Two teams on top: Timberwolves and PWHL Minnesota continue to dominate

[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: Thursday afternoon, 12:49, here on Minnesota Now. The Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the Memphis Grizzlies this evening. Will the Wolves continue their three-game win streak? We're gonna see what our sports guys, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson, think.

They're back to talk about Vikings' prospects in 2024, the continued success of Minnesota's new women's hockey team, and other sports news.

Wally is the founder of Minnesota Score sports magazine and co-host of the sports talk show 10,000 Takes. Eric's the other host of that show and the Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Radio's Eye on the NFL. How are you doing, guys?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Good, Cathy. How are you?

ERIC NELSON: Good, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: I am glad you are with us, because there's a lot to talk about. Wally Langfellow, Timberwolves. Go.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: (LAUGHING) OK. So, they win last night at Detroit. Detroit's the worst team in the NBA. The Detroit pistons, oh, by the way, broke the all-time-record losing streak in the NBA this year, when they lost their 28th straight game. That was a couple of weeks ago. They are 4-37 on the year.

But the Wolves struggled with Detroit last night. Anthony Edwards did have 27 points and eight assists. That led Minnesota. And as you mentioned, Cathy, they have now won three in a row. Karl-Anthony Towns also had 27 points. Minnesota now 29-11 on the season. That's the top record in the Western Conference.

And, yes, they play Memphis tonight. The Grizzlies, oh, by the way, and the Timberwolves will play at 9:00 PM. So that is a late start in Downtown Minneapolis. I've seen some of my friends on social media giving away their tickets.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, gee! Come on! All right.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, it's a TNT TV game, and so that's why they're doing it, I guess. I don't know. Somebody at TNT must realize that Minnesota is not in the Pacific Time Zone.

CATHY WURZER: Yeah, I don't know, 9:00-- It does seem kind of a-- Yeah, that's a little bit late. Eric, so, speaking of TNT, isn't Charles Barkley one of their studio analysts?

ERIC NELSON: He is. I mean, the guy's a superstar. You see him everywhere. Subway spots. He's got his own morning show on CNN. And he's really the focal point of TNT'S coverage of the NBA on their studio work, pregame, halftime, postgame.

And on Monday's show, national cable television, he said he might have to apologize to the Minnesota Timberwolves, because, if you remember, Cathy, a couple of years ago, Barkley said, quote, "The Timberwolves are dumber than rocks, after blowing a couple games in the playoffs against Memphis," end of quote.

Last season, Barkley blasted Minnesota for dealing a boatload of players and draft choices to Utah to acquire Rudy Gobert. But now the T-Wolves are a powerhouse, and Barkley might have to eat his words. Stay tuned, because possibly, tonight, on TNT, Sir Charles will apologize to the Minnesota Timberwolves. It's not for sure, but it may happen, if you want to stay up that late to find out.

CATHY WURZER: Might he have been right about Rudy Gobert, though?

ERIC NELSON: Well, here's the deal. A year ago, we were all banging on Rudy Gobert and the GM, Tim Connelly. I was one of them. But it's taken a year for this thing to gain some traction. They had a lot of injuries last season, including Karl-Anthony towns.

CATHY WURZER: True.

ERIC NELSON: Right now, Rudy Gobert is playing great basketball, and he is a defensive force, and so far, it's looking good. But I still think the trade will be measured by how deep Minnesota goes in the playoffs.

CATHY WURZER: Yeah, you're right. How about the Gopher basketball team, the men's team, Wally Langfellow?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, well, they, actually, have been trending up, until their last couple of games. They've lost two in a row in the Big Ten now. They play at Michigan State tonight in East Lansing. And, you know, Michigan State, usually a powerhouse, but they are kind of a middle-of-the-road team this year. They are led by Tre Holloman, who played his high-school basketball here in the Twin Cities, at Cretin-Derham Hall. He's one of Michigan State's top players.

