Joe Mauer celebrations continue, Wolves bounce back and other sports news

CATHY WURZER: Minnesota's pro women's hockey team lost in Montreal last night as the Timberwolves beat the Washington Wizards, recovering from a rough loss earlier in the week, thankfully. Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson are on the line to process the weekend sports news. And there's a lot of it. Wally is the founder of Minnesota Score sports magazine and co-host of the sports talkshow, 10,000 Takes. Eric is the other host of that show and the Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Radio's Eye on the NFL. Guys, how are you?

WLLY LANGFELLOW: Actually, pretty good, considering such a gloomy day outside.

ERIC NELSON: Yeah. Happy gloomy Thursday, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: And to you as well, thank you. I'm not sure where I should start. You know what I want to do? I want to start with Joe Mauer, you know? Because I am still happy that he is in the baseball Hall of Fame. Eric?

ERIC NELSON: Yeah, I think you speak for all of Twins territory, Cathy. I mean, everybody's celebrating Joe Mauer getting inducted into the Hall of Fame in his very first year of eligibility. That doesn't happen often. And according to Opta stats, Mauer is the only player in the history of the four major sports-- that would be Major League Baseball, the NBA, NFL, and NHL-- to be drafted number one overall by a team from his birth state or province, play 15+ seasons for that team, and reach the hall. And oh, by the way, if you want to make your travel plans now, induction ceremonies are in Cooperstown, New York, on July 21st, so plenty of time for you to get out there to upstate New York. It's a very bucolic setting there, Cathy. And one other Twins nugget, Twins Fest starts Friday at the Fillmore. That's a private event in Minneapolis, Saturday at Target Field, where Mauer will be signing autographs. I predict gridlock.

CATHY WURZER: Yes, I could only imagine. All right, Wally, let's talk about the professional women's Hockey League Minnesota team, still unnamed at this point. How are they doing?

WLLY LANGFELLOW: Well, not so good on getting a name, and not so good against Montreal. I was at their game against Montreal a week and a half ago when they lost in overtime at the X. And they went up to Montreal last night, and they lost 2 to 1. I should say that they played at home last night, I'm mistaken. They were at the X where they had a little over 5,000 at the Xcel Energy Center.

So I think they're kind of getting their footing now as far as what they know is going to be attendance wise. They had about 8,000 against Montreal in that home game a week and a half ago. It was a Sunday afternoon. 5,000 last night. Last night's game, they had 46 shots on goal to Montreal's 26, but Montreal's goalie, Elaine Chuli, she was really good. She allowed just the one goal that was by Michela Cava. Minnesota was 0 for 5 on the power play, so that's going to have to get corrected. Their next game will be in Boston on Saturday.

CATHY WURZER: While we're talking hockey, Nashville at the X tonight, right?

ERIC NELSON: Correct, and the Wild have played well. They've had three wins in a row now. I mean, a week ago, when we were talking, we were deciding what draft pick they were going to get, how high a draft pick they're going to get. Now they've won three in a row, and they're kind of back into the playoff picture. I mean, it's been that kind of year.

Really a key game for both teams. Nashville has 51 points on the season, Minnesota, 47. So a win tonight puts Minnesota at 49, and they would just be two points behind Nashville in the Central Division. The Wild are just three and seven in divisional play this year, however. Predators are much better at eight and five. Nashville has lost two in a row. As I mentioned, Minnesota has won three in a row. And the Wild won the other meeting between these two teams. They won 6 to 1.

Individually, Joel Eriksson Ek has been turning it on lately. He has six goals and seven assists in the last 10 games. And oh, by the way, it is Hockey Day in Minnesota on Saturday. And the Wild will be playing Saturday night at home against the Duckies of Anaheim. So that finalizes the day.

CATHY WURZER: I love Hockey Day in Minnesota. You know I'm a hockey fan, obviously. And I'm excited about these goings on in War Road this weekend. That'll be fun up there. All right, let's talk T Wolves. Eric, I don't want to forget about the Timberwolves. And of course, I've lost track of what's going on with them. Help me out.

ERIC NELSON: Well, they were in DC last night. And the Timberwolves knocked off Washington 118 to 107. The loss was so catastrophic for the Wizards that they've made a coaching change since then. Wes Unseld, Jr., bumped as head coach. He goes upstairs. Brian Keefe is their new coach. But for the Timberwolves, it was a bounce back game. They had an embarrassing loss to Charlotte on Monday night. I mean, Cats scored 62, a franchise record, and they still lost the game.

So they got back on track last night. Ant, Anthony Edwards scored 38 to pace Minnesota. Cat chipped in with 27, and Rudy Gobert had 10 points. And he yanked down 16 rebounds. Minnesota able to win without Mike Conley, who really kind of runs the show at point guard. He's done an excellent job. He's been out two straight games with an illness. Not sure if he's going to play tonight in Brooklyn against the Nets.

Timberwolves are 31 and 13. The Nets are 17 and 26. But what you need to remember now is Minnesota is tied, Cathy, with Oklahoma City for the top spot in the NBA's Western Conference. So as good as the T Wolves have played, they've got to keep their foot on the gas pedal. There are some very good teams closing in.

CATHY WURZER: Are you both thinking that the T Wolves will get into the playoffs?

ERIC NELSON: Well, absolutely. It would be a Minnesota meltdown if they did not. I think the key, in my opinion, me, at least, the one, two, three, or four seed, because that will guarantee you some home court in the postseason. And sometime that is that's the tipping point between advancing or bowing out. So Minnesota needs to make sure that they keep playing basketball. And teams like Denver, the LA Clippers, Phoenix, Dallas, those are good clubs. And they're very close. And as I mentioned, Oklahoma City is tied with Minnesota on top of the NBA's Western Conference at this point in time.

CATHY WURZER: Quick comment there, Mr. Langfellow.

WLLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, Eric hit the nail on the head. I mean, the Wolves are going to be in the playoffs. It's just a matter of how much home court can they garner. Barring some catastrophic injury to Anthony Edwards or Karl-Anthony Towns, one of their key players, they're going to be a playoff team and should have home court in the first round.

But injuries are always a factor, and we saw them lose to the Hornets. Eric and I saw them lose to the Hornets on Monday night. So anything's possible. They could lose to anybody, and they could go into a funk. But they are a much better team this year. They're not the old Timberwolves. Let's make that--

CATHY WURZER: Well, that's good.

WLLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, this is a team that should and could make a nice run this year.

CATHY WURZER: Good. Glad to hear it. Hey, you guys, thank you so much. I hope you have a good weekend.

ERIC NELSON: See you, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Thank you. Wally Langfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score sports magazine. Eric Nelson is the Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Radio's Eye in the NFL. Together, they host the sports talkshow-- and check it out, by the way-- 10,000 Takes.

That, friends, is going to do it for us on Minnesota Now this week. Our senior producer, Aleesa Kuznetsov. Our producers are Alanna Elder and Ellen Finn. Our technical director today, Mr. Alex Simpson. And our theme music was composed by Minnesota-based musicians Aby Wolfe and Joe Horton.

As always, thanks to you for listening to the program. It was quite a week here on the program. In case you missed it, check out the podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Have a good day.