December 14, 2023 • 46 mins
Nordo opens the show previewing tonight's Wolves/Mavericks matchup. Michael Russo calls in to discuss all the latest with the Wild, plus Vikes bites!
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(00:01):
Man, we're saying the shouted shameback. I know y'all missing pail right
(00:57):
Reille. A lot of hate goingon, Okay, super Saudi June.
When you hollow, when you speakermember Jule mil you say bout of Hagen
and you were telling people don't beSaudi June. Nope, he Rid June
(01:21):
cut up Nine to Noon, sixfive one, Carpets plus Studios, nord
Win for p A p As backin the Saddle, Minnata tomorrow for a
Friday football feast, Buffalo Wild Wings, Roseville. So get there early if
you can get a good spot.N C p A in charge, several
(01:45):
awesome guests. Uh. Speaking ofguests, by the way, you know
we're a fan family, Different shows, different vibes. Certainly, are you
kidding me with that last hour ofPower Trip with uh Bruce Richardson. I
believe in Raymond Wilson and their stories. They wrote a book called Brothers and
(02:07):
it's available on Amazon. I wasI was going to jump right into the
Wolves. But yeah, well we'llget to that in a moment. I'm
just I'm telling you who listened toNine to Noon. Some of you only
listened to one show. Some ofyou listened to a couple but maybe you
didn't catch the Power Trip podcast thatfinal hour And as a matter of fact,
(02:28):
I think via the YouTube channel youcan you can check out the video
aspect of it, the final hourin studio. But Bruce Richardson, Raymond
Wilson, they wrote a book togethercalled Brothers and it's on Amazon. You
can find it on Amazon. Getthat thing in paperback. But you can
also hear some of the stories thatthat a couple of old Army guys shared
(02:53):
with you guys this morning. Howcool was that man from West Point to
Vietnam to life afterwards dealing with someof you know what a year meant in
totality with their entire lives. Wow, it was incredible. That's one of
the most incredible interviews I've ever beenprivileged enough to be a part of.
And just not only that there arestories, but their willingness to share those
(03:15):
stories and be as open as theywere, as it takes a whole lot
of bravery to do what they didand to talk about it all this time
later, and it was it wasIt was incredible. That's something that's going
to stick with me for a longtime. So I'd encourage everybody to go
podcast that free iHeartRadio app or whereveryou listen to podcasts. It's It was
an incredible interview. It had memissing Army Navy as whether it was just
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in Guard and I would go orlast year John Kriesel went with me.
And the heroism, the humility whichis amazing, the commitment to serve.
You heard I think it was Bruceand both of them talking about being so
committed to this idea of being partof that, the dream of being a
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west point for Bruce. The workthat Raymond put into to get himself the
guy just wanted to fly right,and the work that they put in to
do it again. Incredible hour.I know it's a different show, I
know it's bleeding over, but butjust please podcast the final hour, podcast
the whole damn show and catch that. But Bruce Richardson and Raymond Wilson unbelievable
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storytelling, unbelievable humans that they were. But as we transition into Welcome to
Nine to Noon, Nordo win forPA. As I mentioned, and I'll
get to the timber Tech set list, this would be the sports heavy show,
although during the final hour we're whereI believe we're gonna have Rachel Ramsey
in from our sister stations. Heis she is our sister, Rachel Ramsey
from K one O two. TheSaint Jude Radiothon is taking place. We're
(04:51):
gonna learn about that during the finalhour. But let's just jump right into
this thing with now. If youwere working with Common Max, you might
call it a program programming predicament.I heard that. I have heard that
one or twice. You could callit a couch conundrum viewership vexation. Oh
(05:12):
well, but the key here isis we got we got stuff to watch
tonight. Yesterday, you know,we got through life. We handled our
bits, we handled our our chores, got all of our chores done.
Because Thursday night you have Thursday Nightfootball. Oh it's Easton Stick versus Aid
(05:36):
and O'Connell in an AFC East thriller. A couple of five eight teams,
a couple of five eight Juggernauts.The Raiders are three and a half point
favorites. If you do care.Hosting the Charges at Allegiance, That's not
what I'm talking about. Starting offMinnesota Wild hosting the Flames tonight, I
will be having not only Michael Russoon later this hour, Kevin Gorg final
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hour to end the show. Twogamer at home starting tonight against Calgary Vancouver
in a couple of days. TheFlames ahead of the Wild in the West.
They're losing a bunch of games.Their coach doesn't have answers. First
time coach. I believe one ofhis, one of the assistants, was
elevated when Darryl Sutter left last year. But an awesome chance to make up
a couple of points. Here's JohnHines talking about the pairing of one Jake
(06:20):
Middleton and one Rock Faber. Favorfor me, he just plays a really
reliable two way game. He's agreat skater. He's physical and big,
so you need to have that.And then Middleton, to me, what's
really stood out to me is askating I mean when you look at him,
he can close gaps, he canjoin the rush. He's big and
physical, and you know, thecombination of the two of them where they
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have size, reach their competitors andthe skating looks like it could be a
pretty good pair Yeah. Hell yeah, it's a good pairing and it's going
to have to be because this prodean thing we'll talk more about it with
Russo later on nine thirty five.But with bro Deane at some point he's
gonna have to go on long termbecause the team has no money, so
they have to shift and move andadjust every single time they need to bring
(07:04):
somebody up. But we'll see howthat thing works. But it's a seven
pm puck drop right here on thefan. But then we're gonna jump right
into it at seven thirty. You'regonna get to hear it on the Free
iHeart radio app. The Wolves areat the Dallas Mavericks this evening, No
Kyrie. I saw that, Max, and we're still sweating this. Anthony
Edwards hit. But Jaden McDaniels andJordan McLoughlin both returning and being rusty,
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you could say. The other night, here's head coach Chris Finch on that
thought j mack was really good.I thought Jayden was good in moments,
you know, struggle to find anoffensive rhythm out there, you know,
as to be expected, you know, first came back. But yeah,
I think just in general, offensively, we fought. We focked the game
a lot. Max's what excites youabout Wolves and the Mavericks is part of
this difficult stretch. Well, it'sexciting because it's another it's in that yeah,
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that stretch that you mentioned where it'sbelieve sixteen games straight above teams above
five hundred in the map are oneof the best in the West Man and
they if you remember last year,the Wolves of the Mavericks had a barn
burner here at the Target Center whereAnthony Edwards and Jade McDaniels put on a
defensive masterclass against Luca and Kyrie onthat final possession. And we're gonna we're
gonna need Jade McDaniels on the floor. I know he struggled to get his
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rhythm offensively when he has been onthe court this season. A lot of
that is due to foul trouble.But we're gonna need him at his best
tonight because the Wolves, as goodas they as they have been defensively,
they have a problem guarding guards thisseason. Darren Fox, rip them apart,
shake Gilgess, Alexander, rip themapart. Yeah, obviously those guys
are two of the best of thebest, but so is Luka Doncis.
He's a top five player in thisleague. So they're gonna need Jad McDaniels
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that is absolute best defensively. Thereis some openings though Dallas. While they're
a top ten team offensively, they'retwenty second defensively in total defense. So
there's some room for the Wolves toscore some points here and get active on
the Mavericks. But as we sawagainst the Pelicans the other night, we're
gonna really need Anthony Edwards to comethrough because the Wolves are not at their
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best offensively without ant on the court. Obvious, and obviously his defense is
underrated as well, but he justhelps this offense flow so much better,
not just with his scoring, he'sseeing the court so much better. His
his court vision this season has beenphenomenal and just you know, he's he's
the star of this team. He'sthe driving force of this team. So
hopefully Anthony Edwards can go because otherwiseit's going to be a difficult matchup against
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one of the best in the leaguethis season and in the Mavericks. I
mean, no Kyrie, but theyDante Exum came out of nowhere the other
night. He emerged from the Shadows. They got Tim Hardaway Junior to go
along with Kyrie or not Kyrie,oring Luka Doncicic, who again is one
of the best players in the NBA, So it'll be an interesting matchup.
So far, so good the Wolveswhen they face the best of the best
this season, they've they've came outon top. The a topic for me
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would be not Luca, but what'saround him? Right, Because so I
started doing these these spots. ForI I endorse Prize Picks, which is
which is a sweet app, it'sbad ass. I just picked players and
for people like me that are awfulin other daily fantasy sports environments, I
just have to pick more or less. And so I looked up Luca this
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morning thirty three and a half moreor less in points. And I have
to be honest with you when Idial up my Prize Picks entry. It's
a free app. You use thecode KFN. By the way, I'll
match up to your first one hundreddollars deposit, So code KFA in download
the app. I'm going to pickover and the key for me with this
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game tonight is is Luca is goingto be another in the long line of
guards. You and you mentioned thatwe talked about it before and if you
go back, Pa and I almostwanted to do like a two segment bit
where it was like, okay,sga here, well, oh Tatum's is
now. It just everybody gets theWolves the star does. Even at their
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best, they're still the best teamdefensively in the NBA Top three, But
even at their best, there's stillhave that glaring, that glaring omission on
defense of being able to guard guards. And part of that is because Jay
McDaniels has been gone this season,but that's just over the last several seasons
that's been an achilles heel for them. So what is around Luca? And
you mentioned the a topic here becausewhen they nip the Lakers at the wire
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the other night, they hit twentyone triples as a team, and that
was Dante Xen by the way,he hit five or seven of those freaking
things. Grant Williams, the formerCeltic, they would bring him off the
bench, Well, he's got aHe's playing a hell of a lot more
minutes these days for Dallas, probablyeven than what they want without Kyrie.
But they'd bring him off the benchin Boston, what would he do.
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He'd hit corner threes and he's doingthe same damn thing for the MAVs.
Right now. So that's what theydo. They're the number one team in
the NBA for three pointers made thisseason, so Luca is gonna get his.
