Milwaukee, WI
Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t the only member of the Milwaukee Bucks family who’ll be a part of the 2024 Paris Olympics
Experiencing the Paris Olympics opening ceremony the Parisian way
The Olympics are underway, and local Parisians are excited to welcome the world to their city with good friends, good food and an excellent view.
Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t the only member of the Milwaukee Bucks family who’ll play a big part in the Paris Olympics.
Johnny Watson, the Bucks’ executive producer of broadcast and live events, will, too.
Watson and Antetokounmpo will both help lead teams — just in their own ways. Antetokounmpo will be representing his home country of Greece from the court, and Watson will be courtside as a venue producer for all men’s and women’s basketball games.
“It’s one of the most prominent sporting entertainment in the world,” Watson said. “It’s a huge deal. I’m honored.”
Watson will be show-calling, aka producing, the basketball games’ in-arena presentations with videos, graphics, music, special effects, lighting, on-court entertainment and national anthems. To pull this off, he’ll be working with a crew of at least 25 people per game who’ve come from around the world, including France, Finland, Australia, Canada and the U.S.
While this may sound like a lot, Watson’s done it before. He worked the men’s basketball games and the women’s basketball medal rounds for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Plus, the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China in 2019 and in Indonesia in 2023.
Watson said it’s nearly the same as what he does for Bucks games at Fiserv Forum. And, internationally with his team on occasion, like when the Bucks played in London in 2015 and Abu Dhabi in 2022.
Here’s a glimpse into Watson’s Olympic journey, from planning meetings that began months ago to what a day in his life will look like during the Games.
“It’s obviously an honor to be here, represent Milwaukee, the Bucks, my family,” Watson said. “It’s pretty special to be a part of it.”
From months of meetings to what game days will look like
About six months ago, Watson started having meetings for the Olympics, which ramped up as the Games got closer. Those meetings focused on processes, staffing, logistics and more, he said. Once that was solidified, planning the programs, what the shows will look like, commenced.
Watson arrived in Paris in mid-July and took an hour train ride to Lille, where the group phases will take place. He’ll head to Paris proper for the medal rounds and stay there through Aug. 13.
There will be four basketball games a day. Watson will arrive about two hours before the first for meetings and to rehearse, step-by-step, what he and his team — including talent, music DJs and graphic operators — will be doing during the game.
“Then, the doors open and you go and you start,” he said.
When the game ends, Watson and his crew will meet and rehearse for the next one.
“It makes for a really long day, but it’s the Olympics,” Watson said. “It’s the pinnacle of sport.”
Watson will be reunited with fellow Bucks representative Giannis Antetokounmpo when Greece takes on Canada Saturday. Antetokounmpo helped lead his home country into its first Games in men’s basketball since 2008 and was a flag bearer for the opening ceremonies.
Heading into his 13th season with the Bucks, Watson’s been with the organization since B.A., before Antetokounmpo.
“To see his growth and know his story now of where he came from and how much it means to him to be a part of the Olympics is pretty, pretty special,” Watson said. “I’m really excited to obviously see him and see some of the other Bucks staff here, too.”
With this being Watson’s first time in Paris, he’s carved out time to explore before heading back home. He’s planning to check out the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Champs-Élysées.
The Bucks’ Johnny Watson will be headed to the US Open in New York next
As if the Olympics weren’t enough for one summer, Watson will be off to the US Open in New York next month to be a stadium director.
As a former All-American tennis player at Coe College with numerous accolades in the sport, this is a “bucket list lifelong dream” for him.
Watson has attended the U.S. Open as a fan with his dad — who got Watson into tennis when he was 7 — around six times.
Watson helped out with the event for the first time in 2022. He mainly co-managed content for the screens at the Flushing Meadows grounds. His role this time around will be more what he does with the Bucks, he said — programming shows and making them happen.
“My main priority is the (Bucks), but the fact that they look at this as professional development, something I’m very passionate about …” Watson said. “The fact that they give me the opportunity to do this or they tell me it’s OK to do these things in the summer and other times, it means a lot to me.”
