December 4, 2025 • 39 mins
Michael Russo makes his weekly appearance to talk Wild and breaks down what we're seeing from Jesper Wallstedt (and how the draft day trade came together years ago) before wrapping up the show getting back to Vikings and Gopher basketball discussion.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
Hockey Time Russo Radio kind enough to join us via
the Connecticot water System highlight. Why are you not with
the team?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Uh just the Joe Smiths with the team right now?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Yeah, that's great, But I mean he.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Wanted to go on this trip, so we let him.
And then yeah, but I'm actually missing seven in a row.
Then when he comes back in the wild, I have
I think a four game homestead. In the first three games,
I'm actually going to Edmonton where he was the other day,
uh for for the women's rivalry series again and uh
so yeah. Then I mean then I come back and
(00:48):
and I think they played the Capitol so I'll be
covering that. So that's really the next time I see
him is like middle of this month.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Have you had any success? We may try to get
Garret on again the next week or two. One of
the odds I can get him going. Saying that, really,
it's pretty clear the difference in in volstet between this
year and last year. Last year you saddled him with
that silly three goalie experiment, and now that you've clarified things,
(01:20):
you know he's a different goalie. I mean, can I
get him going that way? Or do you think he'll
see me coming.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
He actually might agree with you. So I mean, look,
I think there's something to that. I also think there's
something to the fact that Iowa was just a bad
hockey team. They've been bad for three years in a row,
or actually off to another terrible start this year. So
I think that's part of it too, is he's playing
in front of NHL guys. But I do think that
his mind is clear, you know, last year, Like like, look,
(01:46):
even before last year started, I remember Joe Smith and
I co Bylinding a story that said, you know, we
really didn't understand where the wild were coming from with
this because they're one injury from this not being something
they could at all to. It just made no sense
with their cap situation that they were ever going to
be able to achieve a three goalie system. You know,
(02:07):
you're essentially wasting a roster spot with a salary. He
made no sense, and so then you know what, two
games since the season, he was sent down to the
minors and we basically never saw him again. So I
I do think that that he felt like his you know,
I think his head was unclear last year and he
felt like they were playing mind games. With him or
whatever the intention was. And and I think he's come
(02:27):
back here this year a lot of things have changed.
I mean, he just he came in in you know,
tremendous shape. That's always been one of the things that
he even admits has been you know, a knock on him.
And and and obviously he's just you know, come in
with this great mental, uh you know, fresh attitude right now,
and he's been just sensational.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
I want to go back to because you guys laid
it out nicely in the piece the other day about
the sort of what the thinking was on him before
the draft, and that it was clear that there were
some for some teams at least some alarm bells that
sort of had them staying away from him. So as
(03:10):
you recall from that time, I'm sure you explored a
decent amount of that. And obviously, especially when the wild
said no, no, no, we're going to move up to
get him. So what did you make of what was
most of the criticism fair? Was it a little bit
sort of polarizing or what do you remember about that
whole period in terms of evaluating him.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
You know, it's tough because it was one of those
things where he didn't have a ton of viewings based
on the pandemic, so really you were dealing with European
scouts for every team that were doing everything via zoom,
So a lot of the North American scouts didn't get
over there to watch him in the year leading up
to his draft year. But he did have this wrap
on him that he fell way deep in the draft
(03:52):
because there was just this perception out there that he
was uncoachable and had a bad attitude and didn't take
care of his face witness. And I talked to him
about that the other day. I mean in the story
that Joe and I wrote yesterday where we talked about
the Oilers. They were one of those teams that seemed
to I don't want to, I don't want to say
fall for it, but they were certainly a team that
believed that stuff, because Wally told me point blank that
(04:15):
he was told that the second that the Detroit Red
Wings took Sebastian Cosa at number fifteen, who, by the way,
is still not in the NHL, but he's having a
great year in the Age yell that they were not
drafting him by any stretching imagination. So I remember at
the time the Wild tried had four different attempts that
they tried to move up in the draft to draft
volst At. They struck out the first three times, and
(04:38):
they were convinced that the Oilers going to take him
at twenty and Bill Garran basically said to Judd Brackett,
I mean, should I call Ken Holland and judge like
I guess, but it's going to go nowhere because they're
going to take him. And he calls them and was
able to swing a deal where they just flipped picks
that you know, they got the twenty second pick in
the Wild just gave him a third round pick for
their trouble. So you know, the Wild, you know, clearly
(05:01):
at this point it's early in his career, seems to
have gotten a diamond in the rough here. And but
he said that, you know, look, I was seventeen, eighteen
years old, and you know, I think that people just
took my confidence as cocky. And either way you're seventeen
or eighteen, you grow. And we've seen him grow both
(05:21):
mentley and physically in the last couple of years. So
that's the danger in this sport. I mean, we hear
it all the time of players that fall and fall
and fall based on, you know, an opinion that's generated
at seventeen or eighteen years old, when these guys are
not really men yet and guys can mature, and clearly
he feels like he has, but he admits that there
(05:45):
was this rap on him that did cause him to
fall to number twenty when a lot of people going
into his draftyear thought that he'd be a top ten pick.
And look, it's very rare that goalies. You know, a
lot of teams don't like drafting goalies in the first round.
I'm not sure Ken Holland ever has in his career.
And I think that you know, that's that's probably also
(06:05):
waves into it, is that you know, it's such a
crapshoot position that teams don't want to waste an early
pick on them.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
That is interesting because I know, and it's easy for
me to say, because I'm evaluating on the basis of
what we're now seeing as opposed to when you have
to project. But the position seems so important to me
that I would never hesitate if I really love the goalie,
if I really was convinced the guy was big to
(06:31):
use my first round pick. It's it's it's it's it's
counterintuitive to intuitive to me, even though as you say,
some of it as well, they're harder to maybe to evaluate.
So it's a little bit more of a risk than
a forward, I guess or a defenseman I don't know,
But I mean we see the impact it has historically,
let alone in the wild, you know, in this recent
run for me to say, yeah, if I love them,
(06:52):
and I'm convinced I love him, I got no problem
to taking a goalie in the first round, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
No doubt. And you know, I think the biggest isn't
for this belief in the than the perception is that
that so many goalies that have been you know, drafted
in the NHL that turn out to be incredible goalies
or taken you know, mid rounds or even on draft.
I mean, Henrik Lenquist is the first one in the
pops in my mind. I mean, here's a seventh round
pick and he turns out to be a Hall of Famer.
(07:19):
And I think that, you know, obviously there are the
carry prices of the world, but I think that's the
reason why is that, you know, is that it's just
such a hard position to predict at such a young
young age. You know, there were twenty people that there
were nineteen teams that essentially missed out on Volstatt. But
I agree with you. I do think that there's just this,
(07:39):
you know, there's this philosophy and maybe it's dinosaursh in
the NHL that you just don't want to waste a
pick on somebody like that when it's so much easier
to recognize if a guy's a great skater or things
like that. It's such a mental position and it's hard
to recognize at eighteen years old, how you're going to
be able to metlely withstand the pressures of just being
(08:01):
alone on an island every single night for sixty minutes
and you know, to get to what the wild you're
doing now. This is why I have I love kind
of this rotation that they've done now tonight being the
twelfth game where this is the fifth time now coming
off a shutout, the goalie that got to shut out
the night before is not starting the next game. But
it's kept both these guys fresh. I mean, Gustason has
been really really good as well. Here the team you know,
(08:23):
as a whole, while said and Gustus and the have
the best say percentage in the league since November first,
And I think that in a season like this where
things are just so condensed and injuries are happening rampant
around the NHL, this makes all the sense going into
the Olympics, where Gus is also going to be in
the Olympics. Most likely to just split these guys for
(08:45):
it right now, as long as they're both playing and
you know, well and delivering them victories, Can you give.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Us an injury update on I know you're not there,
but I know you're on top of all the injuries.
Who's in, who's out, who's close, who's not.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Yeah, you're av skated today. He's the only one of
the injured guys that's on the trip. He's not going
to play tonight, but the hope is that he can
play in Vancouver. This is an odd trip where the
Wild has four games, but they have an off day
before each of the games, so it allows him to
get practice time in and things like that. So that
was good news that he was on the ice today.
Marco Rossi, they had hoped to would join at some
(09:20):
point on the trip, as long as he progressed back
here in Minnesota. Right now, from what I saw with
my own two eyes on Monday, I don't think he's
close to returning. You know. John Hines said today that
he's not going to be joining the trip. And he
was on the ice for like two minutes the other
day and came off and I talked to him briefly
and he said that it didn't go well. So I
(09:42):
think that he's still going to be out a while
if Leno hasn't started skating yet. He got hurt there
in Chicago in that game a week or so ago,
right before Thanksgiving, and same thing with any Hose Hittoestrosa.