So when you watch the game tonight, it's how are we gonna shut
it? You're gonna You're gonna shuthim down in moments. But he's gonna
get his against the Howl. Butthe Dante ExHAM, as Max mentioned,
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the Grant Williams, the Tim HardawayJunior. Now this is a the Mooral
issue right here, because I doemploy Tim Hardaway Junior for three pointers on
my fantasy team. By my seasonlong bit, I'm trying to beat I'm
trying to beat Functuai, trying tobeat Pa. But I hope he has
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an awful night tonight. But that'sthe key. And then after you get
through this, Wolves are a pointa half dog tonight, as they should
be on the road. But thatends me to believe that they're feeling like
Aunt is in the mix tonight.Close that gap, no Kyrie, So
Luca gets his watch out for Hardaway, exem Grant Williams, the role players.
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Rashan Holmes, by the way,ever since he stepped outside the COVID
bubble down in Orlando for food.No team has given him any long.
He's gone fifteen minutes. He wasa freaking block machine and a double double
killer in Sacramento, and now he'sgetting fifteen minutes. He can't hit a
free throw to save his life.Just free rashon home please? Where else
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are you gonna hear that? Thennine to noon up here in Minnesota.
The man was just trying to geta taco. Beat Luca tonight. Then
you get Halliburton. Then it's Jimmyin South Beach, if he actually plays,
then it's Indeed. Then it's inLebron at home. Then it's de
Aaron Fox and Sabonis. Then it'sSga. Then you host Luca getting Lebron
again. See what's happening here?So this is this is an absolute gauntlet
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for the Howl. And that's what'sfun now is we get to test the
metal of this squad. Need abounce back night, Need that this team
can't get in foul trouble like theydid a couple of nights ago against the
Pelicans. That's the whole key.Zion. Zion was hitting almost every shot,
but getting to the line and gettingthe freebies us having to adjust how
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we play to keep guys on thecourt. Kat had a tough second half
at times. It just has tobe better tonight. Get Amp back in
the mix. I love adding thedepth of returning Jaden to the starting five.
But now McLoughlin has Max said,I think he's dead on. McLoughlin
is somebody that you have to watchand he has to be good starting tonight
at seven thirty and you're going toget to hear Alan Horton and company on
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the free iHeartRadio app, the exclusiveTimberwolves Channel seven thirty pm ish tip off,
Let's go how best team in theWest. And next the TimberTech setlist
provided by TimberTech TimberTech dot com.It is me Nordo with you from nine
to noon today and I'm excited tobe here and I'm excited to jump into
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some Vike's nuggets, some Vikes bitesaround the corner. But then it's Michael
Russo at nine thirty five, BenLieber weekly in studio. He's going to
be here at ten o'clock eleven am. We are going to do a replay.
And I know that you know someof you love of it. Some
of you don't when we replace certaininterviews or certain press conference and things.
But I love doing this each weekbecause the Kevin O'Connell, PA X's and
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O's conversation. If you don't hearit on Wednesday nights and you're not podcasting
it, well you got an opportunityto hear it this morning. You'll hear
it at eleven PA and the headcoach KOC and then Kevin Gorg. Of
course he covers the Minnesota Wild forValley Sports North. He's going to be
He's going to be here or onthe hotline at eleven thirty five. So
(15:22):
a lot of wild, some wolves, some charity bits via Saint Jude and
the eleven, some Vikings bits.That makes up nine to noon and it's
Max Fuller hanging out with me,Nordo. You're listening to nine to noon
on the Get ready for your chanceto battle the Banker live on stage.
Deal or No Deal Live is comingto the Island Friday, December fifteenth through
(15:46):
Sunday, December seventeenth and bringing incredibleprizes with it. Head over to our
contest page for a chance to wina pair of tickets to this can't miss
live production. That'skfan dot com keywordcontests to enter two wins. Love dudes
cause you loved me. I'm sorryingso you think about a chance you find
(16:07):
some trying to do my dance maybebecause you love me? Is this Neptunes
or an E R D? Yeah? This I believe this is Neptunes and
jay Z off their first album.Hell yeah, thanks for listening to nine
to Noon on a Thursday. Canget to nearly fifty degrees today, so
let's heat it up with some vikesbites. Vikes Bites presented by Northern Fire
(16:30):
Grilling and Barbecue Supply Northern Fire bbqdot com. Christmas is quickly approaching.
You got a grill master in thehousehold? Well check out Northern Fire Grilling
and Barbecue Supply just off Shady Oak, north of sixty two in Minnetaka.
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Northern firebbq dot com. Max Fuller. Where are we headed first, Let's
do it spots before we get intoVikings Bengals. One thing that is sort
of Vikings related but affects all thirtytwo teams of the NFL. One of
the most controversial rules in football willbe reviewed by the NFL this offseason.
EVP Troy Vincent said the league willdiscuss amending the touchback rule regarding fumbling through
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the end zone. As we allremember, I'm sure we wish we didn't
the Vikings specifically, justin Jefferson wasburned by this rule earlier in the year
against the Philadelphia Eagles. Yeah,I read that VIAPFT that they were reviewing
it. Glad they are now they'vereviewed it before. I read that yesterday
and they did nothing about it.So that's kind of the tough thing is
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in some of these spots you thinksome you think change is coming, and
I think maybe it takes what isit two thirds of the ownership group to
twenty four out of thirty two gotto approve any rule change. I think
that's the case. But at anyrate, it's ridiculous only because now as
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a rule, you got to dealwith it. You go wint about it,
but it's the rule, and soyou have to make that adjustment.
And when you're fumbling into the endzone and in the article I'm glad Florio
mentioned it. Derek Carr has beenthe victim of this at least twice,
and it's brutal every single time.And so your inches from a touchdown and
suddenly the other teams got it atthe twenty. It is one of the
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biggest reversals of fortune and a massivepunishment to an offense, massive reward to
a defense when we are looking atif it's fumbled here, it's your ball.
If it's fumbled six inches over there, it's their ball. Certainly that
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is, but it is also thegoal line, so I can hear,
and I remember when we talked aboutthis earlier the year when JJ did it
at Philly. I'm not necessarily offendedor mad at any opinion in which somebody
says, well, that's the endzone. That's a special place, so
it's okay that it's different. Figureit out, hold onto the ball.
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I'm cool with all those opinions.I would like to see some sort of
change. Now, what does thatchange mean? If you fumble it through
the end zone, do you getit back on the twenty and not a
not a reset of downs, butat least you still have the ball.
Would you do would you be opento something like that. I'm curious how
they would maneuver that. I alsosaw I think Vincent they're finally just admitting
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what they're trying to get rid of. The kickoff is almost like it's basically
it's like a ceremonial play. Itmeans nothing, and so I would anticipate
them continuing to try and mitigate andthen they'll say it's out of state.
But it's a it's a non activeplay. So figuring out the kickoff,
but figuring out the fumble, Iwould like it just top of my head
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without giving it any more thought.If you fumble it in the end zone,
it is your ball, but theysend it back to the twenty.
That's a massive penalty, to besure. But it's not a change of
possession something like that. When Leversin studio, it's on the set list
to chat with him about it.But I'm glad they're reviewing it, and
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I do think some sort of changeneeds to take place. Maybe it's a
ten yard line. I don't know. That's for them to figure out,
that's for us to analyze later.Vikes by Vikes Bytes. When Bengals starting
QB Joe Burrow went down a fewweeks back. I know a lot of
teams around the league that had theBengals on their schedule were licking their chops,
but reports of their demise were greatlyoverexaggerated as Jake Browning stepped in.
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And he's two and one in threeconsecutive starts and wins against the Jaguars and
the Colts. He has thrown forsix hundred and twenty nine yards, three
touchdowns and one interception. He's completedfifty of sixty one attempts, his seventy
nine point three completion percentage and hisfirst three starts as the highest by an
NFL QB in records kept since nineteenfifty. I think they're still wearing leather
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helmets back then. Damn near,I believe. When not pressured, he's
forty two of forty six passing forfour hundred and ninety eight yards with a
surgical ninety one percent completion percentage.Yeah, this Browning thing is no joke.
And that's where and I did thesame thing that anyone else did.
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Ooh burrows out for the season.Oh it's Jake Browning. I joked about
it yesterday. Not necessarily the strongestarm in the history of this game.
It doesn't matter because what they're doingis what the vikings. I have to
be honest, what our favorite teamdid and failed miserably at was adjusting the
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offense with a backup QB and stillmaintaining the framework of the scheme itself.
The injury Jefferson certainly hasn't helped.But what you're gonna see from the Bengals
at least over the last couple ofgames, and that's subject to change.
You mentioned he's not pressure. Ilike Brian Flores against backup q beats.
I like Flores in this spot onSaturday, and since it so, he's
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going to feel the heat. Itruly believe that. But the efficiency of
it, where they're not asking himto throw it sixty yards on a dime.
It's the simplicity, but how muchsense it makes when you have a
guy that can throw accurately and ontime on time. You didn't get that
from Dops. Hopefully we get itfrom Mullens. But that's what you're seeing
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from Jake Browning. And so you'regetting T Higgins in space with the ball.
I heard Libron with the power trip, and we'll revisit this again next
hour as well. The key isas well is there's a safety There's a
safety hatch, there's an escape pod, there's an eject button all the time
that Browning can use, even whenin some cases when he is pressured there's
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always a tight end leaking out orrunning back making himself available late. It
is so well done what we're seeingand possibly could see from the Bengals on
Saturday. That was what we werehoping that we would see. With Dobbs
and now Mullins and this Vikings offense, Kevin O'Connell has struggled to maintain the
framework of his scheme with a backupQB. That can't happen any longer.
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Forget about talking about winning out andwinning the division. Maintaining a playoff spot
should be the conversation until it hasproven that we can make this offense work
with somebody other than Kirk Cousins.Vikes Bites, You mentioned a safety,
had Schnorto. How about the screengame for the Bengals. In the first
six weeks of the season, theBengals called just one screen pass, believe
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it or not, but with Browningunder center, we've seen their offensive evolve
and last week the Bengals called sixscreens against Indianapolis, more than any other
game under head coach Zach Taylor.Cincinnati had three such plays combined for one
hundred and twenty four yards and atouchdown. It's a big tackling game,
and this will be not only guyslike a Caleb Evans on the outside fighting
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through blocks against wide receivers. You'regonna see pulling lineman outside. You're gonna
see a guy like Ivan Pace haveto have his nose to the ball just
like he has for the large partwhen given opportunities this season. So it's
a massive make the freaking tackle andkeep that screen a seven yard gain instead
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of a seventy yard game. Andagain, it's trusting in the plan.
