By Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Mar 27, 2010 at 11:11 AM

Welcome to Saturday Scorecard. There is a two-drink minimum, but peanuts are free and you can throw the shells on the floor.

The sports buffet is bountiful these days, so let's cranking...

Warning signs: Cynical Bucks fans may have felt like they were watching a first-round playoff victory flop pass before their eyes during a 87-74 loss to Miami Friday night at the Bradley Center.

Relax, folks. It's too early to panic.

But, it's certainly not too early to be concerned.

The Bucks entered the pivotal game short-handed because of Andrew Bogut's back strain and Ersan Ilyasova's bout with the flu. An already rough night got worse when Kurt Thomas picked up his second foul midway through the first quarter and took a turn toward surreal when Carlos Delfino was injured with 2 minutes 29 seconds left in the first half.

Delfino drove to the hoop and fell face down on the floor under the basket. Haslem jumped for the loose ball and his foot landed on the back of Delfino's head/neck.

"I went up for the board. My focus was going up for the rebound," Haslem said. "When I came down... I don't know how he got under me. I really didn't know that I had stepped on him. I grabbed the rebound, held onto the ball and just took off down the floor. I never stopped to think about it.

"There was nothing I could do; I couldn't avoid it. I didn't even know he was under me. I was focused on the rebound. It's unfortunate. I hope (Delfino) is OK. I talked to coach (Scott) Skiles after halftime and he said (Delfino) was doing OK."

It didn't seem that way at first.

The Bucks forward was virtually motionless on the court while medical personnel tended to him for nearly seven minutes. He was strapped to a board, flipped on his back and exited the arena on a stretcher. He was taken to St. Luke's Hospital for precautionary X-rays, but the Bucks said Delfino had full use of his extremities when he left. He also had jaw and neck soreness that puts in doubt his availability for Sunday afternoon.

The Bucks pulled to within 10 points in the second half, but the Heat -- led by Dwyane Wade's 30 points -- answered the call rather easily. With Bogut out, the Bucks struggled to find any rhythm on offense.

"We're obviously concerned about Carlos," Skiles said. "But, it's not like we were playing great beforehand and all of a sudden he went out and that had an effect. We'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope he's OK or if there is something wrong it will be very minor and he will be well."

The same holds for the Bucks (39-32), who still lead the Heat (39-34) in the lost column but seem in danger of slipping out of the No. 5 spot in the conference standings .

"It's not like we're just going out there getting ready for the summer time," said Bucks guard Charlie Bell, who has played sparingly of late but got in 29 minutes of action Friday. "We're gearing up for the playoffs. We're a playoff team and we've got to act like it. We've got to know that every game, we're playing for something."

Missing men: Bogut has been battling a sore back for much of his career. He told OnMilwaukee.com a few weeks ago that there have been several nights when he's arrived at the arena at 5 p.m. for a 7:30 game not sure if he'd be able to play. He credited the trainers and his daily core/stretching exercises for helping him. Given a recent decrease in production, some were wondering if he's been hampered for awhile.

Brandon Jennings is another story. The rookie point guard is creating more buzz in national magazines like GQ than on the court. Last night, with Bogut out and his team in need of a spark, Jennings took one shot in the first half. You wonder if he's smacking into the dreaded "rookie wall" or if the coaching staff has him second-guessing his decisions to the point where he's being less aggressive.

"We did a good job of making sure he (Jennings) couldn't get into his comfort zone," Wade said of the rookie. "He moves 100 miles an hour. He can come off and shoot the three going 100 miles an hour so we made sure that our big and our guard stayed on him the whole time, made him a passer and we closed out his other guys."

Larry King Lounge: I'm loving this NCAA tournament, but who should I root for Sunday -- Milwaukee native Korie Lucious or Bruce Pearl? Decisions, decisions... Congratulations to the Pius XI girls basketball squad for ending Vincent's three-year reign as champion. Something about Pius winning in the state tournament at this time of year just feels right... It was good to see George Thompson at the Bucks game on Friday night. Then again, it's always good to see George... If you're looking for an Admirals box score tomorrow or Monday, you'll come up empty. The team played Friday night in Grand Rapids and has a rare Saturday-Sunday off... Which will come first, Johnny Jolly's court date or his retirement... As long as you're asking, I'd rather see the Bucks face Atlanta in the first round than Boston. The Hawks have a sub-.500 record on the road. The Bucks played them very well during the regular season. And, the Celtics have the experience to prevail in the playoffs. The age factor may hurt them in subsequent rounds, but they'll be ready in the first round... The Brewers return home next Friday. Opening day is a week from Monday. Are you ready for some baseball? Are you ready for Jeff Suppan to start games?

 

 

Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.