The Gophers, though, their last three games, they are shooting 19% from beyond the 3-point arc. So, 3-point shooting has not been their forte. Now, they did manage to beat Maryland in the first of those three games, but they've dropped the last couple now. They need to pick up wins where they can, and Michigan State is a team that they can beat. It's not a team they should beat, but when you go into these games where you can get a victory, especially on the road, this would be one of them.

Oh, by the way, Gophers Athletic Director Mark Coyle and the rest of the administration over there looking at options for the future of Williams Arena.

CATHY WURZER: I heard that.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Should they renovate The Barn?

CATHY WURZER: What?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Should they replace The Barn?

[GASPING]

CATHY WURZER: Replace The Barn?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: I couldn't agree with you more. I think, if they're gonna do something, they need to renovate it. You know, they did a renovation probably, what, about 20, 25 years ago, I want to say, was the last time they renovated it. They probably should go down that path.

I would hate to see them tear that building down. That would be just tragic, if you ask me. You know, there's still those posts. You can get seats where the post is in the way.

CATHY WURZER: (LAUGHING) Right. Yeah, that's a problem.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: And the concession stand, you know, you go out into the corridors during halftime. I was out there, the game on Monday, on Martin Luther King Day, and, you know, it's really crowded. I mean, there needs to be something done, I would say. But I don't know, I mean, personally, I don't have a problem with it. I love going to watch.

And, look, the reason that they think they want to do it is for the comfort of the fans and to draw in recruits. You know, recruits like new and shiny. Well, I don't necessarily agree with that. You know, you've got a new, shiny Huntington Bank Stadium. Has the Gopher football team won any national championships? I don't think so.

[LAUGHTER]

CATHY WURZER: I think Williams Arena is quirky. It's quirky, right, Eric?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, the raised floor, no question. I love Williams Arena.

ERIC NELSON: It's got charm. It's got character. It's got an elevated floor, which makes it very unique. It's a lot like Fenway Park, in Boston, or Wrigley Field, in Chicago. And, you know, history is not always a bad thing. I think we have a habit, here in Minnesota, of tearing down anything that gets older than 30 or 40 years, and I'm with you and Wally. Keep The Barn up, but definitely renovate it, you know? Give it some tweaks. Make it better.

CATHY WURZER: Well, you mentioned, of course, tearing things down. It was just on this very date, back in 2014, when the demolition of the Metrodome started.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, that was OK.

ERIC NELSON: Well, I was actually happy about that, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: (LAUGHING) A little tidbit there, you guys.

ERIC NELSON: Not a fan of indoor baseball or indoor football.

CATHY WURZER: All right. All right. We digress. Before we go, Eric, what about the PWHL. Team Minnesota's doing a little bit better here. They beat Ottawa.

ERIC NELSON: Yeah, they were north of the border last night, in Ottawa, Ontario. They win in overtime, 3 to 2. Minnesota was down 2-0, so they rallied. Susanna Tapani scored twice for Minnesota, including the game winner in overtime.

And how about Grace Zumwinkle? She scored Minnesota's other goal. It was a shorty. Minnesota was, you know, down a gal on the ice. It's her fifth goal of the season. That leads the PWHL. Minnesota is 4-0-1, and that's the best record in the PWHL, and next Wednesday night, it's Montreal at Minnesota at The X in Saint Paul. And, oh, by the way, Cathy, the Wild want renovation money to fix up The X. How about that?

CATHY WURZER: Yes, I heard that. Speaking of the Wild, Wally, they're playing tonight.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: They are, and this will be their first game since Monday, when they beat the Islanders, 5-0, at The X, which they say needs renovations and they need some public money for. I don't know if we want to go down that path.

But Marc-Andre Fleury won his 552nd career game as a goaltender. That is number two all time in the National Hockey League. He got the shutout on Monday. Tonight, they play in Tampa. The Wild begin a road trip to Tampa, Miami, and Carolina. So they escape the cold weather for a few days, and hopefully get a few wins on the road.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Guys, I hope you have a good weekend.

ERIC NELSON: Thanks, Cathy.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: All right, you too, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Wally Langfellow, Eric Nelson. Together, they host the sports talk show 10,000 Takes.