It's trusting in Flores and I'm gonnado just that. But the Colts didn't
handle any of that well, andthey caught him in some nice spots.
It's it's good offensive coaching by ZachTaylor. This is an incredibly good team
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that has found ways now to ina row. They lost an ugly one,
still trying to work themselves into theBrowning, the Browning tenure with I
believe it was a Steelers game theylost, but they have been full speed
ahead for the most part the lastcouple of weeks, and that that hopefully
stops on Saturday. Should Justin Jeffersonplay on Saturday, he will share the
field with former LSU teammate and friendJamar Chase for the second time in their
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young professional careers. The Vikings facethe Bengals in Week one of the twenty
twenty one season. Jamar, thena rookie, finished with one hundred and
one yards five catches, one touchdown, while JJ led all Vikings pass catchers,
catching five receptions for seventy one yards. Ah that game too, man,
that the twenty twenty one season waswe the what a roller coaster?
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By the way, we're not reallya big fan of roller coasters. I
hate not being in control of myown movement. I can't be a passenger
in a car now as an adult, and I don't really care. I'm
not scared. But this is ascary roller coaster of twenty twenty one.
You lose every game by one score, and there's always a thing it was.
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It was Daln Dalvin's butt touching theground before he fumbled, and Evan
McPherson, and I think he wasthe rookie at the time. He kicks
them to the ot victory. Thatwas week one. Week two, I
think it was the miskick against Arizona. I mean, and the list goes
on. Daniel Hunter had like sevenor eight sacks through six or seven games.
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Then he's lost for the rest ofthe year. Twenty twenty one,
awful, twenty twenty two, we'rewinning all of those games. Twenty twenty
three, at least early on wewere literally fumbling away games. So this
is a roller coaster and a ridethat is really uncomfortable and not very fun.
So seeing those two on the fieldtogether this time around, I just
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I can't wait for that. JJ'sgonna play, Jamar's gonna play, and
both unfortunately or not receiving passes froman entertainment standpoint from the preferred quarterback.
But how we adjust in how weget JJ in space and on time,
that will dictate things in a bigway. On Saturday, thanks for doing
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Vikes Bites. That's Max Vikes Bitespresented by Northern Fire Grilling and Barbecue Supply.
Back to the Purple today am ourwith liber But next Michael Russo,
the Athletic, the Wild hosting theFlames tonight. Big opportunity for two points
and to continue just creeping in thecrawling up the Western Conference standings hockey with
Russo. Next on the fan,the f then the fan boots for the
(27:30):
Park girls go round the outside brown, the outside brown. The outside boots
for the Park Girls, go roundthe outside, round, the outside,
round, the outside. Welcome backnine to noon, Nordowen for PA the
Minnesota Wild hosting the Calgary Flames tonight. This is your home for Wild hockey.
(27:52):
Puck drops shortly after seven pm andjoining me now courtesy of the Athletic,
courtesy of Ovo Lasik. And that'swhere I got my Lasik done,
two of the best in the business, doctor Lobanoff and doctor WHITINGOVOI dot Com
brings you weekly appearances by mister Russoat Russo Hockey via Twitter. How you
doing this morning, sir, I'mdoing well. The that's the getting ready
(28:17):
for the game. Oh hell yeahabsolutely. I want to start by going
backwards a bit because I got somethings to get into with the team and
tonight's game and all of that.But I must ask you, I was
in las Vegas last week for Raidersand Vikings and five days, by the
way, too long to be inLas Vegas, at least for me personally.
I just don't have the bankroll todo what I want to do for
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five days straight and not feel completelybusted and broke when I come home.
But what are the what are thewhat are the regulations or rules around players?
If players are in town for aGolden Night's game? Like, what
are the rules in terms of cancan they go play table games and stuff
like that? Yeah? Yeah,no, there's really no rules, I
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mean other than you can't bet onhockey. Yeah, that is literally the
only rule that that, uh thatexists there. They're technically allowed in the
in the sports book and can betother things. They're allowed to play craps,
blackjack, poker, whatever, youknow. Uh. I think a
lot of players uh try to tryto avoid that, especially in today's day
and age of social media and picturesand phones and all that stuff. Especially
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with as well as good as Minnesotafans travel. H you know, when
the Wild play in Vegas, there'sjust I mean, it feels like thousands
of fans everywhere. So I thinkthey try to avoid it and just sort
of you know, even though they'renot doing anything technically or wrong or legal,
they they try to, I think, be above board and avoid that.
But yes, I've definitely uh seenthem at the tables. Well yeah.
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And the reason I bring that upis is it was kind of a
talker when we were down there wherein the NFL. The NFL loves to
have it both ways in a lotof situations where he years ago, Tony
Romo couldn't have like a Fantasy footballconvention in Las Vegas, and then a
year or two later, you know, it's it's DraftKings money, it's FanDuel
money. All these companies coming inand they realize, oh wait a minute,
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we can cash a ton of checksin the betting world. But now,
but we have the teams. Theygot to stay in some like off
strip and it you know, it'sit's not the it's it's it's a five
star hotel. But we we gotto hide them from the tables. There's
no gambling, there's none of this. You have to completely segregate them while
they're in town. So the imagery, they want to maintain that all the
(30:32):
while making a ton of cash offof those on the strip. No,
it's it's a good point. Youknow, for a long time, especially
in the NHL team in the Vegasa lot of players, a lot of
teams are staying at that Mandarin Hotel, which or it used to be the
Mandarin Now I think it's the winthem and and it doesn't have a casino
in it. Now most teams stayat a at a hotel that does have
(30:52):
a casino in it. And uh, but you but to your other point,
I think that that's one of themost interesting things going on in all
of sports right now, is thatthey're essentially in bed with a lot of
these different companies, whether it's betMGM or or eras or or you know,
the DraftKings, FanDuel and all thatstuff. And you know, there
are teams in this league that haveyou know, essentially sports almost books in
(31:17):
their arenas. There's teams in thisleague that advertise all throughout the arena different
you know, betting entities. Andthen yet you know, we just saw
Shane Pinto get suspended uh essentially uhuh you know for what I understand to
be proxy betting, where he wasallowing one of his friends to use one
of his apps and that that companyessentially has these uh you know, basically
(31:45):
abilities to just check on accounts andthen turn them into leagues. And I
think that was a big eye openerfor all the professional sports. You know,
again, the NHL has really norules against betting other you than you
can't against hockey. I mean,technically, these guys are on Fantasy Football
League, yeah, and all thatstuff, and so there was there's not
(32:06):
a ton of rules with it,and I think it was a big cautionary
tale for players too. Essentially,if you have an account under a certain
gaming app, whether it's Price sixor whatever, it is that you don't
give your account to a buddy andhave them start betting and then create the
periods of impropriety. So that's whatapparently she and Tinto did. And I
(32:27):
do think that it's really fascinating thatyou have these leagues that are making a
ton of money in the gambling world, but yet are trying to, you
know, legislate that their players needto be very very careful. Last thing
on Vegas and then we'll move on. So we're there for the Vikings game
Russo well, I'm just it justit was it was a fun experience.
I'm exhausted by. But it wasawesome and it was interesting that all the
(32:50):
time that I was there, tonsof Vikings fans, as you mentioned,
Minnesota fans in general. It's adestination, right, family truckster is all
packed up, We're headed to Vegas. It was interest you're seeing met a
lot of locals fairly disconnected, justkind of I don't want to say,
apathetic to the Raiders, but certainlynot emotionally compelled. But everybody from Las
Vegas is in on the Golden Knights, like that's a Golden Knights town.
(33:15):
It's it's the only franchise there.Of course that's organic, it was built
there, made there. But itwas unbelievable to talk to these people who
love the Golden Knights as new asthat that franchise is as much as I
love the Wild you know what Imean? Yeah, No, And I
think it's really cool. And Ithink a lot of people when the NHL
(33:36):
was the first professional sports league toreally venture in there, major professional sports
league to venture in there, reallywas skeptical on whether or not you were
going to be able to create ahometown fan base or if it was just
going to be you know, thousandsof away fans, of plocking to Vegas
and packing Tmobile Arena on an everynight basis, and I think what we've
seen and I covered the Stanley Cupfinal there. I covered the twenty eighteen
(33:59):
series when they went to all theway to the Stanley Cup Final against Washington.
You know, after the Wild wereeliminated. I was hopping on that
because we didn't have a Vegas writeryet. And if you looked in that
arena, it was all home fans, all go to night jerseys, and
they put on quite a show there. There is a Rabbit fan base there
and and you know, I think, I think it's out scanning. I
love that the NHL was a trendbeetter. We're gonna have the NHL Draft
(34:22):
at the Spear, which is nowthis new iconic giant mean, you know,
giant ball in the middle, safe, you know, behind the win
and it's gonna be awesome. TheOkay, back to the home team.
We'll move on from Vegas. Iwant my eight hundred dollars back the whole
thing. But hey, to theWild. You wrote this awesome piece in
the Athletic. I think he cameout yesterday specifically about John Hines, a
(34:45):
new coach of the Wild and kindof the winding road of a career.
Mike yohs in the mix iss hemade his way into the into the Pittsburgh,
the the Ahl side of things,Bruno replacing him in Nashville. He's
shadowing college football coaches. Is whatfavorite do you have any favorite aspects about
what you learned of John Hines whileputting all of that together, Yeah,
(35:07):
it is fascinating how a lot ofhis Minnesota Wild career is sort of inter
you know, or his NHL coachingcareers intertwined with things that have happened with
the Wild. Like essentially, hegoes to Wilkesbury, takes a sixty thousand
dollars pay cut to become an assistantcoach there. He went there because he
really believed in how good that organizationwas, but also genuinely on how that
(35:32):
that organization, the Pittsburgh Penguins,basically promotes him within and so he goes
there and Mike Yeo becomes the Houstoneras coach. They elevate Todd Ruden,
who is the head coach in Wilkesburyto Pittsburgh, replaced Mike Yoe and one
year after taking this giant pay cut. He's now the head coach in Wilkesbury.
