Worth Noting
My friend Bob Werness, 78, died
from cancer on Friday. A Bloomington resident, Bob loved athletics
and started the Mr. Basketball program. He also was a leader in
establishing the Minnesota prep all-star basketball game.
Director of athletics Joel Maturi
announced this morning that junior forward
Trevor Mbakwe will not play for the Gophers basketball team until
his pending legal matter has been resolved in what a University of
Minnesota statement described as a “satisfactory manner.” Maturi said
that Mbakwe will continue to attend classes, be a part of the team, and
practice with the Gophers. He will not dress for home games nor travel
to away competition, according to Maturi. The Gophers have an
exhibition game scheduled at home against the University of Minnesota
Duluth on Thursday night.
According to earlier news reports, a woman
alleges Mbakwe attacked her earlier this year in Florida. A trial is
anticipated regarding a felony aggravated battery charge to further
address the allegation.
As usual, there are many numbers to look
at after a football game but none more important than the Vikings’ 7-1
record following yesterday’s 38-26 win over the Packers in the Green
Bay. The Packers’ record is 4-3 and the message coming from the game is
this: for now the Vikings have separated themselves from Green Bay and
Chicago (also 4-3) in the NFC North Division title race.
A Vikings defeat would have left the
Packers and Bears only one game behind Minnesota in the loss column and
announced a typically tight mid-season division race. Instead, the
Vikings have a comfortable lead and take next Sunday off. When they
resume playing, three consecutive home games are coming up against
Detroit, Seattle and Chicago. The Vikings’ bye week after eight weeks
of games is perfectly positioned for them in their 16 game schedule.
An injury to a vital player like
Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, Jared
Allen or Kevin Williams could change the outlook for the
title march, but for now the Vikings have sent an in-your-face statement
to their NFC brethren.
Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams
owns a $400,000 Rolls Royce.
The Gophers received a verbal commitment
for the 2010 recruiting class on Saturday from four-star running back
Josh Huff of Aldine, Texas, according to
http://minnesota.rivals.com/.
Former Gopher Arland Bruce III is a wide receiver for Hamilton in
the Canadian Football League. He is third in league receptions,
fourth
in receiving yards and second in reception touchdowns, according
to:
http://www.cfl.ca/statistics/league/stat/Receiving/year/2009.
Nathan Jawai, the Wolves 23-year-old 6-10 center, is from Australia where he’s been
referred to as “Aussie Shaq,” or “Baby Shaq” because of his facial
resemblance to Shaquille O’Neal. Jawai is way behind
O’Neal in on court performance, though, averaging 0.9 points per game in
seven NBA games since being drafted in 2008. However, he’s
competitive with O’Neal in employment with league teams. Jawai’s NBA rights have been
held by four teams in his career. O’Neal, at 37, has been with five
teams. Jawai actually resembles former NBA center Darryl Dawkins
more than he does O’Neal.
Wolves coach Kurt Rambis likes
Jawai’s athleticism. “We see him, like a lot of players on this team, as
a project but he’s an exciting project,” Rambis said.
A media representative joking with Rambis
after he described how his players can improve playing against better
players: “You’ve come to the right place.”
The Timberwolves have only four players on
their 14 man roster who were drafted by the organization. The senior
member of the group is Corey Brewer, drafted in 2007. The others
are Kevin Love, drafted in 2008, and Jonny Flynn and
Wayne Ellington from this year’s draft.
Former Gopher Matt Koalska is now an assistant coach for the
men’s hockey team at the University of St. Thomas.
