The Mecca

What are your 4th of July plans?

2005-07-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

Checking out some South Shore Park fireworks? Heading out to a Barbecue in Waukesha and drinking all of your uncle's beer?
Facing serious criminal charges and possibly spending up to 10 years in a Canadian prison?

The latter of the three mentioned above is what's on tap for former Buck great Gary "The Glove" Payton.

Former Bucks Sam Cassell, Jason Caffey, and Gary Payton will be in court on the 4th of July in Toronto for a post strip-club altercation a few years back after a Raptors game.
Click the title link above to check out ESPN.com's coverage of all the independence day proceedings north of the border.

Karma is a funny thing isn't it?

Bogut Signs

2005-07-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

Signed, sealed, delivered.

5 year deal.

Hotter than the NBA in July!

2005-07-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

Lots of July action on the calendar for all of the Bucks faithful out there:

Bucks will be playing in the Target Center for the Minnesota Summer League hosted by T-Wolves.
Drive out,Kick back, get a sneak peak at Bogut, ....maybe discuss illegal negotiations with Wolves VP Kevin McHale

Friday, July 15
3:00 p.m. Indiana vs. Houston
5:00 p.m. Toronto vs. New York
7:00 p.m. Minnesota vs. Milwaukee

Saturday, July 16
3:00 p.m. Toronto vs. Indiana
5:00 p.m. Milwaukee vs. Houston
7:00 p.m. Minnesota vs. New York

Sunday, July 17
11:00 a.m. Indiana vs. New York
1:00 p.m. Toronto vs. Milwaukee
7:30 p.m. Minnesota vs. Houston

Monday, July 18
3:00 p.m. Indiana vs. Milwaukee
5:00 p.m. Houston vs. New York
7:00 p.m. Minnesota vs. Toronto

Tuesday, July 19
11:00 a.m. Houston vs. Toronto
1:00 p.m. New York vs. Milwaukee
3:00 p.m. Minnesota vs. Indiana

JULY 23RD........

Because of the new CBA, the moratorium on free agent signings presently scheduled to expire on July 14th will now run to July 22nd. During this period, summer leagues may take place, rookies can be signed, and free agents will be permitted to negotiate with teams, but will not be able to sign any new contracts.

To Redd or not to Redd.............

Have a great holiday weekend.

The Chinese Connection

2005-06-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

No not the cool Bruce Lee movie.......
This is one of the most thought-provoking articles on the Bucks and behind closed doors navigation of the franchise and the local press we've seen in some time. Thanks to Joel McNally from the Racine Journal Times for getting this out there. If only the Bucks (part-time) beat writers could dig this up and show some Bogut-like backbone to get nasty in the journalistic paint.

Kohl and the Bucks' story you haven't heard
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the general manager of a professional basketball team fires a popular, hometown coach six weeks after announcing publicly he's going to keep that coach, it doesn't mean the general manager is indecisive.

It simply means that someone with more power has taken the decision away from the general manager.

And when that team is the Milwaukee Bucks, the only man with more power than the general manager - heck, the only man with any power at all - is team owner and U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl.

That's what made all those stories about General Manager Larry Harris' sudden reversal to fire Coach Terry Porter the week before the Bucks drafted the No. 1 player in the country professionally embarrassing.

The stories were written with barely any mention of the owner who had made the decision. Herb Kohl is the invisible man.

Kohl may be the state's senior senator and the owner of a multi-million-dollar sports franchise poised to seek the same huge public subsidies every other sports franchise tries to extort out of taxpayers, but the press never writes about him unless he wants them to.

It would be a remarkable for any local sports owner to be protected by such a shield of invisibility, but it is nothing short of astounding when the owner also happens to be one of the state's top elected officials.

It's not as if the press doesn't know where to find the guy. He has a public office in Washington, D.C. And when he's in Milwaukee, he eats breakfast almost every morning at Ma Fischer's restaurant.

It has to be a conscious decision on the part of reporters not to ask Kohl questions about anything he'd rather not talk about.

It's the opposite of Deep Throat's movie advice on journalism to Woodward and Bernstein in "All the President's Men." It's no longer "Follow the money." The new rule is: "Don't bother millionaires who control everything."

Why Kohl decided to dump Terry Porter is mostly of interest to fans of the shabbily treated Porter. The answer may become clear when the new coach Kohl wants is hired.

But the press has been sitting on another huge story involving Kohl and the Bucks that is a potential blockbuster.

A couple of months ago, rumors began circulating around Milwaukee that basketball superstar Michael Jordan was back as a bidder to buy the Bucks. But that isn't even the most eye-opening part. Also said to be involved are international investors from China.

This was in the background when Milwaukee business leaders publicly expressed concern that Mayor Tom Barrett, because of a scheduling conflict, wasn't going along on a trade mission to China in September organized by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

Barrett quickly organized his own trade mission to China to take place in October a few weeks after the MMAC trip.

That was interesting. Even more interesting was a separate announcement at the same time as the story about Barrett's trade mission.

The China Council, a Milwaukee business group helping to organize both trips, announced it was working to create a partnership between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Beijing Ducks, one of China's top professional basketball franchises.

Under an agreement, the Bucks could set up an exchange program with the Ducks that would include basketball clinics in Milwaukee for visiting Chinese players. The NBA has been seeking closer ties with the Chinese Basketball Association, which produced Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.

Ready for one more topper? The co-chairman of the China Council in Milwaukee is Ulice Payne Jr., former president of the Milwaukee Brewers and chairman of the Bradley Center, home of the Bucks. Perhaps not incidentally, Payne also sits on the board of Journal Communications.

Could that be why you haven't you read a word about the possibility of such an unprecedented deal involving the Bucks, a sale that could make international history? The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a habit of missing major local stories. But in this case I happen to know they're aware of the rumors. I told them.

Well, I didn't ring them up directly. But around the end of April, I laid it all out publicly as a "hot tip" on the television show, "Belling and Company." We know from Milwaukee Magazine senior editor Bruce Murphy's story, "In the Belly of the Beast," about his three years at the Journal Sentinel that the editors pay close attention to what's reported on the shows of right-wingers Mark Belling and Charlie Sykes.

So why haven't reporters asked Kohl about this story and all its fascinating connections? It's a story whether he's ready to announce it yet or not.

People involved in the news, especially public officials, don't usually get to decide when news gets reported. The job of journalism is to report the news, not manage it.

**Joel McNally is former editor of the Milwaukee alternative weekly Shepherd Express and appears weekly on the WMVS-TV public television show "Interchange."

ssmith@phillynews.com

2005-06-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

See the title of this post above?
Yeah, that's Stephen A. Smith's email address.
As a thankful Bucks fan for all for his pro Bucks comments and love for Milwaukee last night you can send him an email and thank him for all of his kind words and genius NBA Insight.

Oh by the way, Hey Stephen A., you can wipe that Faux-Farrakhan scowl off your stupid mug when the Bucks make the playoffs next season.

Philly cheese steak eatin' sucka!

http://www.fortressonfourth.com/

2005-06-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

Click the web address above to shoot to a great new Bucks site emanating out of Milwaukee for the fans by the fans.
Seems like a bunch of great guys who have some knowledge and enthusiasm for the Bucks!

Welcome Fortress Gang! Good Luck and keep getting it out there !!!

Go Bucks Fans!

LET'S ROLL!

2005-06-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

BACK IT UP BOGUT, WE'RE COUNTING ON YOU

Jiri Welsch a Buck!

2005-06-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

Larry Harris has just dealt a 2nd rounder in 2006 for swingman Jiri Welsch.
Click the title link above to shoot to Jiri's profile from NBA.com
A 6'7" swingman.........
Pretty cool, may just need a breakout and a chance off the bench to really bust into a rotation, only 25 years old. I dig it, shades of the Zaza trade last year. A proven NBA commodity for a 2nd round pick instead of a question mark, good eye Larry!

Willing to give Welsch a chance.

Welcome to the Mil Jiri !

Let's try to get back to .500 with picking #1's

2005-06-28T00:41:00.000-07:00

New Look Bucks, 3rd round

2005-06-28T00:27:00.000-07:00

Can you tell that I hate the purple uniforms? This is only my third post about new uniforms in 2 months. Some list of priorities I have..........Draft, Free agency, New coach, Larry Harris snaking around, Majerus hovering, ..........
Even so, I think any Bucks fan can get excited when seeing anything but purple.
I don't know how I feel about these designs, but it's a step in the right direction of righting us into respectability and may actual provide all of those great Kohl's stores with something to sell for once.

How y'all doin ?

2005-06-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

11 years ago............
Draft Day Mania at the Mecca!

The road back.............

2005-06-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

In about 14 hours we may be on the road back to recovery, no more gimmicks, no more band-aids, no more mis-direction.
It could all start in the middle and the blueprint leading to a parade some late June Milwaukee afternoon may start to be scribbled............
C'mon Basketball Gods, throw us one down!

See you at the draft...............