He got hurt that game. And he's also still in
a walking boot. So those are the injuries right now
going into tonight's game, and we'll have to tell you
tomorrow what the new injuries are, because it seems like
(10:03):
they lose one a game.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
I get this text, and I understand it a little
bit right, and I want to get your reaction to it.
This is a plead directly at you, please, Russo, how
right now is? Tell us? How right now is not fools? Gold.
It feels like the past five years or so horrible.
October improved, November almost the best record in December, then
(10:25):
falling apart by March with poor player injury and barely
make the playoffs in first round exit. And if he
says it's different because of some guys first eight games
and we can protect project greatness, I'll know we're in trouble.
So what would you say to that, I think, to
a certain extent understandable skepticism.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yeah, oh of course, I mean this team is this
is I mean I said this to somebody the other day.
I've never covered a team where every single year they
look like the best team in the league for like
two or three months, so then they don't and then
they're not. And look, you know, the one thing I
do like about this year is that they are sustaining
the injury. I mean, you know, the last couple of
years to that, to that person's point, it's the second
(11:04):
they've gotten devastated by injuries, that they've fallen apart, and
this year it's been anything but that. They have been
just you know, ramp you know, ravaged by injury really
the last month, and yet no matter who is out
of the lineup, they seem to win. Now, the one
thing they haven't sustained yet or an injury to either goaltender,
or an injury to Juel Risinek, or an injury to
(11:25):
Crow Caprice off for an injury in Matt Boldie the
last couple of years, those are the guys that would
come out of the lineup where things would fall apart. So,
I mean most teams are like that. If you take
Nathan McKinnon Cale mccarr out of Colorado's lineup, you know
what's going to happen. So you're seeing right now what's
going on with Winnipeg by taking their goalie out of
the lineup. So yeah, I'm not gonna sit there and
say this is the real wild I mean, you know
(11:45):
me too well for that, right you know. But but
right now, all I can say is that they are
playing really, really good hockey and this is what they
hoped coming into this year, is that if they continue
to give Bill Garron a reason to maybe go out
move later in the season, that he would do it.
And so now they're sort of back into that where
at the beginning of the season you don't know where
(12:06):
this thing is going. Now all of a sudden, when
he's talking trade, he's I think try to talk to
teams about potential substantive type moves, So we'll see what happens.
You know, the roster that's on the ice now doesn't
necessarily mean that's going to be what the roster looks
like on March eighth, the day after the trade deadline.
But I really do like obviously what we're seeing now,
(12:26):
and it starts with the goaltending.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah. I think what's fair to say, trying to keep
some measure of perspective, is that at the very least
they needed to turn around. They're a bad start, right,
I mean, if they're still wallowing in a similar position
to where they started the season, the season would be over.
So absolutely, we don't know where it's going to head.
(12:49):
But that's the alternative, And that's why I don't think
there's any problem with sort of following this story and saying, well, no,
this is a reversal that was an instrumental and crucial
as a spark because it opens the door. Whether they
go through it and whether they take full advantage of it,
we don't know yet, But without it, we're done. Right.
You're talking about draft choices, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
And maybe yeah, a lottery pick, maybe a new coach,
all that stuff, you know, look, I would have been
the last person on Earth on October thirtieth to tell
you to predict to you that they would be right
now twelve one and two in their last fifteen games
and on a twelve game point streak. I did not
see this coming. But what I do love about what
(13:32):
we're seeing now is that the guys that need to
play great are playing great like Matt Zugrello has. The
team has not lost in regulation since Matt Zucrello has
been back in the lineup, which is crazy. They're ten
h and two with him in the lineup. He's turned
cro Capriso back into what we all expect, and that's
the superstar. Matt Boldie has been as consistent a player
(13:52):
as there has been all year, and he's just doing it.
He's as good a playmaker as he is a goal scorer,
and he's absolutely you know, from protecting the puck standpoint
to wall battles everything about his game right now. As
a lead Eric Sinek is on a nightly basis shutting
down other team's top players. Favor and Brodein have been excellent,
(14:14):
Middleton and Spurgeon are almost never on the ice for
goals against, anymore so, and then we as we mentioned
the goaltending. So this team right now is giving you know,
I think I heard you talking about this yesterday, or
maybe I heard comment it was one of you two
about the fact that, like, you know, the cynics out
there and we all know that I could be very cynical,
(14:36):
are just saying, well, wait till the playoffs. But look,
the whole point of professional sports is to enjoy what
you're seeing now, and right now this team has been
really entertaining to watch, and they're giving people a reason
to watch, and they continue to win games on a
nightly basis. So you know, nobody knows what tomorrow is
going to bring, but right now, you know, if you're
a wild fan, enjoy it until they give you reason
(14:57):
not to. Well.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I think it's a kind of conversation Louis and I
definitely got into two days ago. I don't know if
that was maybe there was a different one yesterday. I
think what I heard and that it's again, you can
both things can be true where we all know, we
all know ultimately how they're going to be measured and
what it's going to take. But if you're invested in
the team, you're watching now, and so to a certain extent,
(15:21):
then you're you're going to react to to you know,
to sort of what you you know, what you see
to to this point, eventually it might get juicy regarding
the goaltender, because, as you know, if once you get
into the playoffs, it can be it is easy second guess, right,
if you have a situation which you feel like you've
(15:41):
got cold number ones, there's still strategic decisions sometimes that
have to be made in the best of seven series, right,
and that's where it may get interesting.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
So yeah, yeah, I mean maybe the rotate, right, if
they go eighty two games doing this and it's working,
maybe they do it in the playoffs too. I don't
think that's probably the right move to make. Look, i
mean Cam Talbot had a what twelve or thirteen game
point streak, can They started marc Andre Fleury game one
of the playoffs, and it obviously didn't go well. This team,
you know, in game one Philip Gustson in the Dallas
(16:13):
series fired a fifty game bullet and they came back
with a different goalie in the next game, and that
obviously backfires. So they don't always make the smartest decisions
with their goaltending. But we'll have to see. I mean
that's still what fifty five games off yep, you know
my guess, Like if we were there right the second,
I could see them starting with Gus just based on
the experience. But we'll see. I mean a lot of
(16:36):
things can change. Right now. Jesspervalstad has been as good
as it gets in the National Hockey League. And if
he has that, you know, it does this for another
fifty games with you know, twenty five thirty of them
being starts. I mean, things could very well change.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Well the clee as you know, the football cliche is
if you say you have two quarterbacks, you have none,
But that doesn't apply hockey. If you have two goaltenders,
you have two goaltenders, and so you ride it out
and and milk it at least through the length of
the regular season, and then you got some decisions to
make later for sure.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
And the one thing I'll say about Waal said is
this guy is so supremely confident that I would feel
one hundred percent confident if I were the while putting
him in Oh Me Night, and it would be something different,
you know, like, look, we were all looking you know
that to the person that texted point, I mean, you know,
I think we're all used to seeing eventual downfall of
this team, and usually that comes in the first round
(17:25):
of the playoffs. Well, if you want to change it up,
yes and have finally something different, you might as well
go with a different goaltend there in there not that
Gus was at all a problem last year in the
Vega series. He was sensational, I thought, But the reality
is that would be one thing that's different, and this kid,
you know he is there's something about him that's pretty special.
Are you.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
So what's the update on the scheduled cage match between
you and lanch Guy? Uh? Play guy? So for those
who haven't followed that story, set that up for us
and let us know how it has evolved.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Well, I haven't talked to him, but I don't think
he's probably happy with me.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
You know.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Look, Uh, it feels like every single week on the show,
I'm in the middle of some sort of online controversy. Well, yeah,
as I always say, as I always say, I am
my father's son, I am a New Yorker, I am Italian.
There's a lot of a lot of things in my
blood that caused me to just one, you know, at
(18:26):
some point just go erupt. And there was the other night.
