Minnesotans come out on top in men's, women's Team USA hockey
United States' Dylan Larkin (21) celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a men's ice hockey semifinal game between United States and Slovakia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20.
Petr David Josek | AP
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: Hockey fans may be feeling a little hoarse today. The Olympics wrapped with two wins for Team USA over Canada. Both games kept viewers on their toes, going into overtime, with the US beating a top rival 2 to 1, for both the men and women. Here's what winning gold sounded like at watch parties for the Women's final on Thursday, and the men's game yesterday.
[FANS CHEERING]
[FANS CHANTING "USA"]
Joining me now to talk about this and other sports news are sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Hey, guys. Happy Monday.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah. Same to you, Nina.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Happy post-Olympic Monday.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Those people are definitely hoarse today. They were really cheering away. Wally, give us a summary here of how the Olympics wrapped up this weekend.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, it ended, obviously, on a very high note for the US with the US Men's Olympic hockey team Downing Canada, as you just said, 2 to 1 in the gold medal game. Of course, the women won the gold by the same score over Canada as well last week on Thursday.
So for the first time ever, men's and women's win the gold medal in the same season at the same Olympics. Of course, the men hadn't won it since 1980. So we went 46 years without getting the gold. And, of course, 1980 was the Miracle on Ice, so to speak, when they beat the Soviet Union and then, a couple days later, had to beat Finland for the gold.
A of people still confuse that and think that we beat the Soviets for the gold, but that was not the case. We actually had to win another game to get the gold medal back in 1980. So, yeah, it was a terrific game.
I mean, in my mind, no comparison to 1980 because 1980 was a bunch of college kids, a lot of them from Minnesota-- I think 11 Minnesota kids-- going against the Soviets who were huge rivals, but they were professionals, for all intents and purposes. That was a David and Goliath.
This was Goliath versus Goliath. These were, potentially, the top 35 or 40 hockey players on the planet playing against each other. So a little bit different from that point of view. But, nonetheless, US gets the gold.
The game-winning goal goes to Jack Hughes, who, by the way, is the brother of Minnesota Wild's Quinn Hughes, who got the game-winning goal in overtime against Sweden last week. So a couple of game-winning overtime goals for the Hughes brothers. Jack Hughes plays for New Jersey, of course. Quinn Hughes plays for the Wild, who, by the way, are back in action on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche.
And then, as far as the overall picture of the Olympics this year, US finishes second in the total medals count. They finished with 12, 33 medals overall. Norway the runaway winner winter as far as total medals-- 41, 18 gold medals. But just a terrific ending for the US.
Four Minnesotans on that US men's hockey team. By the way, Matt Boldy of the Wild got the other goal-- not much talked about about that, but Matt Boldy of the Wild got the only other goal for the US. So without that, the US doesn't win the hockey game.
So a lot of Minnesota influence and just a great way to finish. And one other final note-- Minnesota Frost, of course, with all the women's players, they resume. They have a little bit more time off than the men do. They resume on Sunday. They'll be traveling to Montreal.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. We talked with a team manager for the Frost, and she was watching just super nervous on her couch with her water bottle last week on the show.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh, yeah.
NINA MOINI: It's just fun to see the entire communities that help these people and raise them up enjoy these wins as well. It's super cool.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah.
NINA MOINI: Not so victorious, though, Eric, for the Timberwolves yesterday. What happened in their game?
ERIC NELSON: No. If they were handing out medals last night, I think the Timberwolves would have gotten a copper medal. It was ugly. Philadelphia wins it 135 to 108-- convincing win for the 76ers in downtown Minneapolis. Tyrese Maxey scored 39 points, and he dished out eight assists to pace Philadelphia to the win.
Maxey was outstanding. He just could not be stopped by the Timberwolves. And so the win snaps a four-game losing skid for the 76ers. And it also puts an end to the Timberwolves' three-game winning streak. Anthony Edwards, the all-star game MVP, did have 28 for Minnesota, but it was not nearly enough as Philadelphia dominated most of the game.
And, Nina, both these teams were missing key players. Philadelphia was minus Joel Embiid and Paul George while Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid were out of the lineup for Minnesota. So the Timberwolves can't fall on that crutch of saying, well, we didn't have all our guys--
NINA MOINI: Sure.
ERIC NELSON: -- because neither did Philadelphia. Now, the T-Wolves' record drops to 35 and 23. They're currently the number six seed in the NBA's Western Conference. They now embark on a three-game road trip-- Tuesday night at Portland, Wednesday night at the Los Angeles Clippers, and then Sunday at Denver. But, hey, I'm always looking for a ray of light. And there was something last night, the bright spot for the 18,978 fans who came in out of the cold to Target Center to see the game-- rapper 50 Cent was there.
NINA MOINI: Oh, that's right.
ERIC NELSON: And he was tossing t-shirts into the crowd. So I don't think there was a lot to talk about if you're a T-Wolves fan, but maybe some of the youngsters enjoyed seeing 50 Cent in the house.
