This week in sports
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers onWednesday in Minneapolis.
Stacy Bengs | AP
MPR News host Cathy Wurzer chats about the Twins, Lindsay Whalen’s contract buyout, high school basketball, and Minnesota United with sports guys Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.
Wally is the founder of Minnesota Score magazine and the cohost of "10,000 Takes" sports talk show. Eric is the other host and 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: Hey. It's that time of the week when we talk sports. Wally Langfellow, Eric Nelson are both here. Wally is the creator of Minnesota Score magazine and the host of the 10,000 Takes sports talk show. His co-host is Eric Nelson, who's also the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Eye On Football show. Hey, guys. How are you?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Good. How are you, Cathy?
CATHY WURZER: Fine, thank you.
ERIC NELSON: How are you doing, Cathy?
CATHY WURZER: Well, so far so good, Eric. We want to hear your voice. I always get a big smile on my face. I enjoy both of you guys here on the program. We're going to talk Twins right now. How are they doing? I've kind of lost track of them, to be honest with you.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, they have opened up a 3.5 game lead in the American League Central over Cleveland. They open up a four game homestand tonight against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field. Game's starting a little bit earlier than usual because there's a concert afterwards. The Twins earlier this week in their so-called border battle with Milwaukee, they took two from the Brewers.
They have now won four of their last five, including a win yesterday, 4 to 2, in the haze and smoky conditions at Target Field. I was there, and it was interesting to watch the Brewers right fielder navigate fly balls in the smoke filled stadium. It really was. It was so different, for sure.
Tonight, hopefully most of that smoky haze will be gone. Sonny Gray on the mound for Minnesota tonight. And oh, by the way, Byron Buxton will be back tonight in the lineup. He's been out for about two weeks with sore ribs after he got plunked by a pitch versus Cleveland a couple of weeks ago.
The Twins in a corresponding move, they sent Trevor Larnach back to triple-A in St. Paul to make room for Byron Buxton. So as oft injured as he is, he is back again tonight. Hopefully he stays in the lineup.
CATHY WURZER: We'll see. Eric, what do you think?
ERIC NELSON: Well, Cathy, I know one thing-- it was an ideal scenario for the Twins Tuesday and Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, the arch rival across the border. I was at the game Tuesday. And they had 34,000 fans, 32,000 plus yesterday. So the cheeseheads came, they saw, they did not conquer, because their team lost both games.
But they drank a lot, as usual. And they definitely spent money in local restaurants and bars. So that was win-win for downtown Minneapolis. There should be a good crowd tonight against Detroit.
Wally mentioned the concert. The rapper T-Pain will be performing after the game. So if you want to come out to the venue, Cathy, there are some seats available. Tickets on the secondary market before those fees are added in going for $18.
The Tigers are in freefall mode. They got swept in a double dip yesterday by Atlanta in downtown Motown. They did win on Monday. But before that, Detroit had lost 9 in a row. And by the way, the Twins are right now in almost the middle of this 10 game homestand, which is the longest they'll have this year.
Boston comes in early next week. So they are in first place. They're playing better. The weather's warmed up. Hopefully the smoke has been blown away. And come on out and see a good baseball team.
CATHY WURZER: All right. Hey, Lindsay Whalen-- interesting that she took this buyout of her contract, Wally. What was going on there?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, I mean, she had a choice to make. She got relieved of her duties, as you recall, back in March as head coach of the Gopher women's basketball program. But in her contract was a $215,000 buyout.
And the other choice that she was given was to continue on as a special assistant to Athletic Director Mark Coyle. And I think that was more or less going to be helping with recruiting, helping to bring money into the University of Minnesota.
And she declined. She decided to move on, take the $215,000, and run. I mean, you and I would be happy with a $215,000 buyout, I'm sure. And so Lindsay decided that was probably best for her.
It's hard. You get into a situation where you are the head coach for the last four years, now you're not, but you're still plugging for the program. I think that would have been very difficult for her. And it turns her kind of, more or less, into a sales person.
And that might not be what she wanted to do. So she decided to take the money and run, so to speak.
CATHY WURZER: Eric.
ERIC NELSON: Awkward situation. And it was really, to me, just a typical way that Minnesota handles stuff like this-- the Gophers or some of the local pro teams. It was a passive aggressive decision by Mark Coyle. Just say she's been relieved of her duties and move on.
It was a tough decision. She's a local legend, Lindsay Whalen. No question about it. As a player, she was outstanding. She's in the Hall of Fame. As a coach, it didn't go well.