You know, I got home from the game, and I'm
seeing all this like wild fans going nuts and and
I'm trying to figure out what it is. And I
know the two play by play guys for the Colorado
Avalanche are you know, very passionate guys. And so I
listened to the radio thing. And I love, like every
night after after a while game I I do. I
(18:47):
listen to all the gold calls. I listened to it
at home and away because I just love listening to
the callbacks, whether it's Lapant and Joe O'Donnell or the
road guys. And so I went and listened to the
the radio guy and and uh, you know Connor mcgahey
in Colorado, who's the broncos PA guy. He's a great,
you know, play that play guy, but he's passionate and
he gets really enthusiastic and and he took a shot
(19:11):
at Gus saying that he you know, or sorry walstat
that he was celebrating like he won the Stanley Cup,
which he did not. And I just, you know, here's
a rookie that just stopped Nathan McKinnon and cal mccarr
back to back. He's gonna have no reaction. Like goalscorers
are allowed to go crazy and jump in the glass after,
you know, if they score and make it six to one,
and a goaltender after the in the one moment, after
(19:33):
being in this pressure filled island for sixty five minutes,
he can't just react. I just thought it was stupid,
so I just pointed it out and the next thing
I know, as usual, I go to sleep and wake
up next to you. Biggest contract, biggest controversy in the NHL,
and unfortunately for him, everybody seemed to be on my
size side except for Avalanche fans and and so you know,
(19:57):
and then you know, the John Butchie grasses in the
world probably you know joined in and it didn't help.
It didn't help matters.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
So thanks for joining. We will chat next week.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Have a great night, ye see it?
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Dan, make sure radio helping us out breaking a little
bit early because we're out early today about six o'clock.
Wild Flames Tonight pregame show, because I guess Faalmas doesn't
want to work that hard, is scheduled to begin at
seven forty five opening face off just past eight o'clock.
As you're Minnesota Wild try to continue their very hot
(20:33):
ways as of late. Minnesota, the state of Hockey hosts
the world this winter.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
The twenty twenty six IIHF World Juniors bring the best
young talent from across the globe to our backyard. You
give me part of the celebration. Get your tickets now
at Mnsports and Events dot org.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
We had an hour long conversation in studio with former
US attorney Andy Lueger, and I'm We've got a lot
of reaction to the A section material we covered, and
we covered a lot of ground, I think today, but
earlier we talked to Toy department. He's a confirmed Vikings fan, Rube,
(21:31):
and I'm curious to get reaction on that part of
our conversation from the audience from Vikings fans, because in effect,
what he's saying is not only do I want to
see JJ McCarthy the rest of the season, I want
to see air McCarthy the rest of the season, even
(21:52):
if it's at the expense of a rational approach to
play calling, because he believes that there's nothing at stake.
Now at four and eight, you're not going to make
the postseason and it should be testing his passing metal
as an mett l Do you agree with that? Is
(22:16):
that the way to go? I don't think he wants
to see your guy Brozmer anymore. That was clear man,
because the other guy, yeah, Vicious, that's fine, demeaned your loyalty,
wanting to know if it was a bit, and I said, well,
I think it's eighty percent true. But in radio, what
happens is if something catches, then you kind of become
(22:38):
captive to it, and so therefore it becomes one hundred percent. Well,
you had to defend my honor. I didn't realize that. Well,
I did more generally, But I do think maybe I
have the wrong percentage. Maybe you would say it is
one hundred percent. I said eighty to eighty five. But
then when people get into it, then it's like, yeah,
well I got to stick with it. I got to
go with it until I until he throws a garrow
your premium, like pass Uh. It's funny that we both
(23:02):
he and I both have the same historical reference. Yeah,
that's that's that's ancient for sure, showing how old we are.
But I'm very curious to know whether you agree with
his view on that no other quarterback worth seeing because
I worry, I said, my concern about making it air
(23:25):
Mac is you run the risk of further traumatizing the kid,
despite his reputation is nine and the guy who bring
it on whatever you got, I just put an extra code,
I black on, I'll be fine. I don't think you
want him traumatize me the end of the year. And
(23:45):
I fear that if you go to air now, you
go to too much air McCarthy, Air Mac, that's what
might happen now. On the other hand, you might as
well test him in that area, one would hope. Being
a little bit simpler, as we talked about earlier in
the show, we've gone in just two or three weeks
(24:07):
from you know, koc talking about every fundamental flaw in
his form and his posture and his posture to just
start throwing it. Man worried about that nonsense. You're not
a statue, just throw it. So we've gone from one
extreme to the other. But you do need to find
out and that means you don't want him to throw
(24:29):
the ball nine times a game. So there's no one
else I don't think to look at the rest of
this season. Honestly, I really don't, with all due respect
to the other guy, because I think you have to
find out as much as one can, and let's face it,
(24:49):
it's a way to tank responsibly. Tanking responsibly means you
might deep down know that you're enhancing your draft position
with the approach you're taking, but you can't really be
you can't really be be ripped or taken to task
for your approach because you're trying to give your young
(25:12):
quarterback the experience that guys like Drake May and Caleb
Williams got a year ago, exactly right.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
So as our great friends would say, we're not tanking,
we're developing. We're not tanking. Who they were developing, I'm
not exactly sure because they were tanking and then they
got Karl Anthony Towns, which worked out pretty well.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I'm not sure who they were developing in twenty fourteen
around there, But that's how you got to go about it, right.
Pretty much, we're not tanking, so do you.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
I'm with Luger. Yeah, there's five games left. That's the
other thing. We're not talking about a slot a month.
We're talking about the month of December and you've got
three home games. You got some good opponents coming up,
obviously with Dallas and Detroit and Green Bay. Well, and
I'm not saying they should, Like I'm like luger light. Yeah,
(26:04):
Like I'm eighty percent of the way there. You gotta
just let him play and let him get out there
and not worry about the base body ball posture, bahamas,
feet and eyes. I mean, we've heard so many phrases
this year. It's like, and I'm a I'm a sideline
reporter for PJ. Fleck, and I feel like there's been
too many phrases in this year, right, Like I'm all
(26:24):
about the phrases and all the things, but I feel
like we've had so many. Yeah, and well, i think
it's good for him to have some games that really
don't have any stakes. Now, just go out and just
get yourself comfortable. Here's the other thing, in all honesty, if.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
If he's weak, if his constitution is so weak that
he could be traumatized, that in itself tells you you
got to find that out. So you got to find
that out, a little bit of the old you know,
throw into the deep end. But again I'd say, don't
throw him into the deep end, immediately throw him into
the You don't have to put him in the shallow end,
but somewhere in between, and let him get something going
(26:59):
in there. As we said earlier, you can kind of
build on it. I think all those things would make
some sense. Will come back with some texts on the
question I just asked. We may also get back to
a very nice performance and victory for the Golden go
for men's basketball team. The first game of the Nico
Medved Big Ten game of the Nico Medved era of
(27:20):
Golden Golpher men's basketball went surprisingly well inside the Bar,
and we might review a little bit of that as
well when we return it.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
Show Rap presented by American Pressure Commercial grade Pressure Watchers
since nineteen seventy five.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
It's the Bumper to Bumper Show Rap. Dan writes, eight
oh one, guy, you know exactly how the rest of
the season plays out. KOs is paid to do one thing.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Win.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
He has a coaches record that matters to him. They
will not experiment like we're talking about. They will game
plan to win each game. Now that it doesn't matter.
We'll probably win more than we think miss the playoffs.
Put ourselves right in the middle of the draft. I
actually don't have a problem. I don't get as offended
by that as other people. As long as you're closer
to getting the McCarthy question answered, that's and if you
(28:17):
do that and win a couple of games you didn't expect,
that's fine. But it winning the game. I don't think
he can come at the expense and probably won't come
at the expense of finding out about McCarthy because he's
the guy who's gonna play, so presumably he's you know,
you're going to get a little better read on whether
he's starting to figure some stuff out or they're they're
(28:38):
they're adjusting some things in terms of what they expected
him or what they ask him to do, et cetera.
Agree with Luger and Carter and JG develop have offensive line.
Do their jobs support the kid who's Carter Chris probably
(29:00):
we had him on what two weeks ago? Yeah, but
I mean yeah, I mean, I don't know how. I'm
not sure I understand remember what he got into in
that regard anyway, Do their job support the kid less
talking psychic value evaluation, more action playing and slash playing instead,
that's what we're saying. I don't think Chris Carter was
saying it that much like O'Connell a lot, respectfully, though
(29:22):
perhaps he could tweak his postgame press conference out of
being in between Koc and Zimmer six point two Vike's
gal since the seventies. You also may have to evaluate
how sending McCarthy out there to wing it the rest
of the season affects your roster in future years. Are
they ready to trade JJ if Jefferson if things go poorly,
Possibly they are and look looking at a full rebuild.
(29:44):
But you can't look at the kid in isolation. No,
you can't. That's all part of the same, Amiba for sure.
I agree, hundred percent. Let him er it out. Let's
see what he has treat it like preseason trout, see
if we need to go in another direction, seek how
to starter at least somebody to compete for the job
this season. I'm really anti McCarthy at this point, but
(30:04):
he deserves a shot to see if he has potential.