NINA MOINI: Often described as a ray of light--
[LAUGHTER]
-- 50, yeah. Wally, let's talk about college basketball. How are the Gophers doing?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, a good weekend for the Gopher men, not so good for the Gopher women, which, of course, is the reverse of what's been going on all season. The University of Minnesota women's basketball team, number 23 in the nation heading into yesterday's game against Michigan State, but they lost to Michigan State yesterday by a final score of 75 to 61. They got a huge game out of Tori McKinney. She had 29 points, 4 assists and two steals.
Amaya Battle finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and Sophie Hart had 10 points and 9 rebounds to go along with 2 blocks. But they lose the basketball game, and it's the first loss they've had now in nine games.
Still a great season thus far for the women. They're 21 and 7 overall, 12 and 5 in the Big Ten. And it's just been a terrific season for them. So they've got their eyes fixed on the NCAA Tournament. Unless they just bottom out here over the next couple of weeks, they'll be going to the NCAA Tournament.
As for the good news, as I said, the men beat Rutgers on Saturday. That was a home win for the men. They've now won two in a row. And, as Eric and I discovered, I didn't realize this, because last year, only 15 of the 18 teams in the Big Ten actually make the Big Ten Tournament-- I'm not talking about the NCAA. I'm talking about the conference tournament. Well, this year, they're bringing all 18. So the good news for Gopher men's basketball fans, you're in the Big Ten Tournament this year no matter what happens down the stretch.
NINA MOINI: Nice. All right, last question for you here, Eric. What's going on down at spring training for the Twins there in Fort Myers?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah. Actually, the Twins today are in Lakeland, Florida playing Detroit in a Grapefruit League game. That's already into the fourth inning, and the score is 0-0. But on Sunday, Minnesota was able to rough up Atlanta 8 to 1 in North Port, Florida. That's near Sarasota.
Alan Roden had two hits, including a grand slam for the Twins. Taj Bradley started on the mound. He struck out five in three innings. And Kendry Rojas pitched two innings, did not give up a hit, and he got the win for Minnesota. So we're very early, obviously, Nina, in the spring training season. But the Twins are 1 and 1 with that current game going on against Detroit.
Twins had a scare, though. All-Star pitcher Joe Ryan had an MRI on his lower back. But the tests show that he just has inflammation. Ryan is expected to be Minnesota's opening day starter March 26 in Baltimore. He's going to rest for a few days. He had tightness in the back.
NINA MOINI: Sure.
ERIC NELSON: And he's coming off an all-star season, Nina. And he is now the Twins ace because they lost Pablo Lopez last week. He's out for the season.
NINA MOINI: All right. Thank you so much, Wally and Eric. Good to have you, as always.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina.
ERIC NELSON: Thanks, Nina.
NINA MOINI: That's our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.
[FANS CHEERING]
[FANS CHANTING "USA"]
Joining me now to talk about this and other sports news are sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Hey, guys. Happy Monday.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah. Same to you, Nina.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Happy post-Olympic Monday.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Those people are definitely hoarse today. They were really cheering away. Wally, give us a summary here of how the Olympics wrapped up this weekend.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, it ended, obviously, on a very high note for the US with the US Men's Olympic hockey team Downing Canada, as you just said, 2 to 1 in the gold medal game. Of course, the women won the gold by the same score over Canada as well last week on Thursday.
So for the first time ever, men's and women's win the gold medal in the same season at the same Olympics. Of course, the men hadn't won it since 1980. So we went 46 years without getting the gold. And, of course, 1980 was the Miracle on Ice, so to speak, when they beat the Soviet Union and then, a couple days later, had to beat Finland for the gold.
A of people still confuse that and think that we beat the Soviets for the gold, but that was not the case. We actually had to win another game to get the gold medal back in 1980. So, yeah, it was a terrific game.
I mean, in my mind, no comparison to 1980 because 1980 was a bunch of college kids, a lot of them from Minnesota-- I think 11 Minnesota kids-- going against the Soviets who were huge rivals, but they were professionals, for all intents and purposes. That was a David and Goliath.
This was Goliath versus Goliath. These were, potentially, the top 35 or 40 hockey players on the planet playing against each other. So a little bit different from that point of view. But, nonetheless, US gets the gold.
The game-winning goal goes to Jack Hughes, who, by the way, is the brother of Minnesota Wild's Quinn Hughes, who got the game-winning goal in overtime against Sweden last week. So a couple of game-winning overtime goals for the Hughes brothers. Jack Hughes plays for New Jersey, of course. Quinn Hughes plays for the Wild, who, by the way, are back in action on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche.
And then, as far as the overall picture of the Olympics this year, US finishes second in the total medals count. They finished with 12, 33 medals overall. Norway the runaway winner winter as far as total medals-- 41, 18 gold medals. But just a terrific ending for the US.
Four Minnesotans on that US men's hockey team. By the way, Matt Boldy of the Wild got the other goal-- not much talked about about that, but Matt Boldy of the Wild got the only other goal for the US. So without that, the US doesn't win the hockey game.
