I told you earlier this month that Bartolotta Restaurants plans to open its Northpoint Custard stand for the season on May 17.  They did just so.

But, this weekend they'll go above and beyond by giving away free burgers to the first 200 people in line beginning at 10:30 a.m.

In addition, the building has new pink cow spots to celebrate the company's Care-A-Lottas charity arm that will co-chair the 2012 Race For A Cure Southeast Wisconsin event on Sept. 23 along Milwaukee's lakefront. 

Joe and Jennifer Bartolotta will use their voices to raise awareness and lead a team of more than 500 employees, friends and family who will raise funds and participate in the event.  Additionally, Northpoint Custard will offer an exclusive beverage all summer called Komen-Ade.  It's a pink lemonade, and all proceeds will be donated to Komen.  

Northpoint Custard also will serve as a hub for free breast health and screening information for visitors throughout the 2012 summer season.

 

 

Marquette University's 131st commencement is this Sunday, May 20, at 9:30 a.m. at the Bradley Center, 1001 N. 4th St.

Milwaukee native and Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. "Bud" Selig will introduce 2012 Commencement speaker and baseball legend Hank Aaron.

As part of the ceremony, Aaron will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

I don't remember my commencement speaker, and clearly many 2012 graduates may not know who Aaron is. But, he's a wonderful man and great choice.

The event is open to the public, so get up early Sunday and get Downtown if you've never seen Aaron speak and want to see a true sports legend.

The average attendance at Milwaukee County Stadium in 1995 was 13,427. Many nights, though, this number was south of 10,000. People were generally not interested in the Brewers, many wouldn't have cared if they left while others wanted the heads of the Seligs on a platter.

Truth be told, Milwaukee really didn't follow or think much about this team. Oh sure, a core group of fans did, but the selling of Miller Park wasn't easy.

Yet, without Miller Park we would have never lured new ownership, new players and eventually a return to greatness and huge crowds that are the envy of much-larger cities.

Where am I going with this? I worked on the lobbying and public relations team during the Miller Park saga/process. It was fascinating and full of passion. At the heart of the "should we build the Brewers a new ballpark" process was the fact that NOTHING else can truly bring a community together in a big way like sports.

People rally around their teams, jump on bandwagons, wear jerseys and high five strangers. This happens with winning, but also because teams have the resources to build fan bases, enhance the game day experience and build pipelines that fund projects and players.

I'm a passionate sports fan. I'm also a nearly 20-year Milwaukee Bucks season ticket holder. I love basketball. And, I love Milwaukee. So, I loved it when I heard Senator Kohl was going to be at the Bucks season ending news conference last week. I knew what was coming, his first real step towards a new arena.  

The Bucks need a new facility. And, it's an amazing opportunity for Milwaukee and Wisconsin. The Bradley Center is the oldest non renovated NBA arena in the country.

I'll save my "reasons why blog" for later, but let's just say major league cities do major league projects. New arenas, structures and revenues help teams win. Milwaukee rocks, but it needs a new, modern NBA facility with all the "bells and whistles" (restaurants, retail, etc,) to move forward.

The ball is r…

Justin Moore's in town Friday night, and he'll bring his hits "Small Town USA," "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" and "Backwoods" to the Bradley Center after the Milwaukee Mustangs game. Moore's latest single is "'Till My Last Day."

Booking an up and coming country act like Moore and tying it to a game ticket is a good strategy that the Milwaukee Admirals have leveraged and succeeded with in past years. The Mustangs hope not only to gain new fans but start a creative music tradition similar to the Admirals.  The team has partnered with WMIL, FM 106, for the show.  

The Mustangs (3-4) battle the Cleveland Gladiators at 7 p.m.  Moore takes the stage following the game. Tickets start at just $10.