Every Thursday, we send out the great OnMilwaukee Weekend Preview filled with awesome things to do. Some of those awesome things are sports-related; many are not. So every Monday, we recap what happened in the world of Wisconsin sports while you were out doing all those other awesome weekend things.
Friday
Merry Christmas!
Saturday
Bucks lose to Raptors, 111-90: After taking a three-point lead into the fourth quarter at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee self-combusted in the final period. Toronto rained down eight 3-pointers and outscored the struggling hosts 35-11 in the fourth quarter to turn a close game into a Raptors’ road rout. DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 22 points. Khris Middleton had his third straight game with at least 20, and Greg Monroe added 19 and 11 rebounds, but the Bucks’ other three starters combined for just 21 points on 8 of 30 shooting. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with four points, two rebounds and two assists in nearly 35 minutes. Another disappointing performance at home.
Admirals beat IceHogs, 2-1: Down in Rockford, Ill., Milwaukee continued its strong season by prevailing in a shootout after a defense-heavy game. Goalie Marek Mazanec had 33 saves and stopped both Rockford attempts in the shootout, while Kevin Fiala and Frederick Gaudreau tallied for the Admirals. Gaudreau scored the only goal during regulation for Milwaukee, which is now tied with Rockford for first place in the Central Division.
Sunday
Packers lose to Cardinals, 38-8: This one was never close. Offensively, Aaron Rodgers and a depleted offensive line were abused by Arizona’s strength and speed, mustering 178 total yards and committing four turnovers. Defensively, Green Bay was overmatched and outmaneuvered, allowing 4.7 yards per carry and a 107.8 passer rating to quarterback Carson Palmer. The Cardinals sacked Rodgers eight times and also returned two of his fumbles for defensive touchdowns. The Packers are now tied for first place in the NFC North with the Vikings, against whom they play at home in the regular-season finale.
Golden Eagles beat Blue Hose, 84-66: In its non-conference finale, Marquette won its ninth straight and topped 80 points for the eighth time in 12 games. But it wasn’t pretty, as the Golden Eagles came out sluggish and shot just 34.1 percent in the first half before recovering in the second. Head coach Steve Wojciechowski wasn’t happy with his team’s effort or performance against tiny Presbyterian, though the frontcourt tandem of Luke Fischer and Henry Ellenson combined for 34 points and 29 rebounds.
Wave beat Ambush, 8-5: On the road against a winless St. Louis team, Milwaukee needed a big game from star forward Ian Bennett, who scored four goals, as the Wave pulled away in the fourth quarter to avoid the upset. Milwaukee was outshot, 21-18, and Jonathan Greenfield was sent off late in the game, but Bennett and Tony Walls provided enough offense to get the victory.
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.