(35:52):
So I just think it says somethingabout Risks and you know, whether
or not he had this grand,incredibly new life in ann Arbor. He
was signed a three year deal inyou know, triple digit salaries, you
know, working with that program,and was completely comfortable there. But he
(36:14):
was willing, because he wanted tobe a professional coach and eventually wind up
in the NHL to take such amassive day cut. So I think that
just says a lot about him.But then the thing that I loved this
offseason and when he was out ofwork starting at the beginning of this season
is he really took a deep diveinto himself and did a real deep self
scout where he called gms and playersand people they've worked with in the past,
(36:36):
some people that fired him and basicallysat down with him and had honest
conversations to see where he can improve. Then he shadowed Divander Bolt Football program
for twice a week. Was thenon every single meeting, shadowed Santose Shark's
coaching staff. The Tampa Bay Lightningcoaching staff was going to do that with
the Sharks once a month, hadplans to do it with Pittsburgh before Bilgarian
(36:57):
came calling in and brought into Minnesota. And I just think says a lot
about his character, because I've covereda lot of coaches that think that they
invented the game, think that everythingthat they do is correct. And he
really looked and said, all right, how do I have to get better
for my next job? And wantedto see how other operations run their shift
and and so I think that's probablythe best part of the story is just
(37:20):
give wild fans a little more indepth analysis of who this person is and
really profile them greatly and show thatthere's a lot more to this coach than
just maybe the record that we've seenin New Jersey in Nashville is there,
and this is Michael Russo the AthleticWeekly guest nine to now. And you
hear them really throughout the time slotshere on the fan, morero in the
(37:42):
in the evenings, in drive time. But his appearance is nine to Noon,
brought to you by the great peopleat Ovo Lasik and Lens get your
Lasik done eye surgeries. They doit all there OVOI dot com. Is
there such a thing as a honeymoonperiod with the new coach. Because and
you can tell me if I'm wronghere, if what we're watching right now
becomes the constant, constant the platformupon which they work ahead from this is
(38:07):
this looks like a playoff team tome. How how do you view things?
Yeah, I mean, you knowwhat they're they're playing seven to fourteen
hockey I think right now, whichwe'll get them in the playoffs. So
they went five of you know,five out of seven games for the rest
of the season that they'll they'll getclimbed back into the race here. But
yeah, I mean, look,they're playing much much better hockey. That
(38:29):
had a little blit obviously against Vancouverand Edmonton last week, but those are
very winnable games, both of them. The game in Edmonton, they had
all the reason in the world tonot show up for that game. They
got off to a terrible start inthat game. Mark Andre Fleury was tremendous
in that game, kept them inthe game, and then they wound up
in the game and then you know, unfortunately, at times, a leopard
(38:49):
doesn't change its spots in the wild. Took some stupid penalties in that game,
and it absolutely costs them in theend, tying and the winning goals.
In the case of the Vancouver game, you know that one that looked
like a team that had the dayoff in Vancouver the day before and he
just wasn't ready for the game.Yet they were absolutely as sluggish as they
were, they had the ability towin. But we've seen them in the
(39:10):
first four games play tremendously well,fast hockey, and then they obviously righted
the ship against a Seattle team that'sjust really really struggling right now. So
look this, they put themselves ina position where they cannot afford nights off
at all, and they've got tofigure out a way to start peeling off
points on an every night basis,preferably in regulation. So far, so
(39:35):
good, getting five to seven inregulation, and we'll see if it continues.
But they're getting much much better goaltendingnow. Matt Boldi is playing terrifically.
They have a coach that is willingto change lines, you know,
when needed. It's very early inthe game. We've already seen him dislodge
Zuperello and Caprice up when he feltlike it was needed. So he's comfortable
(39:55):
in his own skin that way,and we'll see if it continues a few
more for you here, And Ido want to jump back to unfortunately kind
of a situation, or at leastan unknown situation that is taking place.
You covered it via the Athletic,but news reports stemming that assistant GM Chris
O'Hearn is no longer in that spot, that there was a mutual parting of
(40:16):
ways, anything, any light thatyou can shine on this situation felt very
sudden. It seems like, sowhat's going on there? Well, it
was one hundred percent sudden, Imean one hundred percent sudden. And I
don't think that he's sensed it comingbecause he was on that road trip,
that poor game trip. Bill Garnwas not and Chris was around the team,
(40:37):
was jovial, showed nothing wrong wasaccessible to us, you know,
the game against Seattle, if Iremember correctly, he was sitting at the
in the press room having dinner withwith you know, at the table I
was at, and showed no,nothing was a miss here. But and
I got to be a little carefulin the way that I discussed this because
(41:00):
is what I've reported today in theAthletic is really all that I'm able to
share right now. Until I continueto report things further and feel comfortable to
report it, report it. Butessentially, there have been a couple of
investigations going on inside the organization,I think HR type situations and the one
(41:24):
there was one going on simultaneously withthe other, and it's the Chris one
that seemed to wrap up in thelast twenty four hours that led to his
dismissal. You know, when Ifeel comfortable enough to report exactly what's going
on, I will. But regardlessof what is going on behind the scenes
(41:45):
with their front office, it's anabsolutely huge hole right now. You know,
I think we all know how muchBill Garin respects Chris O'Hearn relies on
him, and how valuable he isto that front office. I mean,
it is a thin front office comparativeto a lot of teams in the NHL,
and they don't have a lot ofredundancy in there. You know,
(42:07):
when you're in an aircraft and somethinggoes wrong, there's fifty things that keep
you up in the air in thewild. You know, Chris is their
cap guy. He is their CBAexpert. He is he was their you
know, transaction guy. He isthe sounding board for Bill garn and now
he's not there at a very tumultuoustime in the organization, when they're in
(42:30):
cap hell, when they're in LTIR. Bill Garran is gonna have to
scramble and try to find somebody tofill his shoes right off the hop here.
And there's not a lot of peoplejust out there that are CBA experts,
capologists that are just out of work, that are talented people that you're
just gonna be able to poach.And you can't poach guys from other teams
right now. So it's gonna befascinating on how Bill goes about this.
(42:54):
From what I understand, he wastrying to work through it yesterday. I
have not heard actionrom Bill, andyou know, we'll see where this all
goes. But I don't think thisstory is over from a Chris O'Hearn standpoint.
And then and then the other investigationthat Joe and I mentioned today in
The Athletic, well, all ofus appreciate your reporting on it. None
(43:15):
of it sounds good right now,and hopefully as things arise from updates,
we'll we'll get to hear it fromfrom you and Joe. First last thing
for you, I guess. Switchingback to the now, times the team
does play a hockey game. Tonightthey play they host the Flames at seven
pm, and the Flames going throughsome transitions of their own at the coaching
ranks over the summertime. I believethey replaced Darryl Sutter. I always get
(43:37):
is it Suitor or Sutter? Okay, nailed it perfect, but they got
a new coach of their own.They've lost a bunch of games now over
the last couple of weeks. Theydon't appear to have the answers. This
team has been kind of on thedecline over the last year and a half.
What's good or bad about the Flamesand tonight's game? Yeah, I
mean, you know, the bigthing is you're right. I mean they've
(43:58):
you know, first all, theylost Fana the other night. I thought
the game that the Wild played inCalgary the other day was just a fabulous
game. Boldie was awesome and inthat game when when Calgary tried to push,
the Wild handled it tremendously by scoringa couple of big goals. Caprice
Uff had a big goal, Arisinekhad a big goal to really stop the
bleeding. In times of that game, so we'll see if that can continue
(44:21):
tonight. A lot of change,A lot has changed for the Wild since
obviously Brodean being out of the lineupis huge. And then I'll be interested
to see if Jared's Burgeon plays tonight. I think he's day to day with
a with an injury right now.The fact that the Wild called up two
defensemen as opposed to one from Iowayesterday, it leads me to believe that
there is a chance that we willnot see Spurgeon in the lineup tonight.
(44:45):
And uh, you know, uh, maybe both or one of Damon Hunt
and the Koda Murmis will play,but you know, we'll find out soon.
At the morning skate, I assumedGustuson's the net. I assume that
he'll go with the same forward linesthat he played with in Seattle that were
really good. You know, againhe flipped to pre stuff and and Zucarello
(45:06):
and their lines, and both thoselines scored huge goals in that game,
with Kaprisoffs setting up Boldie and zucrellIs setting up Rossi. So you know,
these are two winnable games coming uphere. Vancouver's been outstanding lately,
but I definitely think that these games, especially at home, are games at
the wild can peel off. Youmentioned Damon Hunt real quick, and I
(45:27):
feel dumb for not knowing this.He did already make his debut right earlier
this year, maybe, yeah,and he hasn't gotten a ton of ice
time, and you know, that'sone of the things I would love to
see. But again, you know, their goal is to win games here
and get back in the playoff spot. But you know, it would be
nice to see Damon Hunt thrown intothe lineup and get really extended ice time
and and let's see what they havein him, because they just love this
(45:49):
kid and believe in him in thefuture. So we'll see. We'll see
if he gets some quality ice timewhile he's up here and with protein out
for you know what, maybe sixto eight weeks here, there's gonna be
plenty of chances for other defensemen toget looked inside this lineup. Good thing.
Favor and Middleton are rocking right now. Holy cats, Oh my god,
yeah, unbelievable lectually. I mean, both of them have been outstanding.
(46:13):
And you know, Middleton, we'rejust seeing him play tremendous hockey right
now. And Favor has just beentheir most consistent defenseman from the start of
the season to now. Hey,thanks for all you do man. Thanks
as always, we'll chat soon,all right, absolutely see it. That's
Michael Russo the Athleticviathletic dot com andyou can follow him at Russo Hockey via
(46:34):
Twitter and all of his appearances broughtto you United Dune by Ovo Lacey kin
lend In the Football Ben Leber WeeklyGuest in Studio. Will chat with Nacho
next now to done to the f
Man, we're saying the shouted shameback. I know y'all missing pail right
(00:57):
Reille. A lot of hate goingon, Okay, super Saudi June.
