BUCKS IN SIX.

That summer play value for Cold Spring Shops turned out well.  Just go, read the story, give special props to doing things "the hard way."  We know, we know.

Fifty years ago, the Milwaukee Bucks swept the Baltimore Bullets on April 30, Amtrak began running most of the intercity passenger trains on May 1, and the senior class at Milwaukee Hamilton was preparing for a mid-June graduation.  That storyline of the Bucks being back in a position to win a title has been on our minds.  It's worth recalling that in 1971, the three-point basket was an American Basketball Association (remember the red-white-and-blue basketball?) gimmick, meaning that Oscar Robertson or Jon McGlocklin or Bob Dandridge could only rack up two points per BANGO!

Today, we'll only accentuate the positive.  National news reports tie another night of yobbishness along Water Street to the title game.  "It's the latest in what has turned into a string of violent incidents in the Water Street and downtown area."

Recall, though, that less than a year ago, the Bucks were prepared to forfeit a playoff game to call attention to an arrest gone wrong in Racine, and for yesterday's game, they wore their "statement" primarily black uniforms, something the league adopted to call attention to conditions in the neighborhoods from where many of the stars came.  That's more complexity than I wish to engage today.  Let's just note a couple of anecdotes about tournament most valuable player Giannis Antetokounmpo.  Read this article in full, dear reader, then meditate on this.  "He also was asked about what it means to him to represent the continent of Africa, as both of his parents are from Nigeria. He said he hoped his accomplishments could serve as a symbol to others of what is possible for anyone, no matter who you are or where you come from."  Then read this story about where he went for a victory snack.  "Before he turned the camera on a Chick-fil-A worker, he asked if he could film her and noted there was an audience of 150,000 watching in real time. That's our MVP!"

Yes, there's more Sprecher in the cooler, and some almanacs refer to this full moon as the Buck Moon.  "The Buck Moon gets its name from the antlers of male deer, or bucks, which are in 'full-growth mode' at that time. Bucks shed and then regrow their antlers each year. The cycle leads to larger antlers year after year."

Perhaps basketball's schedule will get back toward something more traditional, like the playoffs done by sometime in June. But another Buck championship in something less than fifty years is desirable.