Sam Smith On Bogut

2005-06-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

Bogut is swaying me a bit through his attitude, the Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith chimes in.........

Utah's Bogut fundamental as he is fun
Draft's likely top pick doesn't lack for ability or opinions
By Sam Smith
Tribune pro basketball reporter
June 26, 2005, 10:39 PM CDT

This is not Luc Longley or Chris Anstey. This is not Kent Benson, Joe Kleine or Jon Koncak. Or even Vlade Divac.

"I'm not as slow as Vlade," said Andrew Bogut, the Australian of Croatian descent who is likely to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Tuesday.

"There's been the great black stiffs too," Bogut told reporters in predraft interviews this month. "The whole big, great white stiff thing comes up every now and then. But there's been Kwame Brown and Michael Olowokandi. They went No. 1. That's just the thing in America. The big white guy isn't supposed to be as good as the big black guy. That's something I can't control, and I'm just going to work hard."

This guy is going to be good, and he's going to be fun.

When Utah's Bogut, the consensus national collegiate player of the year, worked out last week for the Milwaukee Bucks, who have the No. 1 pick, he offered up the team's new starting lineup.

"T.J. [Ford], Michael Redd, Desmond Mason, Joe Smith and me," he said before going to Atlanta and offering: "At point guard Tyronn Lue, Josh Childress and Josh Smith, Al [Harrington] at the four, and myself at center, depending on the situation at point guard. But most importantly, I want to be the No. 1 pick."

Which would mean not going to the Atlanta Hawks at No. 2.

Bogut then went on to recite the starting fives and most of the reserves for all the teams.

Heck, most draftees these days can't name most of the teams.

Bogut, who measured more than 7 feet and 250 pounds at the Chicago predraft camp, looks as if he could be an All-Star and sounds as if he'll be Hall of Fame sound-bite material.

He named San Antonio's Tim Duncan as his favorite player because when you dunk you should act like you've done it before.

He worked out in Washington before going to meet teams, and told the Washington Post he holds little regard for today's NBA Dream Team players.

Said Bogut: "The problem these days is money, and the guys just all want to be All-Stars. That [1992 Dream Team] was all All-Stars, the best of the best. But they were professional in their manner, on and off the court. They weren't immature kids coming out of high school.

"Not to knock the high schoolers, but those players had been through the college process. They learned to gain respect from coaches, Dean Smith and so on. Then they got to the NBA and they got beat up by other teams before they succeeded; [Michael] Jordan getting beat up by the Pistons and so on. They learned to respect the game and they were unselfish when they played.

"One game, Magic [Johnson] scored 20. One game, Jordan scored 20. It didn't matter. 'Who cares? We're beating up on the world.'

"These days, guys play 82 games a year where the ball is going through them every game. All of a sudden, they train with the best of the best and there's not enough basketballs on the court. It's a cliché, but it's so true, I think. They really need to get more role players on the USA team that aren't Dream Team-caliber but just understand their roles.

"You know, 'If you're open, shoot the three, defend your rear off and rebound. That's all we want from you.' There are guys in the league that do that, and every other country has that now except the USA.

"I think that's why the past four years everybody has caught up and started to beat up on the U.S."

He showed up at team interviews wearing a suit and tie while most of the players came in baggy shorts and sweat outfits.

He tried to recruit Redd in Milwaukee, saying he'd find him for open shots constantly.

He likened Milwaukee to Salt Lake City and Australia, where there is great hospitality in a family-oriented environment where he'd be comfortable.

He has started a charitable foundation to help underprivileged youth in Croatia, Australia, Utah and, he said, the city that drafts him.

Is this a con, or what?

Bogut can play.

He's regarded as one of the best passing big men in years.

He can score in the post, shoots with both hands and is considered fundamentally sound and unselfish.

The big knock against him is average athleticism, which will hurt him against more versatile big men and against the smaller centers teams are expected to begin using.

There's also a question about his ability to run the court.

Another knock is the alleged problem with his eyes, brought up by Rick Majerus, Bogut's coach at Utah his freshman year, but since discounted.

The Bucks are being circumspect, but it sounds as if Atlanta is putting out the negative word because the Hawks want Bogut so badly.

Plus, it was Majerus who a few years ago was pushing Jared Jeffries at No. 1 over Yao Ming.
This could be a draft that will be looked back on for years as one of the better ones.

It includes the athletic Marvin Williams and a top group of point guards in Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Ray Felton, who could become dominant leaders.

High schooler Gerald Green is said to be a can't-miss prospect, and big guys like Channing Frye could become All-Stars.

Bogut may not be the best of them, but he'll certainly be the most entertaining. And darn good.

Copyright © 2005, The Chicago Tribune

Wheel and deal, let's go!

2005-06-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

The Bucks made qualifying offers to centers Dan Gadzuric and Zaza Pachulia on Monday, making the two big men restricted free agents.

The moves give the Bucks the right to match any offer for either player.

Gadzuric averaged a career-high 7.3 points and 8.3 rebounds last season. Milwaukee picked him out of UCLA in the second round of the 2002 draft.

The 21-year-old Pachulia averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds last season and appeared in 74 games after Milwaukee acquired him from Charlotte following the 2004 expansion draft.

Teams are allowed to start negotiating with free agents Friday, and once a new six-year collective bargaining agreement is ratified, they will be able to sign them beginning July 22, the Bucks said.

T.J. is okay!

2005-06-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

MONDAY, June 27, 2005, 5:38 p.m.
Bucks' Ford cleared for full contact

Milwaukee Bucks guard T.J. Ford, who missed all of the 2004-’05 season after suffering a spinal injury, has been cleared for full contact and will be able to rejoin the team on a fulltime basis, general manager Larry Harris said today.

Ford has been out of the Bucks lineup since sustaining the injury on Feb. 24, 2004, in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Bradley Center.

The Bucks made the announcement after consultations with Ford’s surgeon, Dr. Robert Watkins of the Los Angeles Spine Surgery Institute.

"T.J. Ford has made a full recovery from his spinal cord contusion," Watkins said in a statement. "He is cleared for full-contact basketball. His prognosis is excellent for a normal basketball career."

Ford, the eighth overall pick in the 2003 National Basketball Association draft, averaged 7.1 points and 6.5 assists in 55 games during his rookie season. He helped the Bucks push the ball up the floor, and Milwaukee was 29-26 with the former Texas player as its starting point guard.

"This is great news for me, my family, the Bucks and our fans," Ford said. "The support from my family, the medical staff, the Bucks and the fans has been tremendous and I thank everyone for their kind thoughts."

-By Charles Gardner

The Mailman always shoots twice......

2005-06-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Former truck-drivin', Hardees Restaraunt pitchman, Rogaine using, cheap shotting, Karl Malone has decided to become a Deputy Police officer in Louisiana. One of my most hated players of all time, I can't wait to speed through Union parish sometime and get pulled over.
Check out this bit:

DEPUTY MALONE:

Karl Malone is getting a gun.
According to the News Star of Northeast Louisiana, the retired Jazz star is now a volunteer deputy with the Union Parish (La.) Sheriff's Office. Malone — a part-time deputy during his days at Louisiana Tech — reportedly donated two $12,000 K-9 police dogs to the department, which welcomes him with open arms.
"We got him some uniforms and he's got his own (police car)," sheriff Bob Buckley told the newspaper. "He asked me, 'Since I haven't worked since about '86, could I be a reserve deputy?' I said, 'Raise your right hand and repeat after me.' "
Before going on patrol, Malone — who apparently is relocating his family to his home state — must complete firearms training.
"The respect I have for all forms of law enforcement is off the scale," he told the News Star. "I want everybody to know we're here for you."
Curiously, the Mailman, er Policeman, began a news conference to discuss his donation of the dogs with what amounted to a threat: "One question about basketball and I'm done," Malone said. "I have that right."

Mo !!! (or no)

2005-06-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

No, not a Mo Williams Chant.
I'm talking Paul Mokeski.
The rumbling has begun out of Racine that Paul Mokeski may be rejoining the Milwaukee Bucks organization.
Here's an excerpt courtesy of Gery Woelfel's Racine Journal Times blog:

"The Bucks still have two openings for assistant coaches, and former Bucks center Paul Mokeski may be under consideration for one of them. Mokeski, who is a player development/advance scout for the Dallas Mavericks, had a cordial conversation with Bucks general manager Larry Harris at the Chicago pre-draft camp and expressed a keen interest in a coaching position."

Here's some excerpts from the July 20, 2000 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Former Milwaukee Bucks center Paul Mokeski was charged Wednesday in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with misdemeanor cocaine possession.

Mokeski has been ordered to appear before Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Tom R. Wolfgram Aug. 10 to answer the charge. He could be sentenced to up to one year in jail and fined $5,000 if convicted. He was also issued municipal citations for drunken driving and speeding.

Mokeski, who played for the Bucks from 1982-'89, was arrested early on the morning of June 9 by Thiensville police on suspicion of drunken driving. He was booked into the Ozaukee County Jail at 4:05 a.m. according to jail records.

