All the Minnesota athletics information you will need to know

CATHY WURZER: Oh, you can find a ton of athletics news proper now, so we are going to get right down to it with our athletics industry experts, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Wally’s the founder of Minnesota Rating journal and the co-host of 10,000 Can take sports activities chat present on radio and Tv set. Eric is the other host of 10,000 Usually takes and the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Athletics Radio’s Eye on the NFL. Hey, you men. How are you performing?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Superior, Cathy. How are you executing?

CATHY WURZER: Superior.

ERIC NELSON: Greetings, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Greetings, Eric. I’m with Sven Sungaard, who I know you each know. So we’re getting a good time here chatting about staying a manufacturer new member at NPR. But we are heading to wait on that conversation. We’re likely to speak athletics correct now.

Vikings, Vikings, Vikings. Wally Langfellow getting prepared for– [BEEPING] what was that?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Which is a notification that the Cleveland baseball group just scored a operate towards the White Sox.

CATHY WURZER: Oh. [LAUGHING]

WALLY LANGFELLOW: My phone’s obtained all sorts of very little gizmos on it.

CATHY WURZER: Wonderful. Okay. Not that you are next that workforce or anything. Let’s discuss about Vikings obtaining all set for Monday Night time Football in Philadelphia?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yes, they’re Monday evening in Philly, of study course, coming off the earn around Eco-friendly Bay. Vikings’ defense played seriously properly. You can find a good deal of speak about what Justin Jefferson did, and he had a fantastic recreation. But it really is the Vikings’ defense that held Aaron Rodgers and the Eco-friendly Bay Packers’ offense at bay for most of the day. A big aim line stand included in that.

So we’ll see if they can do the exact same matter towards Philadelphia. Philadelphia’s got a dynamic offense. They gained their opener. It must be an attention-grabbing match-up on the road, in a position in which I was a number of yrs in the past for that NFC Championship video game, wherever the Vikings misplaced. And it is a imply, unpleasant group that goes to those people Philadelphia Eagles game titles.

A person other Vikings notice, they have signed previous Concordia, Saint Paul defensive close, Chris Garrett, to their exercise squad. Chris performed for the Rams final calendar year– the Super Bowl champion Rams– and he was on the follow squad for most of the year. But in essence arrives residence, where he performed faculty football in excess of at Concordia, Saint Paul.

I had the satisfaction of obtaining to know Chris and seeing him at Concordia. Good football player. I desire him well. With any luck , he and Kevin O’Connell– who, of course, was with the Rams past year, possibly experienced a ton to do with the truth that he is now a member of the Minnesota Vikings. So congratulations, Chris.

CATHY WURZER: Yeah. Eric?

ERIC NELSON: Yeah, and back to Justin Jefferson, Cathy, he is plainly trending up. He’s currently one particular of the leading wideouts in the NFL. You glimpse at his figures. He’s played two complete seasons and now a single game right here in 2022. Already 205 catches, 3,200 yards. He averages more than 15 yards for every reception. He has 19 touchdowns.

I am by now listening to people today say he could be in that similar galaxy that Randy Moss is, or Cris Carter, or Sammy White, or Anthony Carter– some of the other good stars from the previous for Minnesota. So he genuinely is a dazzling young star in the NFL. And about what Wally explained about Philadelphia, this game will be on ABC, no cost tv Monday night time football.

And I was at the previous Monday Evening Football game at the previous vet stadium in Philadelphia again in 2002. That was on ABC. These folks get satisfaction in booing. I noticed banners that stated, America’s Booing Cash, actively playing off the ABC acronym.

CATHY WURZER: Wow.

ERIC NELSON: The followers go to mattress indignant, they wake up angrier. This will be a massive problem for Minnesota. And if you’re a Viking lover, do not put on purple into the stadium. And if you do, observe out for batteries, and pennies, and who is aware, possibly even a punch.

CATHY WURZER: Oh my gosh. Actually?

ERIC NELSON: Oh, yeah.

CATHY WURZER: Yikes.

ERIC NELSON: I’m not kidding.

CATHY WURZER: Okay. Wow. We would like absolutely everyone well, then. Hey, let us speak about Gopher soccer. Are they as very good as they glimpse, Wally?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh, boy. Which is a loaded issue. They performed two actually have-nots in New Mexico State and in Western Illinois. They blasted Western Illinois. And it is all nicely and superior, and they are fantastic tune-ups. I would absolutely like to see them participate in a additional difficult– I you should not want to phone it preseason, but non-conference timetable.

And PJ Fleck has mentioned as substantially. He reported he is far more than ready to do that. He may well not have a alternative listed here when they incorporate USC and UCLA to the Massive 10 here in a pair of decades. That may perhaps not be a preference. You may have to participate in.

