June always is a big sports month with the NBA draft and other events joining baseball. Here are the top five local sports stories for the month:
1. Brewers surge with second-chancers: You expect Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Ben Sheets and some of the others to perform for the Brewers, but Russell Branyan, Seth McClung and Salomon Torres would not have been projected as keys for the club.
Yet, those three veterans are getting second (in some instances third and fourth) chances with the team and in June sparked a resurgence that moved the Brewers closer to the first-place Cubs.
Branyan, who actually has been with nine teams, including the Brewers twice, provided power against right-handed pitchers, filling a void left by Bill Hall's inability to hit them this season. McClung came out of the bullpen and developed into a reliable starter.
Torres, who almost retired before joining the Brewers, took over the closer role when Eric Gagne first was ineffective and then injured. Torres looks like he'll never give the job back.
"There's a lot of reasons why we're playing good right now," manager Ned Yost said. "You need to get contributions from a lot of guys to be successful. You need people to step up."
2. Bucks Draft Day moves: The Bucks did a little extra on Draft Day, trading Bobby Simmons and Yi Jianlian to the Nets for Richard Jefferson. Milwaukee then took West Virginia forward Joe Alexander with its first pick.
"Richard Jefferson is a hard-working, proven, dynamic performer at the forward position," general manager John Hammond said. "He's an aggressive player with terrific credentials over his career. He's been a winner, having gone to the playoffs in six of his seven seasons, and we're excited to bring him to Milwaukee.
"We certainly want to thank Bobby and Yi for their contributions to our organization. "Although my time with them in Milwaukee was limited, I know both are talented players with many good years ahead of them in the NBA. We wish both of them well in New Jersey."
Alexander sounded happy that the Bucks drafted him. "I've been waiting for this day for 11 long years and it's the happiest day of my life," Alexander said. "I'm happy to be a Buck and I'm thankful to the Bucks organization for taking me in and having faith in me and I promise them and the fans in Milwaukee, I won't let you down.
"I feel like I'm a good fit for Milwaukee. I think Coach (Scott) Skiles and I are going to match very well, and I'm going to go to work for him. I think the biggest thing is to listen to the vets and the coaching staff, because they know what's best. I'm just a rookie."
3. Wisconsin Olympians: Paul Hamm made the U.S. Olympic team for the third time. The Bucks' Michael Redd and former Marquette star Dwyane Wade will be on the U.S. basketball team. Gymnast Chellsie Memmel looks headed to a berth at the time of this writing. Others will join them.
Wisconsin has been represented at both the Summer and Winter Olympics in the past. It looks like the state will have its share of representatives again when the games are held in China later this summer.
"It's just an awesome achievement, man," Redd said of being selected for the Olympic team. "Coming from where I come from and grew up, it's more gratifying. I was just happy to be drafted, never knowing how far it would take me."
4. Packers end camp: The off-season program officially ended with the final mini-camp practice, the last team function prior to the start of training camp in late July. Head Coach Mike McCarthy couldn't be happier with how his team is growing and developing in preparation for the 2008 season.
"Clearly I think it's the best off-season that we've had to date (with) the individual time that the players spent with the coaches, the commitment to the off-season program and the strength and conditioning all the way through the OTAs, and I really like the way our off-season came to a conclusion here with the mini-camp at the end," McCarthy said during his press conference following the final workout.
5. Suzy Favor's record falls: This story didn't get much coverage in the Milwaukee area, but it is a big one for state prep track. It took 23 years, but another Wisconsin prep athlete has finally run a faster time in the 800-meter event. Jami Hill, an Onalaska junior, won the 800 at the Midwest Distance Gala (held at Benedictine University) in a meet record time of 2:09.14. This is the fastest time ever run by a Wisconsin prep female.
Hill had a fantastic junior year. She ran 56.6h in the 400 meters (fifth best honor roll), 4:54.31i (second best), and 11:17.3h in the 3200 meters to go along with her all-time best 800 meters. She also scored 24 points at the state track meet in La Crosse by taking second place in the 800-, 1,600-, and 3,200-meter relay.
Favor is one of the top female track and field athletes to ever come out of Wisconsin (Stevens Point, 1986). After her high school days at SPASH, she went to win several NCAA titles and compete in the Olympics.
Add any of your picks to the Top five.