While Mokeski was being searched at the jail, deputies found a folded paper with "a white powdery substance which appeared to be cocaine," according to the charge issued by District Attorney Sandy Williams.

"It was confiscated from Mr. Mokeski and after advising him of his rights, he indicated it was cocaine that was in the folded paper and he had paid $100 for the cocaine," the charge says.

Mokeski told the deputies that "he had snorted a couple of lines of the cocaine about an hour before he was stopped by police," the complaint says. "He also indicated that he uses cocaine on a regular basis."

Mokeski was released from the jail about 8:30 a.m. after posting bail of $1,137.

......................I don't know.

Congrats to the Spurs

2005-06-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the San Antonio Spurs, the pride of the ABA, for being the 2005 NBA "World" Champions.
Great to see a small town place like San Antonio get another parade behind their ecelctic bunch of characters.
Manu was amazing, Tony parker kept his head together and Duncan, although gutless at times, got it done.
Great squad, Love Coach Pop, great way to tie up a great 04-05 NBA Season.

.........and for all of those 1994 NBA Draft pundits, have Jason Kidd and Grant Hill try this one on for size:

NBA CHAMPION GLENN ROBINSON

Now onto 05-06..........

Spurs, you're dead. You have a target on your back. See you in Milwaukee with our new team next year.

As Apollo Creed once said,..........."Ding,...Ding."

July 1 Free agency begins! It's on, Bucks can be in motion and get to it!

Realgm.com breaks news to Kurt Thomas..............

2005-06-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

Click the title link above to check a great piece on how Kurt Thomas learned he was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Quentin Richardson. Amazing. Leave it to Isiah Thomas to botch things up like this.
Well, I can see Q's wife, Pop star Brandy, being happier in New York............

The Mecca's Main Concourse, Volume III

2005-06-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hey there everybody doing the Bango Tango out in St. Francis today, and welcome to the Mecca's Main Concourse Volume III.
I don't know what it is, but ever since I started this blog a lot of things have gone haywire or at least dramatic for the Milwaukee Bucks Franchise.
It would be like if the NY Times was launched on the same day as Pearl Harbor at this rate, or being the first guy who owned a cotton gin in 1830, or I don't know........

Anyway,........

Lovable or not so lovable Pointer Terry Porter was fired today as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Who knows what this bodes for our "Cagers" on 4th street? I've been wading in the Porter tsunami for the last hour and the rumors range from Michael Jordan and an aggressive takeover as a majority owner along with his investment group, a late minute pre-draft manuever to angle in either Flip Saunders or "Mr. Sonic" Nate McMillan, or another cheapskate ploy by the Senator to avoid some paid downtime for a high profile coach during a lockout.

I'll take what's behind door # 3 Wink! It clearly looks like the organization has been fishing for a high caliber, highly paid coach to guide the team back into contention and increase its' market value. The Senator probably just didn't want to launch Porter, pay him his owed guaranteed money and then also pay a Flip Saunders a cool 6 million year to cool his heels during a nasty feared lockout. Now that the lockout is iced and history (Thank Jeezus) The genius Larry Harris and company can procede on a clear path with their original, veiled, "Plan A" of pursuing a big-timer in lieu of Porter.
It's weird, I know, but I think they were just waiting out the lockout to see if it cleared up before getting locked into money and deep contracts during a work stoppage with no revenue coming in.
The cash needs to flow as much as the offense.......

Here are my ideas for new Bucks coaches:

1. Flip Saunders: Great coach of the Lacrosse, WI "Catbirds" of the now defunct CBA and guru behind the Timberwolves acension to contender behind Kevin Garnett. A great choice for Milwaukee.

2. Eric Musselman: Surprise winning attitude coach of a gritty Golden State team a few years back. This would be an inspired choice and would shock people with the positive results, somebody needs to hire this guy again. I think he's a darkhorse gem in the ranks.

3. Nate McMillan: Not too into it, but I won't snuff at a guy who won 50 games in the West. Seems like he is on point and can balance a team and communicate a winning mentality.

NBA Finals
Wow! TV Ratings TV Schmatings. If America and the casual ham and egger can't get into two Badass squads pushing to Game 7, I don't know what's "Must see."
Just when San Antonio looks like the greatest squad on the planet behind Manu the Contortionist, Detroit shows up with stone faced, all the way live clutch basketball.
To sum it all up, here's Rasheed Wallace's postgame quote after the Game 6 Pistons victory:

" I don't know what's going to happen, but we going to pop it Thursday!" (you gotta love that guy)

Game 7, Larry O Brien's gold on the line, and some hungry ring fingers, Be there or be square.

Mecca Pick: Detroit Pistons by 1

As mentioned before, there luckily will be no lockout. The age limit is a workable compromise, the contract length and the cap room are livable and fair and the profit participation seems like a great deal for the players. All is well and we can now look forward to cryptic reports of Andrew Bogut's or "Winded" Marvin's summer League games which will be in July in Minnesota for the Bucks.
One scary thing hovering out there on the shelf of hard to swallow medicine is what Michael Redd's max contract looks like under the new collective bargaining agreement:

Year 1 $12.5mm
Year 2 $13.75mm
Year 3 $15.00mm
Year 4 $16.25mm
Year 5 $17.5mm
Year 6 $18.75mm

Total $93.75mm over six years.

Fry that up at your July 4th Barbecue this summer over a couple of Pabsts.
Say this #1 gunner really shows up and we are in contention in 4 or 5 years, get to the end of the #1's Rookie Deal and then have to max him out as well. That means Redd at 17.5 Million and the #1 Pick resigned at 12 Million, that's nearly 30 million tied up in 2 guys with a cap that sits around 50 Million. That's 20 Million green Bucks to take care of 10 other green Bucks.
Ouch.

We'll see............
Anybody know Joe Johnson's phone number?

Well until next time, NBA Draft 6 days away! We will have a Champion on Thursday night! A new Bucks coach! Much more to come !

PORTER FIRED!

2005-06-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

STORY DEVELOPING................

- Is it the Jordan Group?

- Is it Terry's diagnostic appraisal of the potential number one pick?

- Has Flip called us up?

Insanity at the Cousins Center Today.

What a shocker! This is going to get good Bucks fans...........

Talking Junk!

2005-06-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

More proof on Bogut's Maturity and outspoken nature, Buck or not, I like the guy.
Here's a bit on "Big white stiffs" from a Gery Woelfel interview with the heralded Racine Journal Times NBA coverage:

.......... then there was Bogut's reaction to when he was asked about some public and, yes, media perception that because he is white and big, he'll be a bust in the NBA: "The whole big, great white stiff thing comes up every now and then. There's been some others who have been No. 1 that haven't been white that haven't done much. There's the Kwame Browns of the world.''

Calling out Kwame Brown, not bad, I can dig it.
I have visions of a snarling Bucks-garbed Bogut fist fighting some cat next season and I am warming to that picture.

He's a bitch...........

2005-06-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

Below is a transcript between possible future Buck, Andrew Bogut, and interviewer Jonathan Givony. They discuss the possibility of the Bucks using their 2nd rounder on Foreign Dynamo Linus Kleiza, more and more Bogut is growing on me via his interviews and "I don't take any shit" attitude.......

Jonathan Givony: If we are talking about the Bucks, someone that there has been a little bit of buzz about is Linas Kleiza. They worked him out already and are supposedly interested in him if he keeps his name in. He’s a guy that you played against in Greece in the World Junior Championships two summers ago. He and you were considered the two best players at that tournament. Do you know him personally? Is that someone you might like to play with maybe? Is there anything you can tell us about his game?

Andrew Bogut: Oh he’s a bitch to play against. He’s tough as hell. Someone you want on your team and someone you definitely don’t want to play against. I think that if the Bucks took him and I, if we both have a chance to get drafted together then that would be an honor. He’s got a big heart and he plays hard for 48 minutes. I remember when we played against Lithuania, his team wasn’t the best in the final against us, but he just kept on fighting. They were down 30 and he just kept fighting. I think he shows great heart, and he’s your typical European guy, he’s really tough and hard nosed, loves to be physical and just wants to win. Playing with a guy like that would really be awesome.

Jonathan Givony: Like yourself, Kleiza is a foreign guy who decided to go to college instead of opting for the big money overseas. Is that something that you would recommend to fellow foreign players who are considering turning pro? How do you think they develop in college as opposed to overseas from your personal experience?

Andrew Bogut: I think it’s much better here. Europeans are signed at such a young age, at 16 they go professional. Which really hurts them because when they leave they have a 3-4 million dollar buyout they have to pay their club, and then they are losing money…a helluva lot of money. So I think that college is much better. You are under the eyes of the scouts every day and you get a free education, so I think that a lot of kids will stop looking at Europe. A lot of Australian kids that I know now are opting to come to college instead of playing in the International leagues. So hopefully in Europe kids will stop signing at age 15 or 16 and you’ll see a lot more of them over here.

Work it out!

2005-06-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

Bucks Workouts, Here's the guys they are bringing in!

