Author: Michael Regan

Today is March 31. That leaves just eleven days in the NBA regular season. While the days are slowly dwindling, the importance of each game is going the opposite direction. There are a number of seeding battles still to be decided, and those feel even more important than normal this year. A big part of that is the play-in. One on the NBA’s newer innovations has increased the importance of finishing in the top six, added more teams to the discussion (though we’re pretty much down to 10 in the East by this point), and kept at least some importance…

After an off-season of waiting, some frustration, and a decent amount of self-righteous finger wagging , we’re just a week away from the start of the 2022 MLB season.  A prolonged lockout resulted in a slightly delayed start to the regular season, but it is once again time to start thinking about the Milwaukee Brewers. This is the greatest stretch of years in the Brewers franchise history. They have won nearly as many division titles (two) in the last four years than they did in the 48 years prior (three). They’ve made the playoffs four years in a row, which…

For a long time, the basketball goal in Milwaukee was winning a second NBA championship. Of course, if we’re being completely honest, the goal wasn’t always that lofty. A more accurate dream for the late ’70s and ’80s was making it back to the Finals. Most would have been happy with just having a decent enough postseason showing; that is, if the Bucks managed to make the playoffs at all during most of the 25 years that followed the 1992 season and the end of a 12-year streak of consecutive playoff appearances. But regardless of the state of the team,…

We’re about half a week away from the NBA trade deadline, which comes Thursday afternoon (2/10) at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. For contenders like the Bucks, this is the last significant chance at improving by external means before the buy-out market emerges later in the season. With that market largely consisting of a small supply of older veterans on bad teams, now is the time to pounce and address any looming needs. When it comes to Milwaukee’s current roster, it’s hard to not think of centers. The extended absence of Brook Lopez certainly looms large. But the simple reality is that…

Christmas Domination On Saturday, Giannis Antetokounmpo posted one of the better Christmas Day games in Bucks’ history as Milwaukee came back from a 15-point halftime deficit to grab a win over the Celtics. Antetokounmpo scored 36 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, dished out five assists, and came up with a huge block on Robert Williams late in the game to help complete the comeback. It was the sixth 30-point Christmas showing in Bucks’ history, trailing only Kareem’s 38-point game in a 1971 loss to Detroit. The three greatest Bucks – Antetokounmpo, Abdul-Jabbar, and Khris Middleton – now have two 30-point…

The Bucks are in unfamiliar territory. It’s only their second ever season as defending champs, and it’s the first time since 1987 that they’re coming off of three consecutive regular seasons with a winning percentage higher than 60%. Gone, for now, are the days of building a contender or hoping to draft the next big thing. Giannis and friends are here – and here to stay – which means Milwaukee is facing a new team-building challenge. Instead of trying to take the final step like the last few years or toeing the line between all-out rebuild and some level of…

There’s no sugarcoating what Yelich has done these past two years. He hit 21 home runs in over 700 plate appearances after topping that figure in less chances in both 2018 and 2019 alone. He stole just 13 bases these last two seasons, a figure that sits below five of his seven previous seasons. His 2021 batting average was a 4% improvement on 2020, and it was still more than 4% below his career average. We don’t need to dig all that deep here. It’s a simple equation. The Brewers pay Christian Yelich a lot of money to hit the…

The Brewers saw their season come to an unfortunate end in Atlanta when their up-and-down offense fizzled to a postseason halt. With the World Series a few games in and the official off-season quickly approaching, it is time to look back and reflect on the season that was for the Crew. Let’s start with All-Star closer Josh Hader, a key part of Milwaukee’s elite pitching staff. 1. Hader had an excellent season Entering the year as one of baseball’s top relief pitchers, Hader might have had his best seasons yet. His 1.23 ERA was nearly a full point lower than…

There’s something to be said for the big names. The stars. The ones that shock you when they walk by. Shock you on the field. The ones that get the praise and the attention. The ones that have that sweet-looking stroke. Have that effortless aura to their game. Maybe we love them because they come so rarely. Even in Los Angeles, Mookie Betts shines. In Milwaukee, the lights are admittedly far less bright. But the ones who shine under them have far less competition. Mookie is in Hollywood. Ryan Braun was Milwaukee. Yeli is. So is Giannis. Stars attract our…

Let’s start with a disclaimer. There’s a big difference between glancing ahead to see what might come in the playoffs and actively attempting to manipulate how the standings end up shaking out. There’s no issue with the former when you’re as good as the Brewers have been; it’s a privilege you earn with a great regular season. The latter, however, is risky. The reality of the playoffs is that every team is good. Attempting to lose games to end up with a “better match-up” rarely ends as well as it might seem. You play to win, and you carry that…