Let's be real, he doesn't have a game plan that
includes anything but air mac. Yeah there's something to that now,
he he thinks. Last week, you know I showed I
made the ultimate sacrifice. You know I've called a bunch
of running plays until we got the fourth and one,
and then I had the boot perfectly called. If he
(30:26):
just actually, if we'd had the blocking executed properly, would
have been an easy touchdown. We might have scored fourteen
points on that play. Think about it. Had so many
people open, Greg would have loved it. That's true, you
said this layer Mondela guy. You said the showcasing McCarthy's
passing would be would be tanking responsibly. But wouldn't nine
throwing the ball forty times again be the equivalent of
(30:47):
Mark Manson shooting a dozen three pointers. Well, if it is,
we're in trouble. But I guess that's very pos. He
was coaching now, by the way, he said Col. Yeah,
he's been coaching for a coach. Oh, he's a head coach,
head coach at CAL. I think it's Cal. Yeah, the
Stanford grad he was at Cal at one point. I
(31:07):
don't know if he's still there. Yeah, he was in
the Lakers organization for a while. He had a team
in Utah for a while, and I'm pretty sure he's
at CAL now, mad Doc. I think the Tim Brewster
might be on his staff. Well, no, that'd be a
different sport, but with Tim you never know. You could
see him going anywhere.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Couldn't.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
If you're a coach, you can coach, that's for sure. Also,
I want to remind you you're hearing the music early
or the rap I guess I should say early, and
you'll hear the Spinner's music early as well, because we've
got Vikings. This is Thursday, so there's this Viking's Uncensored,
It's the Vikings podcast, and then the Vikings Tailgate, and
(31:41):
then it's Wild Flames pregame show a scheduled to start
at seven forty five opening face off just past eight.
Timberwolves rematch in Nolans against the Pelicans can be heard
on the Timberwolves channel. Is that correct of your iHeart
Radio app? Yes, you should make it a preset. Only
joined us yesterday if you'd like to go back and
(32:02):
podcast that discussion. We did talk a little bit of
pro hoops today as well, with the news regarding Chris
Paul being unceremoniously unceremoniously dumped by the Clippers. Also want
to thank an outstanding array of guests today. Sean Salisbury
(32:22):
has never been better than he was between three thirty
and four Wait had no technical issues. That's very true.
He ran into a travel snaffoo. So we are hoping
to get bonus Salisbury tomorrow Russell Radio at five and
a good hour with Andy Lueger in studio bringing he said,
the whole family.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
I think.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
He's got five going to Vikings, Washington. He is still
bullish on the club. Grew up as a bit of
a Giants fan, but once he got here he has
never ever looked back. Tomorrow will be Friday Football Beast Day.
So in addition to the bonus Salisbury picks with Kerby
(33:06):
Guestling and Lavelle Golden go for men's basketball team first
Big Ten game of the season. They hosted favored and
undefeated Indiana. And he has got a new coach too,
don't they Darrenes and the guy who replaced Nico at Drake.
Oh that's right, all those years ago. Yeah, So Nico
(33:26):
medved down to seven players and it was I felt
it was one of those games. What I did hear
of it.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Was early.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
There are a couple times where I thought the game
was on the verge, are getting out it a little
bit out of hand for Indiana taking control of it.
But they never could, and then your club hit a
couple of late threes at the end of the first
half to make it was a tied at the half. Yeah,
so at that point you're going, well, we're here, now,
what the hell, let's go win the game, which they
ultimately did, and they actually built the lead, right They
(33:58):
led by ten with the last couple of minutes. That's correct,
and a lot of it was a testament to I
think good effort on the boards. Indiana is not a
good rebounding team. Minnesota took full advantage of his exactly that,
even with their own injury issues, had a huge advantage
on the boards. I think by fifteen they doubled up
(34:18):
the Hoosiers on offensive rebounds. I don't know if that's sustainable,
but it came off as the sort of game where
you do, I think, get the feeling that you have
a coach who knows how to coach, who's not, as
I mentioned earlier, I'm going to have to learn on
the job to become a head coach. That's the advantage
(34:41):
of having Nico Medved. Even if when he came here,
I know that there was massive fanfare, it's not like
he's a huge, huge name, but he'd already established his
coaching bona fides as a head coach. He'd been through that,
and these are the kinds of games that in this
market you gotta start at least trying to get your
(35:03):
share of them, because otherwise it becomes too easy to
go back to out same old Gophers. And really nothing
has changed. And I'm not saying this opens the door to,
you know, winning ten in a row in the Big Ten,
because they have roster limitations injuries in it as well.
And as you pointed out earlier, the other thing is
he runs a really good offense and they reliably use
(35:26):
that offense to get good shots where it didn't look
like the last three or four minutes they were scrambling
right where it was like, okay, we're just we're just
gonna hope something opens up offensively. His offense runs well
and it's fun. The guy can coach, So the issue
will be garnering talent and keeping talent from this point forward.
(35:47):
I hope this isn't, by the way, a sign that
now that Indiana basketball is no longer undefeated, that Indiana football,
well all he started the whole week, you might be
they're undefeated stretch ends against the favored by I think five.
Last I checked five, five and a half okay points
(36:09):
the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Your guy Don Fisher has quite a day on Saturday.
He's doing the basketball game in Bloomington and then driving
up to Indy to do the Big Ten Championship.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
He is one of those ageless wonders.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Guys.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
If you found a photo of Don Fisher when I
was at IU, yeah, and he is already broadcasting, and
then compared it to a photo of Don Fisher like
earlier this week, you go, he's one of those people
that he's literally not aged. I's all believable.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
I've met him only one time at Big Ten media
days in Indy where else. He came over to talk
to Grim and after he left, I said, who was that?
And he said that was Don Fisher, and I go,
that's impossible. There's no possible way that was Don Fischer.
The guy looked like he's forty six years old. He
looks like he could be one of my guys. And
he's been doing it for fifty two years.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I think something like that.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
It's over fifty. How is that Don Fisher? Grim's like, hey,
I know he's incredible. He was talking about golfing and
doing all this stuff.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
He's good. He is really good. Oh yeah, he does
a really nice job. He's enjoying himself. Yeah yeah, texture guy,
this this encapsulated, it kind of captures it nicely. I
listened to the Gopher game on the fan, and it's
a miracle. The Gophers won despite the refs being clearly
against them. I don't know how you would have gotten
(37:28):
that impression listening to Grimmer. There were some questionable calls.
There were, of course, there were you always thinking moving screens.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
A couple of things. Yeah, wait till you hear me
on mar against Maryland on Sunday. For the women, I'm
gonna go grim times ten. They draw a lot of
fouls Brenda Freeze's terrapins, So I'm.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
Just warning you.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Yeah, depending on how still highly ranked. Oh yeah, their
usual they're undefeated. Yeah, they're coming to the barn three
o'clock on Sunday. I still I still ower a pair
of hose. Remember remember when I yeah, remember when I
was she she had to like climb over us. This
was before you, right, I had to have been like
she was here interview up high at the barn And
(38:13):
and she ended up getting a run in her hose, right,
you know, so we we ower that.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
I guess the coach, she'll be here Sunday if you
want to damn good follow up, Absolutely excellent coach, very
good program.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Is this winnable?
Speaker 1 (38:26):
Yeah, oh that's what you got. These are some of
the games you canna start winning. This is a huge game. Yeah,
can we score game? Problem defense?
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Not so much guarding everybody, so outside shooting or just scoring,
actually inside scoring, inside, scre scoring at the rim, as
they say, and that will be on the iHeartRadio app
as well.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Nix point seven even you don't even know that. If
you just look for the plus, you got it, then
you can what times kickoff three o'clock, three o'clock exactly
so right after the vikings. Okay, that's a good big
if you can get it. I'm looking forward to a
perfect thing. I'm excited for Sunday. How many years has
been since the Indiana basketball team lost their first game
(39:08):
before the football team? Probably never? That's pretty good. Yeah,
that's that's not a bad point. Yeah, it's got to
be fairly rare. I would say at this at this point,
we appreciate you listening full of I think three and
a half hour show tomorrow, but least so it's a
six maybe six thirty. We'll find out. As I mentioned
Minnesota Wild, I'm the fan Tonight that pregame show will
(39:30):
begin at seven forty five, opening face off just past
eight o'clock. Enjoy the rest of the evening and we
will talk to you tomorrow at three o'clock. Thank you
for the memories, Thank you for the great time. We
love your dad. Your job is done. We can go
home now. Well go twins. Thank you for the airtime,
and I'll talk to you soon.