Already Worked Out

Sun Ming Ming, 7-8, Center, China *
Linas Kleiza, 6-8, SF/PF, Missouri
Terrence Leather, 6-9, PF, South Florida *
Jamaal Levy, 6-9, SF, Wake Forest *
Jawad Williams, 6-9, PF, UNC

Coming In To Work Today!

Friday June 17th
Ryan Gomes, 6-7, SF, Providence
Matt Walsh, 6-6, SG, Florida

Saturday June 18th
Travis Deiner, 6-1, PG, Marquette
Filiberto Rivera, 6-2, PG, Texas-El Paso
Uros Slokar, 6-10, PF, Italy
TJ Sorrentine, 5-11, PG, Vermont *
Salim Stoudamire, 6-1, SG, Arizona
Mike Wilkinson, 6-8, PF, Wisconsin *

June 19
Marvin Williams

June 20
Andrew Bogut

New Threads?

2005-06-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Please click the Title link above to check out a proposed Milwaukee Bucks Uniform change.

It was reported to me by Larry Harris that a "new retro flavored" uniform change would be going in to effect for the 06-07 season.
Originally the 05-06 NBA Marketing guide and product catalog contained an inverse of the current Bucks road uniform with Green as the main uniform element for a Bucks alternate Road jersey. Supposedly the alternate has been scrapped and an entire relaunch of the Bucks brand and look is planned for 06-07.

The new look concept pictured at the link above is obviously a well-made test concept, but is fairly unofficial. Just an idea for discussion and possibilities.

I wonder if the league is considering fast-tracking the re-brand so they could ramp up more potential Rookie of the Year Bucks jerseys with us sitting on #1?
It'd be nice to see tough guy Bogut or bottled lightning Williams zipping up the court in some new respectable Milwaukee Bucks duds.

Food for thought, check it out.

Goodbye, George

2005-06-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

Please click the title link above to read an unfortunate bit of news and obituary on the passing of NBA legend George Mikan.
Mikan Passed away last evening in Scottsdale, AZ.

He was truly one of the great icons and fabric of the NBA game and star system now in place for today's game.
It's shocking to read that he was receiving a $1000.00/month pension from the NBA and that a lot of the league's pre-1965 player population is overlooked by the Players association to a great degree.
I think $1000.00 is NBA Rookie Luol Deng's per diem when the Bulls take the west coast road trip!

Be grateful Lebron and company, George Mikan and his goofy glasses laid the first brick down on the road you walk on today.

Milwaukee's Freeway System

2005-06-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Click the title link above to boogie over to the great site onmilwaukee.com and read a short piece on
"New Milwaukee Legends"

One of those legends is our own "Freeway" Mike McCarter.
For any Bucks fan, "Freeway" is a fixture at almost every Bucks' Bradley Center function and game and provides a backbone to our fan presence at games through the best dancing and scoreboard jumbotron screen-mugging in team history.

There is no one with purer heart and enthusiasm for the Bucks than "Freeway." Whether polling people about Lee Mayberry's assist to turnover ratio in Bradley Center restrooms or comically high-flying at the summer Hoop it Up event participating in the 9 foot slam dunk contest, there is no fan better at the Bradley Center.

He's been a fixture on an NBATV ad that has highlights of superfans like old school Washington Bullets Psycho-Fan/attorney Robin Ficker and will stop at nothing to move the crowd at the slightest hint of the Black-Eyed Peas on the Bradley Center PA.

When will the Bucks just launch the "Mickey Mouse club-like" Hoop Troop and hire "Freeway" ?
Throw him in a Bucks Warmup suit and get him moving at Half-court and watch people go wild!

Mark Cuban has already innovated the fans as entertainment concept with the "real fan" fat, male, cheerleader troupe "The Mavs ManiAACs"
Why don't we take it to another level with "Freeway Mike"?

28 Days Later

2005-06-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to June Mecca Maniacs, in 28 days we will know who will have the white hot Milwaukee and NBA spotlight of expectations on them....

I wonder if the Bucks will have an NBA draft Lottery party at the Bradley Center?
They've thrown them in the past and they were always pretty fun and entertaining. For a Lottery dweller like us, it was the only time you could be at a Bucks function in the month of June since the '74 finals!!
Here are some highlights from years past:

1. Mike Dunleavy drafts Todd Day at #8 in 1992 and then addresses the Milwaukee fans in attandance in a public Q&A session. Somehow, some divine way, Freeway Mike McCarter gets on the mic and asks Dunleavy repeatedly "What are you going to do about the rebounding problem, Mike?!!" Dunleavy responds and sidesteps calling Freeway "mike" by name

2. Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson's Highlight video package on the televised broadcast of the 1994 NBA Draft. Greatest highlight package I've ever seen on any sports show. He blocks Ostertag with a titanic swat, he dunks, he passes, he steals, he fast breaks, everything, anything, it was all great. He looks better than Larry Bird in this video, I swear to Larry Costello.

3. People being supremely pissed over Dunleavy not drafting Rodney Rogers and taking little known Hartford's Vin Baker. Weird vibe the rest of night.
*Little did fans know he would become the bedrock of our massive frontcourt pairing with Ken Norman, creating the "Snake and Bake" combo.

4. In what I believe to be the beginning of the end for the Bucks NBA draft party, Bucks Fans boo vehemently over the Stephon Marbury trade for Ray Allen. Imagine Steph in the 4-1-4? That would have lasted like 3 weeks.

5. Really inappropriate "Streetlife" performances at commercial breaks in the Hubie Brown led TNT broadcasts.
Milquetoast renditions of The Beatles' "Come Together" by Warren Weigratz and Company while mulling over the potential impact of Danny Fortson, not a great mix for Bucks fans.

6. Big Dog's Mustard colored suit that he wore on Draft Day. The consumate Playa.

7. Big Dog's squirm and uncomfortable interview response to Milwaukee Fans via satellite. When asked what he'd like to say to all of his new Bucks fans, the first words out of his mouth were a stunted, "How y'all doing?"
Priceless.
Legions of fans and Milwaukee media instantly alienated.

See you June 28th!

The Usinger Bucks? David Stern to unleash corporate floodgates on player uniforms

2005-05-31T13:15:00.000-07:00

Sick of the age restriction issue? Tired of cornrows Middle-America?
The next hot-button NBA issue to be coming down the pipeline in the near future will be corporate logos and sponsorship on Player uniforms.
For a small market team with a low yield revenue lease and terrible upside to one of the oldest buildings in the NBA, a team like the Milwaukee Bucks would benefit from the revenue stream of having a Pepsi logo on their jerseys and the cold hard cash that comes with it.
Purists will no doubt be aghast and upset at the change, but I also call those people out to ask them where they were when they tore down the Boston Garden to head into the sterile "Fleet Center" which is now re-named the "TD Banknorth Garden" until 2025. The average fan rolls over, adjusts, forgets, and ultimately accepts with no less enthusiasm the new age of corporate sports and revenue.

NBA uniforms will only be next.......

Premier League Soccer and its' fans are not deterred by cell phone companies and beer company crests and ratings for hyper-branded NASCAR races have never been higher.
Slap a Usinger's font on Michael Redd's rear, flex our cap power to sign some key free agents, and primarily .......send the check so the Bucks remain in Milwaukee forever.

I'll take the player numbers on Bucks uniforms sitting on a Wells Fargo Chuckwagon logo than the Las Vegas Bucks anyday.

Check out this piece from our pals at Bloomberg news to fuel the fire:

NBA could cash in on uniform prestige: League chief hints ban on ads may be relaxed

SCOTT SOSHNICK

Bloomberg News

The National Basketball Association, which bans advertising on team uniforms, may consider easing that ban, a move that could open a new revenue stream as the average player salary approaches $5 million a year.

The news comes as NASCAR's logo-laden drivers and cars have converged in Charlotte for Race Weeks. Such advertising has long been part of NASCAR's corporate culture.

The recent comments by NBA Commissioner David Stern mark the first time basketball's chief has said he'd consider the policy change, which is being pushed by some teams.

"I don't doubt it will eventually happen, but at a price that recognizes that value," Stern said. Stern said the league's teams lost money this season, though he wouldn't be specific.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and New Jersey Nets Chief Executive Brett Yormark are among team executives who say it's time to stop treating uniforms as commercial-free zones.

"If it were up to me, they would already be there," Cuban, whose $87 million payroll this season was second to the New York Knicks, said in an e-mail interview.

The Charlotte Bobcats haven't heard anything from the league about a possible rule relaxation on uniform advertising, said Chris Weiller, the team's executive vice president of marketing and communications. "The Bobcats take their direction on what marks can be placed on the uniform by the league," he said "and the team has not had any discussion with the league about it."

The NBA has the most restrictive uniform advertising policy of the four major North American team sports. The National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League allow uniform makers to include a logo.

No U.S. sport embraces commercialism more than NASCAR.

A primary sponsorship of a team in the Nextel Cup, NASCAR's top series, costs about $20 million a season.

