With the Vikings now in the playoffs, what does the rest of the season look like?

NINA MOINI: The Packers did Vikings fans a favor this weekend. Green Bay beat the Seattle Seahawks, which secured the Vikings a spot in the playoffs. This will be the 32nd time the Vikings have gone to the playoffs. They've only made it to four Super Bowls, though, which all took place in the 1970s. So with all that in mind, it's time to bring in our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Great to talk to you guys.

WALLY LANGEFELLOW: Happy Monday.

ERIC NELSON: Hey, Nina, how are you?

NINA MOINI: Happy Monday, I'm doing well. I went right past all the sports news this weekend because I thought Eric and Wally will fill me in on Monday. So--

ERIC NELSON: That's pressure.

NINA MOINI: Always appreciate you guys. So the Vikings, what are you watching for in tonight's Vikings game? They're playing against Chicago, Wally.

WALLY LANGEFELLOW: Yeah. This is a team that they played just three weeks ago, Nina. And tonight's game at US Bank Stadium, 7 o'clock kickoff. But the game three weeks ago was in Chicago, and the Vikings were in control until the final moments. Ended up going into overtime when Chicago recovered an onside kick. By the way, only three onside kicks have been recovered all season--

NINA MOINI: Wow.

WALLY LANGEFELLOW: --this year, and just so happens that the Bears recovered one against the Vikings and eventually forced overtime. So yes, the Bears are a 4 and 9 team, not going to go to the playoffs. It doesn't look good for them. They have already fired their head coach a week or so after the Viking game.

NINA MOINI: Oh.

WALLY LANGEFELLOW: And so it doesn't-- on paper, this looks like a game that the Vikings should win, and they should march to 12 and 2, and they should be tied with the Lions for first place. All that seems OK. But again, the Bears are-- they're a talented team in many ways. And as I said, they forced the Vikings into overtime. So this is one of those games that could be a trip type of game if they're not careful.

After tonight's game, the Vikings have three games remaining, including games against the Packers and the Lions to end the season. The Packers game is here on the 29th of December, and then the Lions game is in Detroit in January. Next week, the Vikings play Seattle. That's the team that the Packers beat last night in order to launch the Vikings into the postseason.

And Seattle lost their quarterback last night. Geno Smith got hurt, so we'll see if he's even able to play next week against the Vikings. But should be a good game tonight. I would anticipate that the Bears are going to keep it close somehow.

NINA MOINI: And I know only because of you guys that the Vikings really have had some nail biters this season. Eric, how do you think the Vikings stand as the playoffs come up here?

ERIC NELSON: Yeah. Well, they're in the NFC North, which now, Nina, is a historically good division in NFL history. The North is the first division to have three teams with 10 or more wins in the history of the National Football League. So it's a good news, bad news scenario.

As good as Minnesota has been, they've got to win tonight just to tie Detroit for first place in the NFC North. The Vikings are 11 and 2. Now The Lions had an 11 game winning streak snapped yesterday against Buffalo. It was cartoon like. I mean, there was no defense. 48-42, the Bills won it. Detroit is losing key players on the defensive side of the ball. So the Lions, right now, are limping to the finish line. They're still a very good team. They're going to go to the playoffs, but is it sustainable? That's what they're wondering in Michigan this morning.

So the Vikings, if they win tonight, would be tied with Detroit. But there's a tiebreaker, so the Lions would technically be ahead of Minnesota in the standings because the Detroit Lions won here earlier in the head to head match-up. But as Wally said, the teams finish the regular season on January 5, so there's a chance Minnesota could catch and still pass Detroit. The Lions will play at Chicago on Sunday, then at San Francisco before closing with the Vikings.

As for Green Bay-- and there's no confirmation that the Vikings organization has sent a Christmas card to the Packers thanking them for getting them into the playoffs. I don't think that's going to happen. But nonetheless, the Packers are 10 and 4. They thumped Seattle last night 30 to 13. They're closing in on a playoff spot. Green Bay will host New Orleans next Monday night in the chill of Lambeau Field. Then they'll travel to Minnesota and finish with a home game against Chicago. So it's a very good division.