Hockey Time Russo Radio kind enough to join us via
the Connecticot water System highlight. Why are you not with
the team?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Uh just the Joe Smiths with the team right now?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Yeah, that's great, But I mean he.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Wanted to go on this trip, so we let him.
And then yeah, but I'm actually missing seven in a row.
Then when he comes back in the wild, I have
I think a four game homestead. In the first three games,
I'm actually going to Edmonton where he was the other day,
uh for for the women's rivalry series again and uh
so yeah. Then I mean then I come back and
(00:48):
and I think they played the Capitol so I'll be
covering that. So that's really the next time I see
him is like middle of this month.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Have you had any success? We may try to get
Garret on again the next week or two. One of
the odds I can get him going. Saying that, really,
it's pretty clear the difference in in volstet between this
year and last year. Last year you saddled him with
that silly three goalie experiment, and now that you've clarified things,
(01:20):
you know he's a different goalie. I mean, can I
get him going that way? Or do you think he'll
see me coming.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
He actually might agree with you. So I mean, look,
I think there's something to that. I also think there's
something to the fact that Iowa was just a bad
hockey team. They've been bad for three years in a row,
or actually off to another terrible start this year. So
I think that's part of it too, is he's playing
in front of NHL guys. But I do think that
his mind is clear, you know, last year, Like like, look,
(01:46):
even before last year started, I remember Joe Smith and
I co Bylinding a story that said, you know, we
really didn't understand where the wild were coming from with
this because they're one injury from this not being something
they could at all to. It just made no sense
with their cap situation that they were ever going to
be able to achieve a three goalie system. You know,
(02:07):
you're essentially wasting a roster spot with a salary. He
made no sense, and so then you know what, two
games since the season, he was sent down to the
minors and we basically never saw him again. So I
I do think that that he felt like his you know,
I think his head was unclear last year and he
felt like they were playing mind games. With him or
whatever the intention was. And and I think he's come
(02:27):
back here this year a lot of things have changed.
I mean, he just he came in in you know,
tremendous shape. That's always been one of the things that
he even admits has been you know, a knock on him.
And and and obviously he's just you know, come in
with this great mental, uh you know, fresh attitude right now,
and he's been just sensational.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
I want to go back to because you guys laid
it out nicely in the piece the other day about
the sort of what the thinking was on him before
the draft, and that it was clear that there were
some for some teams at least some alarm bells that
sort of had them staying away from him. So as
(03:10):
you recall from that time, I'm sure you explored a
decent amount of that. And obviously, especially when the wild
said no, no, no, we're going to move up to
get him. So what did you make of what was
most of the criticism fair? Was it a little bit
sort of polarizing or what do you remember about that
whole period in terms of evaluating him.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
You know, it's tough because it was one of those
things where he didn't have a ton of viewings based
on the pandemic, so really you were dealing with European
scouts for every team that were doing everything via zoom,
So a lot of the North American scouts didn't get
over there to watch him in the year leading up
to his draft year. But he did have this wrap
on him that he fell way deep in the draft
(03:52):
because there was just this perception out there that he
was uncoachable and had a bad attitude and didn't take
care of his face witness. And I talked to him
about that the other day. I mean in the story
that Joe and I wrote yesterday where we talked about
the Oilers. They were one of those teams that seemed
to I don't want to, I don't want to say
fall for it, but they were certainly a team that
believed that stuff, because Wally told me point blank that
(04:15):
he was told that the second that the Detroit Red
Wings took Sebastian Cosa at number fifteen, who, by the way,
is still not in the NHL, but he's having a
great year in the Age yell that they were not
drafting him by any stretching imagination. So I remember at
the time the Wild tried had four different attempts that
they tried to move up in the draft to draft
volst At. They struck out the first three times, and
(04:38):
they were convinced that the Oilers going to take him
at twenty and Bill Garran basically said to Judd Brackett,
I mean, should I call Ken Holland and judge like
I guess, but it's going to go nowhere because they're
going to take him. And he calls them and was
able to swing a deal where they just flipped picks
that you know, they got the twenty second pick in
the Wild just gave him a third round pick for
their trouble. So you know, the Wild, you know, clearly
(05:01):
at this point it's early in his career, seems to
have gotten a diamond in the rough here. And but
he said that, you know, look, I was seventeen, eighteen
years old, and you know, I think that people just
took my confidence as cocky. And either way you're seventeen
or eighteen, you grow. And we've seen him grow both
(05:21):
mentley and physically in the last couple of years. So
that's the danger in this sport. I mean, we hear
it all the time of players that fall and fall
and fall based on, you know, an opinion that's generated
at seventeen or eighteen years old, when these guys are
not really men yet and guys can mature, and clearly
he feels like he has, but he admits that there
(05:45):
was this rap on him that did cause him to
fall to number twenty when a lot of people going
into his draftyear thought that he'd be a top ten pick.
And look, it's very rare that goalies. You know, a
lot of teams don't like drafting goalies in the first round.
I'm not sure Ken Holland ever has in his career.
And I think that you know, that's that's probably also
(06:05):
waves into it, is that you know, it's such a
crapshoot position that teams don't want to waste an early
pick on them.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
That is interesting because I know, and it's easy for
me to say, because I'm evaluating on the basis of
what we're now seeing as opposed to when you have
to project. But the position seems so important to me
that I would never hesitate if I really love the goalie,
if I really was convinced the guy was big to
(06:31):
use my first round pick. It's it's it's it's it's
counterintuitive to intuitive to me, even though as you say,
some of it as well, they're harder to maybe to evaluate.
So it's a little bit more of a risk than
a forward, I guess or a defenseman I don't know,
But I mean we see the impact it has historically,
let alone in the wild, you know, in this recent
run for me to say, yeah, if I love them,
(06:52):
and I'm convinced I love him, I got no problem
to taking a goalie in the first round, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
No doubt. And you know, I think the biggest isn't
for this belief in the than the perception is that
that so many goalies that have been you know, drafted
in the NHL that turn out to be incredible goalies
or taken you know, mid rounds or even on draft.
I mean, Henrik Lenquist is the first one in the
pops in my mind. I mean, here's a seventh round
pick and he turns out to be a Hall of Famer.
(07:19):
And I think that, you know, obviously there are the
carry prices of the world, but I think that's the
reason why is that, you know, is that it's just
such a hard position to predict at such a young
young age. You know, there were twenty people that there
were nineteen teams that essentially missed out on Volstatt. But
I agree with you. I do think that there's just this,
(07:39):
you know, there's this philosophy and maybe it's dinosaursh in
the NHL that you just don't want to waste a
pick on somebody like that when it's so much easier
to recognize if a guy's a great skater or things
like that. It's such a mental position and it's hard
to recognize at eighteen years old, how you're going to
be able to metlely withstand the pressures of just being
(08:01):
alone on an island every single night for sixty minutes
and you know, to get to what the wild you're
doing now. This is why I have I love kind
of this rotation that they've done now tonight being the
twelfth game where this is the fifth time now coming
off a shutout, the goalie that got to shut out
the night before is not starting the next game. But
it's kept both these guys fresh. I mean, Gustason has
been really really good as well. Here the team you know,
(08:23):
as a whole, while said and Gustus and the have
the best say percentage in the league since November first,
And I think that in a season like this where
things are just so condensed and injuries are happening rampant
around the NHL, this makes all the sense going into
the Olympics, where Gus is also going to be in
the Olympics. Most likely to just split these guys for
(08:45):
it right now, as long as they're both playing and
you know, well and delivering them victories, Can you give.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Us an injury update on I know you're not there,
but I know you're on top of all the injuries.
Who's in, who's out, who's close, who's not.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Yeah, you're av skated today. He's the only one of
the injured guys that's on the trip. He's not going
to play tonight, but the hope is that he can
play in Vancouver. This is an odd trip where the
Wild has four games, but they have an off day
before each of the games, so it allows him to
get practice time in and things like that. So that
was good news that he was on the ice today.
Marco Rossi, they had hoped to would join at some
(09:20):
point on the trip, as long as he progressed back
here in Minnesota. Right now, from what I saw with
my own two eyes on Monday, I don't think he's
close to returning. You know. John Hines said today that
he's not going to be joining the trip. And he
was on the ice for like two minutes the other
day and came off and I talked to him briefly
and he said that it didn't go well. So I
(09:42):
think that he's still going to be out a while
if Leno hasn't started skating yet. He got hurt there
in Chicago in that game a week or so ago,
right before Thanksgiving, and same thing with any Hose Hittoestrosa.
