Minnesota sports with Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson
There’s a crowd at Target Field right now watching the Twins battle the Cleveland Guardians. Wally Longfellow is there watching the game and he joined Eric Nelson and host Cathy Wurzer to give us an update on the game and other big sports news this week.
Wally Longfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score magazine and the cohost of “Ten-thousand Takes” sports talk show. Eric Nelson is the other host of “Ten-thousand Takes” and he is also the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Radio “Eye on Football.”
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: There is a crowd at Target Field right now watching the Twins battle the Cleveland Guardians. Our good friend Wally Langfellow is there watching the game. He joins us now with Eric Nelson to give us an update on the game and other big sports news this week.
You know that Wally, of course, is the founder of Minnesota Score magazine and the co-host of 10,000 Takes sports talk show. Eric Nelson is the other host of 10,000 Takes. And Eric is also the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Radio's Eye on Football. Hey, guys. Wally, you're at the Twins game. What's happening out there?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, they're not losing-- no score here in the third inning. Of course, coming off of last night-- really a debacle for the Twins. They had a 5-1 lead. They had a 10-7 lead. And then they let that get away in the ninth inning. They gave up four runs in the top of the ninth and ended up losing 11-10.
So that moves Cleveland into first place ahead of the Minnesota Twins. And if the Twins could win today, they will move into a virtual tie, although Cleveland would still be ahead by percentage points. But it's really a pivotal game for the Twins because the last thing you want to do is get swept at home against a divisional rival. And it's a red-hot divisional rival with Cleveland.
And so, right now, there's no score in the bottom of the third inning. But the Twins have Devin Smeltzer on the mound. He has thrown three scoreless innings. He's given up just one hit. And Cleveland has countered with Zach Plesac. It's a beautiful day, but it's very warm and kind of a scant crowd. And I know, Eric, that you had some thoughts on the crowd situation over the last few days.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, I do, Wally. I was out there last night. I saw that Minnesota meltdown with my own eyes. And, really, it's amazing to me, Cathy. Two teams-- Cleveland and Minnesota-- battling for first place and they only had 22,000 at Target Field on Tuesday-- 25,000 last night. The crowd will be probably similar today at the game Wally's at.
And it tells me that Twins territory is staying away from the ballpark. And you can't blame the weather now. It has heated up. The kids are out of school. So the twins are running out of excuses. Now, to be fair, the weather did not warm up until this month. And the Twins had potential drawing-card teams like the LA Dodgers, Houston, and the New York Yankees come in to play midweek games. So that's not really a good break for Minnesota.
But when you look at Major League Baseball attendance, there are 30 teams. Minnesota ranks 21st, averaging just under 20,000 fans per game. And remember-- until two nights ago, the Twins had been in first place since April 24th. So I'm not sure why people aren't embracing the Minnesota Twins.
CATHY WURZER: Well, let's go from the Twins to the NBA. There's the big draft tonight, Wally. And who do you think Minnesota is going to get with that 19th pick in Round 1?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh, boy. That's really a crapshoot, Cathy. Obviously, it's a 19th pick. It's not going to be an impact player. I don't necessarily know that they draft for position either. I think that they're in a situation with the 19th pick that they might move it. They might try to trade up if they see a player that they like. They might try to trade down if they think they can get something in return that'll help them down the road. They also have three second-round picks.
So Tim Conley is now in charge of running the draft. He's with the Timberwolves' new man in charge. And we're going to see what direction he takes us. The big thing, of course, in all of the talk over the last couple of weeks is, do they stay with DeAngelo Russell, who they made that big trade for with Andrew Wiggins from Golden State a couple of years ago. Is he going to be their point guard of the future? Is it going to continue? Or are they going to deal him away? All of that probably comes to a head sometime, if not tonight, between now and the end of the summer.
CATHY WURZER: Say, Eric, Chet Holmgren has a chance to become the highest-selected Minnesota-raised player in the NBA Draft since Kevin McHale. How cool is that?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, it's really a fabulous story. And he could go 1 to Orlando-- maybe 2 to Oklahoma City. Here's a guy that played at Minnehaha Academy then went to Gonzaga-- played one year with the Gonzaga team. And now he's going to be a lottery pick.
