Every Thursday, we send out the great OnMilwaukee Weekend Preview filled with awesome things to do. Some are sports-related; many are not. So every Monday, we recap what happened in the world of Wisconsin sports while you were doing all those other awesome things.
Friday
Packers announce 2016 schedule: Green Bay released its 96th NFL regular-season schedule, and Aaron Rodgers' team will play five prime-time games. The Packers open on the road at Jacksonville, play at Minnesota, then are home against Detroit before a Week 4 bye. They host the New York Giants, Dallas and Chicago, then play at Atlanta, home against Indianapolis, and three straight road games at Tennessee, Washington and Philadelphia. Weeks 13 and 14 are home against Houston and Seattle, respectively, then at Chicago, home for Minnesota and at Detroit in the regular-season finale. 16-0, right Packers fans?
Panthers basketball players transfer: Over the weekend, two key players from the embattled UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball team announced they were leaving the school. Guard Akeem Springs is transferring to Minnesota, while forward Austin Arians will reportedly play next year at Wake Forest. After the longtime radio voice of Panthers basketball excoriated athletic director Amanda Braun and the administration, the program’s recent turmoil has become a national story.
Bucks earn 10th spot in draft lottery: After losing a tiebreaker with Sacramento and Denver, Milwaukee will have the 10th position in the NBA draft lottery on May 17. All three teams finished with 33-49 records, thus the tiebreaker was needed. The lottery determines the draft order of the top 14 picks; the Bucks, whose basketball success didn't align with their business-operations success this season, have an 84.6% chance of staying at No. 10.
Brewers beat Pirates, 8-4: Ryan Braun hit a pair of two-run homers and Jimmy Nelson battled through a quality start to help Milwaukee win the opener of its three-game weekend series in Pittsburgh. Braun went 3 for 5 with four RBI and shortstop Jonathan Villar added three hits and an RBI. First baseman Chris Carter and third baseman Aaron Hill had two hits apiece in the Brewers’ highest-scoring game so far.
Admirals lose to Condors, 5-2: In its final regular-season game ever at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, the team’s home since 1988, Milwaukee dropped a disappointing decision to Bakersfield. With more than 11,000 fans in attendance, plenty of special events and boundless nostalgia, the Admirals were hoping for a better result, especially after taking a 1-0 lead on a Pontus Aberg goal. But the Condors scored five of the next six goals to snap the Ads’ 13-game points streak.
Saturday
Admirals lose to IceHogs, 7-1: Following up their home loss to Bakersfield, Milwaukee fell on the road in Rockford, ending their successful season on a down note. The Admirals committed 12 penalties in the game, and goalie Marek Mazanec, starting in place of Juuse Saros, allowed seven of 33 IceHogs shots to hit the back of the net. After winning the Central Division, Milwaukee will face Grand Rapids in a best-of-five playoff series starting Friday.
Brewers lose to Pirates, 5-0: Jonathon Niese pitched seven strong innings, Andrew McCutchen homered and Pittsburgh snapped its four-game skid with a relatively easy win over Milwaukee. Taylor Jungmann allowed four earned runs in six innings, and the offense mustered just three hits in the defeat. The Brewers also optioned centerfielder Keon Broxton, who was hitless in 18 at-bats, to Triple-A Colorado Springs, and called up pitcher Zack Davies.
Sunday
Brewers lose to Pirates, 9-3: Making his first major-league start of the season, Zack Davies was hammered early and often, allowing eight hits and six runs – five earned – in just 2 1/3 innings in the series-ending loss to Pittsburgh. The Pirates pounded out 17 hits, including three each by Matt Joyce and Gregory Polanco, and Andrew McCutchen homered for the second straight day. The Brewers mustered just six hits and travel to Minnesota for a two-game series against the Twins.
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