When you hollow, when you speakermember Jule mil you say bout of Hagen
and you were telling people don't beSaudi June. Nope, he Rid June
(01:21):
cut up Nine to Noon, sixfive one, Carpets plus Studios, nord
Win for p A p As backin the Saddle, Minnata tomorrow for a
Friday football feast, Buffalo Wild Wings, Roseville. So get there early if
you can get a good spot.N C p A in charge, several
(01:45):
awesome guests. Uh. Speaking ofguests, by the way, you know
we're a fan family, Different shows, different vibes. Certainly, are you
kidding me with that last hour ofPower Trip with uh Bruce Richardson. I
believe in Raymond Wilson and their stories. They wrote a book called Brothers and
(02:07):
it's available on Amazon. I wasI was going to jump right into the
Wolves. But yeah, well we'llget to that in a moment. I'm
just I'm telling you who listened toNine to Noon. Some of you only
listened to one show. Some ofyou listened to a couple but maybe you
didn't catch the Power Trip podcast thatfinal hour And as a matter of fact,
(02:28):
I think via the YouTube channel youcan you can check out the video
aspect of it, the final hourin studio. But Bruce Richardson, Raymond
Wilson, they wrote a book togethercalled Brothers and it's on Amazon. You
can find it on Amazon. Getthat thing in paperback. But you can
also hear some of the stories thatthat a couple of old Army guys shared
(02:53):
with you guys this morning. Howcool was that man from West Point to
Vietnam to life afterwards dealing with someof you know what a year meant in
totality with their entire lives. Wow, it was incredible. That's one of
the most incredible interviews I've ever beenprivileged enough to be a part of.
And just not only that there arestories, but their willingness to share those
(03:15):
stories and be as open as theywere, as it takes a whole lot
of bravery to do what they didand to talk about it all this time
later, and it was it wasIt was incredible. That's something that's going
to stick with me for a longtime. So I'd encourage everybody to go
podcast that free iHeartRadio app or whereveryou listen to podcasts. It's It was
an incredible interview. It had memissing Army Navy as whether it was just
(03:38):
in Guard and I would go orlast year John Kriesel went with me.
And the heroism, the humility whichis amazing, the commitment to serve.
You heard I think it was Bruceand both of them talking about being so
committed to this idea of being partof that, the dream of being a
(03:59):
west point for Bruce. The workthat Raymond put into to get himself the
guy just wanted to fly right,and the work that they put in to
do it again. Incredible hour.I know it's a different show, I
know it's bleeding over, but butjust please podcast the final hour, podcast
the whole damn show and catch that. But Bruce Richardson and Raymond Wilson unbelievable
(04:27):
storytelling, unbelievable humans that they were. But as we transition into Welcome to
Nine to Noon, Nordo win forPA. As I mentioned, and I'll
get to the timber Tech set list, this would be the sports heavy show,
although during the final hour we're whereI believe we're gonna have Rachel Ramsey
in from our sister stations. Heis she is our sister, Rachel Ramsey
from K one O two. TheSaint Jude Radiothon is taking place. We're
(04:51):
gonna learn about that during the finalhour. But let's just jump right into
this thing with now. If youwere working with Common Max, you might
call it a program programming predicament.I heard that. I have heard that
one or twice. You could callit a couch conundrum viewership vexation. Oh
(05:12):
well, but the key here isis we got we got stuff to watch
tonight. Yesterday, you know,we got through life. We handled our
bits, we handled our our chores, got all of our chores done.
Because Thursday night you have Thursday Nightfootball. Oh it's Easton Stick versus Aid
(05:36):
and O'Connell in an AFC East thriller. A couple of five eight teams,
a couple of five eight Juggernauts.The Raiders are three and a half point
favorites. If you do care.Hosting the Charges at Allegiance, That's not
what I'm talking about. Starting offMinnesota Wild hosting the Flames tonight, I
will be having not only Michael Russoon later this hour, Kevin Gorg final
(05:56):
hour to end the show. Twogamer at home starting tonight against Calgary Vancouver
in a couple of days. TheFlames ahead of the Wild in the West.
They're losing a bunch of games.Their coach doesn't have answers. First
time coach. I believe one ofhis, one of the assistants, was
elevated when Darryl Sutter left last year. But an awesome chance to make up
a couple of points. Here's JohnHines talking about the pairing of one Jake
(06:20):
Middleton and one Rock Faber. Favorfor me, he just plays a really
reliable two way game. He's agreat skater. He's physical and big,
so you need to have that.And then Middleton, to me, what's
really stood out to me is askating I mean when you look at him,
he can close gaps, he canjoin the rush. He's big and
physical, and you know, thecombination of the two of them where they
(06:43):
have size, reach their competitors andthe skating looks like it could be a
pretty good pair Yeah. Hell yeah, it's a good pairing and it's going
to have to be because this prodean thing we'll talk more about it with
Russo later on nine thirty five.But with bro Deane at some point he's
gonna have to go on long termbecause the team has no money, so
they have to shift and move andadjust every single time they need to bring
(07:04):
somebody up. But we'll see howthat thing works. But it's a seven
pm puck drop right here on thefan. But then we're gonna jump right
into it at seven thirty. You'regonna get to hear it on the Free
iHeart radio app. The Wolves areat the Dallas Mavericks this evening, No
Kyrie. I saw that, Max, and we're still sweating this. Anthony
Edwards hit. But Jaden McDaniels andJordan McLoughlin both returning and being rusty,
(07:29):
you could say. The other night, here's head coach Chris Finch on that
thought j mack was really good.I thought Jayden was good in moments,
you know, struggle to find anoffensive rhythm out there, you know,
as to be expected, you know, first came back. But yeah,
I think just in general, offensively, we fought. We focked the game
a lot. Max's what excites youabout Wolves and the Mavericks is part of
this difficult stretch. Well, it'sexciting because it's another it's in that yeah,
(07:54):
that stretch that you mentioned where it'sbelieve sixteen games straight above teams above
five hundred in the map are oneof the best in the West Man and
they if you remember last year,the Wolves of the Mavericks had a barn
burner here at the Target Center whereAnthony Edwards and Jade McDaniels put on a
defensive masterclass against Luca and Kyrie onthat final possession. And we're gonna we're
gonna need Jade McDaniels on the floor. I know he struggled to get his
(08:16):
rhythm offensively when he has been onthe court this season. A lot of
that is due to foul trouble.But we're gonna need him at his best
tonight because the Wolves, as goodas they as they have been defensively,
they have a problem guarding guards thisseason. Darren Fox, rip them apart,
shake Gilgess, Alexander, rip themapart. Yeah, obviously those guys
are two of the best of thebest, but so is Luka Doncis.
He's a top five player in thisleague. So they're gonna need Jad McDaniels
(08:39):
that is absolute best defensively. Thereis some openings though Dallas. While they're
a top ten team offensively, they'retwenty second defensively in total defense. So
there's some room for the Wolves toscore some points here and get active on
the Mavericks. But as we sawagainst the Pelicans the other night, we're
gonna really need Anthony Edwards to comethrough because the Wolves are not at their
(09:01):
best offensively without ant on the court. Obvious, and obviously his defense is
underrated as well, but he justhelps this offense flow so much better,
not just with his scoring, he'sseeing the court so much better. His
his court vision this season has beenphenomenal and just you know, he's he's
the star of this team. He'sthe driving force of this team. So
hopefully Anthony Edwards can go because otherwiseit's going to be a difficult matchup against
(09:22):
one of the best in the leaguethis season and in the Mavericks. I
mean, no Kyrie, but theyDante Exum came out of nowhere the other
night. He emerged from the Shadows. They got Tim Hardaway Junior to go
along with Kyrie or not Kyrie,oring Luka Doncicic, who again is one
of the best players in the NBA, So it'll be an interesting matchup.
So far, so good the Wolveswhen they face the best of the best
this season, they've they've came outon top. The a topic for me
(09:48):
would be not Luca, but what'saround him? Right, Because so I
started doing these these spots. ForI I endorse Prize Picks, which is
which is a sweet app, it'sbad ass. I just picked players and
for people like me that are awfulin other daily fantasy sports environments, I
just have to pick more or less. And so I looked up Luca this
(10:09):
morning thirty three and a half moreor less in points. And I have
to be honest with you when Idial up my Prize Picks entry. It's
a free app. You use thecode KFN. By the way, I'll
match up to your first one hundreddollars deposit, So code KFA in download
the app. I'm going to pickover and the key for me with this
(10:31):
game tonight is is Luca is goingto be another in the long line of
guards. You and you mentioned thatwe talked about it before and if you
go back, Pa and I almostwanted to do like a two segment bit
where it was like, okay,sga here, well, oh Tatum's is
now. It just everybody gets theWolves the star does. Even at their
(10:56):
best, they're still the best teamdefensively in the NBA Top three, But
even at their best, there's stillhave that glaring, that glaring omission on
defense of being able to guard guards. And part of that is because Jay
McDaniels has been gone this season,but that's just over the last several seasons
that's been an achilles heel for them. So what is around Luca? And
you mentioned the a topic here becausewhen they nip the Lakers at the wire
(11:20):
the other night, they hit twentyone triples as a team, and that
was Dante Xen by the way,he hit five or seven of those freaking
things. Grant Williams, the formerCeltic, they would bring him off the
bench, Well, he's got aHe's playing a hell of a lot more
minutes these days for Dallas, probablyeven than what they want without Kyrie.
But they'd bring him off the benchin Boston, what would he do.
(11:41):
He'd hit corner threes and he's doingthe same damn thing for the MAVs.
Right now. So that's what theydo. They're the number one team in
the NBA for three pointers made thisseason, so Luca is gonna get his.
So when you watch the game tonight, it's how are we gonna shut
it? You're gonna You're gonna shuthim down in moments. But he's gonna
get his against the Howl. Butthe Dante ExHAM, as Max mentioned,
(12:03):
the Grant Williams, the Tim HardawayJunior. Now this is a the Mooral
issue right here, because I doemploy Tim Hardaway Junior for three pointers on
my fantasy team. By my seasonlong bit, I'm trying to beat I'm
trying to beat Functuai, trying tobeat Pa. But I hope he has
(12:24):
an awful night tonight. But that'sthe key. And then after you get
through this, Wolves are a pointa half dog tonight, as they should
be on the road. But thatends me to believe that they're feeling like
Aunt is in the mix tonight.Close that gap, no Kyrie, So
Luca gets his watch out for Hardaway, exem Grant Williams, the role players.
