Tag Archives: #saveourbucks

Who is the Bucks “Bob McGinn”?

Most of you are familiar with Bob McGinn, the widely read Packers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MJS).  Whether you agree or disagree with his opinions and conclusions, he’s known locally and nationally for excellent coverage of the team.

Due to his skill, he’s highly compensated. A few years ago, Milwaukee Magazine ran a blurb about some dissension in the MJS newsroom over a supposed salary that broke the “six-figure” mark, and had many other reporters at the paper somewhat envious. He earns his money though, as he’s a dogged reporter who loves his assignment, and is always setting the agenda for coverage of the team.

We thought of McGinn as we read Charles Gardner’s recent interview with John Hammond. We’ve talked at length about the lack of critical coverage of the Milwaukee Bucks, and some of the reasons for it.  We’re going to use Gardner’s recent interview as guidebook for how he, and other journalists, might be able to cover the Bucks in a manner that would be more productive and interesting for the reader, ala how McGinn covers the Packers.  With that as a backdrop, let’s discuss the interview with Hammond, and how it might have been improved upon. Continue reading

Save Our Bucks, Milwaukee Bucks

How to get a SaveOurBucks T-Shirt

Save Our Bucks, Milwaukee BucksIf you would like to obtain one of these shirts to wear to the BMO Harris Bradley Center, click on the link below.  While John Hammond did announce recently that the Bucks are going to “rebuild”, let’s give him some moral support for the plan by showing these off at games.

You can see the shirt in action as worn by our beautiful SOB model above.

Click Here to Order your T-Shirt today!

Green And Growing (But Execution the Key)

The SaveOurBucks.com movement is pleased with the recent pronouncement by General Manager John Hammond, that the team is going to build around some of the young players they currently have on the team, along with future draft picks. We believe that a market like Milwaukee must use this approach to build a consistent winner. We want to add some cautionary guidance, however, before assuming that this new chapter of “Green and Growing,” will be as successful as the original.

A primer on the origin of this phrase may be helpful for some readers. Green and Growing was the name given to a public relations campaign implemented by the Bucks in the late 1970’s. It came with its own catchy theme song that was played frequently during regular game broadcasts. The idea behind the theme, was that fans should embrace the young core of players the team had recently obtained, and follow their progress as they developed into contenders. Continue reading

Save Our Bucks, Milwaukee Bucks

The Leadership Void

“And then one day you find ten years have got behind you;
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun”

– Pink Floyd “Time

We do not plan on providing commentary after individual games, and prefer to leave that to the good people at sites such as BrewHoop and Bucksketball, who do a fine job providing daily coverage. Nonetheless, we felt the need to briefly opine on last night’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, given that it illustrated many of the recurring themes we have discussed over the past month. Continue reading

Some Trial Balloons Go Up

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

– Ferris Bueller

There was some pretty big news on the new arena front yesterday, but perhaps many of us were too caught up in New Year’s Eve preparations and Packer celebrations to take notice. NBA writer David Aldridge posted an interview with Senator Kohl, where Kohl talked extensively regarding the arena situation.

Since Kohl does not give detailed public interviews very often, it is likely that he initiated contact with Aldridge, in order to float some trial balloons relating to the issue of a new facility in Milwaukee. For the first time, he hinted at the percentage of the cost of a new arena that might be privately contributed toward the project. Continue reading

What Is The Strategic Plan?

SaveOurBucks.com has been online now for just over a month. In that time we’ve been fortunate to have coverage from Kelly Dwyer (Yahoo), Bill Simmons (ESPN/Grantland), Matt Moore (CBS), USA Today, Deadspin, The Sporting News, Darren Rovell, The Dan Patrick Show, Fox 6, WTMJ 4, WISN 12 and CBS 58 among others. However, it wasn’t until  the other day that we received coverage from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MJS), the local newspaper of record here in Milwaukee.

You can read the article by Don Walker here. We think the article was well-written and conveys our “tough love” approach as it relates to the organization. There is one point to clarify though. In the article, Walker refers to “a mystery man funding the operation…” There really isn’t a “funder” here for operations, as the costs of creating a website are minimal, and are graciously being donated by our talented webmaster. Continue reading

Save Our Bucks Billboard

What are the goals of SaveOurBucks.com?

We were recently asked on Twitter by Bucks play-by-play man, Ted Davis (@Nbated), “What are the goals of SaveOurBucks.com?”

Long-term, we’d hope this site can be an information source and rallying point for fans, as the Milwaukee community debates the merits of a new arena. In the short-term however, our goals are to spark discussion and accountability regarding the franchise’s efforts in producing a compelling product for the fans to rally around. If the Bucks are able to present to the public an exciting team, we believe the fans will return. However, to get to that point Senator Kohl needs to rethink how he has structured his front office and the culture therein.

As we’ve documented here, the front office culture the past twenty years may be contributing to the challenges the team faces. The front office has a number of Executive Vice Presidents who have been with the team for decades. All of these people provide input on basketball related decisions, even though many are not basketball people, but rather attorneys and accountants.  Here are some examples of their dysfunctional involvement in basketball decisions, as documented by BrewHoop. Continue reading

Save Our Bucks Billboard

Save Our Bucks Billboard goes UP!

Save Our Bucks Billboard from a distanceWe’ll cover it in more detail in the future, but the billboard we’ve been talking about for a few weeks that was paid for using generous donations from like minded Bucks fans is now UP!  It’s at I-43 and McKinley in Milwaukee, don’t worry if you’re anywhere nearby you’ll definitely see it!  Don’t forget our launch party for the billboard with Bucks fan and pro wrestler Austin Aries at 7pm on Monday 23rd December at The Loaded Slate, all proceeds going to the MACC Fund.

Deadspin give their take on saveoubucks.com and billboard launch

Deadspin have offered their unique take on the website and billboard, in part :

“…so some concerned fans have paid for a billboard that would seem to emphasize lottery balls over basketballs.

The folks at SaveOurBucks.com wouldn’t call it “tanking.” They’ve got a multi-part plan for the Bucks to return to competitiveness and stay in Milwaukee, and it involves front office moves and fan support. But the key is to eschew the Bucks’ usual strategy of band-aid acquisitions in favor of trading away veterans, letting young players get minutes, and lose their way into a top pick in next year’s stacked draft.”

View the full article here.

Sporting news cover SaveOurBucks.com billboard launch

Sporting News have covered saveourbucks.com and the launch of the billboard on their site, saying in part :

“A group of concerned Bucks fans rallied together to create “SaveOurBucks.com” with the goal of keeping the team in Milwaukee. They recently purchased a billboard sign outside of the city with a most interesting slogan.”

You can view the article in full here.