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 https://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: https://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.