"It's part of racing's DNA," said Yormark, who joined the Nets in January after working as NASCAR's vice president of corporate marketing. "It's foreign to the stick and ball sports."

Yormark said he not only supports uniform sponsors, he'd be willing to sell the name of the franchise, too.

"Wherever the Nets went, the company would go," he said.

Yormark declined to speculate how much such an arrangement would generate for the money-losing Nets, who are planning a move to Brooklyn, N.Y., for the 2008-09 season. "It'd be incredible," is all he would say.

In Europe, corporate logos dominate the shirts of most soccer teams.

London team Chelsea, the Premiership champion, last month signed a five-year, $100 million jersey sponsorship with Samsung Electronics Co. It's the biggest jersey contract in English soccer, according to London-based sponsorship consultant Redmandarin.

Companies would inundate NBA teams with offers if uniform advertising were permitted, said Eric Wright, a vice president at Joyce Julius & Associates, which gauges the value of sports sponsorships. Sponsors would reap as much as $20 million a year in free advertising when their logos appear on TV or print media and even more on replica jerseys sold in stores.

"Not only would the players be billboards, but the fans would be, too," Wright said.

Even though Stern would consider allowing uniform sponsors, Miami Heat owner Micky Arison said he doesn't expect there to be a change in presentation anytime soon.

"The league wants to maintain a certain look," said Arison, the 55-year-old chief executive of Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise line. "I don't know if there's enough support to change that right now."

If the check is big enough, it will gain support, said Jimmy Schaeffler, a media analyst with the Carmel Group in Monterey, Calif.

"The wave of commercialism continues to break at the shore of the team purists," he said. "In the end, the almighty dollar is very powerful and hard to resist."

Advertising is Prominent

www.bucksdraft.com

2005-05-31T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had great Holiday weekend watching the Heat and Suns and do some bludgeoning and scrapping in their respective conference finals. These series are going to heat up real quick, lots of drama hovering out there with Larry Brown reportedly taking a high level front office gig with the Cavs and Amare Stoudemire's fiery explosions to keep the Suns hanging on.

Click the web address title above to check out a great site that centers all around the upcoming Bucks Draft on June 28. It profiles every declared NBA prospect available to us, and is extremely exhaustive for some Bucks number crunching.
Whoever threw this together is even more fired up than I am.
Come Draft day, this site will be essential for every Bucks Fan, check it out!

The Mecca's Main Concourse, Volume II

2005-05-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

Cigarette smoke, licorice ropes, Terry Cummings Jerseys, paper cups, and drunken euphoria litter the concourse of the Mecca this week as we try to digest the monumental 6.3% miracle actualized this past Tuesday by a Little Cleo fishing lure and the awkward smile of Larry Harris. This has been a rare high in the rollercoaster, cap-implicated Bucks landscape of the late 90's and 00's.
I still say Williams is our guy because anything related to the lack of athleticism in the NBA has me worried, Bogut will really have to surprise me and be way over projections to win me over
Can it be June 28th right now? .....I need to sleep

Soul Brother #1 James Brown was known for the song, "It's a man's world" but Manu Ginobili and the Spurs are making that tune a harsh reality for the High Octane Suns taking the 1st 2 games of the series at a now deflated America West Arena.
Some people say it's hard to attach to the Spurs and like them and that they are boring but how can you dispute the overall dominance of Duncan, the torching of Steve Nash by youngster Tony Parker, and the circus-like inside/outside slashing brilliance of Manu Ginobili. Those guys are getting it done in a big way right now.

Again,....#1 in Milwaukee !!!! Stern can now officially scoff at conspiracy theorists and how the NBA is fixed.

Manu Ginobili would be the biggest thing of all time if he was from Nebraska and his name was Lyle Jefferson. You know you have credibility when Dr. J, at ABC's pre-game show, asks himself if there was ever a Rucker league in Argentina when watching highlights of Manu during the game preview.
If the Doc likes your game, well then, ...there's really nothing more to say......

In the on-going jockeying and "he said, he said" in the interior of the press, the NBA collective bargaining agreement seems headed towards a resolution shortly. Billy Hunter and David Stern seem to be tying things up with respective concessions and it all really is just boiling down to money money money. The age restriction is farther down the table in importance and is only a press-ready hot-button for Jim Rome and PTI talking heads.

The NBA started marketing player specific playoff shirts for the teams in the final 4 this late spring. There's a Pistons one that says, "Fear the Fro" referencing Ben Wallace and a Miami Heat shirt emblazoned with the words, "Flash" for superstar Dwayne Wade. Not bad, but it still makes me long for the days of finding cool shirts like "F*#ck the Celtics" and "Beat LA" bootleg shirts you used to be able to buy outside of 80's golden era NBA arenas.
I remember there was a Milwaukee Bucks Bango shirt where Bango is wearing a cowboy hat or something and it said, "The good guys wear white"
What the hell does that mean? That stuff was so crazy, but cool.

Bill Walton still stands by his claim that Rasheed Wallace is better than Jermaine O'Neal on ABC. Steve Snapper Jones goes insane.
Priceless.

Who said Eastern Conference Hoops is boring? Dwayne Wade rebounding from a sub-par Game 1 to drop 40 on the champs.
The guy is like one of those inflatable Incredible Hulk "Bop" bags you had when you were a kid. No matter how hard you hit him, he will pop back up from the ground.
The cult of the Flash is growing with performances like this. Incredible.
A great friend of mine referred to Pistons stopper Tayshaun Prince, as "Tayshaun Princess" after Game 2 and Wade's monster 40.

More #1 talk here in Lottery-Land, the buzz isn't wearing off.................
Let's project forward and guess the name of the donated charity seats section in the Bradley Center for outstanding academic MPS students that our new #1 Player will be endowing out of pocket come November. (i.e. Glenn Robinson's "Dog Pound")

-BOGUT-
"The Outback"
"Andy's Dandies"

-MARVIN WILLIAMS-
"Marvin Gardens"
"The College of Williams and Marvin"

Read to achieve kids!!!

Based on that alone we need to take Money Marvin..........

Rick Majerus has ordered the veal, a chocolate milkshake and Marvin Williams

2005-05-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

Not the height of journalism here, but a very reputable source............

This was copped by a fan and listener over at the Bucks forum at Realgm.com, great bunch of guys always hawking on Bucks news and chatter, check it out sometime......anyway,

On the D-list with Drew Olson on Milwaukee's 1250 AM sports station Rick Majerus did an interview! here's the cliff notes on his point of view as the guy who recruited Bogut and who is very close to the Bucks organization and inner circle:

- What did he say?
.....Surprisingly he basically sounded like he was a bigger fan of Marvin WIlliams. He said he thought back in November and still thinks Marvin is the most talented player available. He is "James Worthy with a jump shot"....wow!

-.....I was just figuring Majerus would be a huge Bogut fan since he recruited him. Majerus said Bogut would be a really good pro for a lot of years. When the comparison to Sikma was made he said Sikma was not near the athlete or rebounder that Bogut is.

-...........Majerus likes Bogut and figures he'll be a good pro that would help more immediately and then progress to being a damn fine player. But, Majerus thinks Marvin Williams is a superstar.

-......He also said he thought Marvin is more of a need fit for the Bucks. He said Zaza and GadZ and Bogut can't play PF and that Marvin can swing b/w SF/PF which the Bucks could really need. And he thought the combo of Zaza and GadZ was more than fine at C because Zaza will become a really tough player soon.

Great insight from Big Rick, who I consider to be a great talent evaluator at the college and NBA level.

Very interesting......

Money Marvin

2005-05-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

Please click the "Money Marvin" Title above to shoot to a scouting report on North Carolina's Marvin Williams.
I've had the night and argument in my head all last night like I know a lot of Bucks fans have had when weighing what to do at #1 between Williams and Bogut. Excruciating possibilities to properly make the call that could either make or break Larry Harris' job. Let's rap about this as sensibly as we can amidst all the hysteria......
.......you know I told some Bucks Fans last night that this past season was like having ten thousand dollars in credit card debt and then the card company called up and said the balance was at zero and asked if they could send you a new card out of nowhere when we beat the 6.3% chance to land at #1 last night. The 30-52 was washed away.............

Anyway! Bogut vs. Williams

ANDREW BOGUT

Pros
- A Legit 7 footer who can bang down-low, has the most definitive back to the basket game on the entire draft board
- Will rebound as well as fan off the high post set ups to three point range where he can routinely knock down threes.
- Supposedly has a mean streak in him and an ability to block shots at the college level
- Maturity from college seasoning and FIBA Aussie league ball where he stood-out
- May enjoy small market of Milwaukee
- Casual fans in Milwaukee would like him as a foreign, identifiable quantity
- Great Passer for a big man, great court awareness

Drawbacks
- Is he quick enough to defend NBA 4's and 5's who have greater athleticism?
- Played in a sub-par college conference
- Greatest Austrailian Players to date have been Kirk Penney and Luc Longley, sorry, have to hold it against you
- Is he fast enough in transition to motor in the Bucks high paced offense ? Scouting says no, we can't have him lumber down the court.

