Professional women's hockey is coming to Minnesota and other sports news
Minnesota Whitecaps goalie Amanda Leveille (29) makes a save during the second period of a semifinal game against the Connecticut Whale in the NWHL Isobel Cup tournament on March 26 in Boston.
Mary Schwalm | AP 2021
It's Thursday, believe it or not. And that means it's time for Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson to join us to talk about the week in sports.
Wally's the creator of Minnesota Score Magazine and host of the 10,000 Takes sports talk show. Eric also hosts that show and he's the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports radio's Eye on the NFL. They caught up with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: It's Thursday, believe it or not. That means it's time for Wally Longfellow and Eric Nelson to join us to talk about the week in sports. Wally is the creator of Minnesota's Score Magazine, host of the 10,000 Takes sports talk show. Eric also hosts that show. He's the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS sports radio's Eye in the NFL. Hey, guys.
WALLY LONGFELLOW: How are you?
ERIC NELSON: Greetings, Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: Greetings, Eric. Good to hear your voice. And, Wally, I'm fine. Thank you.
WALLY LONGFELLOW: Greetings? Are you being drafted? I mean, isn't that what the front end of draft notices? Greetings!
ERIC NELSON: That would be a postcard.
CATHY WURZER: That might be a postcard, yeah. So, hey, by the way, I see the tailgate parking lots are not even open until 2 o'clock this afternoon. There is this line of cars waiting to get in for the Gopher football game against Nebraska at Huntington Bank Stadium. What the heck is going on?
WALLY LONGFELLOW: Well, they want to keep people as sober as possible perhaps. I don't know. You've got a lot of Nebraska folks in town. Not much going on in Nebraska, so they come to Minnesota. Of course! To the tailgate lots, what we have. Because we don't have them for Viking games, we know that. But no, huge game. I mean, and they're all big because you only play 12 of them. And tonight's game is on national television. It's on Fox. And it's a Big 10 match-up. And you don't always necessarily start with a Big 10 game. A lot of times you'll see the Gophers, particularly in the past 10 to 15 years, they'll play a nonconference game against a weaker opponent.
But you're playing a Big 10 game right out of the box. And really, this is a game that they need to win. Because if they want to win eight or more games, even if it's seven or more games, with a very difficult schedule on the horizon, this is one that they should and they have to get. Last year, they won in Lincoln 22-13. They came back from a 10-0 deficit to win that game.
And as I said, the Gophers have one of the toughest schedules in the country. ESPN ranked it as the second most difficult schedule in the US, including games against, of course, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, not to mention Wisconsin and Iowa. And Iowa is a team that PJ Fleck has never beaten. So that puts the eye on what's going on tonight at Huntington Bank Stadium.
They've got to win this game if they expect to be a real contender in the Big 10 West, which disappears after this year. It's no longer going to be Big 10 East and West. Lord only knows what the Big 10 is going to do with it when they have 18 teams starting next year. But very important game for them tonight.
CATHY WURZER: Eric.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah. And, Cathy, you talked about those tailgate lots. And Wally brought up the Nebraska fan base. While the coup d'etat has begun because Cornhusker nation is definitely invading the Twin Cities for this matchup. Nebraska fans are passionate. And they travel extremely well. There are thousands making the trip north from places like Omaha, Lincoln, Broken Bow, Ogallala.
This game is a sellout. The cheapest ticket on Vivid is $60, not including the fees. So these Cornheads are taking advantage of the long Labor Day weekend. You're going to see a lot of red and white in the stadium tonight, no doubt. They'll be at the Mall of America. They'll be in bars, restaurants, hotels, walking around the lakes. They'll probably be at the state fair and other spots across Minnesota.
And, oh, by the way, the Cornhuskers drew 92,003 fans Wednesday for a volleyball match versus Nebraska-Omaha at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln where the Cornhuskers football team plays. That is the largest crowd to ever watch a women's sporting event. And the Cornhusker volleyball team is a five-time NCAA champion. So they are passionate.
CATHY WURZER: I think that, by the way, the volleyball game, those pictures and the video, I thought that was fantastic. Yeah, hey, while we're on the subject of football, I'm going to ask Wally about high school football. Does the season start this afternoon, right?
