Welcome to Saturday Scorecard. In honor of Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder, this column is served without meat or animal byproducts.

With lots of basketball on tap for the weekend, we'll get right to the good stuff.

What's in a name? A number of people in town are upset that the folks who run the Bradley Center are considering selling naming rights to the building, which was a gift to the city from Jane and Lloyd Pettit.

While the anger is understandable, given that the building was named after Jane's father, Harry Lynde Bradley, that debate is a sideshow and should not be permitted to overshadow the more important issue:

Milwaukee needs a new arena.

Months shy of its 20th anniversary, the Bradley Center is out of date. It's not falling apart. Far from it, in fact. The building still sparkles like it did during that first Blackhawks-Oilers hockey game in the fall of '88. It just doesn't have the same bells and whistles as arenas that opened later.

Modern facilities have club seats, new media facilities, restaurants, party rooms, retail outlets and lots more revenue-generating amenities that the Bradley Center lacks. Think about what the Lambeau Field atrium means to the Packers in terms of revenue and you begin to get the idea.

When word of the naming rights situation surfaced late Thursday, a few thoughts came to mind:

The Bradley Center is a lot like the "new" Comiskey Park. It opened. It was great. And within five years, it paled in comparison to a bunch of new places. (Kind of like what happened with that black and white scoreboard at County Stadium and the Jumbotrons that popped up around baseball.)

Only two arenas in the National Basketball Association (Madison Square Garden and the Izod Center) are older. Only five others (Portland, New Orleans, Charlotte, Madison Square Garden and Detroit) operate without a title sponsor.

Milwaukee hasn't paid for a basketball / multi-use facility in nearly 60 years. The old Milwaukee Arena, which became known as MECCA and the U.S. Cellular Arena, was constructed in 1950 and cost $10 million.

The Pettits donated the Bradley Center in large part because they wanted to purchase an NHL expansion franchise. They ended up passing on that because they didn't like the $50 million price tag or terms of the expansion draft. The Bradley Center's sightlines and configuration make it clear that the place was built for hockey.

Had the Pettits secured an NHL team, it likely would have meant the end of the Bucks in Milwaukee. The Bradley Center kept the NBA viable in the city.

Many people equate the naming rights scenario with the Bucks, who are struggling on the court and in the court of public opinion. Don't do it. They are independent issues. The naming rights discussion isn't designed to help the Bucks overspend on another underachieving free agent. It's to help the Bradley Center pay for improvements (like the Courtside Club) and attract top-flight concerts and other events.

If Jane Pettit was alive and her hockey team was playing in an arena that time had rendered obsolete, she would have been within her rights to ask for public money for improvements or a new facility.

Milwaukee needs a new facility. The only way that seems possible is if the Bradley Center board merges with the Wisconsin Center District (not going to happen) or the project is underwritten by Indian gaming interests (seems unlikely).  

On sale: Brewers single-game tickets are available beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday by phone or at Miller Park, where the team is hosting its annual "Arctic Tailgate." Individual tickets are available for all 81 regular-season games, but a "very limited" supply remains for the April 4 home opener against the Giants. Each fan will be limited to a maximum of four tickets for Opening Day, based on availability.

Tickets are available in person, online or by phone (414) 902-4000.

Taking a rest: The Badgers completed their '08 football schedule Friday, adding a 12th game and a bye week.

Wisconsin will host Cal Poly on Nov. 22. The Badgers are off Sept. 20, which will give them a week off before the start of the Big Ten season.

Coach Bret Bielema will need the break. Wisconsin's first three league opponents are Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State

The Badgers open spring practice March 8 and will host the spring game April 19.

Pistols at 20 paces: Tigers slugger Gary Sheffield is feuding with his agent, Scott Boras. Talk about a battle with no good guy.

Silent auction: The Bucks, Columbia St. Mary's Hospital and the Milwaukee Breast and Cervical Cancer Awareness Program team up for the 15th annual "Bucks Wives Save Lives" silent auction to be held in conjunction with the Bucks-Nuggets game tonight at the Bradley Center.

The silent auction begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Bradley Center's East Lobby. Fans will have the opportunity to bid on NBA and other sports memorabilia, including autographed basketballs, Milwaukee Bucks autographed authentic jerseys and items signed by NBA superstars.

Among the many items to be auctioned is a Yi Jianlian framed autographed authentic jersey with game action photo, a Michael Redd autographed authentic jersey, a LeBron James framed autographed authentic jersey, a Shaquille O'Neal autographed authentic jersey, and an Allen Iverson autographed basketball.

All items up for auctioned will be displayed in the Bradley Center's East Lobby for viewing and bidding from 6:30 p.m. until early in the third period. All proceeds from the auction go directly to the Milwaukee Breast and Cervical Cancer Awareness Program.