Adventures in Bradley Centering-Bucks get by Grizz

Ah, the Sunday afternoon NBA game.  They don't come up that often, and there's something about walking out of the BC and into the bright sunlight that is different and appealing.  For that reason alone, I was looking forward to this game.  And so, given the 'easy like Sunday morning' feel the day had,  my oldest son and I headed down to the BC for a pre-game lunch and a Bucks game versus the Grizzlies.

First stop - I decided to give 'Centercourt' (formerly 'Gametime') a try for some eats.   Like many, I always loved the location of 'Gametime', but found their food to be reprehensible.  I had heard earlier in the season that 'Centercourt' was not just a name change, but also completely new ownership, and that the food was surprisingly good.  My son agreed to try it out, disappointed that he wouldn't be getting rockets filled with peanuts carpet bombing him at AJ Bombers, but willing to give it a go, since they assuredly had chicken fingers on the menu.  After surveying their board of fare, I found several items that sounded appetizing, but ultimately went with the pulled pork sandwich, made with their own house BBQ sauce.  It was messily good, and the bun in particular was outstanding.  The boy had the chicken fingers, which looked terrific.  I ended up snagging one from him in trade for a pickle and some candy to be named later.  It was outstanding, and definitely not fried up out of some box Sysco pulled off the freezer truck. Hand-cut and hand-breaded most likely. To top it off, the service was fast and friendly.  We got in and out in less than 30 minutes, and it coulda been faster were it not for the pace my son ate at.  If you haven't been there yet, give it a try, 'Courtside' is significantly better than 'Gametime'.

On to the game itself.  Knowing Bogut might be out for this game, and with Delfino assuredly out, I felt pretty sure that I'd be walking out of there with the Bucks losing their 3rd straight.  Memphis is a better team than a lot of people think (but understandable, given their past), and have a nice core of players (Mayo, Gay, Gasol).  Starting lineups were announced, and Bogut was suited up and in the lineup.  Things are looking better now.  Early on in the 1st, they get the ball to inside Bogut, and he quickly gets 6 points.  He's looking healthy - no signs of that bad back, early anyways.  The rest of the way its pretty much neck and neck, nobody leading by more than 8 the whole way.

While I didn't see the same menagerie of jackasses that Murdock and Stryker did (it will be hard to top that night I'm guessing), there was this old bag...

...who by 'hook or crook' (more hook) was gonna get herself one of those parachuting t-shirts (that she'd undoubtably never wear).  Yeah, that's right - she was swinging that cane around to clip the 'chutes.  And she nearly clocked at least 2 people in the row below her.  Best of all, she didn't manage to get a shirt.  What the hell is it about Bucks games and people with canes?  I'm sure I don't know.  Glad I brough the camera along (all blurry pics posted here courtesy of me)

Some other general observations from the game:

• I LOVE the Memphis road jerseys.  That metallic blue sheen just screams of the austentatiousness that more teams should exhibit.  Its showtime baby! Dress like it.
• Marc Gasol clearly didn't get beat with the ugly stick as hard as his brother on the Lakers (see pic below).  He's downright handsome relative to Pau, and actually has a jawline. Both are still hair covered marshmallows though.
• Rudy Gay is a very versatile player, with a sweet jumper.  I enjoyed his game. 
• Hasheem Thabeet is up from the D-League.  From the looks of things, he should head right back.
• Jennings played a pretty nice offensive game (aside from a few ill-advised shots), but he made Mike Conley Jr. look like a damn All-Star at times.  That 'foul' near the end of regulation he had on Conley was garbage though.
• Salmons continues to hit big shots when we need them.  Trading for him worked out better than I could have dreamed.
• People started to line up for the 'shoot a free throw on the court' after the game promo with 2 minutes left in regulation of a tight game.  They stayed there through the overtime.  I wonder if any of them knew there was even game was on.
• Overall a pretty good crowd at the BC - lower deck 90%+ full, and LOUD.
• Jersey of the day - A kid with a purple #20 Gary Payton.  Now that might just be a collectors item.  Was he even on the team long enough for them to manufacture those?

