This week in sports news with Wally and Eric
Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson celebrates after catching a 12-yard touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Saturday.
Bruce Kluckhohn | AP
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Audio transcript
WURZER It's 12:51, time for some sports. We return to turn to our experts Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson right now. Wally's the founder of Minnesota Score Magazine and the co-host of 10,000 Takes sports talk show at radio and TV. Eric's the other host of 10,000 Takes. He's also the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Radio's Eye on Football. Hey, guys. Welcome.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Cathy. How are you?
CATHY WURZER: Good. Thank you very much.
ERIC NELSON: Hey, Cathy, happy new year.
CATHY WURZER: And happy new year to you as well, Eric and Wally. So let's start with what's actually making news right now, Gopher football at the Pinstripe Bowl this afternoon.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, they are. As a matter of fact, they kick off here in just a few minutes, Yankee Stadium. And it's the last hurrah for running back Mo Ibrahim, who is the Gophers' all-time leading rusher. He has 52 career touchdowns as a Gopher, that's number one overall. It's the bad boy mower Pinstripe Bowl.
The question really becomes, will there be anyone there to watch this football game? Not a lot of ballyhoo in New York. They had trouble getting a lot of Gopher fans to go to this, a cold city in the middle of January, or in the middle of December, the end of December. Interesting to see how this is going to play out. But it is an extra game for the Gophers, and that's really what matters to the coaches and players.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, no doubt, Cathy. P.J. Fleck and the Gopher coaching staff will look at this as a chance to get more reps for their younger players who return next year. And they have a quarterback in Athan Kaliakmanis, AK, who is a young guy. And this will be invaluable experience for him to play in a Bowl game at Yankee Stadium.
But like Wally said, I don't think this thing is moving the needle in Gotham City. Certainly, not really here in the Twin Cities. It might be a little bit in Syracuse because that's upstate New York. But I did a Google search late last night and today trying to find articles on this game and nothing popped up in the New York City papers. Not The Post, not Newsday, not The New York Times. So I don't think the Big Apple is too thrilled about Pinstripe Bowl number 12. And, oh, by the way, New York City used to have another Bowl game.
CATHY WURZER: They did.
ERIC NELSON: In 1961 and 1962, it was the Gotham Bowl, and then that went away.
CATHY WURZER: OK. All right. Well, we'll see who wins the Pinstripe Bowl here, this afternoon. I am going to be curious to see who wins the Vikings-Green Bay game on Sunday.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah. And it all of a sudden carries a lot of meaning with the Vikings, with their win over the Giants. They still keep their hopes alive to get the number one overall seed. I mean, it's still unlikely. They would need Philadelphia to lose their last two and the Vikings would have to win their last two. But in this crazy season for the Vikings, anything's possible, I guess.
And on top of that, the Vikings, of course, still trying to hang on to the number two seed, which is where they currently are. Now the number two seed does not get a bye anymore, like they used to in the NFL. The number one seed is the only team that gets a bye in the first round.
But as the number two seed, if the Vikings were to land in that spot and if they were to win their first playoff game, they would also be home for their second playoff game. The only potential road game they would have in the playoffs before the Super Bowl would be at the number one seed, which would be Philadelphia. So it's important for Minnesota to go to Green Bay and win this football game.
They got another end of game thriller against the Giants, this past weekend on Christmas Eve when Greg Joseph hit a 61-yard field goal. Joseph was named NFC Special Teams Player of the week. So we shall see. We'll see how they match up. They beat Green Bay early on in this season. And now all of a sudden, as Eric will explain, the Packers have much to play for.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah and how about New Year's day 2023 on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, Cathy. If you want to go, cheapest ticket is $138. A few weeks ago, it looked like this game might not have much juice, because the Vikings had wrapped up the NFC North and Green Bay was sputtering, but the Packers are hot now.
They've won three in a row. And Green Bay can get into the playoffs if they win their last two, both home games, against Minnesota and Detroit, both dome teams, going into the elements in Wisconsin. And if Washington loses once, then the Packers will be in the playoffs. And before you discount Green Bay, the last time they won a Super Bowl, that was Super Bowl 45 against Pittsburgh, the Packers capped off their season in similar fashion.
