Column: Cove, Sauce, Marney and Halvey open up the doors to the Power Trip for one morning

As a lifelong listener (and one-time caller) of the best sports-talk radio station in the nation, it really was a surreal morning for me as Cove and Meatsauce (Paul Lambert) mixed it up with Zach Halverson and special guest Alexis Pearson before Bally Sports North’s Marney Gellner joined the show.

Gellner not only joined the show but took it over with her fifth Initials game win thanks to a 3-0 start.

Cove serves as the game host, coming up with his clues using two letters. Players must guess the two words from up to six clues Cove reads one at a time. Your name is your buzzer and the game was spectacular to see in person.

My seat was just over ‘Sauces left shoulder, in the throwing lane of a chair if the mood hit just right out of frustration during the game. With tongue firmly in cheek, I asked if I should get out of the way. After a smirk from Cove, he said it wasn’t necessary as ‘Sauce simmered down as of late and didn’t let the game get the best of him.

Gellner was the one to watch out for.

During the final commercial break before the game, Gellner grabbed smelling salts and a gigantic tortilla. The idea was a quick pick-me-up before the game as she made her way around the entire room. One whiff of the salts and a smack of the tortilla and you are set to go. Think of it like a shot of red bull without the caffeine jitters.

As my friend took a deep breath of the ammonia-like salts, Gellner caught him with the torn tortilla in the cheek, much like Kevin Garnett’s baby power pre-game routine. His eyes watering, Cove announced P and S as the letters for game No. 445 as my friend regained his composure.

Protein Shake, Pop Star, Paper Shredder, and Papa Smurf gave her four points for her fifth all-time win. 

‘Sauce believed primary colors are black and gold and chimed in with Pittsburgh Steelers for his lone point about the football team helmet logo.  

Chatting with Cove and company between segments brought me back to my college radio days on KZOW 91.9FM, the Rock of Waldorf College where friends killed time between radio spots talking about the latest and greatest happenings.

One topic we all chimed in on was the evolution of the show from all-sports, all the time nearly two decades ago to a mix of all of the above topics. Nothing is really off-limits when it comes to topics and that is partially by design.

As they started the broaden the scope of the show to more than sports, listeners appreciated the content more and more to what has evolved into a combination of potpourri (hat-tip Dan Cole the Common Man) and a cornucopia of topics from music, movies, events and anything else that qualifies as entertainment. 

Fellow host, Chris Hawkey wasn’t part of the show on Friday as the show continued to move along without him as the other hosts kept the conversation going by talking about the Timberwolves’ improbable win and the upcoming slate of NFL games.

The chance to see how the show comes together in real time was special and how appreciative Cove, ‘Sauce, and the rest of the cast were for the genuine interest in the show made a Friday even better for this sports editor.