Every Monday at 8:30am StarTribune sports writer Michael Rand stops into the Morning Show to share the latest news in Sports.

1) The Twins are in search of a manager for the first time in more than a decade after firing Ron Gardenhire. Meanwhile, if you want to root for a team in the MLB playoffs why not pick Kansas City -- a team that plays like the best Gardy teams from the 2000s. The Royals also inspired that one Lorde song. This is true.

2) The Wild opens the regular season with a home game Thursday, and the big question is whether the team can make the next step after a successful playoff run last year.

3) TCF Bank Stadium will play host to both Gophers and Vikings games next weekend, the only time that will happen all year.

Michael Rand writes about Sports for the StarTribune in his blog RandBall. You can also follow Michael on Twitter.