The Admirals kept their season going into May, while the outdoor soccer season starts this month and the Braves come back for a big series against the Brewers.
Coach Claude Noel's Admirals will continue to play hockey in May after coming from behind in their first American Hockey League playoff round against the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks to win the series 4-3. Look for the schedule of second round games in the Hot Tix section of this column.
Wave United will open its second outdoor soccer season with a game at Uihlein Soccer Park against the Edmonton Aviators on May 14.
WU promises to be even more competitive than last year, when it posted an A-League-best 18-10-0 record in its initial season under joint operations with the Wave indoor team. The team warmed up with several exhibition games against area college teams in the last couple weeks.
The highlight of the month in baseball will be a series against the Atlanta Braves May 14-16. It still means something when the Braves come back to Milwaukee. Local baseball fans with long memories still like to get a little revenge against the team that abandoned the town in the 1960s.
Atlanta does not have as awesome a team has it has had in the past several seasons, but the Braves still are tough. The rivalry is further fueled by the fact Brewers' manager Ned Yost coached in Atlanta.
May 14 has been designated Milwaukee Braves Night. The Brewers will play in vintage Braves' uniforms from the 1950s and a memorial to the Braves will be unveiled at Miller Park. Armed Forces Day is May 15 at Miller Park. The first 20,000 fans also will receive a Scott Podsednik baseball card.
The Brew Crew Review
Here are the BCR awards, which will be made monthly in The State Sports Buzz:
Players of the Month -- Chad Moeller has to get the award for hitting for the cycle on April 27. Give honorable mention to Bill Hall for his clutch performances at the plate in back-to-back wins over the Reds, Scott Podsednik for hitting over. 300 and having a perfect stolen base slate and Lyle Overbay for driving in 18 runs in the month.
Plays of the Month -- Bill Hall's game-winning homer for a walkoff victory on the night Chad Moeller hit for the cycle goes down as the best play of April. The second best was Hall's squeeze bunt that gave the Brewers a 10-9 win over the Reds the very next night. It climaxed the biggest comeback in team history, from a 9-0 deficit.
Goats of the Month -- Starting pitcher Matt Kinney struggled through the month with a 0-2 record and 8.61 ERA and was dropped from the starting rotation. He shared the horns with relievers Adrian Hernandez (10.03 ERA) and Ben Ford (9.75 ERA).
The Name Game
Despite missing the last 27 games of the season with an injury, Bucks rookie T.J. Ford made the NBA All Rookie second team. Ford will undergo surgery on his neck ...The Wave's Greg Howes and Todd Dusosky made the All-Major Indoor Soccer League first team and Dan Green made second team ... Former Brewer Glendon Rusch was called up from Iowa (AAA) by the Cubs. Rusch was 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA at AAA ... Ben Stanczyk was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week after pitching a UWM record 12 innings in a 2-1 win over Detroit at Miller Park. Stanczyk, 3-0 in the conference, struck out 12, gave up six hits and walked one in the 12 innings.
Beyond Milwaukee Sports
Willie Myers of UW-Whitewater was picked the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year ... Whitewater won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) regular season baseball title and UW-Eau Claire took the women's regular season softball title ... Superior beat Whitewater, 6-0, to win the WIAC women's softball tournament... Kyle Kaufman pitched a no-hitter as UW-La Crosse beat Superior 13-0 ... Joe Muraski of Schofield D.C. Everest hit two home runs and drove in seven runs in a 13-1 win over Merrill.
Hot Tix
The Admirals started against Chicago in the Western Conference finals Wednesday night in the Bradley Center. Look for a Sports Buzz Update on that game by mid-morning on Thursday.
Game 2 will be played at 7 p.m. Friday at the BC. The next two games move to Chicago on May 8 and 10. If needed, the series will return to the BC on May 12 for Game 5. If the series goes seven games, the final contest will be at the BC on May 15.
In addition to their opener on May 14, Wave United plays the Minnesota Thunder on May 22 at Uihlein Soccer Park.
The Brewers play the Expos on May 11-13, the Dodgers May 25-27 and the Padres May 28-30. The newest members of the Walls of Honor will be installed on May 26. On the 28th, the World Softball League Home Run Challenge will be held before the game.
The Milwaukee Bombers start Aussie Rules Football action this month. The Bombers, the defending Division 2 national footy champs, will play at the Chicago Sharks on May 15.
The Bombers have joined the Mid-American Australian Football League this season. Their first game in that league is June 5, when the Nashville Kangaroos come to Milwaukee. If you have never seen Aussie footy, plan on taking in a game at Kletzsch Park this season.
Tournaments in state collegiate and prep sports also will be held this month. The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WIAC) women's softball tourney already was held, with Superior winning the championship last weekend.
The WIAC track tournament will be held this Friday and Saturday. The conference baseball tourney will be held May 14-15. Whitewater is the favorite this season, with perennial small college baseball powerhouse Oshkosh the main challenger.
Regional action in prep track and field will be held around the state on May 24. Sectional action is May 27.
You can read more about all these events, and others, by coming to OnMilwaukee.com on Thursdays during May and checking out the Weekend Sports Buzz.