WALLY LONGFELLOW: It actually does. There are a couple of games this afternoon and then a plethora of games tonight. 100 games on the schedule tonight across the great state of Minnesota. There are, including the state champions for Maple Grove the class 6A state champions, they play host to their interdistrict rivals from Osio. Always fun to get a start. There were a couple of games in what they call zero week last week. But tonight is the first big night. And then, there are 70 more tomorrow night.
High school league and high school teams did this several years ago. They started playing the Labor Day weekend games on Thursday night. Because as you know, a lot of people either go to the fair, go out of town, that type of thing. So they figured why not get things going early? So they started, literally, they start today and tonight. So lots going on. And I'll be in Anoka for the Champlin Park-Anoka game tonight.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, that'll be a good game, by the way.
WALLY LONGFELLOW: Yeah, yeah.
CATHY WURZER: Eric, women's pro hockey coming to Minnesota.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, how about that? It's the Professional Women's Hockey League. And Minnesota is one of six inaugural franchises in the PWHL. They hope to launch in January. There are going to be three Us teams, the Twin Cities, Boston, and New York City, and three in Canada, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. Each team will play 24 games. The PWHL does have some deep pockets because they're backed by Los Angeles Dodgers owner, Mark Walter, and retired women's tennis star, Billie Jean King.
Now at this time, Cathy, the NHL is not involved. But I think the National Hockey League will eyeball this from afar. Because if you look at the WNBA model in women's professional basketball, they're propped up a lot by the NBA. I don't think there's any doubt about it. People like Glen Taylor and his cohorts in the NBA, they have been able to fund the WNBA. And this league now is 25 years old. So will the NHL get involved and try to help the PWHL? That might be way down the road. But it's certainly something to keep an eye on.
CATHY WURZER: I always wanted to play hockey. It's too bad we didn't have girls high school hockey back in the day when I was going to high school. That would have been so much fun. Anyway, I want to talk about the Twins before you guys go. Wally, looks like they're still in first place.
WALLY LONGFELLOW: They are. They've got a five-game lead over Cleveland. I'm sure that die-hard Twins fans will tell you that it should have been seven games because they lost a heartbreaker yesterday to Cleveland, a game where they led 2 to 0 in the eighth, 2 to 1 in the ninth, and had 2 strikes on the batter and 2 outs. So they were 1 strike away from winning. And they let it get away.
But they go to Texas now with a five game lead. They're in Texas for the weekend. Of course, they took three out of four from Texas last week. And then, they'll have a chance against Cleveland again. They go to Cleveland on Monday. So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday against Cleveland. Tomorrow night's matchup in Texas is a good one. Joe Ryan pitching for the Twins against Max Scherzer for Texas in game one of that three game series.
CATHY WURZER: OK. Eric, anything you want to say about the Twins before we go?
ERIC NELSON: Well, it's a critical series for the rangers who are in a heated three-team race in the American League West with Seattle and Houston. So a lot at stake for Texas. But as Wally said, Minnesota needs to keep the foot on the gas pedal. You don't want to have a September collapse because they did last year. And they don't want to repeat it.
And I should duck this in. The Minnesota Vikings, NFL of course, signed TJ Hawkinson, their tight end, today to an undisclosed deal that reportedly makes him the NFL's top paid tight end. He's a two-time Pro Bowl selection out of Iowa. The Vikings also, this week, have signed running back, Myles Gaskin, and offensive lineman, David Quessenberry. And Kenny Nwangwu, the explosive running back and return guy, is on IR. And they cut wideout, Jalen Reagor, who was Philadelphia's first-round choice in the 2020 NFL draft taken one pick ahead of Justin Jefferson, number 18.
CATHY WURZER: Oh. And of course, the Vikings and all the teams had to pare down their rosters. All right, you guys. I got to go. I hope you have a good weekend.
ERIC NELSON: Thanks, Cathy.
WALLY LONGFELLOW: Go play hockey.
