Timberwolves in four? and other Minnesota sports news

NINA MOINI: Now for the question on the mind of every Timberwolves fan this week, Wolves in four? The team has won two games so far in a seven game series against the Phoenix Suns. It's an exciting comeback after Minnesota lost to Phoenix every time they were matched in the regular season. Two more wins and the Wolves secure their spot in round two of the NBA Playoffs.

Joining me now to talk about this and other top sports news, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Wally is the Founder of Minnesota Score sports magazine, and co-host of the 10,000 Takes sports talk show. Eric is the other host of that show, and Vikings Reporter for CBS Sports.

Thank you both for being here.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: No problem, Nina.

ERIC NELSON: How are you doing, Nina?

NINA MOINI: I'm doing well. It's nice to talk to you. I hope, I can bring my best sports energy to this, but I think you guys have got it.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: No problem.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, Wally, let's talk about the Wolves. How are they looking going into game three?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, you hit the nail on the head. I mean, it's one game at a time, obviously, but they won the first two games at home, which is critical. And really all they've done at this point is hold serve. They have won their home games. That's what you need to do in the postseason.

Now, they go to Phoenix. Obviously, they would love to get both of them and end this thing as early as possible, but I think if you come away with a split-- if you can win either Friday night, tomorrow night, or Sunday-- then you come home up 3-1 needing just one more victory, and they could potentially clinch it at home next Tuesday.

But as I said, one game at a time. The Wolves got a big game out of Jaden McDaniels on Tuesday night in that 105-93 win. He had 25.

They didn't get much out of Karl-Anthony Towns, who got into foul trouble. Anthony Edwards had just 15 points, Towns had just 12 so it proves the depth that they do have, and I think that that's going to be critical for them if they're able to go deep into the playoffs this year.

Michael Conley and Rudy Gobert had 18 apiece in Tuesday night's game. So let's keep an eye on the depth. Let's see how things play out. Kyle Anderson wasn't available on Tuesday. Hopefully, he will be back soon. He was injured.

Naz Reid, in one other note, he only had a few points the other night, but he was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. So in other words, the best player to come off the bench in the NBA this year was Minnesota's own Naz Reid. So it was a great signing, keeping him on the roster in the off season, and hopefully he'll continue to pay dividends in the postseason.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. So much excitement right now around the Wolves. And another big story is the NFL Draft, of course. Tonight, the Vikings have a big choice to make. Eric, who might the next quarterback be? Do we have an idea?

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ERIC NELSON: Well, there's a lot of speculation swirling, Nina, and those are smoke signals coming from the Minnesota Vikings camp. I think they want to keep other teams guessing.

But yeah, the draft is tonight, and it runs through Saturday. Downtown Motown, it's in Detroit, Michigan, this year. So right now in round one, Minnesota currently has the 11th and 23rd picks in the draft. Now, the Vikings are likely going to pick a quarterback in round one, especially since Kirk Cousins is off to Atlanta-- he left in March via free agency-- but this price tag is going to be steep.

They may have to deal both these first round picks and perhaps, a number one choice in 2025 or 2026 to a team like New England or Arizona if they want to move up so this is going to include Minnesota giving up some precious draft capital if they do want a quarterback. The Patriots have the third choice in Round One, Nina, and the Cardinals are picking fourth.

The key for Minnesota, in my opinion, is don't get fleeced here. Don't make a panic pick.

Now, one name that keeps popping up is Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy, and if he comes here, we're going to have that JJ to JJ combination with him and Justin Jefferson. But personally, I would keep the draft choices, and fortify the offensive line and the cornerback position on defense. Barring a trade, Minnesota has eight picks in a draft that will go seven rounds, but remember, this is all fluid, and it can change at any moment once that bell rings tonight in Detroit.

NINA MOINI: OK. And Wally, the Twins are playing at Target Field. How have they been doing this week?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, it's been a good week after really a slow start and a number of injuries. Many teams have and are dealing with injuries this time of year.

But the Twins are a little bit of a winning streak. They've won three in a row. They've beaten the Mighty Whitey's, the White Sox, three straight.

The White Sox, oh, by the way, the worst team in baseball by far right now. Three wins, 21 losses. I mean, the Southsiders are an absolute disaster this year, and it does not look like it's going to get better any time soon. Although, they do lead by a score of 1-0 over the Twins right now in the series finale over at Target Field. That game is headed into the top of the fourth. But the White Sox do not look very good.

One side note. Eric and I were both at the Twins-White Sox game last night. They announced 12,000 fans. Looked to me and Eric, there couldn't have been more than 3,000 or 4,000 in the building. I think the 12,000 tickets sold.

NINA MOINI: Oh, interesting

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Certainly wasn't-- it was-- yeah, it was kind of a ghost town at Target Field last night. So hopefully the fans will get reinvigorated here as the Twins put together a little bit of a winning streak. So three in a row, going for four in a row this afternoon. They go to California this weekend.

NINA MOINI: Well, luckily, it's a long season. I do know that.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yes. That's for sure.

ERIC NELSON: And to be blunt, Nina--

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ERIC NELSON: I think every fan got a foul ball last night, and that's probably, the same case--

WALLY LANGFELLOW: True.

ERIC NELSON: --today.

NINA MOINI: Oh, man. Well hopefully, people start showing up a little bit more for the Twins. There was some sad news from the world of hockey as well, yesterday. Of course, Eric, a longtime Minnesota North Stars radio broadcaster Al Shaver died at the age of 96. And we had a little tribute to him yesterday on All Things Considered, and it was really striking that he said what he really just aimed to do-- this was an interview from like 1993-- was make sure that he always was able to convey the excitement while he was a radio broadcaster, which is such an art, right, to try to convey excitement of a game when people aren't watching, and they're just listening.

ERIC NELSON: Yeah, and Al Shaver crushed it in that regard, Nina. I mean, when you do radio play-by-play-- Wally's done it. I've done it-- it's painting a picture.

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ERIC NELSON: I mean, you have to be vivid. You have to be descriptive. Al Shaver was all of that in a sport that is not easy to call because there's constant movement on the ice in hockey.

And you got to go back to when the Minnesota North Stars came into the NHL, that was 1967. With a wave of six teams, the NHL's first foray into expansion. And he quickly became a soundtrack of winter here in the Twin Cities around the state of Minnesota. So he lasted with the North Stars from '67 all the way to when they left, 26 seasons. Went down I-35 to Dallas, and he said I'm not going to do that, so he stayed in Minnesota for a while. Broadcast some Gopher men's hockey games, and then he retired to Vancouver Island out there in British Columbia, in 1996.

And he's a legend in Canada, where he's from. He won the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 1993. He's in the Media Section of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. So certainly, one of the iconic voices in Minnesota sports history. And he's always going to be connected with bringing pro hockey to Bloomington, Minnesota.

NINA MOINI: Beautiful. Did you want to say anything about it as well, Wally?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, I had the pleasure of working at the same time on North Star broadcast as Al did back in the day. And a true professional, and as Eric said, just an icon. And when you hear that voice, you knew you were talking about and thinking about North Stars hockey.

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Kind of grew up listening to him, and that's-- and as Eric said, he kind of painted the picture. That if you weren't there, that's the that's the way you wanted to consume Gopher and North Stars hockey, for sure.

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NINA MOINI: Well, thank you so much Wally and Eric. A pleasure talking to both of you. You're always so knowledgeable and fun. Thank you.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Great to be on, Nina.