StribSports Daily Delivery

Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports. It was a mostly positive set of results in Minnesota, including: *The Vikings held off the Packers 34-31 thanks to some late-game heroics and some good fortune that included getting the benefit of a few critical officiating calls. Reusse says Vikings fans can't complain about the referees after that one. Rand notes ho...

Introduction: Chris Finch and Dean Evason delivered messages to their teams before both of them played Thursday. Finch and veteran guard Patrick Beverley implored the Wolves to be professional coming off a win Wednesday against the Kings and follow it with a good showing against San Antonio. Evason juggled his lines after a 4-1 Wild loss to San Jose. The verdict? Messages received loud and clear....

Introduction: A piece in The Athletic this week indicated there is an expectation within MLB that Byron Buxton will be traded by the Twins. Though there wasn't much news beyond what has already been reported -- the sides keep talking about a new contract but can't agree on terms; the Twins worry about his injury history but also the backlash for letting him go -- it was a reminder that we're into...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand watched most of Tuesday's Wild game with a level of concern, though clearly not alarm over the 4-1 loss to San Jose . Even with a 10-5 start to the season, there have been some cracks in the Wild's game that showed up again in the loss -- including a lack of production from Kevin Fiala and Kirill Kaprizov. Then again, if you have Dish Network you weren't able to wat...

Introduction: One show. Three football guests. That's what we do on Tuesday Morning Nickelback. 2:00: Vikings writer Andrew Krammer joins to break down film of the 27-20 win over the Chargers, including a key sequence in the third quarter in which the offense and defense were in sync about as well as they have been all season. Mike Zimmer dialed up key blitzes to help get the Vikings off the field...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins Michael Rand for a look back at an important weekend in Minnesota sports. They started with the Vikings, who played one of their most complete games of the season when they needed it the most -- and punctuated a 27-20 win over the Chargers with some fourth-quarter aggressiveness on offense. A touchdown extended their lead, and a few key plays let them ru...

Introduction: The Wild had a chance to make an early-season statement against Vegas, the team that knocked Minnesota out of the playoffs a year ago. Instead, the Wild fell behind and couldn't complete a furious rally, losing 3-2 and going 0-for-6 on the power play in the road loss. Beat writer Sarah McLellan checks in with a "voicemail" from Las Vegas to help break it down. 4:00: Host Michael Rand...

Introduction: If you were excited about the Wild and the Timberwolves at the start of their seasons, you probably feel differently about one of those teams now. Wednesday was a microcosm of the starts to their years, with the Wild surging to a 9-3 record thanks to a lopsided win over Arizona while the Wolves fell to 3-7 with their sixth consecutive loss -- this one at Golden State. For the Wild, s...

Introduction: The Timberwolves have lost five games in a row, and a big culprit has been their play down the stretch of games. They have a net rating of minus-31 in the fourth quarter of games this season, and the mark is even worse during "clutch" situations. Can they figure that out and steer out of this skid? Perhaps, but an increasingly difficult schedule won't help. 6:00: Star Tribune columni...

On the Tuesday Morning Nickelback edition of Daily Delivery, Michael Rand welcomes in a trio of guests: *Vikings writer Andrew Krammer breaks down the Vikings' broken passing game -- in particular their inability to get the ball to Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen -- in his latest film review. The big problem is that it's not just one problem affecting the passing game. *My Least Favorite Team is...

Patrick Reusse joins Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports. Among the key topics discussed: *The Vikings were in position to beat Baltimore despite a huge disparity in several key categories. The Ravens held the ball for twice as long as the Vikings and had almost three times as many first downs (36 to 13) in an overtime win. Still, if the Vikings could have done more with a two-to...

Introduction: Vikings fans have wondered in recent weeks whether the team might shake up the offensive line given the inconsistent play -- particularly on the interior of the line where Kirk Cousins often feels pressure. Out of necessity on Sunday, they will. Center Garrett Bradbury landed on the COVID list, meaning offseason acquisition Mason Cole will get a shot. Whether that's an upgrade or dow...

