10,000 Takes: October 30, 2026

This is 10,000 Takes, brought to you by Minnesota Score Radio, Wally and Eric back for yet another week, and we are ecstatic you've tuned us in, and here we are, knocking on the door of Halloween. And then there was one. The Minnesota Vikings are the lone perfect team left in the NFL at 6-0. A couple dominoes fell last week. Kansas City went down, as did San Francisco. Certainly the Vikings still have work to do offensively. I think they would be the first to admit that. Defensively, though, they've given up 74 points, the least in the NFL, and not even close. And the special teams has been almost flawless. I don't know what more you can ask for as a fan. 6-0 is 6-0. It is, and you look at it and say, okay, they've got a couple of wins in the division. We'll find out more this week as they take on the Detroit Lions, obviously. Obviously. And they've beaten everybody else. And you can only play who's on the schedule, right? They haven't exactly lined up against, you know, the Bills. Oh, wait a minute, that's next week. And the Chiefs, I mean, there are some good teams out there that they have not seen yet. The 49ers, Seattle, I mean, there's some really good teams. Heck, the Giants and your guy, J.J., right? Could be a playoff matchup. Could be a playoff matchup. So, you know, you have to be happy where they're at. Record-wise, where they're at offensively, no. You can't be happy if you're the Minnesota Viking. You have to say to yourselves, okay. A, the one thing that he aren't doing, or at least Kyler Murray isn't doing, is turning the football over. And I think that that might be the one piece to the offense of Kyler Murray that while he's been overthrowing guys and missing receivers from time to time, the fact that he's not turning it over, that's a big deal. It's huge. He's only got two interceptions. And he seems to get better as the game goes on. I thought that was the case against Indianapolis. It certainly was against New Orleans and Miami. And, you know, as the legendary Gordon Lightfoot once sang, the gales of November come early. Well, you brought up Buffalo. And, you know, they're a legitimate Super Bowl threat. In the month of November, Minnesota's also going to see Green Bay. We mentioned Detroit to start the month. I believe Atlanta's on the docket, San Francisco. So if the Vikings get through November with, you know, One or two losses, or maybe they run the table, who knows, but I think that bodes well for the future, but I believe this game. In downtown Motown on Sunday against the Lions is huge. Detroit got a victory over Green Bay last week. Detroit's 4-2. For Detroit, this is their chance to knock off Minnesota and get right in the NFC North race. If they lose, the Vikings will be 3-0 in the division, and they'll have a bit of a cushion. Yeah, wow. And 3-0 in the division is huge. That's what Denny Green used to talk about. Win your games in the division. Win the games in the NFC North or the NFC Central as it used to be. And right now they're 2-0. They have the Lions on the docket. I'm kind of glad if I'm a Vikings fan. The Lions did knock off Green Bay, so they're not quite as hungry. Hungry Lions, so to speak. But I think that this is an opportunity for the Vikings to go on the road. They already went into Chicago and won. They already beat Green Bay at home. Can you go into Detroit and win there and bring home a 3-0 record within the division going down the stretch here of the last, what, nine, ten games of the season? I think it's extremely important for them. Play well against the Detroit Lions. Well, and I like the matchup. Detroit is probably the top offense Minnesota's going to face. To date, you've got Jared Goff, you've got Amon Ross, St. Brown, you've got Sam LaPorta the tight end who can stretch it down the seam, and Jameer Gibbs is a game-breaking, home-run-hitting running back. And we know about Minnesota mayhem and all that stuff Brian Flores and his guys do on defense, led by Blake Cashman and Dallas Turner and Harrison Smith and Jalen Redman. You know, the names go on and on and on. So this is going to be an interesting collision here. Do the Lions have enough offense? If the Lions put. 27 points or more on the board. They probably feel like they're going to win because we haven't seen the Vikings do that a lot. Meanwhile, if Minnesota can keep them under 17, good chance the Vikings win. I think he's giving up, what, 12.5 points a game? I mean, that's just remarkable the way their defense is played. It's a copycat league. I'm waiting to see if there are going to be teams that start doing what the Vikings do, line seven, eight guys up at that line of scrimmage, and then back three or four of them off or send them all or whatever it is that they do, because they certainly have the quarterbacks, the oppositions confused up to this point. And give them credit. You know, Harrison Smith, old man river, so to speak, he's been doing the job and they keep doing it this way. They could go a long way. You could win a lot of football games with defense. Tampa won a Super Bowl with it. The Ravens won a Super Bowl with it with