Lynx react to devastating semifinal loss, Vikings play across the pond
Kayla McBride #21 of the Minnesota Lynx attempts a shot against Kahleah Copper #2 of the Phoenix Mercury during the first half of Game Four of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs semifinals at PHX Arena on Sunday in Phoenix, Ariz.
Christian Petersen | Getty Images
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: Well, it is a mournful day for Minnesota Lynx fans. The team lost game 4 of the WNBA semi-finals to the Phoenix Mercury last night. That means they're out of the playoffs. The Lynx were ranked number one in the league this season and favored to make the finals. In an emotional press conference after the game, veteran player Kayla McBride said the loss stings because of how badly she wanted a championship for her teammates.
KAYLA MCBRIDE: I think Phoenix played a hell of a game, a hell of a series. They did what they had to do. And it's tough. But I wouldn't trade that locker room for anything. I would feel like this 100 times over to be with the people that I've been with. So that's why it's painful because you just want it to keep going.
NINA MOINI: And head coach Cheryl Reeve was not at the game. The league suspended her for behavior during and after the previous game in Phoenix, including these comments she made at a press conference.
KAYLA MCBRIDE: I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating. It's bad for the game. The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semi-finals playoff worthy is [BLEEP] malpractice.
NINA MOINI: Whoa. Reeve and some other coaches have said that the WNBA is becoming too physical. And joining me now to talk about this and other Minnesota sports news are sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Hey, guys.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Happy Monday
ERIC NELSON: How are you today, Nina?
NINA MOINI: Happy Monday. Cheryl Reeve really wasn't holding back there, Wally. We talked so much about how strong the Lynx were. They're usually kind of our bright spot when we get together on Mondays.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yes.
NINA MOINI: Where did things go wrong? It sounds like it was just kind of bad vibes without Reeve there to begin with.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, well, you said that she didn't hold back. Well, she had to be held back Friday night during game 3 against Phoenix. She literally went ballistic after no call was made and Napheesa Collier was hurt on the play late in the game on a steal by one of the Phoenix Mercury players. And she literally was on the court and had to be held back by players and coaches, as she was going after the official.
And then as you just heard and played the soundbite with from her after the game in the press conference, it didn't stop. So she ends up getting suspended, did not attend last night's game, and they didn't have Napheesa Collier either. So you're missing your best player and your head coach, so no surprise that they ended up losing.
I think that you point out something that is correct. It's surprising that they are not moving on. They were favored. But the physicality of the game is certainly a factor. And it has become a more physical game. And Cheryl's more of a purist, I think. I think that she likes to see more basketball and less pushing and shoving and physicality. And Phoenix was the better team under the rules that they are playing by. And they won last night 86-81.
Kayla McBride did come through. She had 31 points. So she tried to fill in as much as possible with the loss of Napheesa Collier. And Courtney Williams had 20. But they had the best record in the WNBA. Basically, they were playing out the string to get to the finals, through much of the rest of the regular season. And it doesn't happen, so wait till next year again, I guess.
But I tend to agree with Cheryl. I like the game. I like the flow of the game. I'm not sure that I would have gone crazy like she did on that particular play, if you watched the replays. And I don't know. There a bump. There was certainly-- Napheesa Collier definitely got bumped. But it looked like a fairly clean steal that led to the basket and really ended the game for Minnesota on Friday night. So it's off to the offseason. And guess what? The Timberwolves have their first preseason game one week from tomorrow night. So Target Center will still be jumping.
NINA MOINI: But really quick, do you think anything actually will change at the league level related to officiating? It sounds like she's not alone in her concerns. But she clearly went far there.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, no question that she did go over the top there, probably. But Eric and I were talking about this earlier. And she has a loud voice within the league. She's the Olympic coach, I mean, the nationals team coach, four championships. They don't get number five. So I think she'll be heard. How much it changes remains to be seen. I do think that it being the playoffs had something to do with it, as far as the enhancement of the physical type game. So we shall see. I guess that remains to be seen, honestly. And it's all interpretation. It really is.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Yeah. That makes it hard too. Let's talk about the Vikings now, Eric. They're an ocean away right now. And they played the Pittsburgh Steelers in Ireland. Tell us about that game.
