StribSports Daily Delivery

Paul Klauda, the Star Tribune's high school sports editor for the last decade, joins host Michael Rand -- the paper's high school editor for five years before that -- to talk about the joys and challenges of covering prep sports. Klauda, who is transitioning to a new role at the Star Tribune at the end of July, offers unique perspectives on covering high school sports during the pandemic and a tim...

Host Michael Rand takes a break from the typical format to devote 30 minutes to answering a bunch of questions from listeners. Among them: Ranking the six head coaches of major Minnesota pro sports teams in terms of the "hottest seats" and their job status; predicting the next wave of Twins call-ups; determining how much criticism the Wild should get if it doesn't add a better center to play with...

Intro: After a couple recent instances of questionable postponements, the Twins and White Sox played through the drizzle on Tuesday and got the game in. See, that wasn't so bad, was it? The down side was that the Twins lost 4-1, plunging further in the standings. 3:00: Columnist Chip Scoggins joins host Michael Rand for a breakdown of three looming topics: 1) If this is a make-or-break season for...

Intro: Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look at the Twins pitching. Two days of good starting pitching equaled two wins for the Twins, but for the most part this season it hasn't gone that way. Are the Twins fooling themselves if they think they can turn things around in that department based on their track record, or is 2021 really the outlier when it comes to poor performance? 17:00:...

Intro: Host Michael Rand laments a microcosm of 2021 game for Twins slugger Miguel Sano, who struck out four times in an 8-5 loss to the White Sox on Thursday. All four of those whiffs came with men on base, and he stranded a total of nine runners in another game that shows he just can't be trusted in this lineup going forward. 3:00: La Velle E. Neal III joins from Chicago, where he wrote columns...

Intro: Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson seems determined to be part of every news cycle. On Wednesday, he talked about having a confrontation with White Sox Lucas Giolito after Donaldson's actions and Giolito's words caused a stir on Tuesday. Donaldson also publicly called out Giolito's statistics and implicated him as a cheater. 6:00: Minnesota United beat writer Jerry Zgoda joins host Michael...

Intro: To the surprise of nobody (at least outside of Dallas), the Wild's Kirill Kaprizov became the organization's first Calder Trophy winner on Tuesday, garnering 99 of a possible 100 first place votes to show just how lopsided the race with Stars runner-up Jason Robertson really was. That Gretzky-esque total only adds to Kaprizov's value, which is an interesting subject as he looks for a new co...

Intro: Two of the last three Twins games have been "rained out" even though the chance of severe weather was questionable. In both cases -- a Twins home game Saturday against Cleveland and Monday's game at Chicago -- the home team looked like it manipulated MLB rules that leave the decision to start a game up to their discretion and used the opportunity to get some rest and recuperation. Decisions...

Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend, and as usual Reusse is furious about something. This time: The Twins' decision to call off Saturday's game because of the threat of rain, which in his estimation was a thinly veiled attempt to rest pitchers and create more favorable matchups. Rand agreed, and both of them think it's a bad message to send to fans who showed up S...

Intro: The Twins made a business decision in the offseason, cutting loose Eddie Rosario after a successful run in Minnesota's outfield. Saying the move backfired wouldn't be quite right because Rosario is having a pretty pedestrian season in Cleveland, but his value tends to show up in different ways. Among them: He tends to come up big, and he did that for Cleveland with a two-run single in the e...

Intro: Host Michael Rand takes a look at two big wins for local teams on Wednesday, with Minnesota United defeating Austin 2-0 in a full Allianz Field -- the first time the home of the Loons has had full capacity since the 2019 playoffs -- and the Lynx getting a big 87-85 road win over Atlanta. Both the Loons and Lynx started 0-4 but have rallied since then. Can they get their seasons back to leve...

Intro: Major League Baseball's crackdown on pitchers using illegal substances on baseballs took a fairly dramatic turn on Tuesday when Phillies manager Joe Girardi and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer had a confrontation over repeated checks of Scherzer. It led to the ejection of Girardi and is an example of how this won't be a smooth midyear transition for baseball to try to make. 5:00: Timberwolve...

Intro: Michael Rand stayed up for the longest game in MLB this season, and if you did as well there was a payoff: Unlikely heroics from Miguel Sano and Matt Shoemaker, two of the most disappointing Twins players so far this season, in an 7-5 win over the Reds that lasted 12 innings and more than five hours. The Twins have won five in a row and will need more heroics like that as they try to overco...

