2008 IIHF World Championship

Last update: April 29, 2008 - 8:51 PM

Who: Sixteen teams in four groups. They are: Group A -- Sweden, Switzerland, Belarus, France; Group B -- Canada, United States, Latvia, Slovenia; Group C -- Finland, Slovakia, Germany, Norway; Group D -- Czech Republic, Russia, Denmark, Italy.

Local connections: Team USA's roster includes seven native Minnesotans: David Backes (Spring Lake Park), Keith Ballard (Baudette), Tom Gilbert (Bloomington), Paul Martin (Elk River), Peter Mueller (Bloomington), Zach Parise (Faribault) and Mark Stuart (Rochester). Other connections include Phil Kessel, who went to the University of Minnesota. Three Wild players will be taking part. Brent Burns will play for Canada while Mikko Koivu and Niklas Backstrom will play for Finland.

KENT YOUNGBLOOD

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Medcalf: Developments with Mbakwe - April 29, 2008

Medcalf: Developments with Mbakwe - Last week, a Miami court gave Gophers power forward Trevor Mbakwe a Jan. 7 pre-trial date, when his lawyer and prosecutors will give a judge an update on the status of his case. That wipes out the previous Dec. 14 trial date. Mbakwe is charged with felony battery after an alleged assault on a woman in April in Miami. Following a victory over Utah Valley, Tubby Smith said Mbakwe wasn't on the team's bench because of a "change" in his case. New court documents indicate that a number of factors are pushing Mbakwe's trial back. Mbakwe's roommate at Miami Dade Community College, Kentucky guard Darnell Dodson, is a key witness. He's averaging 12.0 points per game for the Wildcats. Mbakwe's lawyer, Gregory Samms, encountered challenges when he tried to secure Dodson's testimony earlier this month. That was when the trial was still scheduled for Dec. 14. But in another development that could end up helping Mbakwe get back on the court faster, his lawyer also has had trouble tracking down the alleged victim for her testimony. From court docs: "The alleged victim ... was attempted to be served on this Tuesday, November 10, and the undersigned was informed by his process server that [the alleged victim] no longer lived at that apartment." Samms requested the state's assistance in tracking down the central person in Mbakwe's case. More