Loons overcome long history of losing in Seattle, Twins aim to bounce back
Minnesota United forward Tani Oluwaseyi (14) celebrates after scoring against the Seattle Sounders during the second half of an MLS soccer match Sunday in Seattle.
Nick Wagner | The Seattle Times via AP
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: We're going to stay in the world of sports now for our weekly update with contributors-- excuse me-- Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. I'm a little rusty, guys. We had the week off last week. So this weekend, there was a concentration of Minnesota teams on the West Coast.
The Twins lost their series in Seattle, while Minnesota United won in that same city. The Lynx won their game in San Francisco against the WNBA's newest team. And the Twins, Loons, and Lynx will all be at home for their next game. So Wally and Eric are here to tell us what to expect next. Hey, guys.
ERIC NELSON: How are you doing, Nina?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Hope you're doing well.
NINA MOINI: I am. Great to talk with you. So the Twins, again, they were on a winning streak last month. But it looks like they've lost their last two series. Wally, can you catch us up on maybe how they are doing?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, yeah. They had the 13 game winning streak, which ended in Milwaukee a couple of weeks ago. They came home and played fairly well, but they hit the road again and lost two out of three in Tampa, and then lost two out of three-- as you just mentioned-- in Seattle. They have now dropped into third place behind Detroit and Cleveland in the American League Central. That's seven games out of first place behind Detroit.
Their two losses this weekend both came in the bottom of the ninth inning, after they came back in the top of the ninth. It spoiled what was really a great comeback on Friday night, when they did come back and they scored 3 with two outs in the ninth. Really, an epic comeback. They forced extra innings. They eventually won 12 to 6.
But there were lots of happenings over the weekend. As a matter of fact, on Saturday, star shortstop Carlos Correa, who's collecting the biggest paycheck of any of the Minnesota Twins--
NINA MOINI: Oh.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: --ejected from a game for the first time in his long career. Saturday, he was tossed by rookie home plate umpire Austin Jones. So Correa was standing in the on-deck circle, and he was making comments. Jones didn't like it, turned around, threw him out of the game.
Correa wasn't happy. Then Rocco Baldelli, the Twins manager, came out. He got thrown out of the game. The good news for the Twins, Correa is back and he's 100% healthy. The bad news is they have three more road games this week.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Is that common?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Started tonight in West Sacramento against the A's.
NINA MOINI: Is that common for people to get thrown out? I just don't know.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: No. Well, managers tend to get thrown out more than players. And Correa has the personality-- he even explained afterwards. He said, I don't think that this umpire knows me very well, doesn't know my personality. He was surprised. I mean, he wasn't even-- he wasn't even batting at the time.
He was commenting about a player-- a teammate who was up at the plate. He was commenting and the umpire didn't like it, just turned around-- These guys tend to get on these power trips, umpires do. And this guy--
NINA MOINI: Yeah.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: He's like-- it's like a Little League umpire would do. That's what kind of reminded me of--
NINA MOINI: OK. But that's good perspective, thank you. Because Eric, the Twins franchise is for sale. They've had their ups and downs. It's been on sale since October of last year. Any updates on who the future owners might be?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, there's really no new names popping up, at least publicly. We do know the Pohlad family is selling the team. Price tag is believed to be $1.5 billion.
NINA MOINI: Wow.
ERIC NELSON: Some think that is too high. Now, Phoenix Suns co-owner Justin Ishbia initially expressed interest in buying the Twins, but he's now focused on the Chicago White Sox, who are also on the market. Glen Taylor, who will soon lose his majority owner status of the Timberwolves, could be in the mix.
NINA MOINI: Oh.
ERIC NELSON: Again, that's a could be.
NINA MOINI: Sure.
ERIC NELSON: And the Minnesota Star Tribune had something today that was very interesting. The new owner might want to fast track the deal. The Star Tribune is reporting that sports team owners are used to taking advantage of a benefit that reduces their overall taxes. But President Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill that recently passed in the House would cut that business tax benefit in half for teams, meaning owners could deduct just 50% of a franchise's intangible assets through 15 years.
So this could also impact Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, who are expected to be approved by the NBA as the T Wolves and Lynx ownership group later this month. So there could be a real rush to get these teams sold so new owners can take advantage of this lucrative tax break. And ironically, Donald Trump offered $50 million to buy the Twins back in 1983.
NINA MOINI: Oh.
ERIC NELSON: But he could not close it out. Carl Pohlad wound up getting the team for $44 million. So stay tuned-- the ownership situation in flux.