Milwaukee, WI
VIDEO: Celebrating Milwaukee, LIVE at Anodyne (Feat. Dan Shafer, Kristin Brey, Angela Lang and special guests) – Civic Media
Murray Avenue and Edgewood Avenue, Shorewood
SHOREWOOD, Wis. – A 13-year-old was taken into custody on Wednesday morning, May 13, following a police chase that started in Milwaukee and ended in Shorewood.
Police chase
The backstory:
It was around 1:40 a.m. Wednesday when the Shorewood Police Department was notified of a pursuit involving a reported stolen vehicle.
The pursuit had been initiated by the Milwaukee Police Department and was terminated before entering Shorewood.
Shorewood officers located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle did not stop, and a pursuit was initiated.
The chase ended near Murray Avenue and Edgewood Avenue.
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The 13-year-old driver and sole occupant ran from the scene – and their vehicle rolled backward into the front of a Shorewood squad car.
Murray Avenue and Edgewood Avenue, Shorewood
Teen in custody
What we know:
The teen was taken into custody with the assistance of several neighboring law enforcement agencies.
The individual will be referred to the Milwaukee County Children’s Court for charging.
No injuries were sustained by the suspect or officers, and no damage was reported resulting from the contact between the vehicles.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by the Shorewood Police Department.
MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man is accused of shooting and killing Dennis Johnson, a 56-year-old Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office employee, on the city’s north side earlier this month.
Charges filed
In court:
Prosecutors charged 29-year-old Prinston Underwood with first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and possession of a firearm by an outstate felon.
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Another man, 53-year-old Darrin Sutton, is charged with a gun possession felony in the case. A 25-year-old woman was also arrested in the case; the district attorney’s office said charges against her are still under review.
Prinston Underwood and Darrin Sutton
Teutonia and Chambers shooting
The backstory:
Milwaukee police responded to a shooting near Teutonia and Chambers just after 5 p.m. on Friday, May 8. When officers arrived, a criminal complaint said they found Johnson shot in the driver’s seat of his Jeep.
An autopsy determined a bullet went through Johnson’s right arm and into his chest, and the medical examiner’s office ruled his manner of death as homicide.
Court filings said there were three other people in Johnson’s Jeep at the time of the shooting, including Sutton and two children. Prosecutors said Johnson was not the intended target.
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What they’re saying:
Sutton told police that Johnson drove him to the area of 12th and Locust to pick up his two kids, according to the complaint. While there, he got into a verbal argument with two women.
Prosecutors said Sutton claimed one of the women gestured to her boyfriend, later identified as Underwood, in a way that Sutton interpreted as a directive for Underwood to shoot at him. Sutton admitted to arming himself and displaying a gun, and noted that, at the time, he saw Underwood holding a gun of his own.
According to court filings, Sutton said Johnson then began to drive away from the scene. Sutton claimed that, as they drove away, Underwood opened fire on the Jeep – and he fired back four or five times.
Sutton said that a few moments later, per the complaint, Johnson alerted him to the passenger side of the Jeep as they were driving on Teutonia Avenue.
The complaint said Sutton looked out the window and saw a white GMC before hearing a gunshot. He admitted that, once he realized Johnson had been shot, he discarded the gun he had next to a nearby building.
A witness told detectives that Underwood fired a single shot through the Jeep’s front passenger window as the Jeep slowed down for a red light at Teutonia and Chambers, per the complaint.
Surveillance footage
Dig deeper:
Detectives recovered surveillance footage from a home near 12th and Locust, which captured the shooting. Court filings said it showed the Jeep and the white GMC were both parked on the west side of the street.
The video showed Sutton arguing with two women from the front passenger seat of Johnson’s seat, the complaint said. It also showed Johnson got out of the vehicle and walked around to try to de-escalate the argument.
Underwood was seen on the sidewalk with a gun in his hand, according to court filings. As Johnson began to drive away, Sutton then showed a gun from the window – at which time Underwood took aim at the Jeep while shielding himself behind the white GMC.
The complaint said Sutton and Underwood pointed their guns at each other but held fire until, seconds later after the Jeep drove away and out of view of the camera, Underwood fired toward the Jeep while attempting to take cover from return fire. Underwood then got into the white GMC and followed the Jeep.
The Source: Information in this story is from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, Wisconsin Circuit Court and prior coverage related to the shooting and Johnson’s death.
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