mediocre to below average offense. No doubt, even in today's space age era, where the emphasis is all on offense and these cartoon-like numbers. You brought up Harrison Smith. I mentioned him too. I mean, I think he cemented his Hall of Fame status by coming back this year. 40 picks, that was the one late against Indy that sealed the deal, Daniel Jones. Airmailed it right to him. And 22 sacks. So he's in the 40-20 club for a safety? Think about that. I put him right up there with Paul Krause and Joey Browner, who played in different eras. But certainly Harrison's been that kind of a safety. And what a treat it is to watch that guy play. Yeah, no question. And the fact that he came back, really no training camp. He keeps himself in shape. But he came back and decided, you know what, I want one more go at this because I'd like to win a Super Bowl. I'm sure that that's got to be in the back of it. I'd like to get one for the road. And this could be an incredible opportunity for him. I think he loves Coach Flo and the defense and his teammates. We'll see how it rolls as we get closer to November. Stick around. We're going to talk some hoops with a guy whose name spelled backwards is who? Ooh Richardson, the original T-Wolf coming up. 10K takes your purple ticket. Experience wild rivers. Experience wooded trails. Experience hometown flavor. Experience our charming downtown. Rest. Recharge. Reconnect. Experience River Falls, Wisconsin. Get in the game at St. Croix Casinos in Turtle Lake, Danbury, and Hurdle, Wisconsin, your local destination for sports betting. Check out our sports book at St. Croix Casinos from football and soccer to hockey and UFC. You can join the nonstop action. You'll find plenty of options to bet on with our cutting-edge play sports kiosks, whether placing live or prop wagers before tuning into the game. That's the book at Turtle Lake, the Red Zone at Danbury, and our sports betting kiosk at Hurdle. Find your fortune at St. Croix Casinos. Seeing clearly matters. Being seen matters more. Nobody cares for eyes more than Pearl. Minnesota scores 10,000 takes. We're going to talk some hoops now. Your Minnesota Timberwolves have basically transformed their lineup. They've gone from a team where you had bigs and they did a lot of different things. Now you've got guys out front. LaMelo Ball, obviously they had Anthony Edwards. And a guy who played that position that LaMelo Ball plays is joining us now, Poo Richardson, an original Timberwolf, their first draft choice back in the day. Pooh, thanks for joining us. Yes, I'm. Obviously, LaMelo Ball is a whole different type of point guard, but this guy can do a lot of things, and he certainly has changed the way that they play basketball. What are your thoughts on what you've seen so far and what he brings to the table that maybe they didn't have in the past? I think he stretches the floor, but the most impressive thing about it with him is that he looks up the floor immediately. He looks to get up off the ball, share it, and I think that is contagious because, you know, it's making the other guys better, and at the same time, the ball is really moving around, and it's just easy opportunities for everyone on the floor. Early on, do you think Minnesota with Ant and LaMelo might have the most dynamic backcourt in the NBA? I mean, these guys so far are clicking out of the gate. Well, I didn't look at that and come up with that assessment early, but I did see when I watched a few games, I saw that the chemistry was so good between them two, not only between those two, his chemistry of LaMelo stepping into. The Wolves organization has started playing and pushing the ball up the floor, sharing it with everyone, and I just think that he's probably a joy to play with, and it looks like those guys are having fun. They're playing good defense, but they look like they're having a lot of fun. When you played the position of point guard, obviously they want you to be able to score, but You almost have to be a pass-first guy that is able to score. I think that's the ideal point guard, right? And I think LaMelo is that guy. He obviously had to change what he did because in Charlotte, they needed him to score. So it was a scoring guy who could also make a pass, but I think that they need him the other way around, and that makes for an ideal situation. Your thoughts? Well, yeah, it's it's I think it's his wheelhouse. I think through high school, of course, his legendary high school career here in the California area with his brothers playing with his brothers. I just think that. He loves playing it that way. He loves, he don't have to dominate the ball. He can get his own shot. He don't have to force anything. And he just gives the Wolves just a better dynamic of creating without having to overdoing it. He don't have to be ball-dominant to create. Has there been a basketball family? You mentioned the Ball family out there in SoCal, Chino Hills, east of Los Angeles. It was all the brothers and then the father who became his own brand. Has there ever been anything like the Ball family growing up and marketing themselves? I can't say I've ever seen that