They won five in a row. Their last two regular season games and three in the postseason to get to the Super Bowl and make it six straight with a crowning achievement victory over Pittsburgh. So that's what they're holding on to in Wisconsin. We did it once, we can do it again. We'll get on a roll and maybe make some history.
CATHY WURZER: This explains why my Wisconsin friends are pretty excited about the game, then. All right. Before we go, with about a minute and a half left, it looks like the Wild are coming off a decent win, and they're on a roll too.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah. They are. They have now won seven of their last eight. They beat Winnipeg the other night. Tuesday night, they win 4 to 1 over Winnipeg. They've been getting some great goal-tending from both Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson. And I think that has a lot to do with the direction that they're headed right now.
And they are just, you know, a few points out of first place in the Central Division. And lo and behold, the team that's in first place is the team that they play tonight. They play the Dallas Stars, of course, formerly the Minnesota North Stars back in the day, and they have them tonight at the X.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah. And Cathy, if Minnesota wins, the Wild will vault into second place ahead of the Winnipeg Jets, a team they beat the other night up in Manitoba. Dallas, oh, by the way, practiced outside in the Twin Cities yesterday, preparing for this game.
And if you're going to the X, and we all know about Kirill Kaprizov. He is an incredibly gifted player. Keep your eyes on Jason Robertson of Dallas, third leading scorer in the NHL with 51 points. And he was runner up to Kaprizov for Rookie of the Year, a couple of seasons ago. These are two young phenoms that'll be skating tonight.
CATHY WURZER: The Gopher Men's Basketball Team, that game that's tonight-- tonight's game was canceled, is that right?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: It is, yeah. Travel issues for Alcorn State. Would have been their last non-conference match-up. The game will not be rescheduled. Gophers' next game will be on Tuesday at 15th ranked Wisconsin. A very tall task for this young Minnesota team that is really trying to find their footing.
They've won their last couple of games. And I know Ben Johnson was disappointed to lose this game to the cancellation. But weather and I'm guessing travel were probably related to Southwest Airlines, I don't know that. They haven't announced that officially. But it probably had something to do with that, I'm guessing.
CATHY WURZER: OK. Well, happy new year, you guys. Thank you.
ERIC NELSON: Thanks a lot, Cathy.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Cathy.
ERIC NELSON: Same to you.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Happy new year.
CATHY WURZER: Wally Langfellow, Eric Nelson, our sports guys.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Cathy. How are you?
CATHY WURZER: Good. Thank you very much.
ERIC NELSON: Hey, Cathy, happy new year.
CATHY WURZER: And happy new year to you as well, Eric and Wally. So let's start with what's actually making news right now, Gopher football at the Pinstripe Bowl this afternoon.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, they are. As a matter of fact, they kick off here in just a few minutes, Yankee Stadium. And it's the last hurrah for running back Mo Ibrahim, who is the Gophers' all-time leading rusher. He has 52 career touchdowns as a Gopher, that's number one overall. It's the bad boy mower Pinstripe Bowl.
The question really becomes, will there be anyone there to watch this football game? Not a lot of ballyhoo in New York. They had trouble getting a lot of Gopher fans to go to this, a cold city in the middle of January, or in the middle of December, the end of December. Interesting to see how this is going to play out. But it is an extra game for the Gophers, and that's really what matters to the coaches and players.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, no doubt, Cathy. P.J. Fleck and the Gopher coaching staff will look at this as a chance to get more reps for their younger players who return next year. And they have a quarterback in Athan Kaliakmanis, AK, who is a young guy. And this will be invaluable experience for him to play in a Bowl game at Yankee Stadium.
But like Wally said, I don't think this thing is moving the needle in Gotham City. Certainly, not really here in the Twin Cities. It might be a little bit in Syracuse because that's upstate New York. But I did a Google search late last night and today trying to find articles on this game and nothing popped up in the New York City papers. Not The Post, not Newsday, not The New York Times. So I don't think the Big Apple is too thrilled about Pinstripe Bowl number 12. And, oh, by the way, New York City used to have another Bowl game.
CATHY WURZER: They did.
ERIC NELSON: In 1961 and 1962, it was the Gotham Bowl, and then that went away.