He got hurt that game. And he's also still in
a walking boot. So those are the injuries right now
going into tonight's game, and we'll have to tell you
tomorrow what the new injuries are, because it seems like
(10:03):
they lose one a game.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
I get this text, and I understand it a little
bit right, and I want to get your reaction to it.
This is a plead directly at you, please, Russo, how
right now is? Tell us? How right now is not fools? Gold.
It feels like the past five years or so horrible.
October improved, November almost the best record in December, then
(10:25):
falling apart by March with poor player injury and barely
make the playoffs in first round exit. And if he
says it's different because of some guys first eight games
and we can protect project greatness, I'll know we're in trouble.
So what would you say to that, I think, to
a certain extent understandable skepticism.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yeah, oh of course, I mean this team is this
is I mean I said this to somebody the other day.
I've never covered a team where every single year they
look like the best team in the league for like
two or three months, so then they don't and then
they're not. And look, you know, the one thing I
do like about this year is that they are sustaining
the injury. I mean, you know, the last couple of
years to that, to that person's point, it's the second
(11:04):
they've gotten devastated by injuries, that they've fallen apart, and
this year it's been anything but that. They have been
just you know, ramp you know, ravaged by injury really
the last month, and yet no matter who is out
of the lineup, they seem to win. Now, the one
thing they haven't sustained yet or an injury to either goaltender,
or an injury to Juel Risinek, or an injury to
(11:25):
Crow Caprice off for an injury in Matt Boldie the
last couple of years, those are the guys that would
come out of the lineup where things would fall apart. So,
I mean most teams are like that. If you take
Nathan McKinnon Cale mccarr out of Colorado's lineup, you know
what's going to happen. So you're seeing right now what's
going on with Winnipeg by taking their goalie out of
the lineup. So yeah, I'm not gonna sit there and
say this is the real wild I mean, you know
(11:45):
me too well for that, right you know. But but
right now, all I can say is that they are
playing really, really good hockey and this is what they
hoped coming into this year, is that if they continue
to give Bill Garron a reason to maybe go out
move later in the season, that he would do it.
And so now they're sort of back into that where
at the beginning of the season you don't know where
(12:06):
this thing is going. Now all of a sudden, when
he's talking trade, he's I think try to talk to
teams about potential substantive type moves, So we'll see what happens.
You know, the roster that's on the ice now doesn't
necessarily mean that's going to be what the roster looks
like on March eighth, the day after the trade deadline.
But I really do like obviously what we're seeing now,
(12:26):
and it starts with the goaltending.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah. I think what's fair to say, trying to keep
some measure of perspective, is that at the very least
they needed to turn around. They're a bad start, right,
I mean, if they're still wallowing in a similar position
to where they started the season, the season would be over.
So absolutely, we don't know where it's going to head.
(12:49):
But that's the alternative, And that's why I don't think
there's any problem with sort of following this story and saying, well, no,
this is a reversal that was an instrumental and crucial
as a spark because it opens the door. Whether they
go through it and whether they take full advantage of it,
we don't know yet, But without it, we're done. Right.
You're talking about draft choices, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
And maybe yeah, a lottery pick, maybe a new coach,
all that stuff, you know, look, I would have been
the last person on Earth on October thirtieth to tell
you to predict to you that they would be right
now twelve one and two in their last fifteen games
and on a twelve game point streak. I did not
see this coming. But what I do love about what
(13:32):
we're seeing now is that the guys that need to
play great are playing great like Matt Zugrello has. The
team has not lost in regulation since Matt Zucrello has
been back in the lineup, which is crazy. They're ten
h and two with him in the lineup. He's turned
cro Capriso back into what we all expect, and that's
the superstar. Matt Boldie has been as consistent a player
(13:52):
as there has been all year, and he's just doing it.
He's as good a playmaker as he is a goal scorer,
and he's absolutely you know, from protecting the puck standpoint
to wall battles everything about his game right now. As
a lead Eric Sinek is on a nightly basis shutting
down other team's top players. Favor and Brodein have been excellent,
(14:14):
Middleton and Spurgeon are almost never on the ice for
goals against, anymore so, and then we as we mentioned
the goaltending. So this team right now is giving you know,
I think I heard you talking about this yesterday, or
maybe I heard comment it was one of you two
about the fact that, like, you know, the cynics out
there and we all know that I could be very cynical,
(14:36):
are just saying, well, wait till the playoffs. But look,
the whole point of professional sports is to enjoy what
you're seeing now, and right now this team has been
really entertaining to watch, and they're giving people a reason
to watch, and they continue to win games on a
nightly basis. So you know, nobody knows what tomorrow is
going to bring, but right now, you know, if you're
a wild fan, enjoy it until they give you reason
(14:57):
not to. Well.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I think it's a kind of conversation Louis and I
definitely got into two days ago. I don't know if
that was maybe there was a different one yesterday. I
think what I heard and that it's again, you can
both things can be true where we all know, we
all know ultimately how they're going to be measured and
what it's going to take. But if you're invested in
the team, you're watching now, and so to a certain extent,
(15:21):
then you're you're going to react to to you know,
to sort of what you you know, what you see
to to this point, eventually it might get juicy regarding
the goaltender, because, as you know, if once you get
into the playoffs, it can be it is easy second guess, right,
if you have a situation which you feel like you've
(15:41):
got cold number ones, there's still strategic decisions sometimes that
have to be made in the best of seven series, right,
and that's where it may get interesting.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
So yeah, yeah, I mean maybe the rotate, right, if
they go eighty two games doing this and it's working,
maybe they do it in the playoffs too. I don't
think that's probably the right move to make. Look, i
mean Cam Talbot had a what twelve or thirteen game
point streak, can They started marc Andre Fleury game one
of the playoffs, and it obviously didn't go well. This team,
you know, in game one Philip Gustson in the Dallas
(16:13):
series fired a fifty game bullet and they came back
with a different goalie in the next game, and that
obviously backfires. So they don't always make the smartest decisions
with their goaltending. But we'll have to see. I mean
that's still what fifty five games off yep, you know
my guess, Like if we were there right the second,
I could see them starting with Gus just based on
the experience. But we'll see. I mean a lot of
(16:36):
things can change. Right now. Jesspervalstad has been as good
as it gets in the National Hockey League. And if
he has that, you know, it does this for another
fifty games with you know, twenty five thirty of them
being starts. I mean, things could very well change.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Well the clee as you know, the football cliche is
if you say you have two quarterbacks, you have none,
But that doesn't apply hockey. If you have two goaltenders,
you have two goaltenders, and so you ride it out
and and milk it at least through the length of
the regular season, and then you got some decisions to
make later for sure.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
And the one thing I'll say about Waal said is
this guy is so supremely confident that I would feel
one hundred percent confident if I were the while putting
him in Oh Me Night, and it would be something different,
you know, like, look, we were all looking you know
that to the person that texted point, I mean, you know,
I think we're all used to seeing eventual downfall of
this team, and usually that comes in the first round
(17:25):
of the playoffs. Well, if you want to change it up,
yes and have finally something different, you might as well
go with a different goaltend there in there not that
Gus was at all a problem last year in the
Vega series. He was sensational, I thought, But the reality
is that would be one thing that's different, and this kid,
you know he is there's something about him that's pretty special.
Are you.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
So what's the update on the scheduled cage match between
you and lanch Guy? Uh? Play guy? So for those
who haven't followed that story, set that up for us
and let us know how it has evolved.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Well, I haven't talked to him, but I don't think
he's probably happy with me.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
You know.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Look, Uh, it feels like every single week on the show,
I'm in the middle of some sort of online controversy. Well, yeah,
as I always say, as I always say, I am
my father's son, I am a New Yorker, I am Italian.
There's a lot of a lot of things in my
blood that caused me to just one, you know, at
(18:26):
some point just go erupt. And there was the other night.