Big win for the Bucks, against another quality opponent (don't laugh, Memphis is above 0.500 in the West, currently fighting for the 8th playoff slot).  Let's hope we can stay healthy enough to hang on to the 5th or 6th seed (although I'd prefer the 6th if it means matching up with the geriatric Celtics).
Other than that, I'll leave you with this picture of Energee!, as a friendly reminder to get on down to the BC for some Bucks basketball.

  

Fear the Deer

Pay attention Wisconsin.  Even though March Madness is nearly upon us, and conference tourneys are in full swing, the Bucks are still playing.  And playing well.  With all due respect to Bo Ryan and Buzz Williams, the best basketball in Wisconsin right now is being played by your Milwaukee Bucks.  Hell, after beating the Celtics earlier this week, they are even starting to get some national attention.

They play hard and defend.  Bogut's progression as a big man has been impressive, the Salmons trade has worked out better than I imagined, and although Jennings' scoring is down he's running the offense quite efficiently for a rookie. As a group, they've bought into Skiles system, and its paying dividends right now.  It goes without saying that I'm really enjoying the season.  

Then this evening, my inbox received a reminder email on some reduced ticket prices for some of the upcoming games.  With it came the slightly modified Bucks logo graphic above, along with the slogan 'Fear the Deer'.  While I can take or leave the slogan, the blood-red eyes are a nice touch.  They're menacing and kinda bad-ass, without having to add a bull-snort to make the deer seem serious.  I really hope the Bucks keep this look. Maybe flashing the eyes red up on the scoreboard during critical stretches of the game would get the fans fired up and feeling serious about their Bucks.  Or maybe not, given some of the clowns that have been observed at the BC of late (see 'Fun Times at the Bradley Center').  Its better than some cartoon-style font that says 'Get Loud' or 'Make Noise' anyways.  Point is - I like it.  

Bucks' balanced scoring no match for burlesque balancing act

Flew solo tonight at the Bucks game - as nobody wanted to join Gopher Bandanna Guy at the BC this evening. Such is life. Won't be the first time I attended a live sporting event on my own, and it won't be the last. All seven of you guys I offered the other ticket to, you suck. But enough of my self-pity.

The Bucks played well in front of a very sparse crowd (I essentially had section 218 all to my self), and had a very complete game on offense, getting everybody into the mix, with 7 Bucks in double figures. Roko Ukic (pronounced 'Oooo-kich') had his coming out party, scoring 17 points in 25 minutes, and not during cleanup time either. He boldly asserted himself into the offense, at one point forcefully waving Bogut to clear out for him. Bogut later appeared to reprimand Ukic after he drew a foul in the lane, but Ukic continued to be aggressive. I like this kid. I think he and Jennings could develop into a nice point-guard duo for the Bucks for years come, since we all know Ridnour and his bloated contract will be jettisoned as soon as possible, despite some admirable contributions to the team.

But I'm not fooled by this Ukic performance either. The Raptors have no defense whatsoever (give up an average of 108 ppg). And when guards Jarret Jack, DeMar DeRozen, and Sonny Weams are on the floor no one defending them is too worried they'll go off. Not sure if Bell was just being rested, or Skiles wanted a different look, (or if he knew he could get away with playing Ukic tonight) Hopefully we'll get to see a bit more of Ukic after this performance though, so we know what we have with him.

But let's talk halftime. They trotted out the scantily clad Lilia Stepanova, who proceeded to put on an seductive burlesque-type dance, combined with a couple contortionist archery stunts thrown in. No question it was hot. Very hot. (see her performance in PHX here). Probably too hot for the kids in attendance. And it didn't help that the BC camera men caught every crotch shot possible. But hell if I cared, as my son was sound asleep in his bed 40 minutes away. Damned fine entertainment. Well done by the BC events staff.

The best part though was just as she completed her performance, and started walking off the court, Luke Ridnour comes streaking onto the court from the opposite end, and then pulls up about 5-10 feet short of her and shoots a jumper. Either he wanted to get his warm up shots in a hurry, or just wanted a closer look at Ms. Stepanova's posterior. I'm guessing the latter, since he beat the rest of his teammates onto the court by 20-30 seconds.