(12:45):
Rashan Holmes, by the way,ever since he stepped outside the COVID
bubble down in Orlando for food.No team has given him any long.
He's gone fifteen minutes. He wasa freaking block machine and a double double
killer in Sacramento, and now he'sgetting fifteen minutes. He can't hit a
free throw to save his life.Just free rashon home please? Where else
(13:09):
are you gonna hear that? Thennine to noon up here in Minnesota.
The man was just trying to geta taco. Beat Luca tonight. Then
you get Halliburton. Then it's Jimmyin South Beach, if he actually plays,
then it's Indeed. Then it's inLebron at home. Then it's de
Aaron Fox and Sabonis. Then it'sSga. Then you host Luca getting Lebron
again. See what's happening here?So this is this is an absolute gauntlet
(13:33):
for the Howl. And that's what'sfun now is we get to test the
metal of this squad. Need abounce back night, Need that this team
can't get in foul trouble like theydid a couple of nights ago against the
Pelicans. That's the whole key.Zion. Zion was hitting almost every shot,
but getting to the line and gettingthe freebies us having to adjust how
(13:54):
we play to keep guys on thecourt. Kat had a tough second half
at times. It just has tobe better tonight. Get Amp back in
the mix. I love adding thedepth of returning Jaden to the starting five.
But now McLoughlin has Max said,I think he's dead on. McLoughlin
is somebody that you have to watchand he has to be good starting tonight
at seven thirty and you're going toget to hear Alan Horton and company on
(14:16):
the free iHeartRadio app, the exclusiveTimberwolves Channel seven thirty pm ish tip off,
Let's go how best team in theWest. And next the TimberTech setlist
provided by TimberTech TimberTech dot com.It is me Nordo with you from nine
to noon today and I'm excited tobe here and I'm excited to jump into
(14:37):
some Vike's nuggets, some Vikes bitesaround the corner. But then it's Michael
Russo at nine thirty five, BenLieber weekly in studio. He's going to
be here at ten o'clock eleven am. We are going to do a replay.
And I know that you know someof you love of it. Some
of you don't when we replace certaininterviews or certain press conference and things.
But I love doing this each weekbecause the Kevin O'Connell, PA X's and
(15:01):
O's conversation. If you don't hearit on Wednesday nights and you're not podcasting
it, well you got an opportunityto hear it this morning. You'll hear
it at eleven PA and the headcoach KOC and then Kevin Gorg. Of
course he covers the Minnesota Wild forValley Sports North. He's going to be
He's going to be here or onthe hotline at eleven thirty five. So
(15:22):
a lot of wild, some wolves, some charity bits via Saint Jude and
the eleven, some Vikings bits.That makes up nine to noon and it's
Max Fuller hanging out with me,Nordo. You're listening to nine to noon
on the Get ready for your chanceto battle the Banker live on stage.
Deal or No Deal Live is comingto the Island Friday, December fifteenth through
(15:46):
Sunday, December seventeenth and bringing incredibleprizes with it. Head over to our
contest page for a chance to wina pair of tickets to this can't miss
live production. That'skfan dot com keywordcontests to enter two wins. Love dudes
cause you loved me. I'm sorryingso you think about a chance you find
(16:07):
some trying to do my dance maybebecause you love me? Is this Neptunes
or an E R D? Yeah? This I believe this is Neptunes and
jay Z off their first album.Hell yeah, thanks for listening to nine
to Noon on a Thursday. Canget to nearly fifty degrees today, so
let's heat it up with some vikesbites. Vikes Bites presented by Northern Fire
(16:30):
Grilling and Barbecue Supply Northern Fire bbqdot com. Christmas is quickly approaching.
You got a grill master in thehousehold? Well check out Northern Fire Grilling
and Barbecue Supply just off Shady Oak, north of sixty two in Minnetaka.
All kinds of sweet holiday deals,gift giving season, all of that from
grills and smokers and pizza ovens ohmy, to rubs and sauces and expertise
(16:55):
Northern firebbq dot com. Max Fuller. Where are we headed first, Let's
do it spots before we get intoVikings Bengals. One thing that is sort
of Vikings related but affects all thirtytwo teams of the NFL. One of
the most controversial rules in football willbe reviewed by the NFL this offseason.
EVP Troy Vincent said the league willdiscuss amending the touchback rule regarding fumbling through
(17:18):
the end zone. As we allremember, I'm sure we wish we didn't
the Vikings specifically, justin Jefferson wasburned by this rule earlier in the year
against the Philadelphia Eagles. Yeah,I read that VIAPFT that they were reviewing
it. Glad they are now they'vereviewed it before. I read that yesterday
and they did nothing about it.So that's kind of the tough thing is
(17:38):
in some of these spots you thinksome you think change is coming, and
I think maybe it takes what isit two thirds of the ownership group to
twenty four out of thirty two gotto approve any rule change. I think
that's the case. But at anyrate, it's ridiculous only because now as
(17:59):
a rule, you got to dealwith it. You go wint about it,
but it's the rule, and soyou have to make that adjustment.
And when you're fumbling into the endzone and in the article I'm glad Florio
mentioned it. Derek Carr has beenthe victim of this at least twice,
and it's brutal every single time.And so your inches from a touchdown and
suddenly the other teams got it atthe twenty. It is one of the
(18:23):
biggest reversals of fortune and a massivepunishment to an offense, massive reward to
a defense when we are looking atif it's fumbled here, it's your ball.
If it's fumbled six inches over there, it's their ball. Certainly that
(18:45):
is, but it is also thegoal line, so I can hear,
and I remember when we talked aboutthis earlier the year when JJ did it
at Philly. I'm not necessarily offendedor mad at any opinion in which somebody
says, well, that's the endzone. That's a special place, so
it's okay that it's different. Figureit out, hold onto the ball.
(19:06):
I'm cool with all those opinions.I would like to see some sort of
change. Now, what does thatchange mean? If you fumble it through
the end zone, do you getit back on the twenty and not a
not a reset of downs, butat least you still have the ball.
Would you do would you be opento something like that. I'm curious how
they would maneuver that. I alsosaw I think Vincent they're finally just admitting
(19:30):
what they're trying to get rid of. The kickoff is almost like it's basically
it's like a ceremonial play. Itmeans nothing, and so I would anticipate
them continuing to try and mitigate andthen they'll say it's out of state.
But it's a it's a non activeplay. So figuring out the kickoff,
but figuring out the fumble, Iwould like it just top of my head
(19:52):
without giving it any more thought.If you fumble it in the end zone,
it is your ball, but theysend it back to the twenty.
That's a massive penalty, to besure. But it's not a change of
possession something like that. When Leversin studio, it's on the set list
to chat with him about it.But I'm glad they're reviewing it, and
(20:14):
I do think some sort of changeneeds to take place. Maybe it's a
ten yard line. I don't know. That's for them to figure out,
that's for us to analyze later.Vikes by Vikes Bytes. When Bengals starting
QB Joe Burrow went down a fewweeks back. I know a lot of
teams around the league that had theBengals on their schedule were licking their chops,
but reports of their demise were greatlyoverexaggerated as Jake Browning stepped in.
(20:37):
And he's two and one in threeconsecutive starts and wins against the Jaguars and
the Colts. He has thrown forsix hundred and twenty nine yards, three
touchdowns and one interception. He's completedfifty of sixty one attempts, his seventy
nine point three completion percentage and hisfirst three starts as the highest by an
NFL QB in records kept since nineteenfifty. I think they're still wearing leather
(21:03):
helmets back then. Damn near,I believe. When not pressured, he's
forty two of forty six passing forfour hundred and ninety eight yards with a
surgical ninety one percent completion percentage.Yeah, this Browning thing is no joke.
And that's where and I did thesame thing that anyone else did.
(21:25):
Ooh burrows out for the season.Oh it's Jake Browning. I joked about
it yesterday. Not necessarily the strongestarm in the history of this game.
It doesn't matter because what they're doingis what the vikings. I have to
be honest, what our favorite teamdid and failed miserably at was adjusting the
(21:47):
offense with a backup QB and stillmaintaining the framework of the scheme itself.
The injury Jefferson certainly hasn't helped.But what you're gonna see from the Bengals
at least over the last couple ofgames, and that's subject to change.
You mentioned he's not pressure. Ilike Brian Flores against backup q beats.
I like Flores in this spot onSaturday, and since it so, he's
(22:08):
going to feel the heat. Itruly believe that. But the efficiency of
it, where they're not asking himto throw it sixty yards on a dime.
It's the simplicity, but how muchsense it makes when you have a
guy that can throw accurately and ontime on time. You didn't get that
from Dops. Hopefully we get itfrom Mullens. But that's what you're seeing
(22:32):
from Jake Browning. And so you'regetting T Higgins in space with the ball.
I heard Libron with the power trip, and we'll revisit this again next
hour as well. The key isas well is there's a safety There's a
safety hatch, there's an escape pod, there's an eject button all the time
that Browning can use, even whenin some cases when he is pressured there's
(22:53):
always a tight end leaking out orrunning back making himself available late. It
is so well done what we're seeingand possibly could see from the Bengals on
Saturday. That was what we werehoping that we would see. With Dobbs
and now Mullins and this Vikings offense, Kevin O'Connell has struggled to maintain the
framework of his scheme with a backupQB. That can't happen any longer.
(23:18):
Forget about talking about winning out andwinning the division. Maintaining a playoff spot
should be the conversation until it hasproven that we can make this offense work
with somebody other than Kirk Cousins.Vikes Bites, You mentioned a safety,
had Schnorto. How about the screengame for the Bengals. In the first
six weeks of the season, theBengals called just one screen pass, believe
(23:41):
it or not, but with Browningunder center, we've seen their offensive evolve
and last week the Bengals called sixscreens against Indianapolis, more than any other
game under head coach Zach Taylor.Cincinnati had three such plays combined for one
hundred and twenty four yards and atouchdown. It's a big tackling game,
and this will be not only guyslike a Caleb Evans on the outside fighting
(24:03):
through blocks against wide receivers. You'regonna see pulling lineman outside. You're gonna
see a guy like Ivan Pace haveto have his nose to the ball just
like he has for the large partwhen given opportunities this season. So it's
a massive make the freaking tackle andkeep that screen a seven yard gain instead
(24:23):
of a seventy yard game. Andagain, it's trusting in the plan.