You know, I got home from the game, and I'm
seeing all this like wild fans going nuts and and
I'm trying to figure out what it is. And I
know the two play by play guys for the Colorado
Avalanche are you know, very passionate guys. And so I
listened to the radio thing. And I love, like every
night after after a while game I I do. I
(18:47):
listen to all the gold calls. I listened to it
at home and away because I just love listening to
the callbacks, whether it's Lapant and Joe O'Donnell or the
road guys. And so I went and listened to the
the radio guy and and uh, you know Connor mcgahey
in Colorado, who's the broncos PA guy. He's a great,
you know, play that play guy, but he's passionate and
he gets really enthusiastic and and he took a shot
(19:11):
at Gus saying that he you know, or sorry walstat
that he was celebrating like he won the Stanley Cup,
which he did not. And I just, you know, here's
a rookie that just stopped Nathan McKinnon and cal mccarr
back to back. He's gonna have no reaction. Like goalscorers
are allowed to go crazy and jump in the glass after,
you know, if they score and make it six to one,
and a goaltender after the in the one moment, after
(19:33):
being in this pressure filled island for sixty five minutes,
he can't just react. I just thought it was stupid,
so I just pointed it out and the next thing
I know, as usual, I go to sleep and wake
up next to you. Biggest contract, biggest controversy in the NHL,
and unfortunately for him, everybody seemed to be on my
size side except for Avalanche fans and and so you know,
(19:57):
and then you know, the John Butchie grasses in the
world probably you know joined in and it didn't help.
It didn't help matters.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
So thanks for joining. We will chat next week.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Have a great night, ye see it?
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Dan, make sure radio helping us out breaking a little
bit early because we're out early today about six o'clock.
Wild Flames Tonight pregame show, because I guess Faalmas doesn't
want to work that hard, is scheduled to begin at
seven forty five opening face off just past eight o'clock.
As you're Minnesota Wild try to continue their very hot
(20:33):
ways as of late. Minnesota, the state of Hockey hosts
the world this winter.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
The twenty twenty six IIHF World Juniors bring the best
young talent from across the globe to our backyard. You
give me part of the celebration. Get your tickets now
at Mnsports and Events dot org.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
We had an hour long conversation in studio with former
US attorney Andy Lueger, and I'm We've got a lot
of reaction to the A section material we covered, and
we covered a lot of ground, I think today, but
earlier we talked to Toy department. He's a confirmed Vikings fan, Rube,
(21:31):
and I'm curious to get reaction on that part of
our conversation from the audience from Vikings fans, because in effect,
what he's saying is not only do I want to
see JJ McCarthy the rest of the season, I want
to see air McCarthy the rest of the season, even
(21:52):
if it's at the expense of a rational approach to
play calling, because he believes that there's nothing at stake.
Now at four and eight, you're not going to make
the postseason and it should be testing his passing metal
as an mett l Do you agree with that? Is
(22:16):
that the way to go? I don't think he wants
to see your guy Brozmer anymore. That was clear man,
because the other guy, yeah, Vicious, that's fine, demeaned your loyalty,
wanting to know if it was a bit, and I said, well,
I think it's eighty percent true. But in radio, what
happens is if something catches, then you kind of become
(22:38):
captive to it, and so therefore it becomes one hundred percent. Well,
you had to defend my honor. I didn't realize that. Well,
I did more generally, But I do think maybe I
have the wrong percentage. Maybe you would say it is
one hundred percent. I said eighty to eighty five. But
then when people get into it, then it's like, yeah,
well I got to stick with it. I got to
go with it until I until he throws a garrow
your premium, like pass Uh. It's funny that we both
(23:02):
he and I both have the same historical reference. Yeah,
that's that's that's ancient for sure, showing how old we are.
But I'm very curious to know whether you agree with
his view on that no other quarterback worth seeing because
I worry, I said, my concern about making it air
(23:25):
Mac is you run the risk of further traumatizing the kid,
despite his reputation is nine and the guy who bring
it on whatever you got, I just put an extra code,
I black on, I'll be fine. I don't think you
want him traumatize me the end of the year. And
(23:45):
I fear that if you go to air now, you
go to too much air McCarthy, Air Mac, that's what
might happen now. On the other hand, you might as
well test him in that area, one would hope. Being
a little bit simpler, as we talked about earlier in
the show, we've gone in just two or three weeks
(24:07):
from you know, koc talking about every fundamental flaw in
his form and his posture and his posture to just
start throwing it. Man worried about that nonsense. You're not
a statue, just throw it. So we've gone from one
extreme to the other. But you do need to find
out and that means you don't want him to throw
(24:29):
the ball nine times a game. So there's no one
else I don't think to look at the rest of
this season. Honestly, I really don't, with all due respect
to the other guy, because I think you have to
find out as much as one can, and let's face it,
(24:49):
it's a way to tank responsibly. Tanking responsibly means you
might deep down know that you're enhancing your draft position
with the approach you're taking, but you can't really be
you can't really be be ripped or taken to task
for your approach because you're trying to give your young
(25:12):
quarterback the experience that guys like Drake May and Caleb
Williams got a year ago, exactly right.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
So as our great friends would say, we're not tanking,
we're developing. We're not tanking. Who they were developing, I'm
not exactly sure because they were tanking and then they
got Karl Anthony Towns, which worked out pretty well.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I'm not sure who they were developing in twenty fourteen
around there, But that's how you got to go about it, right.
Pretty much, we're not tanking, so do you.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
I'm with Luger. Yeah, there's five games left. That's the
other thing. We're not talking about a slot a month.
We're talking about the month of December and you've got
three home games. You got some good opponents coming up,
obviously with Dallas and Detroit and Green Bay. Well, and
I'm not saying they should, Like I'm like luger light. Yeah,
(26:04):
Like I'm eighty percent of the way there. You gotta
just let him play and let him get out there
and not worry about the base body ball posture, bahamas,
feet and eyes. I mean, we've heard so many phrases
this year. It's like, and I'm a I'm a sideline
reporter for PJ. Fleck, and I feel like there's been
too many phrases in this year, right, Like I'm all
(26:24):
about the phrases and all the things, but I feel
like we've had so many. Yeah, and well, i think
it's good for him to have some games that really
don't have any stakes. Now, just go out and just
get yourself comfortable. Here's the other thing, in all honesty, if.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
If he's weak, if his constitution is so weak that
he could be traumatized, that in itself tells you you
got to find that out. So you got to find
that out, a little bit of the old you know,
throw into the deep end. But again I'd say, don't
throw him into the deep end, immediately throw him into
the You don't have to put him in the shallow end,
but somewhere in between, and let him get something going
(26:59):
in there. As we said earlier, you can kind of
build on it. I think all those things would make
some sense. Will come back with some texts on the
question I just asked. We may also get back to
a very nice performance and victory for the Golden go
for men's basketball team. The first game of the Nico
Medved Big Ten game of the Nico Medved era of
(27:20):
Golden Golpher men's basketball went surprisingly well inside the Bar,
and we might review a little bit of that as
well when we return it.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
Show Rap presented by American Pressure Commercial grade Pressure Watchers
since nineteen seventy five.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
It's the Bumper to Bumper Show Rap. Dan writes, eight
oh one, guy, you know exactly how the rest of
the season plays out. KOs is paid to do one thing.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Win.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
He has a coaches record that matters to him. They
will not experiment like we're talking about. They will game
plan to win each game. Now that it doesn't matter.
We'll probably win more than we think miss the playoffs.
Put ourselves right in the middle of the draft. I
actually don't have a problem. I don't get as offended
by that as other people. As long as you're closer
to getting the McCarthy question answered, that's and if you
(28:17):
do that and win a couple of games you didn't expect,
that's fine. But it winning the game. I don't think
he can come at the expense and probably won't come
at the expense of finding out about McCarthy because he's
the guy who's gonna play, so presumably he's you know,
you're going to get a little better read on whether
he's starting to figure some stuff out or they're they're
(28:38):
they're adjusting some things in terms of what they expected
him or what they ask him to do, et cetera.
Agree with Luger and Carter and JG develop have offensive line.
Do their jobs support the kid who's Carter Chris probably
(29:00):
we had him on what two weeks ago? Yeah, but
I mean yeah, I mean, I don't know how. I'm
not sure I understand remember what he got into in
that regard anyway, Do their job support the kid less
talking psychic value evaluation, more action playing and slash playing instead,
that's what we're saying. I don't think Chris Carter was
saying it that much like O'Connell a lot, respectfully, though
(29:22):
perhaps he could tweak his postgame press conference out of
being in between Koc and Zimmer six point two Vike's
gal since the seventies. You also may have to evaluate
how sending McCarthy out there to wing it the rest
of the season affects your roster in future years. Are
they ready to trade JJ if Jefferson if things go poorly,
Possibly they are and look looking at a full rebuild.
(29:44):
But you can't look at the kid in isolation. No,
you can't. That's all part of the same, Amiba for sure.
I agree, hundred percent. Let him er it out. Let's
see what he has treat it like preseason trout, see
if we need to go in another direction, seek how
to starter at least somebody to compete for the job
this season. I'm really anti McCarthy at this point, but
(30:04):
he deserves a shot to see if he has potential.