before. You know, I've seen some basketball families, the Holidays, which is very close to Drew Holiday and his family and his brothers and sister played, everyone played. But I never saw, you know, nothing along that line. Uh... By the way, is he out there? Is LaVar out there? Yeah. Is LaVar out there in Minnesota? I got to run, tell LaVar get out of my town. I don't The Timberwolves also brought in Jonathan Kuminga, who had a noteworthy career with the Warriors. Cheers. In your estimation, what does this guy bring to the table for Minnesota? know. Well, I think he's the X Factor. He's a guy that we've seen throughout the years, flashes of him being brilliant. And then we've seen some days where he wasn't so. And I just think that this is the first time he's facing a situation where he's accountable every night, night in and night out. And I think he's going to step up to the challenge. He's a talent, man. He really is a talent. And what I like about him, he can play two, three, four, and maybe some five at times. So I just think that he's a – because his athleticism and he has enough skill to really get his shot off. And I like what he brings to the table. That's the X factor. If he can stay healthy and play well, the Wolves can really go far. Yeah, and this is a young, energetic, probably acrobatic team with LaMelo and Ant out there on the floor. They did lose leadership in Mike Conley. Do they have anyone that you think, Pooh, is it now time for Ant not only to be the superstar and put on the show, but also be the leader on the floor and in the room? Who's going to do that? Who's going to replace Mike Conley? Well, I think no one can replace Mike and his leadership and his steadiness and his wisdom. But I just think a collective of Ant and LaMelo, because they are the guys that everyone's going to look up to or look at. I think it's time for Ant. I think he's ready for that next step, you know, as far as being the leader and being a guy that's all about the right thing to do. And I just think that he's going to be it's going to be all right. It's his time. It's his time. All right, if you had to pick one thing that you think that this Wolves team is going to need to avoid other than injuries, but what are they going to need to do to be a championship-caliber team, a team that can make a run not just to the Western Conference Finals but to the NBA Finals and potentially to win it all? Do they have what it takes, and what is that X factor to you? I think they have what it takes. I think when it comes down to the playoffs time and you get into the really good teams, that you're going to have to get a little bit more of the interior, a little bit more of the interior play as far as offense. You know, you don't have to get 20 points, but you have to get at least 12 to 16 a night in the interior because it's going to create more space for Ant and more space for LaMelo. And Jeff Daniels is playing well. He plays. every position almost so I mean they have what it takes but you got to get a little bit more from the interior. Yeah you can't just shoot threes all the time and depend on those going in right? No well you know team's going to start playing you in the playoffs for that and you have to go downhill which I think is it's really in the wheelhouse of LaMelo and the wheelhouse of Ant. You know Ant loves to attack. He can go through the whole game without taking the three. He will go to that basket. He's fearless when it comes to that. And I think LaMelo's been a little bit underestimated because he can get to the basket as well. It's just the fact that he shoots the ball from a tremendous distance and he can really fill it up. But he likes going downhill and creating. How hungry do you think Ant is? Western Conference Finals twice, round two last year, but he's never been on the big stage. He hasn't gotten that ring like Cat now has in New York or SGA, OKC, and some of these other guys, Giannis with Milwaukee. Is that a big motivator? Hey, I got to get there. Yeah, I think Ant is hungry, and I think he's... He's proven and he's shown that he can perform on the highest level. And I just think that, you know, he's waiting on this opportunity. And I think his opportunity is now, you know, and having LaMelo. And then he gives you two guys who can actually get their own shot in the clutch moments of a game. I think that in the past, you know, Ant had to be ball dominant. And also shot dominant. You don't have to be that in this case. Now you have two guys who can actually get their shots off without any help from others so that they can beat one or a double team. So now you have two guys that can do that, open up the floor for it. So it'll make this very interesting season, especially in the West. Yeah, no question. Well, thanks, Poop. Appreciate your perspective and your time. And it's a long NBA season, so I'm sure we'll be checking in with you again next time. Yeah, man. Good luck. Good luck, man. And go Wolves, man. Go Wolves. I'm really proud of them, man. They're looking good right now. But like you said, long season and it's early. Let's stay healthy. How about that? Yeah, exactly. See