There's one other team to keep an eye on in the NFC East-- Philadelphia. The Eagles have won 10 straight. They knocked off Pittsburgh in the Battle of Pennsylvania yesterday. The Eagles are 12 and 2, right now the top seed in the NFC. But there's still a chance Minnesota could win the North and have a better record than Philadelphia, and have the top seed and a first round bye. It's all still in play.

NINA MOINI: OK, that's good to know. I understand there's some chatter about the Twins. Bloomberg and The Athletic are reporting that the owners of the NBA team, the Phoenix Suns, is actually interested in buying the Twins. What are you hearing about this, Wally?

WALLY LANGEFELLOW: Well, they are the first potential buyers emerging, Nina. Mat Ishbia and his brother Justin have expressed interest. They own the Phoenix Suns, as you said. They have since 2022, where they've been very quick to spend money on talent, which would be great news for the Minnesota Twins and their fans because the Twins have basically last year cut payroll by some 35 million. This year probably will stay in the same neighborhood as far as payroll is concerned, so they're not going to go out and grab a big money free agent.

If you get a new owner in, you don't know what's going to happen. It seems like anyway, based on recent history with these potential new owners, that they are willing to spend, as they have with the Phoenix Suns. They also own the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. Of course, two months ago, the Pohlads, led by current executive chair Joe Pohlad, announced plans that they are exploring selling the Twins after 40 years of family ownership.

Carl Pohlad purchased the franchise from Calvin Griffith way back in 1984 for 44 million. The Twins have now been valued in the neighborhood of $1.5 billion. I think the Pohlads are doing just fine on turning this thing around.

NINA MOINI: Wow. Yeah, those numbers. Let's talk about the Timberwolves, who beat the Lakers Friday and the San Antonio Spurs last night. How are they looking in those games, Eric?

ERIC NELSON: Yeah, they're playing very well. And I did want to throw one thing in on the Twins situation, Nina.

NINA MOINI: Please.

ERIC NELSON: Larry Fitzgerald junior, who's from Minneapolis and an outstanding player with Arizona in the NFL, he's a minority owner of the Phoenix Suns. So who knows? He might be seen at Target Field someday if this deal goes through. But as far as the Timberwolves go, they win last night in San Antonio 106 to 92. Anthony Edwards had 26 points and five rebounds to pace Minnesota. The T. Wolves are now 14 and 11. They've won five of their last seven games.

And how about Thursday? The New York Knicks come to town-- their only visit in the regular season-- to take on Minnesota at Target Center. It's the return of KAT, Karl-Anthony Towns, and I'm predicting he will get a much better reception from the fan base than the one Kirk Cousins got eight days ago-- that was rather frigid-- when he came back as an Atlanta Falcon to take on the Minnesota Vikings in an NFL game in Minneapolis.

The T. Wolves, of course, dealt KAT to the Knicks in a blockbuster deal right before the season started, Minnesota getting Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. And right now, jury's still out on this trade. I think a lot of people in Minnesota miss KAT. He was a guy involved in the community.

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ERIC NELSON: He's certainly one of the top players in the history of the Timberwolves franchise. His dad was at every game. He would toss t-shirts into the crowd. But New York, I think, is warming up to him. KAT is averaging almost 25 points per game, 14 rebounds per game. So it's going to be a lot of fun Thursday when KAT returns to the Twin Cities.

NINA MOINI: OK, and so we have about a minute left. There's plenty to talk about, but I want to make sure that we get to the Wild. I guess they lost last night to the Vegas Golden Knights. And it was a close game, huh, Wally?

WALLY LANGEFELLOW: Yeah, they lost 3-2 to Vegas last night. This is after a Saturday matinee win 4 to 1 over Philadelphia. So the Wild get a split over the weekend. They have the second best record still in the west, one point behind the Winnipeg Jets. They will take on Florida on Wednesday night-- Florida, the defending Stanley Cup Champions. So plenty on their plate.

In general, the Wild have had a very good start to this season. And they're bankrolling wins right now, and that's what you need to do because you never know when you're going to hit a big slump. But right now, second in the west in the NHL, so they're in good shape.

NINA MOINI: All right. Thank you both so much as always. And we won't get to chat again until 2025, so wishing you both a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and we'll see you in 2025.

ERIC NELSON: Yeah. Happy holidays, Nina.

NINA MOINI: Bye bye.

WALLY LANGEFELLOW: Same to you, Nina.