Sports

RandBall: Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy was an infant the last time this happened

The Vikings, Wolves and Wild did something Sunday that they hadn’t done in 22 years.

By Michael Rand

The Minnesota Star Tribune

December 15, 2025 at 5:25PM

Julius Randle, J.J. McCarthy and Quinn Hughes were all on the right side of the scoreboard Sunday.

The Wild were just a few months removed from a trip to the NHL Western Conference finals the last time it happened.

The Timberwolves were on their way to the NBA Western Conference finals.

Daunte Culpepper was the Vikings’ starting quarterback. J.J. McCarthy was 11 months old and in diapers.

On Dec. 20, 2003, the Vikings, Wolves and Wild all won. Those were all home games on a Saturday, an unusual day for an NFL game that helped their schedules all align.

In the nearly 22 years since then, those teams had not all won on the same date again.

Until Sunday.

Chip Scoggins and I talked about the phenomenon (and phenomenal Sunday) during Monday’s Daily Delivery podcast.

Let’s dive into the then and now for all three teams during today’s 10 things to know:

The last time it happened in 2003, the Vikings beat Kansas City 45-20. Culpepper threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns. Onterrio Smith ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns. The Vikings, who had started the season 6-0, improved to 9-6 and put themselves in prime position to win the NFC North. All they had to do was win at Arizona the next week. And then this happened.
The Wolves routed the Indiana Pacers 102-80 and improved to 17-9. Kevin Garnett, who would go on to win MVP that season as the Wolves advanced to the Western Conference finals, had 28 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks and six assists. Also in the Wolves starting lineup that day: Latrell Sprewell, Sam Cassell, Trenton Hassell and ... Oliver Miller.
And the Wild scored a week’s worth of goals at the time in a 5-2 victory over Columbus. Wes Walz scored twice, and Dwayne Roloson made 27 saves. In each of the Wild’s next seven games — two losses and five ties! — neither team scored more than three goals. The Wild, who had made a surprising run to the conference finals the previous season, still haven’t made it that far since then.
However: The Wild got an injection of life over the weekend with the blockbuster trade for Quinn Hughes. He scored in his Wild debut Sunday, a 6-2 win over a strong Boston team. The Wild have more high-end talent than at any other point in their team history. Is this the year that they finally make another playoff run?
The Wolves used defense and balanced scoring to win again without Anthony Edwards, this time a 117-103 victory over Sacramento. Just like those Wolves 22 years ago, this group is hoping for a deep playoff run after having gone to the last two conference finals.
The Vikings capped off the day with the most surprising win of the bunch. McCarthy had his best day as a pro, posting a Total QBR of 85.6 and a passer rating over 100. This Vikings season is going nowhere, and they were officially eliminated from the playoffs before kickoff, but the game was a very encouraging sign for McCarthy’s development.
What does it all mean? These teams only have their schedules align about once per season, which makes it less wacky that they hadn’t won on the same day in so long. The manner in which all three victories happened this time leads to this conclusion: All three franchises have to feel better than they did even a couple of weeks ago.
Hey, and the Gophers men’s basketball team also won Sunday.
Meanwhile in the NFL: The Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl hopes were dealt a massive blow with a loss at Denver and a serious Micah Parsons injury, while Philip Rivers almost won in his comeback with the Indianapolis Colts.
And the Twins signed first baseman Josh Bell. It’s a relatively modest one-year deal with $7 million guaranteed, but it does signal that they aren’t in full teardown mode with their roster.

about the writer

Michael Rand

Columnist / Reporter

Michael Rand is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer and host/creator of the Daily Delivery podcast. In 25 years covering Minnesota sports at the Minnesota Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything (except, of course, a Vikings Super Bowl).