you, Pooh. All right. All right. See you guys. He is Pooh Richardson, the original Timberwolf, with us here on Minnesota Scores 10,000 Takes. We'll be back with more right after this. Time out. Stay with us. This was a great idea. You were right. Yes, you heard correctly, Denise. The three most beautiful words in the English language. Print them out. Hang them on your fridge. Get one of those planes that spells out words in the sky. Let everyone see you were right. This is your moment. Savor every second. Stop by any one of Freddy's six Minnesota locations. Finding the ideal place to stay is important for business travelers. Lakeville, Minnesota is conveniently located off I-35, just south of the Twin Cities with a variety of hotel choices. Lakeville offers convenient amenities such as shopping, walking trails, golf, and more. Our unique meeting spaces, historic downtown, live music, and over 60 dining options are sure to impress. Book your next stay in Lakeville and experience convenience, comfort, and quality. Find your perfect hotel at visitlakeville.org. I've been meaning to give you these for many years. Why don't you try these? It isn't just about vision. It's about care. Nobody cares for eyes more than Pearl. Welcome back. We are Minnesota Scores 10,000 Takes. How about those Golden Gophers? You go to Purdue a couple weeks ago and you just get trashed. And then you come home against a highly ranked Iowa team. Weren't they 15th, I believe, coming into the game last Saturday? They were. At Huntington Bank Stadium. Uh, you're playing for the pig Floyd of Rosedale and you win the football game. Now, granted it wasn't pretty, but what the heck, uh, you beat an Iowa team that, you know, has beaten some good football teams and it was one of the top teams in the country. I can't figure this Gopher team out. Yeah, I think for Gopher Nation, that game was a Picasso. You just love beating Iowa. I mean, to get a walk-off field goal from Luke Gadzicki, who's now 12 for 12 on the season. He's the Gophers version of Will Reichert, Minnesota's outstanding elite field goal kicker. And yet another field rush, and I happened to be down on the field the final few minutes of the game, and I was with one of our social media guys here at 10K Takes, my kid Ben Nelson, and we both rolled on that video. It was epic. It's so fun to see these fans spill over the stands and over the railing and jump onto the field turf, and it's literally jubilation. I mean, you can't imagine. It's just pure pandemonium, and everybody's happy, except for the Hawkeyes as they jogged up the... ...tunnel and got out of Dodge quickly. Kirk Ferentz was not a happy camper, their head coach. But you have to give Minnesota credit. The trophy case is now full for the first time since 78. They have a pig. They have a jug. They have an axe. Well, they have the axe at least for a few weeks. So better get over and take a photo of it, right? Yeah, because they will go to Wisconsin, play on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving at Camp Randall. And the Badgers had their own field rush last week. When they thumped USC, a ranked team, 24-7. So, and Wisconsin is kind of chomping at the bit to get back at Minnesota. So, do the Gophers get to keep the Axe for much more than a month? We'll find out. But I learned one thing. Don't count them out. They're at Indiana this week, the defending champs in Bloomington. And then UCLA comes here. UCLA is a powerful program. And that's another. Top-ranked team. I mean, the Big Ten is just absolutely loaded this year. And Northwestern is good. And any time you go to Penn State, don't assume anything. Just assume you're going to have your hands full. Right. Oh, yeah. Going to Penn State. All right. Heck, this is all good news. The Timberwolves playing well. You certainly have your Gophers with the big win over Iowa. The Vikings come into this weekend unbeaten. And how about the Minnesota Wild off to a good start as well. And Gabriel Caprizov. At the time of this recording, led the National Hockey League in goals scored. If that keeps up, wow. How about getting Quinn Hughes under an extension now? I think he got his 500th point with a goal in Vancouver, of all places, this past week. But I just think that this Minnesota Wild team is ready to do some damage this year, hopefully in the postseason. Yeah, I mean, it's obviously critical they lock up Quinn Hughes to at least, in my opinion, And in a four year. extension, keep him around here for a while. And, you know, the goaltending's been great with Jesper Wallstedt. I mean, Philip Gustafsson's been out the whole year. He's injured, banged up. You mentioned Kirill, and Quinn got that goal the other night in Vancouver. This is a five-game trip that they have embarked on. They did pretty well on it, and then they come back home, and then they go on the road again. It's kind of a flip-flop scenario. But the Minnesota Wild, at the time of this recording, on top of the NHL Central with 18, which was the most points in the West. How about that? That's your Minnesota Wild. All our teams doing well. Knock on wood. Minnesota. Minnesota. All right. We'll