On Thursday evening, the Milwaukee Bucks will play their fourth preseason game when they visit the Dallas Mavericks in Texas.

They are 1-2 in their first three games but are coming off a 111-107 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Before Thursday’s showdown with the Mavs, the Bucks waived James Akinjo (h/t Keith Smith of Spotrac).

Akinjo appeared in one preseason game.

He is coming off a year where he was in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd and Stockton Kings.

The 23-year-old averaged 9.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 47.7% from the field and 54.7% from the three-point range in 18 regular season games (two starts).

Akinjo played four seasons of college basketball for Baylor, Arizona and Georgetown.

He had career averages of 14.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals per contest while shooting 37.3% from the field and 35.4% from the three-point range in 98 games.

Via X user @sig_50: “Bucks have waived G-James Akinjo per today’s NBA-Transactions Log.

The NBAGL-Wisconsin Herd maintain his NBAGL-Rights dating back to the trade last year. As well as bonus incentives per the Exhibit-10.

Akinjo will join the NBAGL-Herd soon enough for training camp/roster.”

The Bucks will be finished with the preseason after they play the Mavs.

They will then open up the 2024-25 regular season on October 23 when they visit Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Last season, the Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

MILWAUKEE — There’s a lot of chatter among Milwaukee City leaders and Milwaukee Public School (MPS) parents about another district issue.

Bay View and Pulaski High Schools must forfeit all of their 2024 football games. The two teams will also be banned from the playoffs for two years.

MPS said this issue stems from paperwork not being filed with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA).

“We keep disappointing our kids by dropping the ball on different things,” an MPS mom and district employee said.

She wanted to stay anonymous because of her job at MPS. However, she wanted her voice heard.

“This has something to do with an adult who was placed in a paid position to provide some proper documentation to the WIAA, so they dropped the ball on the kids,” she explained.

Watch: ‘It’s one story after another’: City leader reacts to MPS football misstep

Parents and city leaders react to recent MPS football misstep

The missing document even has some Milwaukee Common Council members throwing a flag on the play. Many of them raise more concerns for the district.

“It’s one story after another where MPS is dropping balls right and left involving basic paperwork,” 4^th District Alderman, Robert Bauman said.

Bauman said this mistake only hurts the community.

“I mean who would move to Milwaukee and want to put their kids in Milwaukee Public School system based on all of these stories that have come in month after month after month,” Bauman said.

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Bookings are expected to begin early in 2025 for the 4,500-person-capacity live music venue in Milwaukee’s Deer District, with the under-construction venue on schedule to open by late 2025.

Construction began in late May on the vacant Bradley Center lot, land owned by the Milwaukee Bucks, for Madison-based concert promoter FPC Live’s venue.

A little less than five months later — including a pause ahead of and during the Republican National Convention anchored at adjacent Fiserv Forum in July — the foundation and footings have been set and an elevator shaft has been erected, said Joel Plant, CEO of FPC Live’s parent company Frank Productions.

The goal for construction firm Miron is to construct the building’s steel skeleton and get the structure enclosed as quickly as possible ahead of winter weather, Plant said.

Frank Productions offered construction updates and tours to media and constituents Wednesday, in lieu of a groundbreaking ceremony that was skipped to make as much progress as possible before the RNC.

A naming rights sponsor has yet to be announced for the ballroom-style venue, which is projected to host 100 events a year, primarily concerts but also private function, Plant said.

Live-music industry behemoth Live Nation owns a majority stake in Frank Productions; FPC Live primarily serves as the Milwaukee promoter for Live Nation concerts. The venue’s first shows are expected be announced by the middle of next year, Plant said.

Initially, the venue, first proposed in 2021 for the Third Ward before moving to the Deer District, was planned with two rooms, including an 800-person-capacity club since cut due to rising costs. Then, the development had a price tag of $50 million.

This week, Plant said the final cost is now projected to be near $70 million, and that it will take years for FPC Live to make their return on investment.

“We’re in this for the long haul,” Plant said. “Milwaukee is an incredibly strong market, and we’re looking at this as a viable place for fans of all genres of music in Milwaukee to enjoy for the next several decades.”

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.