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.

RAY ALLEN is on a plateau by himself, as has the Miami Heat one step closer to the second round of the playoffs. Allen scored 23 points and broke the NBA career playoff record for three-pointers, and the visiting Heat downed the Milwaukee Bucks, 104-91, last night for a 3-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference series. The Heat can complete the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday at the Bradley Center. No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series in the NBA playoffs. Allen's five three-pointers against the Bucks gave him 322 for his career, two more than Reggie Miller.

THE MILWAUKEE Brewers got back a key player, and he brought with him a victory. Slugging leftfielder Ryan Braun returned on Monday after missing three games with spasms on the right side of his neck. Milwaukee waited to finalize its starters until Braun got a chance to take batting practice before the series opener at the Chicago Cubs. The 2011 NL MVP looked just fine in the cage, so Milwaukee put him back in leftfield and his usual No. 3 spot in the batting order. Braun doubled twice and finished with three hits as the visiting Brewers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

KYLE LOHSE waited all winter and finally found a home with Milwaukee. Lohse and the Brewers completed a 3-year contract worth $33 million on Monday, a big boost to their suspect rotation exactly a week before the season opener. "I'm really happy to be able to come over," Lohse said during a news conference at Milwaukee's spring training facility in Phoenix. "With this offense and the ability of their pitching staff, it looks like a good fit. I know everybody in the division. " Lohse enjoyed his best season in the majors last year, going 16-3 with a 2.86 ERA and helping the St. Louis Cardinals earn an NL wild-card spot.

MILWAUKEE - Through the first 51 games of the season that have taken the injury-riddled 76ers to the All-Star break, the overriding themes in their 22-29 start have been their inconsistent play and the shuffling of rotations by coach Doug Collins. What is clear is that the margin for error, and what often becomes the difference between winning and losing, is about as thin as it gets. The team's last game before the All-Star break, a 94-92 loss in Milwaukee on Wednesday, was a perfect example of what has happened this season.

MILWAUKEE - The 76ers, in search of momentum all season long, came to the final game before the all-star break hoping for a playoff-caliber performance against a team that could decide their postseason fate. And for one half the 76ers delivered, shooting the ball well and making the hustle plays that have been sporadic at best for them this season. But the Sixers could not sustain that effort through four quarters and it proved to be their undoing in a 94-92 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

As disappointing a season as the 76ers have encountered, the fact remains that they are in a legitimate fight for a playoff spot. That is more an indictment of the lack of depth in the Eastern Conference than proof of any achievement by the Sixers. In their final game before the all-star break, on Wednesday in Milwaukee against the Bucks, the Sixers will find themselves in a regular-season contest with a postseason feel. The Sixers (22-28) are holding the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference.

As disappointing a season as the 76ers have encountered, the fact remains that they are in a legitimate fight for a playoff spot. That is more an indictment of the lack of depth in the Eastern Conference than proof of any achievement by the Sixers. In their final game before the all-star break, on Wednesday in Milwaukee against the Bucks, the Sixers will find themselves in a regular-season contest with a postseason feel. The Sixers (22-28) are holding the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference.

MILWAUKEE - The 76ers fall behind teams so often that if one didn't know better, it might seem like a strategy. They did so again against Milwaukee on Tuesday night, and predictably, they lost again, falling to the suddenly resurgent Bucks, 110-102, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Sixers lost for the 16th time in 21 games. They trailed 55-47 at halftime, marking the eighth time in nine games that they were behind at the break. The game was billed as a matchup between prospective all-star reserve Jrue Holiday of the Sixers and the Bucks' Brandon Jennings.

THE 76ERS, coming off a 107-100 win over Houston on Saturday night, will play 11 of their next 12 games at home. And for the Sixers, their longest home stretch of the season might be an opportunity to climb back into the NBA's Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference races. The Sixers are 16-22, 8 1/2 games behind the Atlantic Division's first-place New York Knicks. The Sixers are only 10-8 at home, but much better than their 6-14 road record. In the conference race, the Sixers are sitting at ninth, 9 1/2 games behind Boston and Milwaukee and one spot out of the playoffs.

SCOTT ROLEN hit a solo home run and Jay Bruce and Dioner Navarro smacked run-scoring singles as the Cincinnati Reds defeated St. Louis, 3-1, to delay the Cardinals from clinching an NL wild-card spot on Tuesday night. The Cardinals, who may have clinched if the Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the San Francisco Giants late Tuesday night, face the Reds in their regular-season finale Wednesday night. The Cardinals' Adam Wainwright (14-13, 3.94) will face Homer Bailey (13-10, 3.75 ERA)