CATHY WURZER: You knew-- I would have. if I had the chance, Wally Longfellow, I would have been a pretty good enforcer. And you know that. I'll talk to you later. Thanks. Wally Longfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score Sports magazine. And Eric Nelson is the Vikings reporter for CBS sports radio's Eye on the NFL. Hey, by the way, if you have a question about Minnesota sports, they'll answer it for you. Just send it to us via email or voice memo. Aleesa Kuznetsov is our producer along with Alanna Elder, Ellen Finn. Gretchen Brown our technical director today, [? Mari ?] [? Jensen. ?] Thanks for listening to Minnesota Now here on MPR news.
WALLY LONGFELLOW: How are you?
ERIC NELSON: Greetings, Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: Greetings, Eric. Good to hear your voice. And, Wally, I'm fine. Thank you.
WALLY LONGFELLOW: Greetings? Are you being drafted? I mean, isn't that what the front end of draft notices? Greetings!
ERIC NELSON: That would be a postcard.
CATHY WURZER: That might be a postcard, yeah. So, hey, by the way, I see the tailgate parking lots are not even open until 2 o'clock this afternoon. There is this line of cars waiting to get in for the Gopher football game against Nebraska at Huntington Bank Stadium. What the heck is going on?
WALLY LONGFELLOW: Well, they want to keep people as sober as possible perhaps. I don't know. You've got a lot of Nebraska folks in town. Not much going on in Nebraska, so they come to Minnesota. Of course! To the tailgate lots, what we have. Because we don't have them for Viking games, we know that. But no, huge game. I mean, and they're all big because you only play 12 of them. And tonight's game is on national television. It's on Fox. And it's a Big 10 match-up. And you don't always necessarily start with a Big 10 game. A lot of times you'll see the Gophers, particularly in the past 10 to 15 years, they'll play a nonconference game against a weaker opponent.
But you're playing a Big 10 game right out of the box. And really, this is a game that they need to win. Because if they want to win eight or more games, even if it's seven or more games, with a very difficult schedule on the horizon, this is one that they should and they have to get. Last year, they won in Lincoln 22-13. They came back from a 10-0 deficit to win that game.
And as I said, the Gophers have one of the toughest schedules in the country. ESPN ranked it as the second most difficult schedule in the US, including games against, of course, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, not to mention Wisconsin and Iowa. And Iowa is a team that PJ Fleck has never beaten. So that puts the eye on what's going on tonight at Huntington Bank Stadium.
They've got to win this game if they expect to be a real contender in the Big 10 West, which disappears after this year. It's no longer going to be Big 10 East and West. Lord only knows what the Big 10 is going to do with it when they have 18 teams starting next year. But very important game for them tonight.
CATHY WURZER: Eric.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah. And, Cathy, you talked about those tailgate lots. And Wally brought up the Nebraska fan base. While the coup d'etat has begun because Cornhusker nation is definitely invading the Twin Cities for this matchup. Nebraska fans are passionate. And they travel extremely well. There are thousands making the trip north from places like Omaha, Lincoln, Broken Bow, Ogallala.
This game is a sellout. The cheapest ticket on Vivid is $60, not including the fees. So these Cornheads are taking advantage of the long Labor Day weekend. You're going to see a lot of red and white in the stadium tonight, no doubt. They'll be at the Mall of America. They'll be in bars, restaurants, hotels, walking around the lakes. They'll probably be at the state fair and other spots across Minnesota.
And, oh, by the way, the Cornhuskers drew 92,003 fans Wednesday for a volleyball match versus Nebraska-Omaha at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln where the Cornhuskers football team plays. That is the largest crowd to ever watch a women's sporting event. And the Cornhusker volleyball team is a five-time NCAA champion. So they are passionate.
CATHY WURZER: I think that, by the way, the volleyball game, those pictures and the video, I thought that was fantastic. Yeah, hey, while we're on the subject of football, I'm going to ask Wally about high school football. Does the season start this afternoon, right?
WALLY LONGFELLOW: It actually does. There are a couple of games this afternoon and then a plethora of games tonight. 100 games on the schedule tonight across the great state of Minnesota. There are, including the state champions for Maple Grove the class 6A state champions, they play host to their interdistrict rivals from Osio. Always fun to get a start. There were a couple of games in what they call zero week last week. But tonight is the first big night. And then, there are 70 more tomorrow night.
