SPORTS LINE
The Milwaukee Brewers.
The team has been playing much better baseball as of late and has now come to within 4 1/2 games of the top spot in the division and currently holds the third NL Wild Card spot. They have had several players step up lately and give them the spark they needed to get back into the race. One player in particular who is performing well is second baseman Brice Turang, who won the Gold Glove and the Platinum Glove last season. He had 22 defensive runs saved and committed just seven errors in 626 total chances.
Brice Turang has proven he can play elite defense at the major league level. While Turang’s defense has been well documented, his bat has come around this year. He’s hitting .268/.350/.349 with four home runs, 26 RBI, 16 stolen bases, and a .700 OPS. He also has a 2.6 WAR. Brice Turang contributed to the Brewers’ 8-7 win over the Cubs by hitting a double and coming home to score. His season now shows 10 doubles, and he has crossed the plate 27 times in 72 games. Turang’s batting average holds steady at .269, with an on-base percentage of .350 and a slugging percentage of .351. His recent performance includes a .333 average in his last seven games, maintaining his consistency at the plate. The next step for the 25-year-old Turang is becoming a bigger factor offensively. It would not be a surprise to see Turang make his first All-Star team this summer in Atlanta. We’ll see if he gets selected.
Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski is on a run unlike any other to begin an MLB career. A week after posting five no-hit innings in his MLB debut before exiting with cramps, the 23-year-old right-hander arguably looked even better in his second start by taking a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins. In total, he opened his career with 11 straight hitless innings. He became the first starter in 125 years to record 11 hitless frames to begin his MLB career. The 6-foot-7-inch right-hander then left the game to a standing ovation with the score at 8-2. The Brewers went on to win 17-6. It was not hard to see how Misiorowski accomplished it. His fastball averaged 100.6 mph and topped out at 102.1 mph, and that wasn’t even his most unhittable pitch. What batters had trouble with was a slider that topped out at 96.7 mph. In total, Misiorowski threw 29 pitches of at least 100 mph. That’s more than any starting pitcher not named Hunter Greene has thrown this season. With a stat like that, there’s no telling how far Misiorowski can go in his career.
The Milwaukee Bucks.
One of the last remaining members of the 2021 NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks wants to stick around another year. Pat Connaughton is not going anywhere. Pat Connaughton reportedly exercises $9.4M Bucks contract option for 2025-26 Season. This means he will not hit unrestricted free agency until after the 2025-26 season. Connaughton averaged 5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 41 games for the Bucks in 2024-25. He was on the team’s 2020-21 championship roster and has been with the franchise since 2018-19. Connaughton joins Giannis, Damian Lillard, Kyle Kuzma, and Tyler Smith as only the fifth Buck whose salary is locked in for next season; Bobby Portis and Kevin Porter Jr. have player option decisions to finalize by June 29th. AJ Green, Andre Jackson Jr., and Chris Livingston’s salaries are not guaranteed for 2025–26, and Milwaukee must make decisions on whether or not to guarantee that trio between July 7th and July 15th. Since Connaughton wasn’t going to receive a starting salary of $9.4MM if he had become a free agent, it makes sense for him to take the guaranteed money by exercising his option. Now, the decision on Connaughton’s future is back in the Bucks’ hands. He’ll likely be a trade candidate on that $9.4MM expiring contract as Milwaukee looks to reshape its roster and remain in the playoff picture.
The Green Bay Packers.
Look for Willis, the Packers’ brilliant backup quarterback, to be available for the coming season. After all, in four replacement appearances for the injured Love, he won all four of those games, which was four out of the eleven the Packers won last season. Ergo, Willis went 4-0 while Love went 7-6, if you want to be statistically accurate. Will Willis be willing to be forced to sit on the bench for the whole season without making some sort of career move? You better believe that Love has to be sweating the coming season with that kind of talent just lying there behind in the brush, like a silent, deadly predator. This should be an interesting season coming indeed.