NBA Comparison
Brad Miller, Vlade Divac, outside of chance of Being Ben Wallace at maximum upside

MARVIN WILLIAMS

Pros
- All-NBA talent who is currently rated as the top prospect on the board in almost every circle
- Elite level athleticism
- Hustle player at every level, runs out every play, never quits on plays
- Great attitude, team oriented player with the ability to take some 3's and 4's off the dribble
- Can grab rebounds and is comfortable downlow in a raw sense as well as possessing NBA range and definite three point capability
- Potential to be all-world and be a true face of the franchise for long term winning scenarios
- Straight up raw deadly skills set
- Ranked above heel-mates Sean May and Raymond Felton

Cons
- Buried on Roy Williams Bench at UNC, looked fairly unsure of himself in the NCAA tournament
- The state of the NBA and Player Development: Does Milwaukee and its' fans have the patience to warm up to a 19 year old player we may have to develop for 2 to 3 years. The progress and immediate impact may be less than Bogut's in the first couple of years, but Williams has a greater overall upside to be an impact player in the NBA and turn around the Bucks into a true power alongside Redd and cast. Drafting Williams is not an immediate impact.
- Milwaukee fans will not identify or warm up to a 19 year old Millionaire player, no name value to casual fans and Bucks fan base
- Back to Player Development issue: Will he bolt once he develops at the end of a rookie contract. Remember the great Raptor Tracy McGrady, or the impact Trailblazer Jermaine O'Neal? Nope?, the Blazers and Raptors paid for their internship in the NBA and then didn't get to reap the benefits of these all-NBA talents due to free agency. The Bucks run that risk drafting Williams.
- Needs to develop a more defined post game at the NBA level
- Is he a 3, is he a 4? Is he a 4 in 4 years and we move him over? Very muddy definition of what he is.

NBA Comparison
Tracy Mcgrady, Kobe Bryant, a more perimeter diversified wing version of Dwight Howard, Upside maximum: a rebounding power version of Tracy McGrady or Julius Erving

The Mecca's official position on Draft Day:

1. Draft Marvin Williams outright. Period. It could change the Franchise for a long time instead of Austrailian Brad Miller.

2. Call up the Atlanta Hawks and find out who they want at #1 and then swap with them and land at #2, still get Marvin Williams at #2, plus future 1st round unprotected picks or young talent off of the Atlanta Roster. Josh Childress, Boris Diaw?

3. Trade Booth, #1, and Gaines to the Lakers for Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, and # 10. That may not even match and we'd have to balance the $$ to make it click. It's only day one of Draft scenarios, gimme a break, I need to calculate trades yet! Just a thought to put the gamble pick in the much desperate and hungry Lakers court, rob them of a young proven commodity that will help us for sure at the 4/wing in the East immediately and still be drafting a big or some impact player that dropped to and at #10.

Regardless, I won't be upset at Bogut and I trust Larry Harris, I think he's a great talent evaluator and one of the best young, shrewd GM's in the league who will engineer a great scenario for the team at the #1 slot.

Just jacked to be back on the radar of the League and be a notable story in the Milwaukee media again!!!

It's on!!!!

See You June 28th!, Williams and Bogut chatter to be posted at the Mecca as much as I see it on the wire...........

GO BUCKS!!!!!!

THE UNO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-05-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

MORE TO COME!

WAY TO GO LARRY

The NBA Draft Lottery Tonight

2005-05-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

Click the title link above to check out a breakdown of each NBA Draft Lottery pick from 1985 to 2002.
Pretty Interesting list of players who were "big time" to go top 13 each year.

The NBA Draft Lottery is tonight at 7 PM CST on ESPN. Currently the Bucks have the 6th slot and I'm not sure who we are sending as our representative. I thought it was TJ Ford, but now I think it may be Larry Harris. We shall see.
I wish they would send Herb Kohl to fidget on TV in a free Milwaukee Pickles giveaway Bucks Hat.

Here's the Draft Lottery from 10 years ago, .......hit and miss.

1995

1. Joe Smith, Maryland Golden State
Serviceable big, undersized to bang and enforce but an above average role player with some heart. A success or failure in today's NBA depending on what type of glasses you are wearing.

2. Antonio McDyess, Alabama L.A. Clippers
Injury Plagued athletic big man who has only broke even in his 9th season. Great depth player for Pistons Now, but essentially a picture perfect athlete who is only a role player. Can finish on the break and bang at least.

3. Jerry Stackhouse, North Carolina Philadelphia
Hit and Miss slasher who fell in love with the three and perimeter after some injuries and age. Great piece for Dallas lineup and bench.

4. Rasheed Wallace, North Carolina Washington
Great Power forward who is equally nasty downlow as he is dangerous from 18 and the arc. Media painted bad-boy with a bad rap, even though he's all team and a winner. Almost dismantled three-peat Lakers by himself while on the Blazers.

5. Kevin Garnett, Farragut (Chicago) HS Minnesota
All world Talent with a shoddy playoff record, still will be considered in the next 50 greatest players of all time. Consumate T-Wolf. Biggest contract in NBA history.

6. Bryant Reeves, Oklahoma State Vancouver
Injury riddled Big who didn't last long in NBA. Bad wheels, limited speed to defend an NBA that still stocked Ewing, Olajuwon, and a Young Shaq when he came in.

7. Damon Stoudamire, Arizona Toronto
Serviceable scoring point guard, legendary headcase in the locker room who has also had brushes with the marijuana while in the NBA. Radically overpaid in the NBA contract boom of the late 90's.

8. Shawn Respert, Michigan State Portland
Fizzled out of NBA in like 140 games, undersized, non-effective small shooting guard who also secretly battled cancer as an NBA Rookie. Big Ten Player of the year.........
"See Ed O'Bannon

9. Ed O'Bannon, UCLA New Jersey
Great college Player, a nothing in the NBA who didn't last long. Another reason I can'y get into college Basketball, the players suck like O' Bannon mostly.

10. Kurt Thomas, Texas Christian Miami
More than serviceable nasty big man who has given the Knicks some good years. Classic old school scowl and elbows. A throw-back as a post player. Very valuable in today's light frontcourt NBA.

11. Gary Trent, Ohio University Milwaukee
The so-called "Shaq of the MAC" Serviceable undersized big who has been a decent role player for a number of teams in the NBA

12. Cherokee Parks, Duke Dallas
Last seen gasping his last NBA air in a Clippers Uniform. Duke posterboy evolved into a tattoo-laden picture of grunge in the NBA and routinely under-performed and was overrated because he was on CBS with Duke every week for 3 years.
*See O'Bannon comments

13. Corliss Williamson, Arkansas Sacramento
The Big Nasty, another undersized big in the "tweener" 95 draft here who has become a serviceable role player who can score and defend in small bits, great bench component of the the '04 champion Detroit Pistons.

Well,..there you have it. I always get excited for the reality TV aspect of the feast or famine probabilities available to all in the Lottery and have prayed to Hoops gods many a year for our Milwaukee Bucks but as you can see by 1995's Draft be careful what you wish for and get hyped about.

How Many Mighty Mouse Damon Stoudemire Raptor Jerseys are piled up at a Goodwill right now?

Good Luck Bucks, Bring home a Top 3!!!!!!!!!!!

The Milwaukee Bucks: Hollywood's team?

2005-05-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

In the Mecca's most improbable piece yet, I set out to illustrate how the Milwaukee Bucks' players and personalities have been in more Hollywood movies than any other team in the NBA.
(Maybe I should be saving these for the dead NBA air of the impending summer lockout...)
Who would have thought though? The little Milwaukee Bucks yielding so many movie stars up on the silver screen. It's such a strange probability for a bunch of guys in weird green uniforms from a frozen tundra never on TV.
Here's Brew City's roster of Hollywood Hoopsters:

Chris Ford
Movie: The Fish that saved Pittsburgh (1979)
Chris Ford basically plays himself as an ambiguously overlooked body on the floor as a player in this over the top homage to Pro Basketball top-lined by Julius Erving and.... Jonathan Winters.

Bob Lanier
Movie: The Fish that saved Pittsburgh (1979)
Similar Duty for Mr. Lanier, playing an imposing Detroit Player in the paint.
...and I know it's not a movie, but who can really put a value on the priceless (although supremely worthwhile) NBA read to achieve and Stay in School commercials featuring Bob Lanier and his over the top voiceovers about saving a school in Cleveland with a new Wesley Person computer lab.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Movie: Game of Death (1978)
Movie: Airplane (1980)
The NBA's all-time leading scorer also has the coolest movie pedigree of any Buck appearing in seminal Kung-Fu film, Game of Death, with Bruce Lee himself ! as well as the Zucker Brothers comedy masterpiece, Airplane.