The Bucks then dominated in the 4th quarter, and blah, blah, blah.... just check out Lilia.

Molly Cools rules and so does Brandon Jennings

Bucks home opener tonight. I expected to take my oldest son with for the game, but his Saturday morning attrocious behavior and smart mouth cost him a trip to the BC. That meant finding a last-minute sitter, and going with the Mrs. (Gopher Bandanna Gal). It also meant the evening was wide open for some pre-game adult beverages!

We got downtown a little after 6:30pm and had an hour to kill. Molly Cools, an oyster bar/'seafood tavern' was staring us in the face on the walk over, and I had heard good things from a few friends. After settling down in the bar and checking out the menu, the happy hour specials were looking real good, but it was now past 6pm. No worries, it was happy hour all night on Halloween. That meant I was getting 44 fluid ounces of Bells 2-hearted IPA on tap for $5.50, while the wife took on the same quantity of Miller Light for $4. Sweet. With just a little over 30 minutes to go before tip-off, we downed the brews (ok, the Mrs. got about 30 oz down, admirable for her though), while chowing down some delicious coconut shrimp, and establishing a nice numbing contact buzz. In and out in 30 minutes, and strangely enough meeting former Golden Gopher DE Keith Lipka's sister (the hostess, wearing an authentic #99 Gopher football jersey for Halloween). Being a half-season ticket holder for this season, I believe I may just make 'Cools' my pre-game joint of choice, particularly since I love seafood and IPA on tap.

On to the game. After a lackluster showing in the first half, the Bucks turned it on in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Pistons 36-14. Rookie Brandon Jennings got hot at just the right time and took the quarter over, draining a couple 3's and slashing to the basket on a sweet lay-in (this despite being called 'Brad Jennings' by the guest player intros, and 'Greg Jennings' by the female game MC). The Pistons made a charge back in the 4th, but the Bucks held them off, keyed by a backcourt steal by Jennings with about a minute to go. Good stuff. The Bucks may only win 35 games this year, but this kid is going to be fun to watch all season.

Other home opener observations:

-Disappointingly small crowd, no announced attendance, so you know it wasn't good. The upper deck looked to be about 20% full. I'd guess about 11,000. Ugh.

-Hakim Warrick plays HARD, and works hard to get the ball inside and draw fouls.

-Gadzuric appeared to have outplayed Bogut in all facets of the game (yes, including offense)

Random Jersey Watch:

-Colt McCoy U of Texas alternate black and burnt orange jersey (paired with an alternate color red & black Brewers hat)

-Eddie Royal Broncos jersey

As I'm hitting up half the home games this year, I'll keep spotting bizzare sports attire choices at the BC and sharing them.

Bucks Preview

Ready or not, Friday is opening tip for the Bucks season at Philly.

It is a somewhat depressing state of affairs for Bucks fans. I think I read on Twitter or something that the Bucks are giving away tickets to opening night in Milwaukee if you buy a value meal at Wendy's. I'm not kidding.

Andrew Bogut is giving away 100 free lower bowl tickets all season long to fans who promise to be loud and wear wigs and bang drums and generally act like soccer hooligans (presumably minus the beatings, death threats, surface fires and whatnot that sometimes goes along with hooliganism). There was a tryout for that the other night, but I missed it.

Anyway, most national pundits pick the Bucks to be among the worst teams in the NBA, down there with the Kings, T-Wolves, and perhaps Grizzlies. Vegas agrees.

Call me crazy, but I don't think this team will be that bad. Yeah, they don't have Jefferson, Sessions or Villanueva any more. But I'm excited to see what Warrick can do, and what Jennings can do. If they stay healthy, I think they should equal or exceed their win total of last year (34, I think). Bogut and Redd missed more than 1/2 the year last season, and the team was still competitive.

Plus, Dan Gadzuric is going back to the old Danny G style of play:

"If I foul out, don't get mad at me. I've been pacing myself too much. I have to get back to the way I played my first few years. I like to hustle and foul."

So that's something to look forward to.