CATHY WURZER: OK. All right. Well, we'll see who wins the Pinstripe Bowl here, this afternoon. I am going to be curious to see who wins the Vikings-Green Bay game on Sunday.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah. And it all of a sudden carries a lot of meaning with the Vikings, with their win over the Giants. They still keep their hopes alive to get the number one overall seed. I mean, it's still unlikely. They would need Philadelphia to lose their last two and the Vikings would have to win their last two. But in this crazy season for the Vikings, anything's possible, I guess.
And on top of that, the Vikings, of course, still trying to hang on to the number two seed, which is where they currently are. Now the number two seed does not get a bye anymore, like they used to in the NFL. The number one seed is the only team that gets a bye in the first round.
But as the number two seed, if the Vikings were to land in that spot and if they were to win their first playoff game, they would also be home for their second playoff game. The only potential road game they would have in the playoffs before the Super Bowl would be at the number one seed, which would be Philadelphia. So it's important for Minnesota to go to Green Bay and win this football game.
They got another end of game thriller against the Giants, this past weekend on Christmas Eve when Greg Joseph hit a 61-yard field goal. Joseph was named NFC Special Teams Player of the week. So we shall see. We'll see how they match up. They beat Green Bay early on in this season. And now all of a sudden, as Eric will explain, the Packers have much to play for.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah and how about New Year's day 2023 on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, Cathy. If you want to go, cheapest ticket is $138. A few weeks ago, it looked like this game might not have much juice, because the Vikings had wrapped up the NFC North and Green Bay was sputtering, but the Packers are hot now.
They've won three in a row. And Green Bay can get into the playoffs if they win their last two, both home games, against Minnesota and Detroit, both dome teams, going into the elements in Wisconsin. And if Washington loses once, then the Packers will be in the playoffs. And before you discount Green Bay, the last time they won a Super Bowl, that was Super Bowl 45 against Pittsburgh, the Packers capped off their season in similar fashion.
They won five in a row. Their last two regular season games and three in the postseason to get to the Super Bowl and make it six straight with a crowning achievement victory over Pittsburgh. So that's what they're holding on to in Wisconsin. We did it once, we can do it again. We'll get on a roll and maybe make some history.
CATHY WURZER: This explains why my Wisconsin friends are pretty excited about the game, then. All right. Before we go, with about a minute and a half left, it looks like the Wild are coming off a decent win, and they're on a roll too.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah. They are. They have now won seven of their last eight. They beat Winnipeg the other night. Tuesday night, they win 4 to 1 over Winnipeg. They've been getting some great goal-tending from both Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson. And I think that has a lot to do with the direction that they're headed right now.
And they are just, you know, a few points out of first place in the Central Division. And lo and behold, the team that's in first place is the team that they play tonight. They play the Dallas Stars, of course, formerly the Minnesota North Stars back in the day, and they have them tonight at the X.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah. And Cathy, if Minnesota wins, the Wild will vault into second place ahead of the Winnipeg Jets, a team they beat the other night up in Manitoba. Dallas, oh, by the way, practiced outside in the Twin Cities yesterday, preparing for this game.
And if you're going to the X, and we all know about Kirill Kaprizov. He is an incredibly gifted player. Keep your eyes on Jason Robertson of Dallas, third leading scorer in the NHL with 51 points. And he was runner up to Kaprizov for Rookie of the Year, a couple of seasons ago. These are two young phenoms that'll be skating tonight.
CATHY WURZER: The Gopher Men's Basketball Team, that game that's tonight-- tonight's game was canceled, is that right?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: It is, yeah. Travel issues for Alcorn State. Would have been their last non-conference match-up. The game will not be rescheduled. Gophers' next game will be on Tuesday at 15th ranked Wisconsin. A very tall task for this young Minnesota team that is really trying to find their footing.
They've won their last couple of games. And I know Ben Johnson was disappointed to lose this game to the cancellation. But weather and I'm guessing travel were probably related to Southwest Airlines, I don't know that. They haven't announced that officially. But it probably had something to do with that, I'm guessing.
CATHY WURZER: OK. Well, happy new year, you guys. Thank you.
ERIC NELSON: Thanks a lot, Cathy.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Cathy.
ERIC NELSON: Same to you.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Happy new year.
CATHY WURZER: Wally Langfellow, Eric Nelson, our sports guys.
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