It's trusting in Flores and I'm gonnado just that. But the Colts didn't
handle any of that well, andthey caught him in some nice spots.
It's it's good offensive coaching by ZachTaylor. This is an incredibly good team
(24:44):
that has found ways now to ina row. They lost an ugly one,
still trying to work themselves into theBrowning, the Browning tenure with I
believe it was a Steelers game theylost, but they have been full speed
ahead for the most part the lastcouple of weeks, and that that hopefully
stops on Saturday. Should Justin Jeffersonplay on Saturday, he will share the
field with former LSU teammate and friendJamar Chase for the second time in their
(25:10):
young professional careers. The Vikings facethe Bengals in Week one of the twenty
twenty one season. Jamar, thena rookie, finished with one hundred and
one yards five catches, one touchdown, while JJ led all Vikings pass catchers,
catching five receptions for seventy one yards. Ah that game too, man,
that the twenty twenty one season waswe the what a roller coaster?
(25:32):
By the way, we're not reallya big fan of roller coasters. I
hate not being in control of myown movement. I can't be a passenger
in a car now as an adult, and I don't really care. I'm
not scared. But this is ascary roller coaster of twenty twenty one.
You lose every game by one score, and there's always a thing it was.
(25:52):
It was Daln Dalvin's butt touching theground before he fumbled, and Evan
McPherson, and I think he wasthe rookie at the time. He kicks
them to the ot victory. Thatwas week one. Week two, I
think it was the miskick against Arizona. I mean, and the list goes
on. Daniel Hunter had like sevenor eight sacks through six or seven games.
(26:14):
Then he's lost for the rest ofthe year. Twenty twenty one,
awful, twenty twenty two, we'rewinning all of those games. Twenty twenty
three, at least early on wewere literally fumbling away games. So this
is a roller coaster and a ridethat is really uncomfortable and not very fun.
So seeing those two on the fieldtogether this time around, I just
(26:34):
I can't wait for that. JJ'sgonna play, Jamar's gonna play, and
both unfortunately or not receiving passes froman entertainment standpoint from the preferred quarterback.
But how we adjust in how weget JJ in space and on time,
that will dictate things in a bigway. On Saturday, thanks for doing
(26:55):
Vikes Bites. That's Max Vikes Bitespresented by Northern Fire Grilling and Barbecue Supply.
Back to the Purple today am ourwith liber But next Michael Russo,
the Athletic, the Wild hosting theFlames tonight. Big opportunity for two points
and to continue just creeping in thecrawling up the Western Conference standings hockey with
Russo. Next on the fan,the f then the fan boots for the
(27:30):
Park girls go round the outside brown, the outside brown. The outside boots
for the Park Girls, go roundthe outside, round, the outside,
round, the outside. Welcome backnine to noon, Nordowen for PA the
Minnesota Wild hosting the Calgary Flames tonight. This is your home for Wild hockey.
(27:52):
Puck drops shortly after seven pm andjoining me now courtesy of the Athletic,
courtesy of Ovo Lasik. And that'swhere I got my Lasik done,
two of the best in the business, doctor Lobanoff and doctor WHITINGOVOI dot Com
brings you weekly appearances by mister Russoat Russo Hockey via Twitter. How you
doing this morning, sir, I'mdoing well. The that's the getting ready
(28:17):
for the game. Oh hell yeahabsolutely. I want to start by going
backwards a bit because I got somethings to get into with the team and
tonight's game and all of that.But I must ask you, I was
in las Vegas last week for Raidersand Vikings and five days, by the
way, too long to be inLas Vegas, at least for me personally.
I just don't have the bankroll todo what I want to do for
(28:38):
five days straight and not feel completelybusted and broke when I come home.
But what are the what are thewhat are the regulations or rules around players?
If players are in town for aGolden Night's game? Like, what
are the rules in terms of cancan they go play table games and stuff
like that? Yeah? Yeah,no, there's really no rules, I
(29:02):
mean other than you can't bet onhockey. Yeah, that is literally the
only rule that that, uh thatexists there. They're technically allowed in the
in the sports book and can betother things. They're allowed to play craps,
blackjack, poker, whatever, youknow. Uh. I think a
lot of players uh try to tryto avoid that, especially in today's day
and age of social media and picturesand phones and all that stuff. Especially
(29:26):
with as well as good as Minnesotafans travel. H you know, when
the Wild play in Vegas, there'sjust I mean, it feels like thousands
of fans everywhere. So I thinkthey try to avoid it and just sort
of you know, even though they'renot doing anything technically or wrong or legal,
they they try to, I think, be above board and avoid that.
But yes, I've definitely uh seenthem at the tables. Well yeah.
(29:48):
And the reason I bring that upis is it was kind of a
talker when we were down there wherein the NFL. The NFL loves to
have it both ways in a lotof situations where he years ago, Tony
Romo couldn't have like a Fantasy footballconvention in Las Vegas, and then a
year or two later, you know, it's it's DraftKings money, it's FanDuel
money. All these companies coming inand they realize, oh wait a minute,
(30:11):
we can cash a ton of checksin the betting world. But now,
but we have the teams. Theygot to stay in some like off
strip and it you know, it'sit's not the it's it's it's a five
star hotel. But we we gotto hide them from the tables. There's
no gambling, there's none of this. You have to completely segregate them while
they're in town. So the imagery, they want to maintain that all the
(30:32):
while making a ton of cash offof those on the strip. No,
it's it's a good point. Youknow, for a long time, especially
in the NHL team in the Vegasa lot of players, a lot of
teams are staying at that Mandarin Hotel, which or it used to be the
Mandarin Now I think it's the winthem and and it doesn't have a casino
in it. Now most teams stayat a at a hotel that does have
(30:52):
a casino in it. And uh, but you but to your other point,
I think that that's one of themost interesting things going on in all
of sports right now, is thatthey're essentially in bed with a lot of
these different companies, whether it's betMGM or or eras or or you know,
the DraftKings, FanDuel and all thatstuff. And you know, there
are teams in this league that haveyou know, essentially sports almost books in
(31:17):
their arenas. There's teams in thisleague that advertise all throughout the arena different
you know, betting entities. Andthen yet you know, we just saw
Shane Pinto get suspended uh essentially uhuh you know for what I understand to
be proxy betting, where he wasallowing one of his friends to use one
of his apps and that that companyessentially has these uh you know, basically
(31:45):
abilities to just check on accounts andthen turn them into leagues. And I
think that was a big eye openerfor all the professional sports. You know,
again, the NHL has really norules against betting other you than you
can't against hockey. I mean,technically, these guys are on Fantasy Football
League, yeah, and all thatstuff, and so there was there's not
(32:06):
a ton of rules with it,and I think it was a big cautionary
tale for players too. Essentially,if you have an account under a certain
gaming app, whether it's Price sixor whatever, it is that you don't
give your account to a buddy andhave them start betting and then create the
periods of impropriety. So that's whatapparently she and Tinto did. And I
(32:27):
do think that it's really fascinating thatyou have these leagues that are making a
ton of money in the gambling world, but yet are trying to, you
know, legislate that their players needto be very very careful. Last thing
on Vegas and then we'll move on. So we're there for the Vikings game
Russo well, I'm just it justit was it was a fun experience.
I'm exhausted by. But it wasawesome and it was interesting that all the
(32:50):
time that I was there, tonsof Vikings fans, as you mentioned,
Minnesota fans in general. It's adestination, right, family truckster is all
packed up, We're headed to Vegas. It was interest you're seeing met a
lot of locals fairly disconnected, justkind of I don't want to say,
apathetic to the Raiders, but certainlynot emotionally compelled. But everybody from Las
Vegas is in on the Golden Knights, like that's a Golden Knights town.
(33:15):
It's it's the only franchise there.Of course that's organic, it was built
there, made there. But itwas unbelievable to talk to these people who
love the Golden Knights as new asthat that franchise is as much as I
love the Wild you know what Imean? Yeah, No, And I
think it's really cool. And Ithink a lot of people when the NHL
(33:36):
was the first professional sports league toreally venture in there, major professional sports
league to venture in there, reallywas skeptical on whether or not you were
going to be able to create ahometown fan base or if it was just
going to be you know, thousandsof away fans, of plocking to Vegas
and packing Tmobile Arena on an everynight basis, and I think what we've
seen and I covered the Stanley Cupfinal there. I covered the twenty eighteen
(33:59):
series when they went to all theway to the Stanley Cup Final against Washington.
You know, after the Wild wereeliminated. I was hopping on that
because we didn't have a Vegas writeryet. And if you looked in that
arena, it was all home fans, all go to night jerseys, and
they put on quite a show there. There is a Rabbit fan base there
and and you know, I think, I think it's out scanning. I
love that the NHL was a trendbeetter. We're gonna have the NHL Draft
(34:22):
at the Spear, which is nowthis new iconic giant mean, you know,
giant ball in the middle, safe, you know, behind the win
and it's gonna be awesome. TheOkay, back to the home team.
We'll move on from Vegas. Iwant my eight hundred dollars back the whole
thing. But hey, to theWild. You wrote this awesome piece in
the Athletic. I think he cameout yesterday specifically about John Hines, a
(34:45):
new coach of the Wild and kindof the winding road of a career.
Mike yohs in the mix iss hemade his way into the into the Pittsburgh,
the the Ahl side of things,Bruno replacing him in Nashville. He's
shadowing college football coaches. Is whatfavorite do you have any favorite aspects about
what you learned of John Hines whileputting all of that together, Yeah,
(35:07):
it is fascinating how a lot ofhis Minnesota Wild career is sort of inter
you know, or his NHL coachingcareers intertwined with things that have happened with
the Wild. Like essentially, hegoes to Wilkesbury, takes a sixty thousand
dollars pay cut to become an assistantcoach there. He went there because he
really believed in how good that organizationwas, but also genuinely on how that
(35:32):
that organization, the Pittsburgh Penguins,basically promotes him within and so he goes
there and Mike Yeo becomes the Houstoneras coach. They elevate Todd Ruden,
who is the head coach in Wilkesburyto Pittsburgh, replaced Mike Yoe and one
year after taking this giant pay cut. He's now the head coach in Wilkesbury.
