Vikings return to U.S. with a win; Collier dispute with WNBA leadership continues

NINA MOINI: The Minnesota Vikings remain undefeated in London. They kept the streak alive yesterday with a comeback against the Cleveland Browns. Jordan Addison caught a touchdown pass from Carson Wentz with 25 seconds left in the game. That play made the final score 21 to 17. The team has now played five regular season games in London, starting in 2013. It's part of the NFL's effort to grow its fan base in the UK.

Joining me now to talk about this and other Minnesota sports news are contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Hey, guys. Happy Monday.

ERIC NELSON: Yeah, same to you, Nina.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Happy Monday to you.

NINA MOINI: Undefeated in London. I'm going to start using that. [LAUGHS] So what were some of the standout moments from that last London game, Wally.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, I mean I think it all boiled down to that final drive. The Browns elected to punt the football when they had the ball on the Vikings' 40-yard line with roughly 3 minutes to go, a little over. I think it was 3:05 to go.

And they had a fourth and 1. They decided to punt. The Vikings ended up with the ball on the 20 after a touchback, meaning that the punt went through into the end zone. And Carson Wentz was nothing less than brilliant, the Vikings backup quarterback, who is now quarterback number one because J.J. McCarthy, as you know, still hurt.

I think we may have created a little bit of a controversy of the quarterback position because it went so well. He was 9 for 9 passing. The 80 yard drive, as you mentioned, capitulated by the toss to Jordan Addison at the end. And Addison gets into the end zone with 25 seconds to go. And they win the football game.

And this is Jordan Addison, who, by the way, had to sit the first quarter because he missed a walk through practice earlier in the week. And, of course, we know Jordan Addison has had his issues with driving 150 miles an hour down I-94 a couple of years ago. And then last year, he ended up being suspended the first three games this year because of a DWI incident in Los Angeles.

So hopefully this helps rein him in because he is an important part of what they're doing. But on the field, that last drive said it all. And the Vikings come home, as you mentioned, 5 and 0 in London, 1 and 1 on this European trip. And now they have a week off before they take on Philadelphia at home, which, of course, is two weeks from yesterday.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. Eric, what are you thinking for that Philadelphia game? I mean, these are the defending Super Bowl champs, right?

ERIC NELSON: Oh, they are. But boy, the Eagles had a major hiccup yesterday at the Linc in Philadelphia, Nina. Philadelphia was up 17 to 3 in the fourth quarter against Denver and coughed up the lead. The Broncos scored 18 points to shock the Eagles, win the game 21-17, so they're no longer perfect.

And there's a bit of a controversy in the city of Not-So-Brotherly Love, revolving around their superstar running back, Saquon Barkley. Now, he had a 47-yard touchdown catch in the game yesterday. But he only carried the ball six times for 30 yards.

And this is incredibly hard to fathom because Barkley ran last season for 2005 yards. He had 15 touchdowns. And in Philadelphia, he's just as popular as Rocky Balboa and the Liberty Bell.

Now, the Eagles do play a game Thursday night against the New York Giants in the New Jersey Meadowlands. I'm guessing Barkley is going to touch that football at least 30 times. And he's going to touch it a lot when he comes here to Minnesota.

Now, another angle, Carson Wentz, if he does start for the Vikings against the Eagles, I imagine he's going to be extra motivated. Let's not forget he was drafted by Philadelphia in 2016, played five seasons for the Eagles.

So he gets to come back and see his old team, presumably as a starter. I'm not sure when we're going to find out. Might be late next week when KOC, the Vikings head coach, Kevin O'Connell, tips his hand.

And one other Philadelphia note. The Eagles have never played Minnesota at US Bank Stadium or the House of Noise, as I call it, in a regular season game. But the Eagles won Super Bowl 52 in the venue, if you remember, when they knocked off New England in 2018 right here in Minneapolis. And Wentz was in the building. But he was injured. And it was Nick Foles, who was the Eagles quarterback, who won that Super Bowl.

NINA MOINI: Oh, interesting. So we'll see what happens when they're back at US Bank Stadium. Let's talk about the Lynx. Lots going on there. I was kind of following this on social media. Lynx Player Napheesa Collier made national headlines last week when she called out WNBA leadership, specifically league commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Wally, catch us up on what's the latest in this dispute.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, as you said, there is a dispute. Last week, Collier called Engelbert the worst leadership in the world and a commissioner who lacks accountability in really a blistering assessment.

And basically, it was denied by Engelbert, some of the things that Napheesa Collier went on to say that they had discussed with each other. So as a result of this back and forth, there was a planned meeting for this week.

Well, when Engelbert denied some of the things that Napheesa said that Engelbert said, if you're following me here, she denied that she had said some of these things to Napheesa Collier. And so as a result, Collier said over the weekend, forget it. I'm not going to meet with you this week.

So now there's a Cold War going on between the two. And this is a big deal because, let's face it, the WNBA is heading up. Collective bargaining agreement is going to be up this summer.

So there's all kinds of things going on here. And this is a very interesting turn because the players, as you might imagine, are in Napheesa Collier's-- they're in her corner. And Cathy Engelbert's got to get this thing straightened out sooner rather than later.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, so much going on there and this dispute over officiating and accountability for the league. And it's just fascinating and concerning to watch. I hope they do figure something out. Also want to talk before we have to go, Eric, about the Minnesota United just has one game left in the regular season. How are the Loons looking?

ERIC NELSON: Oh, very good, Nina. They had what they call a clean sheet the other night at Allianz Field in St. Paul, a 3-0 win over Sporting Kansas City. Anthony Markanich got two of the goals. They had a crowd of 19,874. It was 80 degrees just two nights ago.

And their goalkeeper, Dayne St. Clair, he's the real deal. He plays on the Canadian Olympic team. He got the shutout, gave up no goals. So next up is a week from Saturday in St. Paul, LA Galaxy at Minnesota United.

The Galaxy won the MLS Cup last season. In fact, they knocked Minnesota out in the semis. But the Galaxy are down this year. It's the final game of the regular season. The Loons have 58 points. They trail San Diego FC and Vancouver by just two in the race for the top spot in the MLS West. But I think Minnesota United clearly is in the mix to make a run and maybe bring that MLS Cup to the Twin Cities. A lot has to go right. But I think you could say they have a good chance.

NINA MOINI: OK. All right. Wally and Eric, you're the best. Thanks so much.

ERIC NELSON: Thanks, Nina.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: All right. Thanks, Nina.

NINA MOINI: That's our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.