So a lot of Minnesota influence and just a great way to finish. And one other final note-- Minnesota Frost, of course, with all the women's players, they resume. They have a little bit more time off than the men do. They resume on Sunday. They'll be traveling to Montreal.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. We talked with a team manager for the Frost, and she was watching just super nervous on her couch with her water bottle last week on the show.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh, yeah.
NINA MOINI: It's just fun to see the entire communities that help these people and raise them up enjoy these wins as well. It's super cool.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah.
NINA MOINI: Not so victorious, though, Eric, for the Timberwolves yesterday. What happened in their game?
ERIC NELSON: No. If they were handing out medals last night, I think the Timberwolves would have gotten a copper medal. It was ugly. Philadelphia wins it 135 to 108-- convincing win for the 76ers in downtown Minneapolis. Tyrese Maxey scored 39 points, and he dished out eight assists to pace Philadelphia to the win.
Maxey was outstanding. He just could not be stopped by the Timberwolves. And so the win snaps a four-game losing skid for the 76ers. And it also puts an end to the Timberwolves' three-game winning streak. Anthony Edwards, the all-star game MVP, did have 28 for Minnesota, but it was not nearly enough as Philadelphia dominated most of the game.
And, Nina, both these teams were missing key players. Philadelphia was minus Joel Embiid and Paul George while Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid were out of the lineup for Minnesota. So the Timberwolves can't fall on that crutch of saying, well, we didn't have all our guys--
NINA MOINI: Sure.
ERIC NELSON: -- because neither did Philadelphia. Now, the T-Wolves' record drops to 35 and 23. They're currently the number six seed in the NBA's Western Conference. They now embark on a three-game road trip-- Tuesday night at Portland, Wednesday night at the Los Angeles Clippers, and then Sunday at Denver. But, hey, I'm always looking for a ray of light. And there was something last night, the bright spot for the 18,978 fans who came in out of the cold to Target Center to see the game-- rapper 50 Cent was there.
NINA MOINI: Oh, that's right.
ERIC NELSON: And he was tossing t-shirts into the crowd. So I don't think there was a lot to talk about if you're a T-Wolves fan, but maybe some of the youngsters enjoyed seeing 50 Cent in the house.
NINA MOINI: Often described as a ray of light--
[LAUGHTER]
-- 50, yeah. Wally, let's talk about college basketball. How are the Gophers doing?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, a good weekend for the Gopher men, not so good for the Gopher women, which, of course, is the reverse of what's been going on all season. The University of Minnesota women's basketball team, number 23 in the nation heading into yesterday's game against Michigan State, but they lost to Michigan State yesterday by a final score of 75 to 61. They got a huge game out of Tori McKinney. She had 29 points, 4 assists and two steals.
Amaya Battle finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and Sophie Hart had 10 points and 9 rebounds to go along with 2 blocks. But they lose the basketball game, and it's the first loss they've had now in nine games.
Still a great season thus far for the women. They're 21 and 7 overall, 12 and 5 in the Big Ten. And it's just been a terrific season for them. So they've got their eyes fixed on the NCAA Tournament. Unless they just bottom out here over the next couple of weeks, they'll be going to the NCAA Tournament.
As for the good news, as I said, the men beat Rutgers on Saturday. That was a home win for the men. They've now won two in a row. And, as Eric and I discovered, I didn't realize this, because last year, only 15 of the 18 teams in the Big Ten actually make the Big Ten Tournament-- I'm not talking about the NCAA. I'm talking about the conference tournament. Well, this year, they're bringing all 18. So the good news for Gopher men's basketball fans, you're in the Big Ten Tournament this year no matter what happens down the stretch.
NINA MOINI: Nice. All right, last question for you here, Eric. What's going on down at spring training for the Twins there in Fort Myers?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah. Actually, the Twins today are in Lakeland, Florida playing Detroit in a Grapefruit League game. That's already into the fourth inning, and the score is 0-0. But on Sunday, Minnesota was able to rough up Atlanta 8 to 1 in North Port, Florida. That's near Sarasota.
Alan Roden had two hits, including a grand slam for the Twins. Taj Bradley started on the mound. He struck out five in three innings. And Kendry Rojas pitched two innings, did not give up a hit, and he got the win for Minnesota. So we're very early, obviously, Nina, in the spring training season. But the Twins are 1 and 1 with that current game going on against Detroit.
Twins had a scare, though. All-Star pitcher Joe Ryan had an MRI on his lower back. But the tests show that he just has inflammation. Ryan is expected to be Minnesota's opening day starter March 26 in Baltimore. He's going to rest for a few days. He had tightness in the back.
NINA MOINI: Sure.
ERIC NELSON: And he's coming off an all-star season, Nina. And he is now the Twins ace because they lost Pablo Lopez last week. He's out for the season.
NINA MOINI: All right. Thank you so much, Wally and Eric. Good to have you, as always.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina.
ERIC NELSON: Thanks, Nina.
NINA MOINI: That's our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.
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