And they were unable to win games. And that's why the move was made. But it was just so passive aggressive with Mark Coyle trying to keep her on-- Coyle being the athletic director around the U of M.
And if you're the new head coach, Dawn Plitzuweit, you probably don't want to see the old head coach in the building. So this is probably the best decision for all parties involved here.
CATHY WURZER: Say, we have to mention that at the end of the school year here, we've had several state tournaments, Wally-- golf, lacrosse, and baseball. So it's all wrapping up here at the end of the year-- end of the school year.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: It is. Actually, tomorrow will be the finals in the state baseball tournament for high school. And it's moved over to CHS Field this year because, as we just talked about, the Twins are at Target Field this weekend. So they had to move it over to CHS Field.
The Class 4A tournament, the entire tournament has been at CHS Field. So they are not switching venues, so to speak. But no championships at Target Field this year because of the Twins being at home.
The four games tomorrow begin at 10:00 AM with Lyle Pacelli and Fosston in 1A, Purham and Esko in 2A, Mahtomedi and New Prague in 3A, and then it'll be capped off with a 7:30 game for the 4A championship between the big schools of Eastridge and Rosemont. And that will basically put a lid on this year's high school events.
CATHY WURZER: Wow. OK. Before we go, Eric, the Loons-- they're off this week.
ERIC NELSON: They are. And Minnesota United has been struggling recently, Cathy. The next match for MNU is June 24 at Real Salt Lake. The next home match on the pitch at Allianz Field will be June 28 against 1FCK. Right now, if you look at the standings, MLS Western Conference, Minnesota United in a four way tie for eighth place in the conference.
The line of demarcation, you have to be seventh place or better to make the postseason. So they're scrambling to get back into a postseason spot. And we'll see what they do in a couple of weeks against Real Salt Lake.
Their next home match not until July 1 against Portland. So they need to crank it up and start playing some better soccer, MNU, or they're going to be out of the postseason picture this year.
CATHY WURZER: Of course who's playing some really good soccer, Aurora. The Aurora. Good for them.
ERIC NELSON: And they had to go inside last night, Cathy. They were going to play at TCO Performance Center in Eagan. And the smoke pushed them inside a bubble in the East Metro.
CATHY WURZER: Gah, that smoke was awful.
ERIC NELSON: It was not good optics.
CATHY WURZER: No. No. When you can taste the smoke, it's not good. All right, you guys, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: See you.
ERIC NELSON: Thanks, Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: See you later. That's Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson, our sports guys.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Good. How are you, Cathy?
CATHY WURZER: Fine, thank you.
ERIC NELSON: How are you doing, Cathy?
CATHY WURZER: Well, so far so good, Eric. We want to hear your voice. I always get a big smile on my face. I enjoy both of you guys here on the program. We're going to talk Twins right now. How are they doing? I've kind of lost track of them, to be honest with you.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, they have opened up a 3.5 game lead in the American League Central over Cleveland. They open up a four game homestand tonight against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field. Game's starting a little bit earlier than usual because there's a concert afterwards. The Twins earlier this week in their so-called border battle with Milwaukee, they took two from the Brewers.
They have now won four of their last five, including a win yesterday, 4 to 2, in the haze and smoky conditions at Target Field. I was there, and it was interesting to watch the Brewers right fielder navigate fly balls in the smoke filled stadium. It really was. It was so different, for sure.
Tonight, hopefully most of that smoky haze will be gone. Sonny Gray on the mound for Minnesota tonight. And oh, by the way, Byron Buxton will be back tonight in the lineup. He's been out for about two weeks with sore ribs after he got plunked by a pitch versus Cleveland a couple of weeks ago.
The Twins in a corresponding move, they sent Trevor Larnach back to triple-A in St. Paul to make room for Byron Buxton. So as oft injured as he is, he is back again tonight. Hopefully he stays in the lineup.
CATHY WURZER: We'll see. Eric, what do you think?
ERIC NELSON: Well, Cathy, I know one thing-- it was an ideal scenario for the Twins Tuesday and Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, the arch rival across the border. I was at the game Tuesday. And they had 34,000 fans, 32,000 plus yesterday. So the cheeseheads came, they saw, they did not conquer, because their team lost both games.
But they drank a lot, as usual. And they definitely spent money in local restaurants and bars. So that was win-win for downtown Minneapolis. There should be a good crowd tonight against Detroit.
