StribSports Daily Delivery

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Timberwolves, who always lose in Toronto but managed to do it in a very disheartening way on Thursday. Something is broken with this team, and fixing it doesn't appear to be simple. The Wild, meanwhile, continued their scorching start. They are 9-1-2 on the road after a 5-3 win over Edmonton.

10:00: Gophers men's hockey coach Bob Motzko joins the show for a look at his team, which like the Wild is off to a strong start. Motzko gets into the pressure of coaching a perennial contender, the joy of coaching, the pain he still deals with and his love of other Minnesota teams.

29:00: Three levels of football come into focus for the weekend.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the shifting expectations for the Vikings and Sam Darnold. At the start of the year, even getting to eight wins seemed like a feat. Now they are there with seven games remaining, and the narrative has changed. How have the Vikings gotten so much from Darnold this year?

14:00: Star Tribune columnist La Velle E. Neal III joins for the Daily Delivery debate segment. In focus: Who is winning the Karl-Anthony Towns trade? Should the Twins think about trading Carlos Correa? And who will win Sunday's game between the Bears and Vikings.

32:00: A tough loss for Gophers volleyball and a recruiting win for Gophers men's basketball.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Gophers men's basketball team's win over Cleveland State, which was keyed by super-veteran Parker Fox and his 18 points. Originally recruited during the Obama administration (really), Fox could be a key player for Minnesota this season. And Kirill Kaprizov had two more goals for the Wild in another good win.

8:00: Randy Johnson joins Rand to set up the Gophers vs. Penn State game this weekend and to catch us up to speed on the rest of the Big Ten college footballs scene.

18:00: It's a big playoff game Sunday for Minnesota United. Jon Marthaler has insights into how the Loons can take down the L.A. Galaxy.

29:00: Will the Vikings get a coach fired Sunday?

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with a rare story that has returned to him instead of fleeing like so many others. Former Gophers football coach Tim Brewster is back in the news and back as a head coach for the first time since being let go in Minnesota in 2010. He is the interim coach at Charlotte after their coach was fired. And yes, Brewster still has many of us (myself included) blocked on Twitter.

7:00: Star Tribune Vikings writer Andrew Krammer joins Rand for a review of the film and Rand's hot takes. Should the Vikings sit Aaron Jones to get him healthy? And what did we see from a reconfigured offensive line?

27:00: Vikings poetry is in fine form.

38:00: The Wild are getting healthy again.

Star Tribune columnist joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports, which starts with another grind-it-out win for the Vikings over a bad AFC South opponent. Minnesota hasn't been playing its best lately, but it hasn't mattered. Now the Vikings are 8-2 after a 23-13 win over the Titans.

Plus Rand and Reusse get into the Wolves' last-second win, a tour of the new Division III football playoff format and a discussion of Bluesky vs. Twitter.

The Vikings are not playing their best. Fortunately, they are not playing the best teams. And they are now 8-2.

Host Michael Rand starts with the Wild, who won again but lost two key players against Montreal on Thursday. Can they stay healthy enough to be a force all season, and is the NHL the toughest league in which to preserve good health? And the Wild might not even be the hottest hockey team in town. That distinction belongs to Gophers men's hockey.

10:00: Star Tribune columnist La Velle E. Neal III joins Rand for their Daily Delivery debate segment. They share opinions on the Twins' front office shakeup, disagree on the Vikings' most important player and try to identify the Wolves' No. 1 area of concern.

30:00: J.J. McCarthy reportedly bought Joe Mauer's old house; Gophers soccer begins NCAA play.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand returns from a sick day to talk about not one but two Wolves losses to the Blazers. What exactly is going on with this team? Well, we can't blame it all on Mike Conley Jr. It's not just the defense. It's not just what happens on a cold shooting night. But the vibes and chemistry are off, and the Wolves are 6-6 as a result. Plus the Gophers men's basketball team lost to North Texas on Wednesday.

10:00: Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer joins the show to talk about his journey to the Big Ten, his belief in himself and what he has learned this season.

21:00: Gophers football writer Randy Johnson sets up what's at stake in the final two games.

29:00: Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins on a high school team using technology in an interesting way.

35:00: A front office shakeup for the Twins.

Introduction: Vikings fans haven't had to take solace in the misfortune of others this year because the purple are a surprising 7-2. But if they did have to dip into that space, they would find fertile territory between the Bears, Cowboys and Aaron Rodgers, host Michael Rand notes.

7:00: Andrew Krammer joins Rand for a film review and three hot takeaways, including this from Rand: Would the Vikings be pivoting right now to J.J. McCarthy if the rookie QB was healthy? It's a fascinating question in the wake of two consecutive three-turnover games for Sam Darnold.

24:00: More award-winning Vikings poetry.

35:00: Two key departures from the Lynx.

Star Tribune writers Marcus Fuller and Cassidy Hettesheimer join host Michael Rand to break down 10 of the best senior athletes in Minnesota head of signing day this week.