Special Delivery! Vikings fans wildly optimistic, and for good reason, after win over Texans

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Lynx, Twins and Gophers volleyball. All three had big victories of varying degrees on Wednesday. The Lynx advanced in the playoffs by sweeping Phoenix, perhaps ending Diana Taurasi's career in the process. Napheesa Collier tied a WNBA playoff record with 42 points and set a league playoff record with 80 points in the two games. The Twins, meanwhile, gathered themselves for a night and handed the Marlins their 100th loss of the year. Can Minnesota gain ground on Thursday? And the Gophers earned a thrilling five-set win over Wisconsin. 13:00: Star Tribune columnist La Velle E. Neal III joins Rand for their weekly Daily Delivery Debate segment. In focus: Concerns about the Twins in 2025 and beyond, shifting expectations for the Vikings and Brett Favre. 32:00: Favre and Tommy Kramer were diagnosed this week with serious conditions linked to football. Kramer's message on X is one that demands our attention.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Twins, who continue to stagger down the stretch of an increasingly lost season. On Tuesday they fell 4-1 to the 99-loss Marlins and now sit two games behind Kansas City and Detroit in the wild card race with five games to play. They don't seem to have any answers, and fans are toggling between anger and apathy. 12:00: Star Tribune Gophers football writer Randy Johnson joins Rand off of a rough outcome against Iowa. Up 14-7 at halftime, the Gophers ultimately fell 31-14. Now they have to play at Michigan, another team that could expose their flimsy run defense. 22:00: Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins checks in with his Football Across Minnesota feature. 28:00: A Packers dilemma against the Vikings, and the thing the Lynx must do tonight.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Twins, who continue to frustrate fans as they head into the final week of the season. Two listeners vented via email -- one about the Twins' roster moves and another about their lack of power recently -- and Rand responded. Plus a bleak outlook for Gophers football as P.J. Fleck's team looks to move on from the Iowa loss. 9:00: Star Tribune Vikings writer Andrew Krammer joins Rand to break down film from Sunday's 34-7 victory. Along the way, Rand has three very spicy hot takeaways -- including a declaration about running back Aaron Jones that Krammer couldn't quite stomach. 30:00: Vikings poetry is becoming a love-fest. 45:00: Jayden Daniels is the real deal.

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports, which encompassed both extreme highs and lows. The highs: The Vikings moved to 3-0 with a 34-7 trouncing of the Texans. Minnesota is playing like one of the best teams in the NFL, which even the optimistic Reusse has to admit is even a surprise. It's time to start believing in this team, and the same can be said of the Lynx. They got a good test from Phoenix but prevailed to take Game 1 of their playoff series on Sunday. The lows: The Twins were swept in a disastrous doubleheader and sit on the outside of the playoff race looking in with six games left. And the Gophers football team turned a 14-7 halftime lead into a lopsided loss to rival Iowa.

Host Michael Rand hopped on a live postgame breakdown after the Vikings' 34-7 victory Sunday.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with three different notions of 50/50 clubs. The Twins have slid back to a coin flip chance to reach the playoffs and are now tied with Detroit in the wild card race after another walk-off loss Thursday. The Vikings have changed perceptions and risen up to a coin flip chance to be a playoff team. And Shohei Ohtani achieved a remarkable, never-been-done feat -- 50 homers and 50 steals in a season -- with a remarkable game Thursday. 9:00: Star Tribune WNBA writer Kent Youngblood joins Rand in advance of the playoffs. The Lynx finished the regular season 30-10, wildly overachieving compared to external expectations. The postseason starts Sunday. Can the Lynx win their fifth championship? 28:00: Fantasy football picks with Star Tribune sports editor Ryan Kostecka. 39:00: The sadness of Bryce Young.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with a frustrating night for the Twins and their fans. After taking a 4-2 lead in extra innings of a vital game against Cleveland, the Twins fell 5-4 and say their wild card lead trimmed to a half-game over Detroit. The seeds for the loss were planted before Wednesday. How long you want to go back probably determines who you think is to blame for the season. 14:00: La Velle E. Neal III joins Rand on the Daily Delivery debate to hash out three subjects. Who is to blame if the Twins miss the playoffs? Regardless of money, would you rather have Kirk Cousins or Sam Darnold right now? And which NFL rookie QB will throw the most touchdown passes this season? 34:00: Minnesota United lost at home; the Lynx are gearing up for the playoffs.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with the Lynx, who locked up the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs with a dramatic win on a long last-second three-pointer by Bridget Carleton on Tuesday at Connecticut. The Lynx are 30-9 and will have home-court advantage for two rounds of the playoffs, assuming they knock off No. 7 Phoenix in the first round. 7:00: The Twins grabbed a much-needed 4-1 win in Cleveland. They had to expend a lot of bullpen energy to get there, but with just 11 games left in the season and their wild card lead over Detroit sitting at just 1.5 games, they need to seize on any opportunity to get a victory. 12:00: Star Tribune Gophers football writer Randy Johnson joins the show to set up Iowa week. Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium probably won't be as wild as last year's invalid fair catch game, but we should expect it to be close and low-scoring. 24:00: Chip Scoggins on Chip Lohmiller, former kicker and now a fire chief. 30:00: Tennessee is passing the increased cost of college sports onto its fans, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

Introduction: Host Michael Rand starts with Monday Night Football, where Kirk Cousins and the Falcons were gifted a chance that they took full advantage of in rallying to defeat the Eagles 22-21. Before Cousins' final TD drive, he had played a steady but unspectacular game that he was likely to lose. Now he's a hero and has erased some of the narrative that emerged after a rough first week in Atlanta. The whole game felt like the 2021 Vikings playing against themselves. 8:00: The Twins lost a Pablo Lopez start when Griffin Jax couldn't lock down a late lead. The Twins are fading fast, and they might be trying to stop the bleeding with a castoff that another playoff team didn't want. 12:00: Andrew Krammer joins Rand for a film review of the Vikings' win over the 49ers and three hot takeaways. Rand thinks this Vikings offensive line is the best in a long time. 30:00: Vikings poetry is very positive this week. 44:00: The Lynx have plenty at stake in a huge game tonight.

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for an overwhelmingly positive episode of the podcast. They start with the Vikings, who improved to 2-0 with a statement victory over the 49ers. By winning 23-17 in a game that wasn't even as close as the score would indicate, the Vikings are proving Reusse correct. He liked them as a playoff team before the season started, but he was in the minority with that opinion. They could contend for an NFC North title in what might end up being just an OK division. The Twins saved their weekend by rallying from a 2-0 hole to defeat the Reds 9-2. Brooks Lee had two big hits, keeping Minnesota's lead in the wild card race at 2.5 games. Now they head out on a seven-game road trip to Cleveland and Boston. A big Pablo Lopez start looms Monday. And the Lynx scored a convincing win over WNBA-leading New York. Minnesota is still in the running for the league's top seed and solidified their hold on the No. 2 spot. That plus Saturday wins by the Gophers football team and Minnesota United made for quite a weekend.