NINA MOINI: That's fascinating. So the Minnesota United-- let's talk about soccer. So they were doing an away game in Seattle this weekend. And they don't usually win on Seattle's home turf. Wally, what do you think made a difference this time?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, can I correct you on that?
NINA MOINI: Please.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Not usually win is incorrect. Never.
NINA MOINI: Never.
[LAUGHING]
WALLY LANGFELLOW: They were 0 and 10. I mean, when we talk about Minnesota sports futility, it's usually about the Vikings never winning a Super Bowl. Or heck, not even being in a Super Bowl for 48 years. Or the Wild and the North Star--
NINA MOINI: So many examples. Yeah.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: No, the Stanley Cup, no NBA titles for the Wolves. But how about Minnesota United going 0 and 10 in matches in Seattle against the Sounders? But they broke it yesterday, you are correct. They only had two wins over Seattle overall. By the way, that's an MLS record for dominance by one team over another.
But again, they won yesterday 3 to 2. Tani Oluwaseyi scored 2 goals for the Loons. And really, a sense of relief for Minnesota United as they-- this is the halfway point, unofficially, of the season. They find themselves in second place in the West, so that's a good thing. But the win yesterday breaks this long streak. And so Minn U is going into this quasi midseason break on a high note, that's for sure.
NINA MOINI: OK. So let's talk about some deep winners-- the Minnesota Lynx. So they've come out on top in all seven of their games this season so far, most recently against the WNBA's brand new team. What happened in that game, Eric?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, so that was last night. Minnesota beat the Golden State Valkyries 86 to 75 at Chase Center in San Francisco. And the Lynx are 7 and 0. That's their best start since 2017. Now, the New York Liberty, also a perfect 7 and 0. And if you remember, Nina-- and I know you do-- the Lynx and Liberty played in the WNBA finals last season. The Liberty won the title on a very controversial call late in the game. So these teams could be on a collision course to meet again for the title.
Napheesa Collier-- who might be your MVP favorite in the WNBA now that Caitlin Clark is injured, out for a couple of weeks-- she had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Lynx. Courtney Williams chipped in with 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists for Minnesota, and the Lynx took control in the third quarter. They limited Golden state to just 8 points, and they went on a 22 to 4 run that was in the third quarter and carried into the fourth quarter to pull away.
But here, to me, is what I took away out of that game. Because this is an expansion team out there in Northern California, and they've really wanted to have professional basketball in the Bay Area. The attendance was 18,064.
NINA MOINI: Awesome.
ERIC NELSON: The Valkyries have sold out their first three home games in San Francisco.
NINA MOINI: Wow.
ERIC NELSON: That is a WNBA record. So the WNBA, the PWHL, we heard the thing on the Twin Cities Gemini rugby.
NINA MOINI: Yeah.
ERIC NELSON: Women's sports is booming. So if you want to see the Lynx, you can catch them tomorrow night at Target Center against the Phoenix Mercury, a team they beat Friday night out in the desert on a walk off basket in the final seconds. So the Lynx are hot.
NINA MOINI: Nice. So the NBA Finals, though, begin later this week. And the Timberwolves, as we know, will not be there. But what could be next for the Wolves as they regroup and plan for next season, Wally? I was feeling very hopeful this season, Wally.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh. Well, Nina-- boy, you haven't followed this--
NINA MOINI: I'm a new fan.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: --very closely, though, have you?
NINA MOINI: I'm a new fan. I get all my updates from you guys. I had a little hope.
[LAUGHING]
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, I mean, they certainly had a good season. I mean, this is two years in a row to the Western Conference Finals. I mean, I think, obviously disappointed that they didn't take the next step and get to the NBA Finals. But to answer your question, what's next-- they have decisions to make. They have some roster decisions to make.
Keil Alexander-Walker, Nas Reid, free agents-- are they going to bring them back? And then there's the Julius Randle puzzle. And he's the guy that they got, or the main piece they got when they traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks.
So Randle has a player option for $31 million. In other words, he can decide whether he wants to stay in Minnesota, get paid that 31 million, or test the free agent market and go elsewhere. And I think that a lot of the Timberwolves decisions are going to be based on what Julius Randle decides. If he decides to stay, that changes things up, and gives Tim Connelly a notion-- OK, I've got this guy back. So I got to fill some other holes, but I have Julius Randle.
Julius Randle walks, they're going to have a lot of cap room. But who are they going to go out and get? And there's rumors that Kevin Durant who has wanted-- he's probably going to be in the Hall of Fame someday or will be in the Hall of Fame someday. That's a guy they potentially could trade for. But there's a lot of moving pieces right now, so I guess it's wait and see.