see what you think about Minnesota because takes of the day is coming up next. We are Minnesota Scores 10,000. Stay with us. Seeing clearly matters. Being seen matters more. Nobody cares for eyes more than Pearl. Life moves pretty fast, but not at Freddy's. When that first bite hits, you can't help but slow down. The secret to quality time is just quality and time. That's Freddy's. Mom, what's wrong with them? That's called quality time. Don't stare. Stop by any one of Freddy's six Minnesota locations. Get in the game at St. Croix Casinos in Turtle Lake, Danbury, and Hurdle, Wisconsin, your local destination for sports betting. Check out our sports book at St. Croix Casinos. From football and soccer to hockey and UFC, you can join the nonstop action. You'll find plenty of options to bet on with our cutting-edge play sports kiosks, whether placing live or prop wagers before tuning into the game. That's the book at Turtle Lake, the Red Zone at Danbury, and our sports betting kiosk at Hurdle. Find your fortune at St. Croix Casinos. Finding the ideal place to stay is important for business travelers. Lakeville, Minnesota is conveniently located off I-35, just south of the Twin Cities with a variety of hotel choices. Lakeville offers convenient amenities such as shopping, walking trails, golf, and more. Our unique meeting spaces, historic downtown, live music, and over 60 dining options are sure to impress. Book your next stay in Lakeville and experience convenience, comfort, and quality. Find your perfect hotel at visitlakeville.org. Wally and Eric from 10,000 Takes here in the land of lakes. And if you want sports of all sorts, check us out. We cover all the bases, all the teams in the great state of Minnesota. Vikings, Twins, Wild, Gophers, Timberwolves, Loons, you name it, we do it. Late night Saturday night on Fox 9 Plus and on the Fox local app. 10K Takes on television as we wrap up yet another segment. Big shout out to the viewers in Med City, that would be Rochester, the Twin Ports, Duluth and Superior, Twin Cities, that would be St. Paul and Minneapolis, in case you forgot. Thanks for the geography lesson. There you go. Courtesy of Rand McNally and Garmin and TomTom and now GPS. Okay, what is your mood? Are you angry, cranky, grumpy, giddy, happy, smiling emoji? What are you this week? Well. I'm in bewilderment of what's going on with the New York Giants, led by, yes, you guessed it, former Minnesota Viking J.J. McCarthy. This past weekend, against the Houston Texans, he was 20 of 28, 252 yards, had a QB rating of 99.1, helped lead the Giants to a comeback victory over the Houston Texans. They win that game by a score of 27-21. They're 4-2-1, the Giants are. They've got a two-game lead in the division heading into this weekend. I just, look, the minute they made the J.J. McCarthy deal and when they get a fifth-round draft pick, I started scratching my head in the bump that's on the back of my head. And I'm thinking to myself, what in the world are these guys doing trading away J.J. McCarthy? And not getting really anything tangible in return. A fifth-round draft pick? How many fifth-round draft picks can you name of the Minnesota Vikings that are currently on the squad? I bet you can't name any off the top of your head, right? Okay, so let's compare that to what Kyler Murray has done. Now, Kyler Murray and the Vikings are 6-0. Granted, a couple of those wins came at the helm of Carson Wentz running the show. But that said, Kyler Murray's passing rating, QB rating this past weekend, It was a 90.1. So J.J. McCarthy, generally speaking, has played better than what you're seeing right now out of Kyler Murray. I'm not suggesting that he is better than him. What I am suggesting is they never should have let him go. They should have let him continue on the roster and perhaps... Someday, down the line, J.J. McCarthy might be the guy. Right now, it's Kyler Murray's show. But maybe someday soon, J.J. McCarthy and that trade are going to come back to haunt the Could be. And the mood meter says he's a sarcastic Sam, I think so J.J. right now thriving in the Meadowlands of New Jersey. Kind of the Big Apple. Okay, yeah. All right, my take of the day. Hey, the World Series, rumor has it, is going on. And, boy, have you followed the tickets and all that stuff? It's one of the hottest tickets in Milwaukee in World Series history. The cheapest ticket on the secondary market for games one and two was between $2,000 and $3,000. So what's happening now is passionate Brewer fans over there in Cheeseland, Wisconsin, are saying, I can't afford that. That's a lot of beer I've got to give up next year. So they're going down to Tampa St. Pete where they're getting in for between $400 and $900 to the games this week at Tropicana Field. And hey, the plane ticket probably is $400 to $500 bucks. It's still more expensive to see the game in Milwaukee than it is to fly to Tampa St. Pete. Get to the World Series, and oh, by the way, you get to go to the beach and get better weather. A twofer. Have fun, Brewer fans in Florida. All right, we got to go. Thanks for tuning us in. This is 10K Takes, your sports ticket.