ERIC NELSON: Well, I can tell you that the Irish eyes were not smiling on the Minnesota Vikings Sunday. And they had no lucky leprechaun on the sideline, as Pittsburgh won it 24 to 21, first ever NFL game played on the Emerald Isle at historic Croke Park, which the original version was built in the late 1880s. They have renovated it since then. But some guy named Aaron Rodgers-- remember him?
NINA MOINI: Yeah.
ERIC NELSON: Threw for 200 yards and one touchdown for the Steelers. He had a solid game. He hooked up with DJ Metcalf, who was a physical wideout, who had five catches, 126 yards, and a touchdown. And Pittsburgh had not been running the football all season until yesterday. Kenneth Gainwell ran for 99 yards. He scored two touchdowns. And Carson Wentz had a pretty good day for Minnesota. But he was under pressure all game. He was sacked six times by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And this was a huge home game for Pittsburgh. The whole Steeler Nation flocked over to Ireland. Their late owner Dan Rooney, who has Irish roots, and the franchise, they were pumped up to go to Dublin. They had a huge rally outside of Croke Park. So Pittsburgh gets the win.
But the Minnesota Vikings now want to avoid the dubious distinction of becoming the first team to go 0 for Europe in one season because they've got the Cleveland Browns this coming Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, UK. The Vikings are 2 and 2. The Browns are 1 and 3. Now, this is a different kind of stadium. It's much newer, capacity 62,580, no roof, and the playing surface is natural grass, so that should make for an incredible setting.
And Nina, this is the fifth time now that Minnesota has played a game in the United Kingdom. By comparison, the Jacksonville Jaguars have played 13 games in London. That's the most of any NFL team. But I will say this, the purple are very much at home in the land of the Beatles, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace, Minnesota 4 and 0 in the UK, including a 33 to 16 win in 2017 over the Browns. And that's the only time Cleveland has ever played a game in London, so they'll get game number two Sunday.
Their head coach is Kevin Stefanski. He was once with Minnesota under Mike Zimmer as an offensive coordinator. The Browns lost to Detroit yesterday, 34 to 10 in Michigan. They struggled to score points. But they have a left defensive end named Myles Garrett. He's one of the top defensive players in the NFL. He's a one-man wrecking ball, and he plays with the force of a hurricane. He is tough to block.
NINA MOINI: Well, we're going to have to leave it there, Wally and Eric. Appreciate you guys. Have a great week.
KAYLA MCBRIDE: I think Phoenix played a hell of a game, a hell of a series. They did what they had to do. And it's tough. But I wouldn't trade that locker room for anything. I would feel like this 100 times over to be with the people that I've been with. So that's why it's painful because you just want it to keep going.
NINA MOINI: And head coach Cheryl Reeve was not at the game. The league suspended her for behavior during and after the previous game in Phoenix, including these comments she made at a press conference.
KAYLA MCBRIDE: I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating. It's bad for the game. The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semi-finals playoff worthy is [BLEEP] malpractice.
NINA MOINI: Whoa. Reeve and some other coaches have said that the WNBA is becoming too physical. And joining me now to talk about this and other Minnesota sports news are sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Hey, guys.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Happy Monday
ERIC NELSON: How are you today, Nina?
NINA MOINI: Happy Monday. Cheryl Reeve really wasn't holding back there, Wally. We talked so much about how strong the Lynx were. They're usually kind of our bright spot when we get together on Mondays.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yes.
NINA MOINI: Where did things go wrong? It sounds like it was just kind of bad vibes without Reeve there to begin with.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, well, you said that she didn't hold back. Well, she had to be held back Friday night during game 3 against Phoenix. She literally went ballistic after no call was made and Napheesa Collier was hurt on the play late in the game on a steal by one of the Phoenix Mercury players. And she literally was on the court and had to be held back by players and coaches, as she was going after the official.
And then as you just heard and played the soundbite with from her after the game in the press conference, it didn't stop. So she ends up getting suspended, did not attend last night's game, and they didn't have Napheesa Collier either. So you're missing your best player and your head coach, so no surprise that they ended up losing.