Marques Johnson
Movie: White Men Can't Jump (1992)
The most legendary Buck without his number retired appears in this early 90's quasi-classic about street-ball hoops in Venice Beach and Los Angeles. The childish over-reactions of playground goon, "Raymond", is a legitimate piece of comic character acting from Johnson who seems as comfortable in front of the camera as he was swooping through the lane for an easy two.

Anthony Mason
Movie: Celebrity (1998)
Woody Allen's opus about a maelstrom of press surrounding models, primma donna actors, and the publicists and reporters that get mixed up with them in New York City. High risk Bucks experiment, Anthony Mason plays himself in a New York Club and hits on Academy Award winner Charlize Theron in a memorable scene.

Alex English
Movie: Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987)
Unfortunately short-lived Milwaukee Buck Alex English plays the title role in acclaimed director Mike Newell's Reagan era family film about a little league baseball player who convinces famous pro athletes to sit out of their seasons in protest of America's position and production of Nuclear arms in the 80's.
Alex English probably gives the best performance of any Buck on this list as NBA mega-star, Amazing Grace Smith, and I regard this film to be one of the best and socially impacting family/children's films of the decade.

Ray Allen
Movie: He Got Game (1998)
Movie: Harvard Man (2000)
The most photogenic and publicized NBA poster boy ushers in the new millennium standard for athletes as actors as Jesus Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee's take on recruiting corruption and the ideology of high school sports in America. Ray gets to tee off with Academy award winning actor Denzel Washington and breaks even on-screen with the heavyweight. Conflicted basketball star is the order of the day again for Ray in James Toback's little seen "Harvard Man" which is about gambling and throwing games in the Ivy league.

*Honorable Mention
Milwaukee's Bradley Center, home of the Milwaukee Bucks
Movie: Hoop Dreams (1994)
The Bradley Center is prominently featured in Steve James' legendary documentary when Marquette head coach Kevin O'Neill and assistant Bo Ellis try to woo Chicago prep phenom William Gates to come to Marquette with a fake player introduction video on the scoreboard and a tour of Marquette's big league facility.
A must see not only as one of the best Docs ever made, but also to see weaselly Kevin O'Neill in action.

*Really Reaching....Honorable mention
Movie: Eddie (1996)
8 sort of Milwaukee Bucks
One Note, short term Bucks J.R. Reid, Vinny Del Negro, Terrell Brandon, Bobby Phills, assistant coach Sam Mitchell, Danny Schayes, Elliott Perry, and Joe Wolf appear as a variety of hapless NBA players in this convoluted Whoopi Goldberg flop about an obsessive fan who gets to coach the Knicks. Ouch.

Skip Bayless and being un-American

2005-05-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

Click the title link above to shoot to a great opinion piece from Skip Bayless on ESPN's page 2.

Great thoughts and point of view declaring all the facts and angles on the NBA and age restriction in professional sports.
A must read for armchair experts who no longer want an NBA populated by mythical "rappers" and street thugs.

Thanks Skip

Can anybody tell me what Dale Hoffman is getting at?

2005-05-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

Please click the title link above to check out Dale Hoffman's "masterful" appraisal of the NBA in today's Journal Sentinel.
I'd love if anybody chimes in to tell me what all of this rambling is about?? I have no idea and for an editorial piece its' fairly scattershot and unfocused.
1st, he bashes the Van Gundy scandal as not being legitimate enough and that the fans deserve something they can sink their teeth into. What?
Isn't that bad for the league? and what's driving ratings down?, personally I thought it was cool that Van Gundy rattled the NBA cage, but......... Well, you know, the average NBA fan can't live without scandal, conspiracies and Ron Artest.......

2nd, Weak jokes about Lawrence Frank and the NBA age issue. If indeed no one cares anymore and no one is watching, who would even get a Lawrence Frank joke?

Then he rolls into a muddy play on six degrees of Kevin Bacon using Spencer Haywood and follows it up with the one-line summary that ratings have been down since Michael Jordan left.

No Kidding.

David Stern created a product that was so good, although singular, that a second act or a continuation of it was impossible to sustain for the average casual median sports fan. Just like reality TV will dry up one day and the fact that Kevin Costner is no longer an academy award winning mega-star are emblems of a very fickle public and the NBA is no different.
The easily accessible star system and brand identifiers of the NBA product are all gone and the general appetite has indigestion over what it was replaced by, that being Euro stars with unpronounce-able names, generalized "thugs" with "cornrows", and 19 year old millionaires. It isn't served up on a Mcdonald's menu to the average guy anymore.
All that being said,.... nobody watched the team based, star-less, NFL-like matchup of the Spurs-Nets Finals a couple years ago either so to be honest I have no idea what the average fan really wants anymore!
Flashy stars and no defense high scoring? or Gritty blue-collar, team based, share the ball, faceless offenses?
Either way without Mike and and an easy button to push for the average joe, nothing can win in the NBA anymore.

The question I have for Dale Hoffman is why bring this negatively slanted piece of mud when you could be profiling TJ Ford's rehab and how he is up to 6 hours a day with Bucks Staff down in Texas, or why don't you start profiling the possible talent available at our yet to be determined #6 slot in May 24th's NBA draft lottery?
Just a thought,............

Well, you'll have 3 weeks again until you need to cover the NBA again while you wax poetically on Gilbert Brown Chili recipes and the so visually dynamic NASCAR winston cup series.

The NBA Collective Bargaining Argument

2005-05-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

Ouch...........

Billy Hunter, head of the NBA players' union said he remains unconvinced of the need to raise the minimum age, after a collective bargaining session ended Thursday without a written proposal changing hands.

The union director made his comments in an interview with The Associated Press following a small meeting at league headquarters at which union attorneys orally outlined the players' new proposal. Hunter did not attend.

Hunter would not say whether an age limit was brought up, but he again said he'd only yield ground on the issue if the union receives something substantial in return.

``I'm flexible on anything if it makes economic sense and improves the overall conditions for my constituents,'' Hunter said, adding that he believes a majority of current players are opposed to raising the minimum age.

Commissioner David Stern wants to raise the minimum age to 20. Currently, it is 18 for foreign-born players and 17 or 18 for Americans (In order to be eligible for the draft, a U.S. player's high school class must have graduated).

``I'm still strongly philosophically opposed to it, and I can't understand why people think one is needed except for the fact that the NBA is viewed as a predominantly black sport,'' Hunter said. ``You don't see that outcry in other sports, and the arguments that have been in support of an age limit have been defeated.''

The next meeting will occur on Tuesday in New York.

``The negotiations are friendly. We know what the issues are. We just haven't been able to make the trades, I think, that are necessary to make a final deal,'' Stern said in Seattle prior to Game 3 of the Spurs-SuperSonics series. ``We've been trading proposals. It's just that the proposals aren't closing any gaps.''

``I'm downgrading my 'optimistic' to only 'hopeful,''' Stern said.

This is a tough one Mecca gang, NBA may be headed into a lockout come July and in some ways you can't fault the players position.
The NBA is either going to have to eat a ton of money and give up to the Players side if they truly want to impose an age limit in the league or maintain its' current position with no age restriction and then in turn be able to further the tight grip of the cap. Someone will get burned either way. From what I can tell minus my law degree and lack of closed door access here's where the two sides fall:

The NBA wants:
- Conservatively maintain the annual incremental increase of the NBA Salary Cap (Which is roughly 43 million per team)
- 20 year old age limit/eligibility for incoming players
- Shorter length maximum term contracts
- Adjusting Cap rules and violations to off-set cap sidestepping like the funky Larry Harris Keith Van Horn-Alan Henderson deal with Dallas

The NBA Players Association wants:
- No Age Limit or restriction on incoming players
- Raising the Salary cap from 43 to 48 Million
- Maintaining current long term maximum contract lengths under the expiring CBA

Here's how I wish it would come together:
- No Age Limit
- Increase the cap but split the difference on its' increase, no 5 Million Dollar annual jumps as is proposed
- Decrease the contract length on Maximum deal contracts, max deals could only be 4 years with a 5th year restricted option
- The NBA should actively develop a franchise-sattelite based true Minor league system emblematic of Major League Baseball's AAA level minor leagues. The NBA should not try to bend rules, and the constitution and then try to sock the NCAA with the bill for player development in flimsy College "minor leagues"
Create a true NBDL, farm talent, develop stars on television at that level as a comapanion to the core product, improve the core product with restoring high talent levels on active pro rosters, and create alternate revenue streams through "D" league marketing, possibly in coveted future European and international markets.
Why is that so hard ?, take a half a billion out of the kitty and fix yourself from the inside for owners, players, and especially fans.
Get with it NBA, make a minor league!
........Plus it would be great to see the college infrastructure and old money scramble when they realize they can't make money for free anymore.

Now let's tip the damn ball up and go Stern !

A work of art.........

2005-05-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

Here is an excerpt describing Milwaukee's Mecca Arena lifted from an article on the best of the Old NBA arenas. This is a great little piece to how and why Lambeau Field isn't the only sports gem in this state from yesteryear. Built in 1950, The Mecca was also a living piece of art that featured a centerpiece court designed by famed pop artist, Robert Indiana.
People today fawn over the plasma screened restrooms of Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, but how cool was the Mecca?
You could tell a girlfriend or wife you were taking her out to an art gallery when all the while it was actually a Bucks-Cavaliers sunday matinee on a crisp 1982 afternoon.

