Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Bucks finally beat a good team and hardly anybody was there to see it. Eric Murdock had 28 points and 12 assists and led six Milwaukee players in double figures last night as the Bucks stunned Hakeem Olajuwon and the visiting Houston Rockets, 106-98, in front of 7,543 bundled fans at the Bradley Center. Some 7,646 tickets that were issued weren't used because a heavy snowstorm made road conditions treacherous. Fans stayed home rather than braving bad visibility and wind chills in the minus-20-degree range.

Ever notice how that staple of the NCAA tournament, the office pool, never quite gets cranked up for the NBA playoffs? It has to do with the possibility of upsets. In the NBA playoffs, there is precious little of the unexpected. Chicago opened its first round last night with - surprise - a 111-97 victory over Milwaukee. In the NBA, the home-court advantage means everything. So does talent. Favored teams may have a bad night, but seldom enough bad nights to lose a five- or seven-game series.

The last time the 76ers were in Milwaukee, on Nov. 8, the face of the team began to change. Johnny Dawkins went down with a season-ending knee injury early in that game. Then the Sixers were told that their trade for rookie forward Jayson Williams precluded them from signing injured swingman Derek Smith, who has since joined the Celtics. Soon, center Mike Gminski went into a shooting slump - part of the reason he was traded last week to Charlotte for Armon Gilliam and Dave Hoppen.

The lips are tight in Milwaukee. Given their history during this time of year, the last thing the Bucks want is a sunken ship. It seems that each year, as the flowers begin to bloom, the Bucks get eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the 76ers. Four times in the last five years the Bucks, usually coming off a brilliant regular season, have met their Waterloo in the Sixers. It took the Sixers seven games to beat the Bucks in the spring of 1981. They took Milwaukee 4-2 in 1982 and 4-1 in 1983.

Thirty-four days after leaving town in search of an antidote to their anemic attack, the Kixx displayed a revamped offense last night. Having outscored the opposition by 85-68 during their 3-2 road trip, the Kixx wanted to show what they had learned as they took on Milwaukee at the First Union Spectrum. As it turned out, an old standby stole the show in an entertaining 8-7 victory over the Wave (11-6), a perennial contender for the National Professional Soccer League crown.

The next time the 76ers meet Milwaukee - next week in the playoffs - Charles Barkley will be in uniform. Oh, for small favors. Last night, Barkley was home nursing his sprained left ankle while the Sixers and the Bucks met for the last time in the regular season. It wasn't pretty. The Sixers lost in a rout, 128-95, equaling their most lopsided loss of the year and robbing themselves of any swagger as the playoffs near. "That's the worst we've been," Maurice Cheeks said.

Mark McGwire got a night off yesterday in Milwaukee, much to the chagrin of fans at County Stadium who disregarded a light drizzle to see the St. Louis slugger chase Roger Maris's home run record. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said McGwire was "laboring at the plate," so he kept him out of the starting lineup against the Brewers. It was just the eighth time in 113 games that McGwire wasn't in the starting lineup. Stuck on 45 homers for a week and "mired" in a 24-at-bat homerless skid, McGwire told La Russa he needed a rest.

Representatives of Milwaukee's effort to land an NHL expansion team withdrew their application for a franchise yesterday, citing economic reasons. Lloyd Pettit, who heads Wisconsin Ice Hockey Inc., the group that was making the bid for Milwaukee, said league rules for expansion franchises made it economically unfeasible. Pettit said a franchise would be worth $60 million to $65 million, including the league's $50 million franchise fee and an indemnity to the Chicago Blackhawks because of the proximity of the two cities.

A night's sleep and several hours of thought didn't mellow Charles Barkley at all. Barkley was still seething yesterday about the Milwaukee fans and his clash with center Paul Mokeski, not to mention the Bucks' tie-breaking 113-108 victory Wednesday night in Game 5 of this best-of-seven NBA quarterfinal series. "I wasn't even going to fight the guy," said Barkley, explaining his state of mind when he and Mokeski tangled for a second time in the fourth quarter, this time beneath the Sixers basket.

The same people you have trusted all these years to provide Kleenex tissues and Huggies disposable diapers now want your attention for something completely different. Starting tomorrow, Philadelphia International Airport becomes one of the newest destinations for one of the nation's youngest airlines, Midwest Express, a little-known part of Kimberly-Clark Corp., the consumer-products maker. Midwest Express will provide the only nonstop flights between Philadelphia and Milwaukee, the hub of its operations.