Wally mentioned the concert. The rapper T-Pain will be performing after the game. So if you want to come out to the venue, Cathy, there are some seats available. Tickets on the secondary market before those fees are added in going for $18.
The Tigers are in freefall mode. They got swept in a double dip yesterday by Atlanta in downtown Motown. They did win on Monday. But before that, Detroit had lost 9 in a row. And by the way, the Twins are right now in almost the middle of this 10 game homestand, which is the longest they'll have this year.
Boston comes in early next week. So they are in first place. They're playing better. The weather's warmed up. Hopefully the smoke has been blown away. And come on out and see a good baseball team.
CATHY WURZER: All right. Hey, Lindsay Whalen-- interesting that she took this buyout of her contract, Wally. What was going on there?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, I mean, she had a choice to make. She got relieved of her duties, as you recall, back in March as head coach of the Gopher women's basketball program. But in her contract was a $215,000 buyout.
And the other choice that she was given was to continue on as a special assistant to Athletic Director Mark Coyle. And I think that was more or less going to be helping with recruiting, helping to bring money into the University of Minnesota.
And she declined. She decided to move on, take the $215,000, and run. I mean, you and I would be happy with a $215,000 buyout, I'm sure. And so Lindsay decided that was probably best for her.
It's hard. You get into a situation where you are the head coach for the last four years, now you're not, but you're still plugging for the program. I think that would have been very difficult for her. And it turns her kind of, more or less, into a sales person.
And that might not be what she wanted to do. So she decided to take the money and run, so to speak.
CATHY WURZER: Eric.
ERIC NELSON: Awkward situation. And it was really, to me, just a typical way that Minnesota handles stuff like this-- the Gophers or some of the local pro teams. It was a passive aggressive decision by Mark Coyle. Just say she's been relieved of her duties and move on.
It was a tough decision. She's a local legend, Lindsay Whalen. No question about it. As a player, she was outstanding. She's in the Hall of Fame. As a coach, it didn't go well.
And they were unable to win games. And that's why the move was made. But it was just so passive aggressive with Mark Coyle trying to keep her on-- Coyle being the athletic director around the U of M.
And if you're the new head coach, Dawn Plitzuweit, you probably don't want to see the old head coach in the building. So this is probably the best decision for all parties involved here.
CATHY WURZER: Say, we have to mention that at the end of the school year here, we've had several state tournaments, Wally-- golf, lacrosse, and baseball. So it's all wrapping up here at the end of the year-- end of the school year.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: It is. Actually, tomorrow will be the finals in the state baseball tournament for high school. And it's moved over to CHS Field this year because, as we just talked about, the Twins are at Target Field this weekend. So they had to move it over to CHS Field.
The Class 4A tournament, the entire tournament has been at CHS Field. So they are not switching venues, so to speak. But no championships at Target Field this year because of the Twins being at home.
The four games tomorrow begin at 10:00 AM with Lyle Pacelli and Fosston in 1A, Purham and Esko in 2A, Mahtomedi and New Prague in 3A, and then it'll be capped off with a 7:30 game for the 4A championship between the big schools of Eastridge and Rosemont. And that will basically put a lid on this year's high school events.
CATHY WURZER: Wow. OK. Before we go, Eric, the Loons-- they're off this week.
ERIC NELSON: They are. And Minnesota United has been struggling recently, Cathy. The next match for MNU is June 24 at Real Salt Lake. The next home match on the pitch at Allianz Field will be June 28 against 1FCK. Right now, if you look at the standings, MLS Western Conference, Minnesota United in a four way tie for eighth place in the conference.
The line of demarcation, you have to be seventh place or better to make the postseason. So they're scrambling to get back into a postseason spot. And we'll see what they do in a couple of weeks against Real Salt Lake.
Their next home match not until July 1 against Portland. So they need to crank it up and start playing some better soccer, MNU, or they're going to be out of the postseason picture this year.
CATHY WURZER: Of course who's playing some really good soccer, Aurora. The Aurora. Good for them.
ERIC NELSON: And they had to go inside last night, Cathy. They were going to play at TCO Performance Center in Eagan. And the smoke pushed them inside a bubble in the East Metro.
CATHY WURZER: Gah, that smoke was awful.
ERIC NELSON: It was not good optics.
CATHY WURZER: No. No. When you can taste the smoke, it's not good. All right, you guys, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: See you.
ERIC NELSON: Thanks, Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: See you later. That's Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson, our sports guys.
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