I think that you point out something that is correct. It's surprising that they are not moving on. They were favored. But the physicality of the game is certainly a factor. And it has become a more physical game. And Cheryl's more of a purist, I think. I think that she likes to see more basketball and less pushing and shoving and physicality. And Phoenix was the better team under the rules that they are playing by. And they won last night 86-81.
Kayla McBride did come through. She had 31 points. So she tried to fill in as much as possible with the loss of Napheesa Collier. And Courtney Williams had 20. But they had the best record in the WNBA. Basically, they were playing out the string to get to the finals, through much of the rest of the regular season. And it doesn't happen, so wait till next year again, I guess.
But I tend to agree with Cheryl. I like the game. I like the flow of the game. I'm not sure that I would have gone crazy like she did on that particular play, if you watched the replays. And I don't know. There a bump. There was certainly-- Napheesa Collier definitely got bumped. But it looked like a fairly clean steal that led to the basket and really ended the game for Minnesota on Friday night. So it's off to the offseason. And guess what? The Timberwolves have their first preseason game one week from tomorrow night. So Target Center will still be jumping.
NINA MOINI: But really quick, do you think anything actually will change at the league level related to officiating? It sounds like she's not alone in her concerns. But she clearly went far there.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, no question that she did go over the top there, probably. But Eric and I were talking about this earlier. And she has a loud voice within the league. She's the Olympic coach, I mean, the nationals team coach, four championships. They don't get number five. So I think she'll be heard. How much it changes remains to be seen. I do think that it being the playoffs had something to do with it, as far as the enhancement of the physical type game. So we shall see. I guess that remains to be seen, honestly. And it's all interpretation. It really is.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Yeah. That makes it hard too. Let's talk about the Vikings now, Eric. They're an ocean away right now. And they played the Pittsburgh Steelers in Ireland. Tell us about that game.
ERIC NELSON: Well, I can tell you that the Irish eyes were not smiling on the Minnesota Vikings Sunday. And they had no lucky leprechaun on the sideline, as Pittsburgh won it 24 to 21, first ever NFL game played on the Emerald Isle at historic Croke Park, which the original version was built in the late 1880s. They have renovated it since then. But some guy named Aaron Rodgers-- remember him?
NINA MOINI: Yeah.
ERIC NELSON: Threw for 200 yards and one touchdown for the Steelers. He had a solid game. He hooked up with DJ Metcalf, who was a physical wideout, who had five catches, 126 yards, and a touchdown. And Pittsburgh had not been running the football all season until yesterday. Kenneth Gainwell ran for 99 yards. He scored two touchdowns. And Carson Wentz had a pretty good day for Minnesota. But he was under pressure all game. He was sacked six times by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And this was a huge home game for Pittsburgh. The whole Steeler Nation flocked over to Ireland. Their late owner Dan Rooney, who has Irish roots, and the franchise, they were pumped up to go to Dublin. They had a huge rally outside of Croke Park. So Pittsburgh gets the win.
But the Minnesota Vikings now want to avoid the dubious distinction of becoming the first team to go 0 for Europe in one season because they've got the Cleveland Browns this coming Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, UK. The Vikings are 2 and 2. The Browns are 1 and 3. Now, this is a different kind of stadium. It's much newer, capacity 62,580, no roof, and the playing surface is natural grass, so that should make for an incredible setting.
And Nina, this is the fifth time now that Minnesota has played a game in the United Kingdom. By comparison, the Jacksonville Jaguars have played 13 games in London. That's the most of any NFL team. But I will say this, the purple are very much at home in the land of the Beatles, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace, Minnesota 4 and 0 in the UK, including a 33 to 16 win in 2017 over the Browns. And that's the only time Cleveland has ever played a game in London, so they'll get game number two Sunday.
Their head coach is Kevin Stefanski. He was once with Minnesota under Mike Zimmer as an offensive coordinator. The Browns lost to Detroit yesterday, 34 to 10 in Michigan. They struggled to score points. But they have a left defensive end named Myles Garrett. He's one of the top defensive players in the NFL. He's a one-man wrecking ball, and he plays with the force of a hurricane. He is tough to block.
NINA MOINI: Well, we're going to have to leave it there, Wally and Eric. Appreciate you guys. Have a great week.
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