In the midst of the gathering darkness on Milwaukee’s sports scene, perhaps there’s a glimmer of light.
We’re on the precipice of losing three local sports institutions – the Milwaukee Wave, the Milwaukee Mile and our PGA Tour stop, the U.S. Bank Championship. Money troubles threaten the entire trio, though not quite with the tabloid fanfare of a bankrupt Lenny Dykstra (and really, who could’ve seen that coming?). The Wave has a week to find a buyer. The Mile needs a multimillion-dollar bailout. But while the prospects for saving them look increasingly bleak, a weekend story by the Journal Sentinel’s Gary D’Amato gives local golf fans some hope. You’ve probably heard that unless something drastic happens, Milwaukee’s PGA Tour stop will disappear after this weekend’s U.S. Bank Championship. U.S. Bank won’ t renew its sponsorship, and months of searching for a replacement have proven fruitless. That’s hardly a surprise, because declining attendance and the dubious distinction of playing on the same weekend as the British Open makes the tournament a tough sell. But now comes word that something drastic may indeed be happening. D’Amato reports that Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker, two of the best golfers Wisconsin’s ever produced, have developed a plan for “not only saving the tournament but turning it into a marquee event.” “I get the chills thinking about it,” Kelly is quoted as saying. “I love – I absolutely love – the possibilities.” Sounds promising, but here’s the catch. Nobody with knowledge of the plan can discuss what makes it so great. The only tantalizing aspects for public consumption are: 1) The tournament date would move, which is absolutely crucial, because you’re better off going against UFC bad boy Brock Lesnar than the British Open. 2) An unnamed title sponsor is already on board. Kelly won’t name the company, but did say “I don’t think sponsorship is a roadblock at the moment.” 3) PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem is not only aware of the plan, but is a fan of it. It all sounds rather impressive, made even more so because Kelly and Stricker did the legwork completely on their own before involving anyone else. Current tournament officials, who were having precious little luck trying to right the ship on their own, weren’t even aware of the Kelly/Stricker plan until recently. But beyond those basic facts, we don’t know why Kelly and Stricker are so sure the plan will succeed. On a scale of 1 to 10, Kelly rated the plan’s chances of success “a solid eight.” Never before has a snowman had such appeal for golfers. So what could Kelly and Stricker have stumbled upon that bodes so well for the state’s golf scene? Their reluctance to share details is understandable. They don’t want to count their birdies before they’re hatched. But that doesn’t keep us from speculating. Personally, I’m far from a golf expert, evidenced by this picture of me lining up a putt. Nor do I have any particular insight or contacts on the local golf scene, and I’ve made no investigative efforts into this savior of a plan. But I do know one thing. If Milwaukee’s PGA Tour stop is going to jump from afterthought to “marquee event,” then it must become something radically different. Stricker and Kelly can’t be talking about just another run-of-the-mill golf tournament, and since I’m pretty sure they won’t be relocating The Masters from Augusta, there has to be some out-of-the-box thinking behind this. So what exactly would qualify? Perhaps a tournament played under a different scoring format? Going away from traditional stroke play to something like match play or the Modified Stableford scoring system would certainly set Milwaukee’s tournament apart. But while the novelty of The International – the only modern PGA tourney to use Stableford scoring – enjoyed some initial success, it eventually struggled with finding sponsorship and finally failed after a 20-year run. So why would it work here? And there’s already a marquee match play event – the Accenture Match Play Championship. Hard to see the PGA committing to another one, especially when the format requires an extra day to run properly. A celebrity-centered event? The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is always a hit, but it’s easy to draw celebrities when your tournament’s played in California. Getting them to Wisconsin is a different story, no matter how many brats you bribe ’em with. But what about something truly different? What if you created some kind of crossover event involving two of the nation’s golf tours? Bring together the regular tour and the senior tour. Or perhaps the women of the LPGA. There’s already the Wendy’s 3-Tour Challenge, but that’s a battle amongst the tours, with teams of women facing off against teams of men and teams of seniors. What if you combined players from the different tours, pairing a male and female together, or a regular tour player and a senior one? Send them out as teams and borrow scoring formats from the Ryder Cup – best ball, alternate shot, etc. Think of it as mixed doubles for golf. Imagine Phil Mickelson winning a golf tournament because his partner, Michelle Wie, sank a putt on the 18th hole. Or perhaps the sight of legends Lee Trevino or Hale Irwin pairing with young PGA phenom Anthony Kim. You’d have built-in storylines, and quite likely, the interest of stars who’d want to do something out of the ordinary. You’d have a merging of marketing demographics. You might even build an All-Star feel. You’d have, dare I say, marquee potential. Maybe I’m way off base, but that’s not the point. The point is it’s something unusual, which is exactly what Milwaukee needs to put itself on the PGA map again. Have Kelly and Stricker stumbled upon something distinctive? They certainly seem to think so. Milwaukee golf fans can only hope they’re right. A Toast to Spahn By now, you’ve no doubt heard of, and perhaps even tasted, Robinade Old School Lemonade, the soft drink backed by Milwaukee Brewers legend Robin Yount. But for those who want something harder, the family of another Milwaukee baseball legend is stepping up to the plate. A new beer, Spahnie 363, plays off Milwaukee Braves pitcher Warren Spahn and his 363 career victories. Greg Spahn, the pitcher’s son, has teamed with a beer company based in Oklahoma (home state of the Spahns) to distribute the drink in Milwaukee, Oklahoma and Arkansas. According to a press release, the beer is “a special recipe Kolsch-style brew reminiscent of summer and baseball.” But we’re guessing it tastes better than horsehide. It’s available at local retailers, but no word on whether you’ll be able to drink it at Miller Park. Cubs Lose Again? Many Brewers fans have long believed the Chicago Cubs were a bankrupt organization. Turns out they may be right. The Cubs may file for bankruptcy in order to expedite their pending sale. It would be the first time a major league club filed for bankruptcy since the Seattle Pilots in 1970. That worked out pretty well for Milwaukee, when some guy named Bud Selig bought the bankrupt Pilots and renamed them the Milwaukee Brewers. Winter Thriller Props to West Allis’ Dan Jansen for being ranked second on Sports Illustrated’s Winter Sports Thrill List. I’d have put him at the top. His story remains as compelling as ever. Now Batting… Maybe you’ve caught the Batting Stance Guy on Brewers broadcasts this season. I’m still deciding whether he’s the next Max Patkin or the next Scooter the Baseball. But whatever he is, it’s working. And he’s darn good at it. So good for him. No ballgame to watch? No problem. Check out our new TV Guru column to get the lowdown on your remote control options. Feel free to follow me on Twitter, where I tweet as howiemag. And tune in every Tuesday morning at 6:25 when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM for Tuesdays with Howie. You can also find the segments in their Audio Vault.
