The Milwaukee Bucks launch a 90-minute pre-game show called Courtside Live today, making it the only team in the NBA to host such a program.
Courtside Live, hosted by Justin Garcia and Melanie Ricks, airs live on Bucks.com and the Bucks app and will soon also be seen on FOXSportsWisconsin.com.
The show, which aims to bring the pre-game experience to fans who can’t see it person at the Fiserv Forum during the pandemic, shows things like live on-court warmups, trivia, contests, appearances by mascot Bango, DJ Shawna and other pre-game entertainment.
It also includes a live stream of Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer’s pre-game media availability, along with commentary and interviews from the likes of Bucks TV and radio personalities, team executives and Bucks beat writers and other media that cover the team.
The show begins two hours before game time – which is 4 p.m. on Thursday, as the Bucks host the Lakers at 6 – and ends 30 minutes before tipoff. It is followed by FOX Sports Wisconsin and the BMO Bucks Radio Network’s pre-game shows.
A previous iteration of Courtside Live has already appeared on the Bucks’ Facebook.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