The other thing that really just adds to this storyline is that Jalen Suggs was his teammate in high school at Minnehaha Academy. He left the year before Chet Holmgren, went to Gonzaga, almost won an NCAA title, and then got drafted 5th overall last season by the Orlando Magic. There are some people hoping the Magic take Holmgren to pair him up with his old high school teammate, Jalen Suggs. It's really a remarkable story.
There's some other Minnesota angles. Also, David Roddy will get drafted. He played at East Ridge and then went to Baylor University down in Waco, Texas. And then Roddy Brown, who was a star at Breck in Golden Valley, went on to Colorado State.
And, you know, Cathy, Minnesota has always been a hockey hotbed. It's now a hoops hotbed too. There have been nine players from the Land of Lakes drafted by NBA teams since 2015. So Minnesota is on the radar of basketball scouts.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, I did not know that. Say, before you all go, Wally, let's talk about the NFL. Roger Goodell is testifying before Congress. What's he doing?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, I mean, he's testifying before Congress and specifically talking about a lot of the sexual harassment issues that the National Football League has been dealing with-- more specifically, Daniel Snyder, who is the owner of the Washington Commanders. That's the team that was formerly known as the Redskins. And, you know, it took them forever to convince Snyder to change the name. And, obviously, it was pressure from FedEx, who has their name on their football field and is a major sponsor. That's what finally changed his mind.
But yeah, here's the takeaway from yesterday's hearing. Roger Goodell was asked about removing Daniel Snyder as an owner. And his answer was, he doesn't have the power to do that. Now, who does have the power are the other owners. And you have to get 24 of them on board in order to remove Daniel Snyder as an owner. And, right now, that does not look like it's going to happen. So it's kind of a wait and see. And, oh, by the way, before I let you go, the Twins just scored. Nick Gordon hit a home run. So they're now up 1-0 in the third.
CATHY WURZER: Ah, there you go. OK. We're going to leave it there, you guys. Wally, enjoy the game. Thank you. And, Eric, thanks for joining us too.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ERIC NELSON: All right. Sounds good, Kathy.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Kathy. Have a great day.
CATHY WURZER: See ya. Wally Langfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score magazine. Eric Nelson is the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Radio's Eye on Football-- always good to talk to those guys. It's a nice day to go and watch baseball it's a little sweaty though, with temperatures and dew points rising in the Twin Cities. We'll check the forecast in a moment.
You know that Wally, of course, is the founder of Minnesota Score magazine and the co-host of 10,000 Takes sports talk show. Eric Nelson is the other host of 10,000 Takes. And Eric is also the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Radio's Eye on Football. Hey, guys. Wally, you're at the Twins game. What's happening out there?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, they're not losing-- no score here in the third inning. Of course, coming off of last night-- really a debacle for the Twins. They had a 5-1 lead. They had a 10-7 lead. And then they let that get away in the ninth inning. They gave up four runs in the top of the ninth and ended up losing 11-10.
So that moves Cleveland into first place ahead of the Minnesota Twins. And if the Twins could win today, they will move into a virtual tie, although Cleveland would still be ahead by percentage points. But it's really a pivotal game for the Twins because the last thing you want to do is get swept at home against a divisional rival. And it's a red-hot divisional rival with Cleveland.
And so, right now, there's no score in the bottom of the third inning. But the Twins have Devin Smeltzer on the mound. He has thrown three scoreless innings. He's given up just one hit. And Cleveland has countered with Zach Plesac. It's a beautiful day, but it's very warm and kind of a scant crowd. And I know, Eric, that you had some thoughts on the crowd situation over the last few days.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, I do, Wally. I was out there last night. I saw that Minnesota meltdown with my own eyes. And, really, it's amazing to me, Cathy. Two teams-- Cleveland and Minnesota-- battling for first place and they only had 22,000 at Target Field on Tuesday-- 25,000 last night. The crowd will be probably similar today at the game Wally's at.
And it tells me that Twins territory is staying away from the ballpark. And you can't blame the weather now. It has heated up. The kids are out of school. So the twins are running out of excuses. Now, to be fair, the weather did not warm up until this month. And the Twins had potential drawing-card teams like the LA Dodgers, Houston, and the New York Yankees come in to play midweek games. So that's not really a good break for Minnesota.