Introduction: Aaron Rodgers will miss Sunday's game against Kansas City after reportedly testing positive for COVID-19 -- news that revealed that Rodgers is also apparently not vaccinated despite him saying in late August that he was "immunized" when asked about his status. Rodgers' attempt at misdirection is worse than a flat-out lie or being a vaccine denier because he is trying to have it both...

Introduction: The Wild at least temporarily halted one of those stretches for Minnesota sports teams with a 5-4 overtime win over Ottawa. Perhaps just as important in that game: Kirill Kaprizov scored for the first time this season on his 32nd shot of the year. Minnesota is 6-3 on the season with just two goals combined from Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala, which should mean better times area ahead when...

Introduction: It's Tuesday Morning Nickelback time, with a deep dive into the Vikings and the Gophers football team. 2:00: Vikings writer Andrew Krammer tries to help answer the big question of the week during our film review segment. What went wrong with the Vikings' offense against Dallas on Sunday night, and who is to blame? Within the context of that question is another important one: Is there...

Introduction: Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand to rehash the fresh pain of the latest Vikings debacle, a 20-16 Sunday Night Football loss to Dallas and backup quarterback Cooper Rush. Minnesota had all the advantages in this game but still couldn't deliver a victory that it very much needed. Afterward, wide receiver Adam Thielen revealed frustration -- echoed by countl...

Introduction: The Wild's first visit to Seattle for an NHL game didn't quite go as planned. With multiple players sidelined by COVID and injuries, the short-handed Wild lost 4-1. Though two of the goals were empty-net tallies, Minnesota was outplayed badly in the middle part of the game and now has a negative goal differential on the season even with a 5-2 record. 4:00: Vikings/NFL writer Mark Cra...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand dissects the Timberwolves' big 113-108 victory on Wednesday night in Milwaukee. You'll hear postgame comments from Anthony Edwards and head coach Chris Finch postgame as well as a "voicemail" from Star Tribune beat writer Chris Hine with all the key points of the game. The Wolves' Big Three came up big at various moments, and their defensive rebounding was much bett...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes a spin through his list of the 25 best Timberwolves players of all-time. Was it a difficult task? Yes. Were there some snubs? Maybe. Was there a surprise with the No. 1 player? Um, no. 9:00: Columnist Chip Scoggins joins the show to provide insight into his latest Football Across Minnesota column and to share some opinions about the Gophers football team, the...

Introduction: In the most recent step in his evolution as the Wolves' leader -- even though he just turned 20 a couple months ago -- Anthony Edwards said after Minnesota's first loss of the season Monday that he and his top-scoring teammates must do a better job sharing the ball and getting other players involved on offense. "There's no 'I' in team. We can't beat five people with three people," Ed...

Columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports as only they can provide. 3:00: Even without the Vikings playing, it was a busy weekend -- including another impressive win by P.J. Fleck's Gophers football team. Minnesota is now 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten, good enough for a tie atop the West standings. With two more winnable games on the horizon bef...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand found himself irrationally intrigued by Thursday night's NFL matchup between the Browns and Broncos because it featured a couple of old friends: Case Keenum quarterbacked the Browns in the absence of the injured Baker Mayfield, while Teddy Bridgewater is the Broncos' starter. The Browns prevailed in a 17-14 win, but more than anything the game reinforced that the Vi...

Introduction: A big question heading into this Timberwolves season was whether a team that has floundered on defense for several seasons could finally find its way and at least be average on that side of the ball. Their 124-106 victory in Wednesday's opener over Houston was a positive indicator, albeit against a really bad team. The Wolves had 18 steals and 13 blocked shots in the win, which helpe...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand is *usually* never one to give up on a game, but he did it on Tuesday night and regretted it. When the Wild gave up what looked like an empty-net goal with a little over a minute left in its home opener Tuesday vs. Winnipeg, Rand started channel surfing. It wasn't until more than an hour later, as he was scrolling social media, that he found out what happened: the g...

It's Tuesday Morning Nickelback on Daily Delivery with three distinct and flavorful football segments: 2:00: Vikings writer Andrew Krammer joins for his weekly film review, helping host Michael Rand dissect how the Vikings were able to get their deep passing game going against the Panthers in Sunday's win. It showed a willingness to adapt on the part of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as well a...