NINA MOINI: Well, we know you both will keep us up to speed. Thank you for being here.
ERIC NELSON: All right, Nina. Have a great Monday.
NINA MOINI: You too. That's--
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, thanks, Nina.
NINA MOINI: --sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.
The Twins lost their series in Seattle, while Minnesota United won in that same city. The Lynx won their game in San Francisco against the WNBA's newest team. And the Twins, Loons, and Lynx will all be at home for their next game. So Wally and Eric are here to tell us what to expect next. Hey, guys.
ERIC NELSON: How are you doing, Nina?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Hope you're doing well.
NINA MOINI: I am. Great to talk with you. So the Twins, again, they were on a winning streak last month. But it looks like they've lost their last two series. Wally, can you catch us up on maybe how they are doing?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, yeah. They had the 13 game winning streak, which ended in Milwaukee a couple of weeks ago. They came home and played fairly well, but they hit the road again and lost two out of three in Tampa, and then lost two out of three-- as you just mentioned-- in Seattle. They have now dropped into third place behind Detroit and Cleveland in the American League Central. That's seven games out of first place behind Detroit.
Their two losses this weekend both came in the bottom of the ninth inning, after they came back in the top of the ninth. It spoiled what was really a great comeback on Friday night, when they did come back and they scored 3 with two outs in the ninth. Really, an epic comeback. They forced extra innings. They eventually won 12 to 6.
But there were lots of happenings over the weekend. As a matter of fact, on Saturday, star shortstop Carlos Correa, who's collecting the biggest paycheck of any of the Minnesota Twins--
NINA MOINI: Oh.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: --ejected from a game for the first time in his long career. Saturday, he was tossed by rookie home plate umpire Austin Jones. So Correa was standing in the on-deck circle, and he was making comments. Jones didn't like it, turned around, threw him out of the game.
Correa wasn't happy. Then Rocco Baldelli, the Twins manager, came out. He got thrown out of the game. The good news for the Twins, Correa is back and he's 100% healthy. The bad news is they have three more road games this week.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Is that common?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Started tonight in West Sacramento against the A's.
NINA MOINI: Is that common for people to get thrown out? I just don't know.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: No. Well, managers tend to get thrown out more than players. And Correa has the personality-- he even explained afterwards. He said, I don't think that this umpire knows me very well, doesn't know my personality. He was surprised. I mean, he wasn't even-- he wasn't even batting at the time.
He was commenting about a player-- a teammate who was up at the plate. He was commenting and the umpire didn't like it, just turned around-- These guys tend to get on these power trips, umpires do. And this guy--
NINA MOINI: Yeah.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: He's like-- it's like a Little League umpire would do. That's what kind of reminded me of--
NINA MOINI: OK. But that's good perspective, thank you. Because Eric, the Twins franchise is for sale. They've had their ups and downs. It's been on sale since October of last year. Any updates on who the future owners might be?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, there's really no new names popping up, at least publicly. We do know the Pohlad family is selling the team. Price tag is believed to be $1.5 billion.
NINA MOINI: Wow.
ERIC NELSON: Some think that is too high. Now, Phoenix Suns co-owner Justin Ishbia initially expressed interest in buying the Twins, but he's now focused on the Chicago White Sox, who are also on the market. Glen Taylor, who will soon lose his majority owner status of the Timberwolves, could be in the mix.
NINA MOINI: Oh.
ERIC NELSON: Again, that's a could be.
NINA MOINI: Sure.
ERIC NELSON: And the Minnesota Star Tribune had something today that was very interesting. The new owner might want to fast track the deal. The Star Tribune is reporting that sports team owners are used to taking advantage of a benefit that reduces their overall taxes. But President Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill that recently passed in the House would cut that business tax benefit in half for teams, meaning owners could deduct just 50% of a franchise's intangible assets through 15 years.
So this could also impact Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, who are expected to be approved by the NBA as the T Wolves and Lynx ownership group later this month. So there could be a real rush to get these teams sold so new owners can take advantage of this lucrative tax break. And ironically, Donald Trump offered $50 million to buy the Twins back in 1983.
NINA MOINI: Oh.
ERIC NELSON: But he could not close it out. Carl Pohlad wound up getting the team for $44 million. So stay tuned-- the ownership situation in flux.
NINA MOINI: That's fascinating. So the Minnesota United-- let's talk about soccer. So they were doing an away game in Seattle this weekend. And they don't usually win on Seattle's home turf. Wally, what do you think made a difference this time?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, can I correct you on that?
NINA MOINI: Please.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Not usually win is incorrect. Never.