Intro: Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand at the outset for a look at a U.S. Open that chewed up a lot of golf's biggest names on Sunday. Left standing at the end was John Rahm, who made two clutch putts while his nearest competitors faded. 8:00: The NBA playoffs have been as wide open as any in recent memory, with huge clutch performances and ... some not so good. Ben S...

Intro: Michael Rand takes a look at the Clippers, who are trying to break one of the most dreadful streaks in pro sports history on Friday night. Yes, things have been bad in Minnesota with a lot of our teams. But in 50 years, the Clippers have never even advanced to the NBA conference finals. That can change with a win over Utah. 4:00: Star Tribune Twins beat writer Phil Miller joins the show to...

Intro: The NFL has made it clear that players who aren't vaccinated during the 2021 season are going to have far less freedom than those who are vaccinated against COVID-19. With prominent Vikings players already saying they aren't vaccinated (yet), host Michael Rand wonders if there will be a locker room divide among NFL teams between this season. 4:00: Timberwolves beat writer Chris Hine joins t...

Intro: The Lynx fell to 4-6 with a 105-89 loss at Target Center to Chicago on Tuesday, and head coach/GM Cheryl Reeve was not happy about it afterward. She called out her players for not playing defense, she singled out her lineup for not showing up and she ripped herself for poor offensive coaching. Will this be a rallying point for a team with high expectations? 5:00: Vikings beat writer Ben Goe...

Intro: The Vikings and Danielle Hunter reached a temporary solution in Hunter's quest for more money, with the Vikings giving him extra cash in 2021 and setting up a decision before 2022. It's another in a series of short-term moves for a team that seems to be loading up on defense for one season. Whether that's more than just an acknowledgement of how bad the defense was last year -- an attempt t...

Michael Rand and Patrick Reusse look at an eventful recent stretch for the Twins, which included a 2-4 home stand against the Yankees and Astros while several of their key players continued to try to work their way back from injury. Both of them concluded that the Twins' pitching is to blame, and injuries don't tell much of the story -- just a bad plan and ineffectiveness. In a discussion about By...

Intro: Michael Rand was three outs away from completely burying the Twins. And then four lasers -- two of them no-doubt two-run homers -- gave them a 7-5 walk-off win over the Yankees and closer Aroldis Chapman. It probably doesn't mean anything in the big picture of a lost season, but small moments along the way are still worthwhile. 7:00: Columnist La Velle E. Neal III joins the show to talk abo...

Intro: Host Michael Rand listened to Kirk Cousins' session with Vikings reporters on Wednesday and couldn't help but notice how drama-free things are in Minnesota right now -- particularly compared to the situation in Green Bay. Cousins talked about watching film of every game he's played in the NFL in an attempt to get better and also welcoming new QB Kellen Mond with open arms. No game shows. No...

Intro: Aaron Rodgers didn't show up for the first day of "mandatory" minicamp with the Packers, adding another layer to his ongoing standoff with the organization. Teammates said they have his back while also hoping that he will return. In the mean time, the QB drafted a year ago to replace him -- Jordan Love -- had his share of struggles running the offense Tuesday. 6:00: Hall of Famer Rod Carew...

Intro: Michael Rand takes a spin through the NBA playoffs, where the Nets are cruising past the Bucks even without James Harden. It shows the value of having a Big Three -- and being able to withstand injuries to one of them as a result. It's what the Lakers couldn't do, and it's what the Wolves hope to build. 5:00: Twins beat writer Phil Miller joins the show to preview the upcoming Twins vs. Yan...

Patrick Reusse joins Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend, which included a dramatic collapse at the U.S. Open by women's golfer Lexi Thompson. It brings to mind two things: 1) Golf is the loneliest sport and most agonizing to watch when a player falls apart; 2) Minnesota fans are no strangers to watching such performances. Also on the show: A discussion of the resurgent Lynx, who won their...

Intro: Host Michael Rand takes a look at Wild GM Bill Guerin's end-of-year comments and takes issue with Guerin's assertion that this year proved the Wild doesn't need a No. 1 center. Maybe that was true in the regular season, but in the playoffs top-end center play was absolutely a glaring weakness that needs to be addressed at some point. 5:00: Tyler Dunne, who covered Aaron Rodgers for four sea...