If you have an expectation to get into what appears to be now a 12 workforce school soccer playoff– so that means the top rated 12 groups in the nation– they’re not going to seem at you and say, wow, you conquer up Western Illinois, you beat up New Mexico State, that would not do just about anything. Mainly because those people variety of games, it truly is genuinely a no-earn condition. You don’t get a ton of credit rating for beating them. And if you drop to 1 of those teams, like they did past 12 months when they missing to Bowling Inexperienced, then that sinks your chances of at any time becoming a contender for a playoff spot.

So I feel you might be smart, if you seriously want to be regarded one particular of all those groups, is to toughen up that agenda. So of course, they have appeared pretty very good, to remedy your issue, in the limited realm. But very long time period, they are almost certainly heading to have to get a tougher timetable.

Colorado is surely from a Energy 5 conference, but they’re not incredibly very good, either. They’re favored by 27 and 1/2 details, the Gophers are, on Saturday. So it must be yet yet another acquire for Minnesota. But you acquired to hold going, you obtained to participate in who was at any time on your schedule, and this week it can be Colorado.

ERIC NELSON: Yeah, and they are out of the Pac-12, what’s remaining of the Pac-12. Cathy, in two several years, USC and UCLA will depart that conference and arrive to the Huge 10. LA is a midwestern city.

But they shed to TCU 38 to 13. Last week to Air Pressure 41 to 10. Now the Gophers gained convincingly in Boulder versus Colorado final time at altitude. So as Wally reported, it’s a match they should really get. We will not likely seriously know a whole lot about this staff until finally a 7 days from Saturday, when they go to East Lansing, Michigan, and acquire on the Michigan Point out Spartans– one of the top teams in the country.

A single other Gopher notice, as well. Nebraska has allow go of their head Mentor Scott Frost. PJ Fleck’s title is coming up as a likely Cornhuskers’ applicant, but he is downplaying it. And a good deal of this speculation is fueled by the media, so I’m not positive you can find nearly anything there.

CATHY WURZER: Say, I just noticed a pair of shots from Concentrate on Area. It looks like, Eric, there was no one out there for the Twins recreation.

ERIC NELSON: Yeah.

CATHY WURZER: What is going on with the Twins? I am a tiny worried about them. Ought to I be?

ERIC NELSON: Oh, absolutely. I was there previous night time, and they had just underneath 15,000 lovers. 19,500 on Monday. The Twins are 22nd in attendance in Important League Baseball out of 30 groups. They are five games guiding Cleveland. Proper now the Guardians are actively playing the Chicago White Sox. So they’re heading to go into a massive collection starting Friday at Cleveland, fundamentally needing to win 4 games minimum amount, maybe 5, to remain appropriate.

If not, this season could be more than. And the twins, they’re in freefall manner. I know they’ve beaten Kansas Metropolis the past two evenings, and they are 11 and 4 from the Royals this season. But the Royals are bottom feeders. They’re going to have to confirm it in Cleveland this weekend.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, and Cathy, that is exactly where I am this weekend. I am going to be at various of the games in Cleveland this 7 days. That’s in which I am proper now, as a matter of actuality, acquiring prepared for the Twins and Cleveland collection this weekend.

And Eric strike the nail on the head, that the Twins are likely to have to get a minimal of 3, possibly 4, and the ideal case situation, all five. But it’s heading to be difficult. Cleveland has played nicely, coming into this afternoon’s game with Chicago. They’ve received 6 in a row. They’ve obtained a four-recreation guide over Chicago, five in excess of the Twins.

Cleveland has gained nine of the online games so significantly in opposition to the Twins this yr. So they’re one win absent from getting the season sequence, which would give them a tie crack against the Twins and make the postseason. So it is all tilting Cleveland’s way right now, but that could modify. You just by no means know.

And it’s intriguing, for the reason that they’re taking part in every single either here on the strip. And so that’s what makes this even much more exciting, that the Twins nevertheless have, what, 16 left for Chicago and 5 this weekend with Cleveland.

CATHY WURZER: Effectively, evidently something just happened on your telephone there, Langfellow, so you may want to check it out.

ERIC NELSON: Guardians alert, Cathy. That is his Guardians inform.

CATHY WURZER: All suitable, I acquired to go, you men. You equally be very careful, appreciate the weekend. We will communicate to you subsequent 7 days.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Bye.

ERIC NELSON: Many thanks, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: See you. Wally Langfellow, Eric Nelson. Wally’s he’s the founder of Minnesota Rating magazine, the co-host of 10,000 Takes sports discuss present. Eric is the other host of 10,000 Can take and he functions for CBS Athletics radio.