NINA MOINI: Never.
[LAUGHING]
WALLY LANGFELLOW: They were 0 and 10. I mean, when we talk about Minnesota sports futility, it's usually about the Vikings never winning a Super Bowl. Or heck, not even being in a Super Bowl for 48 years. Or the Wild and the North Star--
NINA MOINI: So many examples. Yeah.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: No, the Stanley Cup, no NBA titles for the Wolves. But how about Minnesota United going 0 and 10 in matches in Seattle against the Sounders? But they broke it yesterday, you are correct. They only had two wins over Seattle overall. By the way, that's an MLS record for dominance by one team over another.
But again, they won yesterday 3 to 2. Tani Oluwaseyi scored 2 goals for the Loons. And really, a sense of relief for Minnesota United as they-- this is the halfway point, unofficially, of the season. They find themselves in second place in the West, so that's a good thing. But the win yesterday breaks this long streak. And so Minn U is going into this quasi midseason break on a high note, that's for sure.
NINA MOINI: OK. So let's talk about some deep winners-- the Minnesota Lynx. So they've come out on top in all seven of their games this season so far, most recently against the WNBA's brand new team. What happened in that game, Eric?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, so that was last night. Minnesota beat the Golden State Valkyries 86 to 75 at Chase Center in San Francisco. And the Lynx are 7 and 0. That's their best start since 2017. Now, the New York Liberty, also a perfect 7 and 0. And if you remember, Nina-- and I know you do-- the Lynx and Liberty played in the WNBA finals last season. The Liberty won the title on a very controversial call late in the game. So these teams could be on a collision course to meet again for the title.
Napheesa Collier-- who might be your MVP favorite in the WNBA now that Caitlin Clark is injured, out for a couple of weeks-- she had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Lynx. Courtney Williams chipped in with 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists for Minnesota, and the Lynx took control in the third quarter. They limited Golden state to just 8 points, and they went on a 22 to 4 run that was in the third quarter and carried into the fourth quarter to pull away.
But here, to me, is what I took away out of that game. Because this is an expansion team out there in Northern California, and they've really wanted to have professional basketball in the Bay Area. The attendance was 18,064.
NINA MOINI: Awesome.
ERIC NELSON: The Valkyries have sold out their first three home games in San Francisco.
NINA MOINI: Wow.
ERIC NELSON: That is a WNBA record. So the WNBA, the PWHL, we heard the thing on the Twin Cities Gemini rugby.
NINA MOINI: Yeah.
ERIC NELSON: Women's sports is booming. So if you want to see the Lynx, you can catch them tomorrow night at Target Center against the Phoenix Mercury, a team they beat Friday night out in the desert on a walk off basket in the final seconds. So the Lynx are hot.
NINA MOINI: Nice. So the NBA Finals, though, begin later this week. And the Timberwolves, as we know, will not be there. But what could be next for the Wolves as they regroup and plan for next season, Wally? I was feeling very hopeful this season, Wally.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh. Well, Nina-- boy, you haven't followed this--
NINA MOINI: I'm a new fan.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: --very closely, though, have you?
NINA MOINI: I'm a new fan. I get all my updates from you guys. I had a little hope.
[LAUGHING]
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, I mean, they certainly had a good season. I mean, this is two years in a row to the Western Conference Finals. I mean, I think, obviously disappointed that they didn't take the next step and get to the NBA Finals. But to answer your question, what's next-- they have decisions to make. They have some roster decisions to make.
Keil Alexander-Walker, Nas Reid, free agents-- are they going to bring them back? And then there's the Julius Randle puzzle. And he's the guy that they got, or the main piece they got when they traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks.
So Randle has a player option for $31 million. In other words, he can decide whether he wants to stay in Minnesota, get paid that 31 million, or test the free agent market and go elsewhere. And I think that a lot of the Timberwolves decisions are going to be based on what Julius Randle decides. If he decides to stay, that changes things up, and gives Tim Connelly a notion-- OK, I've got this guy back. So I got to fill some other holes, but I have Julius Randle.
Julius Randle walks, they're going to have a lot of cap room. But who are they going to go out and get? And there's rumors that Kevin Durant who has wanted-- he's probably going to be in the Hall of Fame someday or will be in the Hall of Fame someday. That's a guy they potentially could trade for. But there's a lot of moving pieces right now, so I guess it's wait and see.
NINA MOINI: Well, we know you both will keep us up to speed. Thank you for being here.
ERIC NELSON: All right, Nina. Have a great Monday.
NINA MOINI: You too. That's--
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, thanks, Nina.
NINA MOINI: --sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.
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