MADISON, Wis. - Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett won the Democratic primary Tuesday in Wisconsin's historic recall election, leaving him with a short four weeks to make the closing argument that Republican Gov. Scott Walker should be booted from office after 16 contentious months on the job. Walker easily defeated token opposition in the GOP primary Tuesday, so Barrett's win set up a June 5 rematch of the 2010 governor's race. It was an election that failed to hint at the turmoil to come.

What: Milwaukee (2-4) at Soul (6-1) When: Saturday, 7:05 p.m. Where: Wells Fargo Center On the web: www.PhiladelphiaSoul.com or www.ustream.com . Mustangs update: They lost a tough one to Utah, 61-58, last Saturday on a touchdown in the final seconds. The game featured a basketball-like 10 lead changes. . . . They are coached by Bob Landsee, who played nine games for the Eagles in 1986-87. Landsee was one of 62 players to file a federal lawsuit in February against the NFL for, among other things, hiding medical evidence regarding concussions.

After their scintillating overtime win against the streaking Indiana Pacers on Saturday night - a victory that pushed their magic number for clinching a playoff spot to one - the 76ers were focused on what they must do rather than what they had just done. Yes, it was exhilarating to end the Pacers' winning streak at seven games. After all, the 109-106 victory marked the first time this season that the Sixers had won a game decided by three or fewer points (they had lost three others)

    Danny Granger scored 29 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the visiting Milwaukee Bucks, 118-109, Thursday night and clinch home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. George Hill had 22 points and eight assists and David West added 21 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists for the Pacers, who won their seventh straight and 11th of 12. The Pacers have scored at least 100 points in 12 of their last 13 games. Brandon Jennings scored 27 points and former Pacer Mike Dunleavy added 23 for the Bucks.

      Jordan Crawford equaled a season-high with 32 points, and John Wall had 14 points and 10 assists Wednesday night as the Wizards dealt a crippling blow to the Milwakee Bucks' attempt to make the final playff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 121-112 defeat in Washington. Milwaukee began the day 11/2 games behind the 76ers for eighth place in the East, but lost a game as the Sixers won in Cleveland. Monta Ellis had 31 points for Milwaukee, which has lost four of five.

Russell Westbrook scored 26 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder won their second straight game, beating the Milwaukee Bucks, 109-89, Monday in a game that featured seven technical fouls and an ejection of Bucks backup forward Larry Sanders. Sanders was ejected after earning a pair of technicals in the second half, while Mike Dunleavy, Brandon Jennings, and coach Scott Skiles also were assessed technicals for Milwaukee. Oklahoma City's Nazr Mohammed and Serge Ibaka also were called for technicals.

CARMELO ANTHONY called it a statement game, and the message should be clear for the Chicago Bulls. If they do meet in the playoffs, the Bulls better finish off Anthony and the Knicks when they have the chance. Anthony scored 43 points, his most since coming to New York last February, and made the go-ahead three-pointer with 8.2 seconds left in overtime as the Knicks spoiled the return to the lineup for a rusty Derrick Rose and beat the visiting Bulls, 100-99, on Sunday. Anthony tied it with a three late in regulation and scored the final five points of overtime in his signature performance since coming to New York last February.

The 76ers and their fans have been looking for a measuring stick, a competitor they might be able to use in order to tell just where they stand when they stack up their impressive record against the elite teams of the NBA. On Friday, in front of their first sellout crowd (20,694) at Wells Fargo Center this season, they ran into a healthy Miami Heat team and got an answer, loud and clear, absorbing their worst home setback of the season, 99-79, at the hands of the Heat. The Heat unfurled a nearly flawless fourth quarter of basketball, making 12 of 16 shots, including 3 of 3 from behind the three-point line to outscore the Sixers, 32-16, in the quarter and 48-32 in the second half.

TWENTY YEARS AGO this month, America lost what might've been the greatest beer commercial of all time. It was a sly, funny advertising campaign that, despite running for just seven months, generated a ton of publicity and became an instant icon of American popular culture. Two decades later, red-blooded beer drinkers may not remember the brand, but they sure remember its stars: The Swedish Bikini Team.

The 76ers have already jumped out to a four-game lead in the Atlantic Division, but coach Doug Collins said that his team's health right now isn't as good as the 10-3 record. "We're beat up right now," Collins said after a light workout Tuesday at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Guard Evan Turner and center Spencer Hawes will be game-time decisions for Wednesday's matchup at the Wells Fargo Center against a Denver Nuggets team that played in Milwaukee on Tuesday.