(35:52):
So I just think it says somethingabout Risks and you know, whether
or not he had this grand,incredibly new life in ann Arbor. He
was signed a three year deal inyou know, triple digit salaries, you
know, working with that program,and was completely comfortable there. But he
(36:14):
was willing, because he wanted tobe a professional coach and eventually wind up
in the NHL to take such amassive day cut. So I think that
just says a lot about him.But then the thing that I loved this
offseason and when he was out ofwork starting at the beginning of this season
is he really took a deep diveinto himself and did a real deep self
scout where he called gms and playersand people they've worked with in the past,
(36:36):
some people that fired him and basicallysat down with him and had honest
conversations to see where he can improve. Then he shadowed Divander Bolt Football program
for twice a week. Was thenon every single meeting, shadowed Santose Shark's
coaching staff. The Tampa Bay Lightningcoaching staff was going to do that with
the Sharks once a month, hadplans to do it with Pittsburgh before Bilgarian
(36:57):
came calling in and brought into Minnesota. And I just think says a lot
about his character, because I've covereda lot of coaches that think that they
invented the game, think that everythingthat they do is correct. And he
really looked and said, all right, how do I have to get better
for my next job? And wantedto see how other operations run their shift
and and so I think that's probablythe best part of the story is just
(37:20):
give wild fans a little more indepth analysis of who this person is and
really profile them greatly and show thatthere's a lot more to this coach than
just maybe the record that we've seenin New Jersey in Nashville is there,
and this is Michael Russo the AthleticWeekly guest nine to now. And you
hear them really throughout the time slotshere on the fan, morero in the
(37:42):
in the evenings, in drive time. But his appearance is nine to Noon,
brought to you by the great peopleat Ovo Lasik and Lens get your
Lasik done eye surgeries. They doit all there OVOI dot com. Is
there such a thing as a honeymoonperiod with the new coach. Because and
you can tell me if I'm wronghere, if what we're watching right now
becomes the constant, constant the platformupon which they work ahead from this is
(38:07):
this looks like a playoff team tome. How how do you view things?
Yeah, I mean, you knowwhat they're they're playing seven to fourteen
hockey I think right now, whichwe'll get them in the playoffs. So
they went five of you know,five out of seven games for the rest
of the season that they'll they'll getclimbed back into the race here. But
yeah, I mean, look,they're playing much much better hockey. That
(38:29):
had a little blit obviously against Vancouverand Edmonton last week, but those are
very winnable games, both of them. The game in Edmonton, they had
all the reason in the world tonot show up for that game. They
got off to a terrible start inthat game. Mark Andre Fleury was tremendous
in that game, kept them inthe game, and then they wound up
in the game and then you know, unfortunately, at times, a leopard
(38:49):
doesn't change its spots in the wild. Took some stupid penalties in that game,
and it absolutely costs them in theend, tying and the winning goals.
In the case of the Vancouver game, you know that one that looked
like a team that had the dayoff in Vancouver the day before and he
just wasn't ready for the game.Yet they were absolutely as sluggish as they
were, they had the ability towin. But we've seen them in the
(39:10):
first four games play tremendously well,fast hockey, and then they obviously righted
the ship against a Seattle team that'sjust really really struggling right now. So
look this, they put themselves ina position where they cannot afford nights off
at all, and they've got tofigure out a way to start peeling off
points on an every night basis,preferably in regulation. So far, so
(39:35):
good, getting five to seven inregulation, and we'll see if it continues.
But they're getting much much better goaltendingnow. Matt Boldi is playing terrifically.
They have a coach that is willingto change lines, you know,
when needed. It's very early inthe game. We've already seen him dislodge
Zuperello and Caprice up when he feltlike it was needed. So he's comfortable
(39:55):
in his own skin that way,and we'll see if it continues a few
more for you here, And Ido want to jump back to unfortunately kind
of a situation, or at leastan unknown situation that is taking place.
You covered it via the Athletic,but news reports stemming that assistant GM Chris
O'Hearn is no longer in that spot, that there was a mutual parting of
(40:16):
ways, anything, any light thatyou can shine on this situation felt very
sudden. It seems like, sowhat's going on there? Well, it
was one hundred percent sudden, Imean one hundred percent sudden. And I
don't think that he's sensed it comingbecause he was on that road trip,
that poor game trip. Bill Garnwas not and Chris was around the team,
(40:37):
was jovial, showed nothing wrong wasaccessible to us, you know,
the game against Seattle, if Iremember correctly, he was sitting at the
in the press room having dinner withwith you know, at the table I
was at, and showed no,nothing was a miss here. But and
I got to be a little carefulin the way that I discussed this because
(41:00):
is what I've reported today in theAthletic is really all that I'm able to
share right now. Until I continueto report things further and feel comfortable to
report it, report it. Butessentially, there have been a couple of
investigations going on inside the organization,I think HR type situations and the one
(41:24):
there was one going on simultaneously withthe other, and it's the Chris one
that seemed to wrap up in thelast twenty four hours that led to his
dismissal. You know, when Ifeel comfortable enough to report exactly what's going
on, I will. But regardlessof what is going on behind the scenes
(41:45):
with their front office, it's anabsolutely huge hole right now. You know,
I think we all know how muchBill Garin respects Chris O'Hearn relies on
him, and how valuable he isto that front office. I mean,
it is a thin front office comparativeto a lot of teams in the NHL,
and they don't have a lot ofredundancy in there. You know,
(42:07):
when you're in an aircraft and somethinggoes wrong, there's fifty things that keep
you up in the air in thewild. You know, Chris is their
cap guy. He is their CBAexpert. He is he was their you
know, transaction guy. He isthe sounding board for Bill garn and now
he's not there at a very tumultuoustime in the organization, when they're in
(42:30):
cap hell, when they're in LTIR. Bill Garran is gonna have to
scramble and try to find somebody tofill his shoes right off the hop here.
And there's not a lot of peoplejust out there that are CBA experts,
capologists that are just out of work, that are talented people that you're
just gonna be able to poach.And you can't poach guys from other teams
right now. So it's gonna befascinating on how Bill goes about this.
(42:54):
From what I understand, he wastrying to work through it yesterday. I
have not heard actionrom Bill, andyou know, we'll see where this all
goes. But I don't think thisstory is over from a Chris O'Hearn standpoint.
And then and then the other investigationthat Joe and I mentioned today in
The Athletic, well, all ofus appreciate your reporting on it. None
(43:15):
of it sounds good right now,and hopefully as things arise from updates,
we'll we'll get to hear it fromfrom you and Joe. First last thing
for you, I guess. Switchingback to the now, times the team
does play a hockey game. Tonightthey play they host the Flames at seven
pm, and the Flames going throughsome transitions of their own at the coaching
ranks over the summertime. I believethey replaced Darryl Sutter. I always get
(43:37):
is it Suitor or Sutter? Okay, nailed it perfect, but they got
a new coach of their own.They've lost a bunch of games now over
the last couple of weeks. Theydon't appear to have the answers. This
team has been kind of on thedecline over the last year and a half.
What's good or bad about the Flamesand tonight's game? Yeah, I
mean, you know, the bigthing is you're right. I mean they've
(43:58):
you know, first all, theylost Fana the other night. I thought
the game that the Wild played inCalgary the other day was just a fabulous
game. Boldie was awesome and inthat game when when Calgary tried to push,
the Wild handled it tremendously by scoringa couple of big goals. Caprice
Uff had a big goal, Arisinekhad a big goal to really stop the
bleeding. In times of that game, so we'll see if that can continue
(44:21):
tonight. A lot of change,A lot has changed for the Wild since
obviously Brodean being out of the lineupis huge. And then I'll be interested
to see if Jared's Burgeon plays tonight. I think he's day to day with
a with an injury right now.The fact that the Wild called up two
defensemen as opposed to one from Iowayesterday, it leads me to believe that
there is a chance that we willnot see Spurgeon in the lineup tonight.
(44:45):
And uh, you know, uh, maybe both or one of Damon Hunt
and the Koda Murmis will play,but you know, we'll find out soon.
At the morning skate, I assumedGustuson's the net. I assume that
he'll go with the same forward linesthat he played with in Seattle that were
really good. You know, againhe flipped to pre stuff and and Zucarello
(45:06):
and their lines, and both thoselines scored huge goals in that game,
with Kaprisoffs setting up Boldie and zucrellIs setting up Rossi. So you know,
these are two winnable games coming uphere. Vancouver's been outstanding lately,
but I definitely think that these games, especially at home, are games at
the wild can peel off. Youmentioned Damon Hunt real quick, and I
(45:27):
feel dumb for not knowing this.He did already make his debut right earlier
this year, maybe, yeah,and he hasn't gotten a ton of ice
time, and you know, that'sone of the things I would love to
see. But again, you know, their goal is to win games here
and get back in the playoff spot. But you know, it would be
nice to see Damon Hunt thrown intothe lineup and get really extended ice time
and and let's see what they havein him, because they just love this
(45:49):
kid and believe in him in thefuture. So we'll see. We'll see
if he gets some quality ice timewhile he's up here and with protein out
for you know what, maybe sixto eight weeks here, there's gonna be
plenty of chances for other defensemen toget looked inside this lineup. Good thing.
Favor and Middleton are rocking right now. Holy cats, Oh my god,
yeah, unbelievable lectually. I mean, both of them have been outstanding.
(46:13):
And you know, Middleton, we'rejust seeing him play tremendous hockey right
now. And Favor has just beentheir most consistent defenseman from the start of
the season to now. Hey,thanks for all you do man. Thanks
as always, we'll chat soon,all right, absolutely see it. That's
Michael Russo the Athleticviathletic dot com andyou can follow him at Russo Hockey via
(46:34):
Twitter and all of his appearances broughtto you United Dune by Ovo Lacey kin
lend In the Football Ben Leber WeeklyGuest in Studio. Will chat with Nacho
next now to done to the f
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