Let's be real, he doesn't have a game plan that
includes anything but air mac. Yeah there's something to that now,
he he thinks. Last week, you know I showed I
made the ultimate sacrifice. You know I've called a bunch
of running plays until we got the fourth and one,
and then I had the boot perfectly called. If he
(30:26):
just actually, if we'd had the blocking executed properly, would
have been an easy touchdown. We might have scored fourteen
points on that play. Think about it. Had so many
people open, Greg would have loved it. That's true, you
said this layer Mondela guy. You said the showcasing McCarthy's
passing would be would be tanking responsibly. But wouldn't nine
throwing the ball forty times again be the equivalent of
(30:47):
Mark Manson shooting a dozen three pointers. Well, if it is,
we're in trouble. But I guess that's very pos. He
was coaching now, by the way, he said Col. Yeah,
he's been coaching for a coach. Oh, he's a head coach,
head coach at CAL. I think it's Cal. Yeah, the
Stanford grad he was at Cal at one point. I
(31:07):
don't know if he's still there. Yeah, he was in
the Lakers organization for a while. He had a team
in Utah for a while, and I'm pretty sure he's
at CAL now, mad Doc. I think the Tim Brewster
might be on his staff. Well, no, that'd be a
different sport, but with Tim you never know. You could
see him going anywhere.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Couldn't.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
If you're a coach, you can coach, that's for sure. Also,
I want to remind you you're hearing the music early
or the rap I guess I should say early, and
you'll hear the Spinner's music early as well, because we've
got Vikings. This is Thursday, so there's this Viking's Uncensored,
It's the Vikings podcast, and then the Vikings Tailgate, and
(31:41):
then it's Wild Flames pregame show a scheduled to start
at seven forty five opening face off just past eight.
Timberwolves rematch in Nolans against the Pelicans can be heard
on the Timberwolves channel. Is that correct of your iHeart
Radio app? Yes, you should make it a preset. Only
joined us yesterday if you'd like to go back and
(32:02):
podcast that discussion. We did talk a little bit of
pro hoops today as well, with the news regarding Chris
Paul being unceremoniously unceremoniously dumped by the Clippers. Also want
to thank an outstanding array of guests today. Sean Salisbury
(32:22):
has never been better than he was between three thirty
and four Wait had no technical issues. That's very true.
He ran into a travel snaffoo. So we are hoping
to get bonus Salisbury tomorrow Russell Radio at five and
a good hour with Andy Lueger in studio bringing he said,
the whole family.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
I think.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
He's got five going to Vikings, Washington. He is still
bullish on the club. Grew up as a bit of
a Giants fan, but once he got here he has
never ever looked back. Tomorrow will be Friday Football Beast Day.
So in addition to the bonus Salisbury picks with Kerby
(33:06):
Guestling and Lavelle Golden go for men's basketball team first
Big Ten game of the season. They hosted favored and
undefeated Indiana. And he has got a new coach too,
don't they Darrenes and the guy who replaced Nico at Drake.
Oh that's right, all those years ago. Yeah, So Nico
(33:26):
medved down to seven players and it was I felt
it was one of those games. What I did hear
of it.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Was early.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
There are a couple times where I thought the game
was on the verge, are getting out it a little
bit out of hand for Indiana taking control of it.
But they never could, and then your club hit a
couple of late threes at the end of the first
half to make it was a tied at the half. Yeah,
so at that point you're going, well, we're here, now,
what the hell, let's go win the game, which they
ultimately did, and they actually built the lead, right They
(33:58):
led by ten with the last couple of minutes. That's correct,
and a lot of it was a testament to I
think good effort on the boards. Indiana is not a
good rebounding team. Minnesota took full advantage of his exactly that,
even with their own injury issues, had a huge advantage
on the boards. I think by fifteen they doubled up
(34:18):
the Hoosiers on offensive rebounds. I don't know if that's sustainable,
but it came off as the sort of game where
you do, I think, get the feeling that you have
a coach who knows how to coach, who's not, as
I mentioned earlier, I'm going to have to learn on
the job to become a head coach. That's the advantage
(34:41):
of having Nico Medved. Even if when he came here,
I know that there was massive fanfare, it's not like
he's a huge, huge name, but he'd already established his
coaching bona fides as a head coach. He'd been through that,
and these are the kinds of games that in this
market you gotta start at least trying to get your
(35:03):
share of them, because otherwise it becomes too easy to
go back to out same old Gophers. And really nothing
has changed. And I'm not saying this opens the door to,
you know, winning ten in a row in the Big Ten,
because they have roster limitations injuries in it as well.
And as you pointed out earlier, the other thing is
he runs a really good offense and they reliably use
(35:26):
that offense to get good shots where it didn't look
like the last three or four minutes they were scrambling
right where it was like, okay, we're just we're just
gonna hope something opens up offensively. His offense runs well
and it's fun. The guy can coach, So the issue
will be garnering talent and keeping talent from this point forward.
(35:47):
I hope this isn't, by the way, a sign that
now that Indiana basketball is no longer undefeated, that Indiana football,
well all he started the whole week, you might be
they're undefeated stretch ends against the favored by I think five.
Last I checked five, five and a half okay points
(36:09):
the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Your guy Don Fisher has quite a day on Saturday.
He's doing the basketball game in Bloomington and then driving
up to Indy to do the Big Ten Championship.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
He is one of those ageless wonders.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Guys.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
If you found a photo of Don Fisher when I
was at IU, yeah, and he is already broadcasting, and
then compared it to a photo of Don Fisher like
earlier this week, you go, he's one of those people
that he's literally not aged. I's all believable.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
I've met him only one time at Big Ten media
days in Indy where else. He came over to talk
to Grim and after he left, I said, who was that?
And he said that was Don Fisher, and I go,
that's impossible. There's no possible way that was Don Fischer.
The guy looked like he's forty six years old. He
looks like he could be one of my guys. And
he's been doing it for fifty two years.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I think something like that.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
It's over fifty. How is that Don Fisher? Grim's like, hey,
I know he's incredible. He was talking about golfing and
doing all this stuff.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
He's good. He is really good. Oh yeah, he does
a really nice job. He's enjoying himself. Yeah yeah, texture guy,
this this encapsulated, it kind of captures it nicely. I
listened to the Gopher game on the fan, and it's
a miracle. The Gophers won despite the refs being clearly
against them. I don't know how you would have gotten
(37:28):
that impression listening to Grimmer. There were some questionable calls.
There were, of course, there were you always thinking moving screens.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
A couple of things. Yeah, wait till you hear me
on mar against Maryland on Sunday. For the women, I'm
gonna go grim times ten. They draw a lot of
fouls Brenda Freeze's terrapins, So I'm.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
Just warning you.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Yeah, depending on how still highly ranked. Oh yeah, their
usual they're undefeated. Yeah, they're coming to the barn three
o'clock on Sunday. I still I still ower a pair
of hose. Remember remember when I yeah, remember when I
was she she had to like climb over us. This
was before you, right, I had to have been like
she was here interview up high at the barn And
(38:13):
and she ended up getting a run in her hose, right,
you know, so we we ower that.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
I guess the coach, she'll be here Sunday if you
want to damn good follow up, Absolutely excellent coach, very
good program.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Is this winnable?
Speaker 1 (38:26):
Yeah, oh that's what you got. These are some of
the games you canna start winning. This is a huge game. Yeah,
can we score game? Problem defense?
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Not so much guarding everybody, so outside shooting or just scoring,
actually inside scoring, inside, scre scoring at the rim, as
they say, and that will be on the iHeartRadio app
as well.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Nix point seven even you don't even know that. If
you just look for the plus, you got it, then
you can what times kickoff three o'clock, three o'clock exactly
so right after the vikings. Okay, that's a good big
if you can get it. I'm looking forward to a
perfect thing. I'm excited for Sunday. How many years has
been since the Indiana basketball team lost their first game
(39:08):
before the football team? Probably never? That's pretty good. Yeah,
that's that's not a bad point. Yeah, it's got to
be fairly rare. I would say at this at this point,
we appreciate you listening full of I think three and
a half hour show tomorrow, but least so it's a
six maybe six thirty. We'll find out. As I mentioned
Minnesota Wild, I'm the fan Tonight that pregame show will
(39:30):
begin at seven forty five, opening face off just past
eight o'clock. Enjoy the rest of the evening and we
will talk to you tomorrow at three o'clock. Thank you
for the memories, Thank you for the great time. We
love your dad. Your job is done. We can go
home now. Well go twins. Thank you for the airtime,
and I'll talk to you soon.
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Are You A Charlotte?
In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.