SPORTS LINE

The Milwaukee Brewers.
The Milwaukee Brewers aren’t happy with the way they have been playing lately. A game and a series that started so promisingly ended up in an emotional loss for the Milwaukee Brewers as they fell to their rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon. If you look at this club right now, it’s no secret that they can contend this season. Milwaukee is 50-31 on the season and just set a new franchise record as the fastest team in franchise history to rack up 50 wins.

But things haven’t been perfect recently. The Brewers are 5-5 over their last 10 games, including back-to-back losses against the Chicago Cubs. To some, just reaching the 50 wins and being in first place in the National League Central would be enough. But that isn’t the case with Milwaukee. Milwaukee dropped two of three games to the Chicago Cubs at home this past weekend, including a heartbreaker that went to extra innings on Sunday afternoon. That hurt. Now they need to rebound and start bringing home the wins again. One of the brightest spots, consistently, is the pitching from Jacob Misiorowski. If you haven’t seen the highlights on social media, The Miz is casually breaking his own velocity record for the hardest pitches thrown by a starter in MLB history. He did it again over the weekend, with a 105.5-mile-per-hour fastball. It’s also the third-fastest pitch thrown in MLB history, and that was just part of the game for him. Between throwing a complete game shutout earlier this season and now his own battle against himself, every start for Misiorowski has become must-see TV.

Milwaukee heads to Arizona for the holiday weekend, set for three games in their second series with the Diamondbacks this season. Last time out, the Brewers took two of three games at American Family Field, with 13-2 and 13-1 lopsided wins as part of a mid-week series. The Diamondbacks come into the week just a game below .500, after being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend. Milwaukee will also see ace starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who is 6-2 this year and started in Arizona’s only win over the Brewers last time around in April.  The

Milwaukee Bucks.
The Milwaukee Bucks franchise and its fans are officially in a new era: life without Giannis Antetokounmpo. Fans have been paying tribute to Wisconsin’s most talented and famous athlete for over a week. Last Saturday, downtown Milwaukee was lit up green in honor of  Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis. The sting of the pair leaving still hasn’t worn off for the city, fans and state.

For the first time since 2012-13, the Bucks will enter an NBA season with Antetokounmpo not on the roster. Despite all the hurdles in a potential Giannis move, a blockbuster deal for the superstar eventually became a reality. The most notable challenge for Milwaukee is rebuilding without full control of its own draft picks. The Bucks do not outright control their first-round selection until 2031, which is five seasons from now.

Milwaukee acquired quite the haul from Miami in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. That includes three younger prospects in Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, and Kasparas Jakučionis. They also acquired Miami’s No. 13 pick in the 2026 Draft, which they used to select Tennessee forward Nate Ament to pair with their own No. 10 selection in Arizona guard Brayden Burries. Currently, none of those names are superstar names.

That said, it is a large group of young players to start developing under Taylor Jenkins, the new Bucks head coach. Keep in mind: Jenkins previously did the same with a young team in the Memphis Grizzlies. The Bucks need to emphasize patience. It is a long road ahead for the franchise. Attempting shortcuts on any rebuild effort will only do more harm than good.