thursday as the new GM of the Vikings, host Michael Rand takes a look at five big questions. Will this type of unconventional hire, made popular lately in MLB and the NBA, work in the NFL? How will Adofo-Mensah's fresh set of eyes evaluate the Vikings' roster, including Kirk Cousins? Plus other questions. 11:00: Star Tribune Olympics writer...

Introduction: Anthony Edwards had 40 points for the Wolves on Tuesday in an important 109-107 win over Portland. The Wolves overcame a sluggish first half, raised their record over .500 and set themselves up for a decent road trip with the victory over the Blazers. 5:00: Former Vikings head coach Brad Childress joins the show to discuss a number of subjects, including: What is it really like to in...

Introduction: After crushing Montreal 8-2 on Monday, the Wild is tied for third in the NHL with 149 goals. The lineup continued to show balance and star power, with Kirill Kaprizov reaching 100 career points faster than any other player in team history. Combine that with a blistering January for the Wolves, who lead the NBA in offensive efficiency since the calendar turned to 2022, and it's a good...

Michael Rand and Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse covered more ground on Monday's show than a lot of NFL defensive backs did in the closing minutes of playoff games over the weekend. Subjects of note: *Great drama in all four NFL playoff games, with clutch plays and major gaffes telling the story. A lot of assistant coaches did themselves no favors in their bids to become head coaches. Quarte...

Introduction: Prompted by a listener question, host Michael Rand digs into team needs and salary cap situations to determine who he thinks are the five most likely teams to be interested in Kirk Cousins if the Vikings decide to try to trade him. Bottom line: There should be a market if the Vikings go that route. 9:00: Mark Craig joins the show to talk through the weekend slate of NFL games. The to...

Introduction: It was a tale of two nights for the Timberwolves. After a resilient win over the Knicks in which Wolves players -- most notably Karl-Anthony Towns -- gushed about being able to come through in big moments and battle through adversity, the Wolves melted down in the third quarter of Thursday's back-to-back against Atlanta in an 134-122 loss. Anthony Edwards was ejected. Karl-Anthony To...

Introduction: The Wolves pulled out a 112-110 win at the Knicks on Tuesday, a notable victory on several fronts. Karl-Anthony Towns made the biggest play of the game with a three-point play that put the Wolves ahead with about 30 seconds left. You'll hear a lot of interesting comments from him that show some of his growth and the team's growth this season. Plus the win came over Tom Thibodeau, who...

Introduction: With a two-goal game Monday -- both of which tied the game for the Wild in an eventual 4-3 shootout loss to Colorado -- Kirill Kaprizov moved up to ninth in the NHL with 44 points in just 34 games this season. Perhaps it goes without saying, but the great ones sometimes get taken for granted so let's say it anyway: Kaprizov is absolutely living up to his rookie season, and then some....

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look at the big stories in sports. But first Reusse regales us with some thoughts on traveling several hours in the middle of winter to watch youth hockey tournaments. Reusse and Rand get into the Vikings coach/GM search and how the popular narrative in the last week has been to dump on fired Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer. Plus s...

Introduction: The Timberwolves' 116-108 loss to Memphis on Thursday was interesting on a number of fronts. It signaled (again) that Minnesota can compete with the league's best teams, given that Memphis is now 30-14. But it also showed what the Wolves are missing: The sort of consistent complementary veteran roster depth that the Grizzlies have. Will Minnesota be able to add to its roster before t...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand isn't into moral victories, but there were positive indicators in the Gophers men's basketball team's last-second 71-69 loss at Michigan State on Wednesday. It reaffirmed that this team should be competitive against most teams in the Big Ten -- assuming Minnesota is able to persevere for however long Eric Curry's ankle needs to heal. Plus the Gophers women's basketb...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes a break for several minutes from Vikings talk to dive into the Timberwolves' 128-125 loss to the Pelicans on Tuesday. It ended a four-game winning streak and kept the Wolves from getting over .500 at the midpoint of the season (20-21), and in the aftermath Karl-Anthony Towns talked about how players can't let love from the media get to their heads. Um, what? T...

Introduction: The Vikings aren't the only team looking for a new head coach. Several other teams are in the market, bringing about this question: Just how attractive is the Minnesota job relative to other openings? It seems to be in the eye of the beholder, given that NFL.com ranks it worst and an ESPN analysis ranks it the best. Cap space is an issue, but there is some upside for an offensive-min...

Star Tribune Vikings beat writer Ben Goessling joins host Michael Rand for a breaking news edition of Daily Delivery after Vikings coach Mike Zimmer and General Manager Rick Spielman were fired Monday morning. The Zimmer news felt like a foregone conclusion while the Spielman news registers as somewhat of a surprise based on a narrative that had emerged in recent weeks. But starting over at both s...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand in the aftermath of a disappointing 8-9 Vikings season that ended Sunday with a win over Chicago. Mike Zimmer, Rick Spielman and Kirk Cousins all had missteps this year and in past seasons. Reusse weighs in on the aftermath of the year and how he divides the blame. Plus more heroics for the kicker the Vikings cut in 2018 (Daniel Carlson...

Introduction: The Wild got a much-needed 3-2 win in Boston on Thursday, highlighted by Matt Boldy's first career goal in his first career game (all of it in front of family in his home state). Those good feelings, though, were dampened by what looks to be a significant upper body injury to Kirill Kaprizov after he was sent sprawling into the boards by the Bruins' Trent Frederic. Wild coach Dean Ev...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand listens back and shares a few clips from Kirk Cousins' session with reporters on Wednesday -- his first comments since he landed on the COVID list late last week and had to miss the Vikings' pivotal game at Green Bay. Cousins didn't seem very contrite or forthcoming, leaving Rand wanting more -- perhaps a fitting theme for the 2021 Vikings. 8:00: Star Tribune Wild b...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand queries listeners/readers on this topic: If they were the Wilf family and had to/could only pick one of these three -- Mike Zimmer, Rick Spielman or Kirk Cousins -- to keep in 2022, which would they pick? Rand reveals the surprising results and also takes a spin through the NFL MVP voter who won't pick "jerk" Aaron Rodgers. 8:00: Timberwolves beat writer Chris Hine...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes a look at the Wolves' win over the Clippers on Monday within the context of several local teams dealing with adversity. It appears as though the Wolves made it through a tough December and early January stretch -- in terms of the schedule and COVID absences -- in reasonable shape and might be in good position going forward. 5:00: Vikings writer Andrew Krammer...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for the first episode of 2022, which so far feels a lot like 2021 and every other year in Minnesota sports: Plenty of drama and not a lot of success. The Vikings lost 37-10 at Lambeau Field on Sunday night, a defeat that dashed any playoff hopes and came with a lot of baggage. QB Kirk Cousins missed the game because of COVID protocols;...