Good news. The Twins are no longer the worst team in their division

NINA MOINI: There's been a seasonal shift over the last week, and I'm not talking about the weather. The Playoffs ended in elimination for the Minnesota Frost, the Wild, and the Timberwolves. But another set of sports teams are still busy, like the Twins in baseball and the Loons in soccer. The Minnesota Lynx are just getting started, and our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson, are here to help us with this transition. Thanks to you both for being here as always.

ERIC NELSON: Happy Monday.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina.

NINA MOINI: Happy Monday.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: We're done with hoops and pucks for a while, at least on the men's side.

NINA MOINI: Well, the Twins got a win yesterday, Wally. What happened in their game against the Brewers?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, they got a win, and it's a good win for the Twins. They've salvaged the third game of that series against the Brewers. They lost the first two. They win 5-4 yesterday. Bailey Ober pitched fairly well, three runs in five innings. Ryan Jeffers hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning that snapped a 3-3 tie.

Twins are now 21 and 26, 4 and 1/2 games behind first place. Cleveland-- so, again, geography works in their favor because the American League Central is not that good, and so the Twins, theoretically, are still very much in the race here in mid to late-May.

And the other good news is they're not in last place anymore. That honor goes to the Tigers and the Royals. They're both 20 and 27, so the Twins are a game ahead of them.

And here's the other piece of good news. The Twins relievers, which have-- the bullpen has been shoddy, bad, lousy? Well, they were pretty good yesterday. They gave up just one run in the final four innings. That came off of reliever Luis Garcia in the ninth inning, but the Twins hang on for the win.

Twins go to Milwaukee in early August for three more against their rivals to the east. So yes, good news from Target Field yesterday.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and we had one of our colleagues was there yesterday, Eric, and said it was a beautiful day, the ballpark. Not many people in the stands, though. What's next for the Twins?

ERIC NELSON: Well, yeah, I was there, too, and let's be clear, they still drew above their average, the Twins did yesterday. They had 25,375 in the House. Saturday they had their second largest crowd of the season, 33,000-plus, just over 24K on Friday.

Minnesota's attendance, though, was woeful. Averaging 19,833 this season, that's 24th-lowest out of 30 teams. But look, the Cheeseheads tried to stage a coup d'état because it was mostly Brewer fans in the house all weekend for this I-94 rivalry series. They came, they saw, they ate, they drank, mostly liquor, and they pumped a lot of money into the bars, restaurants, and hotels in the Twin Cities.

Without this fan base from Wisconsin, it would have been a bleak weekend for the Twins at Target Field. And that's how it's going to be tonight because Houston comes into town. The once-powerful Astros are 19 and 29. The Twins are 21 and 26, so it's not really a sexy match-up. The cheapest ticket on the secondary market is $7.

And the Astros, who are usually a World Series contender, they're really banged up. They have some key injuries. You may remember a guy by the name of Carlos Correa, who played for the Twins for many seasons, he injured his left ankle earlier this month, he's out for the season. Freak injury. Happened on a routine swing in the batting cage before a game against the LA Dodgers, and now Correa is expected to be out six to eight months.

And the other big name in Houston, their second baseman, Jose Altuve, he's on the injured list too with a Grade 2 left oblique strain. That would be the love handle.

NINA MOINI: Wow. OK, well, if people want to bleak evening, I guess, at the ballpark, they can head there. No, I'm sure it'll be lovely. Wally, the Lynx lost to Chicago yesterday at home. How are they looking after some of the changes in their roster?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well-- and I think the big thing right now is the missing person, and that would be Napheesa Collier. She is their star player and she is still waiting to get back at full strength, back in the lineup, presumably sometime in mid-June. We'll have to wait and see how that plays out.

They lose to Chicago yesterday at Target Center, 86-79. Kayla McBride had a good game. She had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, a block, and an assist, so she had a really good game. Courtney Williams added 17 points, she was 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. She also had 5 rebounds. But it was rookie guard Gabriela Jaquez for Chicago with 20 points to lead the way.

So the Lynx now fall to 2 and 2. The Sky are now 3 and 1 on the season. Early in the year, nothing to get too worked up about at this point in the season. They will try to rebound from that loss. They're home on Thursday night. Toronto comes to town on Thursday at Target Center. So hopefully the Lynx will get some momentum going before Napheesa Collier comes back so that when she comes back, they could be at full strength.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. Wow, six to eight months. Wally, we're also expecting to find out today or tomorrow whether Minneapolis may host the NFL Draft in 2028. That would be a big deal. Where has it been held recently?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, it's been all over the NFC North Division. It's been in Chicago. It's been in Green Bay. It's been in Detroit. And now it will come to Minneapolis for 2028. Next year, it's going to Washington, DC in 2027. But 2028 is the targeted date for Minnesota to get the NFL Draft.

So in 2024, they broke the all time record, Detroit did, with 775,000 people showing up over the three-day event, 275,000 on the first night alone. Then in Green Bay, in 2025, 600,000 fans showed up for that draft, including 205,000 on the first day. And then all the records were broken this year in Pittsburgh, over 800,000 fans showed up in Pittsburgh, 805,000 fans showed up.

One other note I want to make, because I think that this is important to point out. So there are going to be businesses that are really going to seek advantage and have a lot of folks visiting their businesses, but it's not all roses.

Because in Green Bay-- so the event was at Lambeau Field, and there's a footprint where it was held-- they've got the Titletown across the street from Lambeau. But the businesses in downtown Green Bay-- and I was there, they did not see any of the action.

I mean, people basically stayed around Lambeau. And I'm wondering if and when they-- or when they come to Minneapolis, if that's going to be true, because if you were on the outside of that footprint, you weren't necessarily gaining much as a business owner.

I know a lot of folks who-- like, these restaurants and people who had tents and food trucks, they got stuck with a lot of extra food afterwards that they did not sell.

So yes, it's coming, and there will be businesses that will flourish as a result, but no, not everybody is going to make bank, so to speak, if and when it comes-- well, it's coming. 2028, it'll be here.

NINA MOINI: All right. Well, I appreciate you both, wish we had more time, but we're going to have to leave it there. Thanks and have a great week.

ERIC NELSON: See ya.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina.

NINA MOINI: See ya. That's sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.