Saturday State Sports Briefs: Bucks' Ilysova finishes second for NBA award

• Basketball

Basketball

Talk about it

MILWAUKEE - The leading rebounder for the Milwaukee Bucks has finished second in the voting for the most-improved player in the NBA.

Ersan Ilyasova averaged 13 points and a team-leading 8.8 rebounds per game in the just completed season. Orlando Magic forward Ryan Anderson won the award. Nikola Pekovic of the Minnesota Timberwolves finished third. Ilyasova’s 45.5 percent shooting from beyond the three-point line was second-best in the league.

_____________________________________________________________________

U.S. Senator Herb Kohl says Milwaukee needs a replacement for the Bradley Center. Kohl says now is the time to find a way to pay for and build a new multipurpose arena. And, he says, he would be willing to make a personal, financial commitment to the project. The head of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce calls that big news. Timothy Sheehy’s group has been working to get local corporations to buy big sponsorships to keep the Bradley Center viable over the intervening time, while working on a replacement is completed. Kohl has owned the Milwaukee Bucks since 1985. They play in the Bradley Center, at 24 years, now one of the oldest facilities to serve as home to an NBA franchise. Kohl says any replacement would probably be a combination of private and public funds.

______________________________________________________________________

The Milwaukee Bucks will keep general manager John Hammond and Scott Skiles on the job, but they really need to turn things around next season. Nobody’s happy with the just-completed, out-of-the-playoff-picture season which just ended. By losing seven of their last 10 games, the Bucks finished 31-35 despite a late-season surge. The surge after a big trade was wasted when the Bucks faltered down the stretch. Hammond and Skiles keep their jobs, but both leaders are on the final year of their contracts. Team owner Herb Kohl says both are among the best at their jobs. But the team needs to win.

_______________________________________________________________________

SCORES

MIDWEST LEAGUE BASEBALL

Burlington 3, Quad Cities 2 (DH)(10)

Quad Cities 6, Burlington 5 (DH)

Cedar Rapids 9, Beloit 6 (DH)

Beloit 5, Cedar Rapids 3 (DH)(9)

Fort Wayne 3, West Michigan 2 (12)

Great Lakes 9, Lansing 8

Kane County 4, Peoria 3

Lake County 5, Dayton 0

South Bend 4, Bowling Green 3 (12)

Wisconsin 5, Clinton 0

___________________________________________

COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD

--Horizon League Men (Finals on Sunday)

1. Loyola, 20

2. UW-Milwaukee, 14

3. Valparaiso / Illinois-Chicago, 8

--Horizon League Women (Finals on Sunday)

1. Youngstown State, 20

2. Loyola, 18

3. Butler / UW-Milwaukee, 8

--WIAC Men (Finals on Saturday)

1. UW-La Crosse, 63

2. UW-Oshkosh, 50

3. UW-Stout, 41

--WIAC Women (Finals on Saturday)

1. UW-Oshkosh, 57

2. UW-River Falls, 48

3. UW-La Crosse, 38

_____________________________________________

COLLEGE SOFTBALL

--WIAC

UW-Eau Claire 5, UW-Oshkosh 2

UW-Whitewater 8, UW-Platteville 0

UW-River Falls 8, UW-Stout 0

UW-Platteville 1, UW-Oshkosh 0

--Northern Athletics Conference

Lakeland 7, Concordia-Mequon 4

Benedictine 3, Marian 0

Dominican 2, Marian 0

Dominican 11, Lakeland 3

Aurora 6, Concordia-Mequon 3

______________________________________________

COLLEGE TENNIS

--Northern Athletics Conference Men

Milwaukee School of Engineering 5, Edgewood 1

Concordia-Mequon 5, Aurora 0

Concordia-Mequon 5, Milwaukee School of Engineering 1

--Northern Athletics Conference Women

Edgewood 5, Concordia-Mequon 1

Wisconsin Lutheran 5, Dominican 1

Wisconsin Lutheran 5, Edgewood 3

______________________________________________

COLLEGE GOLF

--Midwest Conference (Finals on Saturday)

1. St. Norbert, 619

2. Carroll, 621

3. Monmouth, 625

Tags: wisconsin sports, sports, proam