But when you look at Major League Baseball attendance, there are 30 teams. Minnesota ranks 21st, averaging just under 20,000 fans per game. And remember-- until two nights ago, the Twins had been in first place since April 24th. So I'm not sure why people aren't embracing the Minnesota Twins.
CATHY WURZER: Well, let's go from the Twins to the NBA. There's the big draft tonight, Wally. And who do you think Minnesota is going to get with that 19th pick in Round 1?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh, boy. That's really a crapshoot, Cathy. Obviously, it's a 19th pick. It's not going to be an impact player. I don't necessarily know that they draft for position either. I think that they're in a situation with the 19th pick that they might move it. They might try to trade up if they see a player that they like. They might try to trade down if they think they can get something in return that'll help them down the road. They also have three second-round picks.
So Tim Conley is now in charge of running the draft. He's with the Timberwolves' new man in charge. And we're going to see what direction he takes us. The big thing, of course, in all of the talk over the last couple of weeks is, do they stay with DeAngelo Russell, who they made that big trade for with Andrew Wiggins from Golden State a couple of years ago. Is he going to be their point guard of the future? Is it going to continue? Or are they going to deal him away? All of that probably comes to a head sometime, if not tonight, between now and the end of the summer.
CATHY WURZER: Say, Eric, Chet Holmgren has a chance to become the highest-selected Minnesota-raised player in the NBA Draft since Kevin McHale. How cool is that?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, it's really a fabulous story. And he could go 1 to Orlando-- maybe 2 to Oklahoma City. Here's a guy that played at Minnehaha Academy then went to Gonzaga-- played one year with the Gonzaga team. And now he's going to be a lottery pick.
The other thing that really just adds to this storyline is that Jalen Suggs was his teammate in high school at Minnehaha Academy. He left the year before Chet Holmgren, went to Gonzaga, almost won an NCAA title, and then got drafted 5th overall last season by the Orlando Magic. There are some people hoping the Magic take Holmgren to pair him up with his old high school teammate, Jalen Suggs. It's really a remarkable story.
There's some other Minnesota angles. Also, David Roddy will get drafted. He played at East Ridge and then went to Baylor University down in Waco, Texas. And then Roddy Brown, who was a star at Breck in Golden Valley, went on to Colorado State.
And, you know, Cathy, Minnesota has always been a hockey hotbed. It's now a hoops hotbed too. There have been nine players from the Land of Lakes drafted by NBA teams since 2015. So Minnesota is on the radar of basketball scouts.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, I did not know that. Say, before you all go, Wally, let's talk about the NFL. Roger Goodell is testifying before Congress. What's he doing?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, I mean, he's testifying before Congress and specifically talking about a lot of the sexual harassment issues that the National Football League has been dealing with-- more specifically, Daniel Snyder, who is the owner of the Washington Commanders. That's the team that was formerly known as the Redskins. And, you know, it took them forever to convince Snyder to change the name. And, obviously, it was pressure from FedEx, who has their name on their football field and is a major sponsor. That's what finally changed his mind.
But yeah, here's the takeaway from yesterday's hearing. Roger Goodell was asked about removing Daniel Snyder as an owner. And his answer was, he doesn't have the power to do that. Now, who does have the power are the other owners. And you have to get 24 of them on board in order to remove Daniel Snyder as an owner. And, right now, that does not look like it's going to happen. So it's kind of a wait and see. And, oh, by the way, before I let you go, the Twins just scored. Nick Gordon hit a home run. So they're now up 1-0 in the third.
CATHY WURZER: Ah, there you go. OK. We're going to leave it there, you guys. Wally, enjoy the game. Thank you. And, Eric, thanks for joining us too.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ERIC NELSON: All right. Sounds good, Kathy.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Kathy. Have a great day.
CATHY WURZER: See ya. Wally Langfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score magazine. Eric Nelson is the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Radio's Eye on Football-- always good to talk to those guys. It's a nice day to go and watch baseball it's a little sweaty though, with temperatures and dew points rising in the Twin Cities. We'll check the forecast in a moment.
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