High school league and high school teams did this several years ago. They started playing the Labor Day weekend games on Thursday night. Because as you know, a lot of people either go to the fair, go out of town, that type of thing. So they figured why not get things going early? So they started, literally, they start today and tonight. So lots going on. And I'll be in Anoka for the Champlin Park-Anoka game tonight.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, that'll be a good game, by the way.
WALLY LONGFELLOW: Yeah, yeah.
CATHY WURZER: Eric, women's pro hockey coming to Minnesota.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, how about that? It's the Professional Women's Hockey League. And Minnesota is one of six inaugural franchises in the PWHL. They hope to launch in January. There are going to be three Us teams, the Twin Cities, Boston, and New York City, and three in Canada, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. Each team will play 24 games. The PWHL does have some deep pockets because they're backed by Los Angeles Dodgers owner, Mark Walter, and retired women's tennis star, Billie Jean King.
Now at this time, Cathy, the NHL is not involved. But I think the National Hockey League will eyeball this from afar. Because if you look at the WNBA model in women's professional basketball, they're propped up a lot by the NBA. I don't think there's any doubt about it. People like Glen Taylor and his cohorts in the NBA, they have been able to fund the WNBA. And this league now is 25 years old. So will the NHL get involved and try to help the PWHL? That might be way down the road. But it's certainly something to keep an eye on.
CATHY WURZER: I always wanted to play hockey. It's too bad we didn't have girls high school hockey back in the day when I was going to high school. That would have been so much fun. Anyway, I want to talk about the Twins before you guys go. Wally, looks like they're still in first place.
WALLY LONGFELLOW: They are. They've got a five-game lead over Cleveland. I'm sure that die-hard Twins fans will tell you that it should have been seven games because they lost a heartbreaker yesterday to Cleveland, a game where they led 2 to 0 in the eighth, 2 to 1 in the ninth, and had 2 strikes on the batter and 2 outs. So they were 1 strike away from winning. And they let it get away.
But they go to Texas now with a five game lead. They're in Texas for the weekend. Of course, they took three out of four from Texas last week. And then, they'll have a chance against Cleveland again. They go to Cleveland on Monday. So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday against Cleveland. Tomorrow night's matchup in Texas is a good one. Joe Ryan pitching for the Twins against Max Scherzer for Texas in game one of that three game series.
CATHY WURZER: OK. Eric, anything you want to say about the Twins before we go?
ERIC NELSON: Well, it's a critical series for the rangers who are in a heated three-team race in the American League West with Seattle and Houston. So a lot at stake for Texas. But as Wally said, Minnesota needs to keep the foot on the gas pedal. You don't want to have a September collapse because they did last year. And they don't want to repeat it.
And I should duck this in. The Minnesota Vikings, NFL of course, signed TJ Hawkinson, their tight end, today to an undisclosed deal that reportedly makes him the NFL's top paid tight end. He's a two-time Pro Bowl selection out of Iowa. The Vikings also, this week, have signed running back, Myles Gaskin, and offensive lineman, David Quessenberry. And Kenny Nwangwu, the explosive running back and return guy, is on IR. And they cut wideout, Jalen Reagor, who was Philadelphia's first-round choice in the 2020 NFL draft taken one pick ahead of Justin Jefferson, number 18.
CATHY WURZER: Oh. And of course, the Vikings and all the teams had to pare down their rosters. All right, you guys. I got to go. I hope you have a good weekend.
ERIC NELSON: Thanks, Cathy.
WALLY LONGFELLOW: Go play hockey.
CATHY WURZER: You knew-- I would have. if I had the chance, Wally Longfellow, I would have been a pretty good enforcer. And you know that. I'll talk to you later. Thanks. Wally Longfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score Sports magazine. And Eric Nelson is the Vikings reporter for CBS sports radio's Eye on the NFL. Hey, by the way, if you have a question about Minnesota sports, they'll answer it for you. Just send it to us via email or voice memo. Aleesa Kuznetsov is our producer along with Alanna Elder, Ellen Finn. Gretchen Brown our technical director today, [? Mari ?] [? Jensen. ?] Thanks for listening to Minnesota Now here on MPR news.
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