Sports Nut

Back in the summer, when Milwaukee’s atmosphere was a whole lot warmer than it is now, the thing Larry Sanders really had going for him was the likability factor. Here was a young and talented basketball player, and one poised to get better, and one who wasn’t crowing about the brighter lights in those bigger cities. Here was a guy who seemed to genuinely enjoy his time in Milwaukee. Here was a man who committed his future to the Bucks during a press conference at a local Boys & Girls Club, and did so speaking underneath a scoreboard that he…

When I think of Steve “Homer” True, I do not think of his afternoon radio show on 540 ESPN with Mitch “Thunder” Nelles, entertaining as both gentlemen are. Nor do I think of his fine play-by-play calls of Marquette University men’s basketball, pitch-perfect though they be. Because when I think of Steve, I think of the time he ran an auction to raise money for the MACC Fund. It was in May at the conclusion of the MACC Fund’s Evening with Aaron Rodgers. I see Steve pacing the stage with fervent energy, working the room as only he can to…

Photo by Howie Magner It was Marquette Media Day, so it came with the usual questions of head coach Buzz Williams. How would the Golden Eagles deal with losing key players? Which current player would start where? How about the new Big East? All good questions. All important ones. And, in a possible sign of progress for Marquette, not one query regarding offseason job offers or where Williams would coach next. And yet, I couldn’t help being curious about something entirely tangential. What the heck was Buzz Williams doing on Twitter? This, I’ll grant you, is not exactly pertinent to…

Photo by Howie Magner They’ve overhauled their coaching staff, overhauled their roster and even overhauled the very foundation beneath their feet. They’ve done big appearances at a high school in Racine, a State Fair milk house, a near-North Side Boys & Girls Club and a certain art museum on Lake Michigan. They’ve focused much of their marketing efforts on players who’ve reached the ripe old ages of 24, 22 and 18. Basically, they’ve done everything but extend their hand and say, “Let’s start over. Hi there: We’re the Milwaukee Bucks.” And you could say they’re even prepared to do just…

Of course Robin Yount is the most beloved player in Milwaukee Brewers history. You don’t need the Sporting News to tell you that. Frankly, you don’t need anyone to tell you that. All you have to do is hear the roars whenever he makes a Miller Park appearance. Or see how Twitter lights up with breathless reports of coffeehouse sightings whenever The Kid is back in town. But the Sporting News did indeed declare what everybody here knew – that Yount is indeed the most beloved Brewer. It also named his counterparts for each and every one of the other…

Photo by Ben Smidt Inside the clubhouse, Jonathan Lucroy wasn’t talking about all the losses this season, and not because his team had just won Tuesday night’s game. The budding Milwaukee Brewers star sat before his locker in his comfortable chair, and as he polished off the comforting postgame treat of an ice cream bar, he brought up uncomfortable things. He recalled a year-old trip to the Washington, D.C., hospital wards at Walter Reed, where military veterans recover from their war wounds. “That’s an experience like no other,” Lucroy said. “You walk in there, and you see guys cut in…

Photo by Howie Magner It was quite the array of dignitaries who showed up for Sue Black’s Thursday-morning press conference. Held in a courtyard just outside of the U.S. Cellular Arena, it was her way of reintroducing the Milwaukee Wave, the indoor soccer team that she now owns. And truth be told, with a mix of fans and curious onlookers and power-lunchers and Wave personnel, it felt more like a cocktail party than a media event. Coach Keith Tozer was there, of course, because wherever the Wave is, Tozer shall follow. It’s been that way for more than two of…

Photo by Howie Magner If you didn’t know that he’d just become one of Milwaukee’s richest Bucks, didn’t know that he had three professional seasons under his belt or was lauded as one of the NBA’s best defenders, and if you just listened to the words coming out of his mouth, you’d swear Larry Sanders was but a wide-eyed college basketball player. Maybe even a promising high-school prospect. Here he was, meeting the press in the wake of a brand-new contract extension that will guarantee 44 million more Bucks bucks through the year 2018. And he was doing it not…

At long last, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has released a full, wide-ranging statement about his suspension from Major League Baseball. Here it is, in its entirety. Statement from Ryan Braun Now that the initial MLB investigation is over, I want to apologize for my actions and provide a more specific account of what I did and why I deserved to be suspended.  I have no one to blame but myself. I know that over the last year and a half I made some serious mistakes, both in the information I failed to share during my arbitration hearing and the comments…

Photo by Howie Magner He is still absent from the playing field, the Milwaukee Brewers clubhouse and, yes, the microphones. His once-common image is now a rare sight among ad campaigns and the Miller Park concourse. And his once-sacred jersey, as much a staple in Miller Park’s stands as beer in the fans’ hands, has become a canvas for creative dissension. The letters of his name are defaced to spell “FRAUD” and “B*A*N,” and finding an 8 with a slash through it isn’t such a hard 8 at all. Yes, the Ryan Braun so many thought they knew and loved…