"From the outside, this plain brick fortress looked like an air raid shelter. Inside. the home of the Bucks was so dark that there could have been a blackout and nobody would have noticed. And yet, it was for that most unlikely of settings that noted pop artist Robert Indiana designed his famous multicolored "Mecca" court, surely the coolest-looking 94 feet of hardwood in hoops history.

"It seemed somewhat extreme because it was so colorful," says Jon McGlocklin, a guard on Milwaukee's 1970-71 NBA title team. "But when you watched highlights on TV and saw the floor, you knew immediately that was Milwaukee Arena."

The Arena held just 11,052 for basketball but was extremely loud because, McGlocklin explains, "there was no large expanse. The sound had nowhere to escape."

Nor did Milwaukee's foes. With everyone from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson to Marques Johnson and Sidney Moncrief suiting up for the Bucks, they compiled an all-time Arena record (including playoffs) of 628-224. That's a .737 winning percentage.

It was at Milwaukee Arena that the Bucks put together some of their then record 20-game winning streak in 1971, and ended the Lakers' 33-game streak in 1972. Today, the newly renovated building sits right across the street from the Bucks' Bradley Center, in the guise of U.S. Cellular Arena, and is the home floor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"I still walk around in there once in a while," McGlocklin says, "and as soon as I get inside, all of the memories come flooding over me."

"The Flash"

2005-05-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

Click the title link above to check out a new Dwayne Wade commerical from Converse.
Here's why this rules:

1. Music by Grandmaster Flash
2. Dwayne Wade sick dunks and moves
3. The Presence of Dr. J, Grandmama Larry Johnson, Grandmaster Flash, and DC Comics' actual "Flash" superhero
4. It's for Converse,...not the old school, the 1st school

Pretty awesome, this will be in heavy rotation for sure on saturday night's NBA in primetime on ABC heat vs. Wizards 2nd round match-up.

I don't know if you know, but Lebron James fired Super-agent Aaron Goodwin this week and hired a management team comprised of buddies from High School all under thirty. I hope they are wrapping their heads around not being on national primetime Television and being christened by Doctor J and Grandmaster Flash this Saturday Night.
I know, I know, there is no direct competetion between the two and Wade and Lebron will be equally lauded and promoted, but it is pretty cool that the dude belatedly from Milwaukee is getting the advance upperhand in all of this "new NBA" exposure.

Go Dwayne!

The Mecca's Main Concourse, Volume I

2005-05-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

Busy day here at the launch of The Mecca......
Want to keep all of the Hoop Troop and Milwaukeeans stocked with content for awhile to get it rolling.

With the "Mecca's Main Concourse" Feature I'll give some thoughts, commentary and hopefully not laughable insight of topics and buzz on the radar of the NBA for the current week or so.

I checked out some of Pacer-Pistons and Suns-Mavs last night on TNT.

Is there anything better than Kenny the Jet, Barkley, and Ernie Johnson? Throw in Magic Johnson on the end and you have some 1986 level trash talking with those 4 guys, busting on Magic Movie theatres and Starbucks in Inglewood Ghettos. Non stop fun.
The few sequences I keyed in on in the Suns game were a couple of Amare Stoudemire dunks right down the pipe, to not include his name in the same next generation breath with Lebron and Wade is foolish. This guy is not just some new millenium version Larry Nance, he's a certifiable bad-ass physical freak who cannot be stopped in every attack on the rim.
Truly breathtaking, I never saw Wes Unseld play and his dominance in the first 2 or 3 years of his great career, but this Stoudemire looks to be pretty damn close. I laugh when I think of the hype we all surrounded Derrick Coleman with in his year two comapred to this cat........

The New Playoff broadcast Lebron Nike commericals are a sad reminder and attempt to keep LBJ in our heads while he's shamefully sitting home during these playoffs playing video games and drinking sprite in some Cleveland area mansion.
C'mon! you have an all star center, a better 4 than the Bucks(Drew Gooden), and Eric Snow and Jeff McCinnis tag-teaming the point and you can't get in at the 8 seed?

Dwayne Wade is unstoppable. Period.
Tell that whack ass rip off of Little Penny, Sprite "Thirst" puppet figurine that Lebron hangs out with that he rang the wrong doorbell and rolls with the wrong "Chosen one"

I know there is a lot of backlash, but I am satisfied thoroughly with the annointing of Steve Nash as the League's MVP.
Mark Jackson may be pissed because he averaged 15 points and 11 assists one year and never got an MVP vote, but you really can'y put a value on the always intangible chemistry in the NBA. Suns go from 29 to 62 wins in one year, by just adding Nash over the summer and Jimmy Jackson at mid-stream...........
What gives?
Nevertheless, Nash is a great guy, one of the truly great floor generals of his generation, and gets this team rolling, Why not?

The 04-05 season is Shaquille O'Neal's lowest statistical year of all time since he showed up in the 1992-93 season.

I remember when the Bucks would get canned in the 1st round of the Playoffs in like 1990 and it was nowhere near the dejection felt and stakes squandered like when the T-Mac/Yao "Generation next" Rockets got unloaded by Dallas in 1st round action.
T-Mac looks like one of the best in most games, but even Dominique Wilkins and the Hawks would advance in the Playoffs (sometimes deep) and Dominique gets a bad rap historically!

This is no true post-season Nugget here, but this summer, there lies a sleeping giant in Los Angeles in young Clipper Point Guard, Shaun Livingston. This guy was NBA rookie of the month in April while Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor were putting final touches on their brilliant rookie campaigns. Expect him to really break out and dominate in year 2 after a hit and miss injury plagued rookie season. I would trade anybody on the Bucks, including Redd, to get this guy.
He's a dark-horse playing on an invisible franchise, and he will break out in a big way.

How cool is Paul Pressey?

2005-05-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

Fascinating Wayne Embry Article

2005-05-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

Wayne Embry was the Milwaukee Bucks General Manager starting in 1971 until well into the glory days of the 1980's and was the first African-American General Manager in all of pro sports in America.

I just read this fascinating article about Wayne Embry that was up over at Hoops Hype.
It's extremely detailed and covers a huge expanse of Bucks timeline and history from Embry's point of view from the Kareem Abdul Jabbar trade to the drafting of Super Sidney Moncrief.
It's a very candid and off the record account of the franchise from an amazing NBA executive.

Great stuff.

Gadzilla at East-side Pick N Save

2005-05-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Dunking Dutchman, Gadzilla, Gadzoooks, Danny G, Danny Gadz,........he rebounds, he blocks shots, he's sitting next to canned goods in a grocery store!?

That's right, Fan Fave, Dan Gadzuric will be at the East-side Pick N save tomorrow signing autographs. Gadzuric at Pick N Save on Friday the 13th? Rod Serling couldn't have written a more bizarre premise....

Check him out!

Friday, May 13, 2005 ... 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Dan Gadzuric
Pick 'N Save Metro Market
1123 North Van Buren Street in Milwaukee
Danny G. will be on hand to meet fans and sign autographs

Bucks Changing look for 2006-07

2005-05-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

Be ashamed no longer Bucks fans, the "Purple reign" should be coming to an end sooner than later.

I wrote Larry Harris a letter about how the Bucks need to stay aesthetically current with contemporary NBA marketing and design and that our ridiculous purple uniforms from 1993 were no longer cutting it.(In fact I think they had about an 18 month shelf life in the 1st place) It always seems the rest of the league is on DVD while the Bucks are still on VHS when it comes to style and image.

Well, .... Larry Harris shot me a letter back and informed that the Bucks have officially filed with the NBA and NBA Marketing to change the logo and uniforms to what he refers to as a more "retro" scheme and look for the 2006-07 season.

A return to Green? Green and Growing perhaps? Whatever the look it will be great to actually go out and be able to purchase a Bucks hat or shirt and not feel like a Prince roadie.

How can you side with Bucks in Purple ?, all it represents is Ken Norman, Dunleavy, Chris Ford, Acie Earl, the demise of the Big Three, and now the limbo of cap and talent the front office is dealing with. That was no fun..........

Purple has never said, "Milwaukee" or the dynamic and taste of our resilient, blue-collar fan base. Time to get back to green and winning!

Welcome back to the Mecca

2005-05-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome Bucks fans, Bango freaks and hardcore hoops junkies to the new NBA and Bucks clearinghouse blog, THE MECCA.

Hope it's fun, informative, exhaustive and a hangout for all Bucks fans looking to talk junk and read Bucks tidbits through what will prove to be an exciting summer for the team and into the 05-06 season.
If the Milwaukee media won't give us our Bucks fix while covering the bathroom habits of Aaron Rodgers on the front page in July, then let's get it done where the Bucks and its' fans have always gotten it done........at THE MECCA!