Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers frustrated with Giannis Antetokounmpo feud
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers frustrated over Giannis Antetokounmpo injury discussion
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has grown frustrated over the public nature of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s health status.
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers expressed dismay over the public nature of star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s frustration with the team over not being able to play following a hyperextension of his left knee on March 15.
Antetokounmpo had been ruled out since the Bucks’ game against Cleveland on March 17 through their loss to Boston on April 3. Before the game, Antetokounmpo spoke publicly for the first time about being held out despite his belief that he is healthy. He repeated that he is available and doesn’t understand why he can’t play, and noted that he had gone through live workouts in the hopes of being cleared.
After the game, Rivers was asked what he had been told about Antetokounmpo’s progress to a return.
“I’ve been told the same thing,” Rivers said of the workouts.
He then took issue with the fact he has had to answer questions about Antetokounmpo’s availability, or lack thereof.
“The tough part of all this is I’m in the middle and I have nothing to do with it,” Rivers continued. “Coaches don’t decide any of this, but the problem with our league is the coaches are the ones sitting out front and we have to sit here and answer this stuff. And I think there are two sides to this. I will tell you that, but I don’t want to get too involved in it. I talk to Giannis all the time about what he should be working on. Literally, I stay right there in that zone about things that I think he needs to add to his game and that’s it. I decided long ago that’s not for me to get involved in the rest of this stuff. I don’t like it though. I don’t.
“I think this is a grown man’s game and it should be handled that way by everybody. So I don’t like when it’s this ‘he said, she said’ stuff, it’s not good. So, just from that seat, the fact that I have to sit up here and keep addressing it, it bothers me. And we need to do something about it.”
The Journal Sentinel reported that the NBA, along with the National Basketball Players Association, has interviewed Antetokounmpo and members of the organization to determine if the two-time MVP is indeed healthy, and when asked about those conversations Rivers quickly demurred.
“Again, I wouldn’t know any of that,” he said. “That’s the point I’m trying to make. The league, they’re not gonna call me about this. They know I have no decision-making in this. And if they have decided to start talking to us, this is the first I’ve heard it. So, I don’t even know that. Nor should I, nor should I, but I just don’t like that this is so public. And it shouldn’t be. This is where grown men get in a room and they talk it out. Whether they agree or disagree, that doesn’t matter. But this should not be in public. And I don’t like that.”
Finally, Rivers was asked if he held any concern that the dispute would affect the team’s relationship with Antetokounmpo. For his part, Antetokounmpo said he did not like the situation but didn’t go so far as to say it would be permanently damaging.
“You know, I don’t know,” Rivers said. “I have a great relationship with him. I know that part. Literally we talk most every day, or every day that we can around each other. So, I think there’s a lot for business to be done and, you know, I’m out of the business of trying this subliminal messaging or all that crap. I’ve heard all the stuff. I just want everybody to be on the same side. ‘Cause they deserve it. All of ‘em. I don’t think there’s a bad person in this group, none of the guys that I’m talking about. I do. I think they’re all good people. But we gotta figure out how to put good people on the same page and it stays inside. I’ve never been a fan of negotiating in the media. I don’t think it’s good for anybody.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo speaks on being held out by Bucks: ‘I’m available’
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo speaks on being held out by the team for an injury he suffered on March 15: ‘I’m available’
Milwaukee, WI
Three Milwaukee youth now charged in Walker’s Point homicide
Milwaukee storm uproots tree, crushing both of man’s trucks
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Three Milwaukee teenagers are charged with felony murder in the Walker’s Point fatal shooting of a 35-year-old man April 14.
Milwaukee prosecutors issued charges of murder and attempted armed robbery in the killing of David Krause, which prosecutors and family said followed the man’s celebration of the city’s 414 Day celebration and asking the youth for a ride during the day’s heavy storms.
Milwaukee police said those arrested include a 16-year-old boy, a 14-year-old boy, a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. The girl was released without any charges being immediately filed, according to a children’s court official, while the other three are charged.
A Milwaukee County Court Commissioner ruled each of the three charged teens will remain in custody ahead of their next court proceedings.
Krause’s mother, Diane Krause, described her son’s killing as a “monstrous act” and a “senseless crime” during an April 28 court hearing for one of the teenagers.
Krause had been celebrating 414 Day when he was dropped off at a Walker’s Point gas station and later asked a group of teens for a ride during the day’s heavy rains, according to his mother and a juvenile petition, the charging document, filed against one of the teenagers.
Footage shows Krause entered the vehicle, which authorities say was stolen, and the vehicle drove away, according to the petition. Afterward, footage showed Krause running from the vehicle and toward a bar entrance, but two of the youth attacked him before he reached it and one shot him.
The teenager who is accused of pulling the gun’s trigger faces an additional charge of arson for allegedly attempting to burn the vehicle they used in order to destroy evidence, prosecutors said at an April 27 court hearing. During the hearing, it was detailed the youth had previously been charged with firearm and car-theft related offenses and his whereabout was unknown to authorities since September 2025.
The April 28 hearing comes days after the first teenager charged in Krause’s shooting was mistakenly released by Milwaukee County staff and re-arrested April 27. That incident is under review, a county spokesperson said.
Krause’s family has been critical of the mistake.
“Someone has to answer for their incompetence,” Diane Krause previously told the Journal Sentinel.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at: dclarey@usatodayco.com.
Milwaukee, WI
Undefeated Milwaukee boxer Daniel Blancas back on the big stage in Las Vegas
World Boxing Council president attends Diamondbacks-Mexico exhibition game
World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman shares his love of baseball and how it compares to boxing at the Diamondbacks-Mexico exhibition game.
Daniel Blancas will be back on the big stage May 2.
Fighting in Las Vegas. Every boxer’s dream.
At T-Mobile Arena, no less, the biggest room in the entertainment capital short of an NFL stadium.
Not bad for a kid who trained at the United Community Center on Milwaukee’s south side and frequently still does as an adult.
But Blancas has been here before. Two experiences of the night stand out.
“The atmosphere is amazing,” Blancas said recently. “Just watching through the tunnel leading into the ring, your mind is just everywhere. You’re feeling a bunch of emotions.
“Especially because at the end of the day, it’s just you and your opponent in the ring. It’s just myself and them fighting. Honestly, you’re excited. You’re anxious to get in the ring.
“Some people might feel nervous, you know?”
Not Blancas, though. At that point he’s prepared, he says, and if you’re prepared, why be nervous?
That’s the start of the night. The memorable start.
Then if all goes as planned – as has happened 14 times in 14 fights – comes the experience the 24-year-old Blancas loves most about the sport. The feeling that makes all the sweat and the miles and the getting hit in the face and the gut worthwhile.
“That feeling of when I get my hand raised at the end of the fight, knowing that I won, that’s one of the greatest feelings ever,” Blancas said. “Being able to experience that is, I’d say it’s really hard to describe, but it’s just an amazing feeling.
“Like you just feel untouchable during those moments because of how hard you work and all the hard work paid off.”
Blancas grew up the son of a boxer – Ignacio fought in Mexico before coming to the United States and helps train his son – and the grandson of a big boxing fan. Daniel is the oldest of three brothers. Aldo is 19 and made his pro debut in March. Mateo is 9.
Blancas put on the gloves for the first time at 8 and, influenced by the likes of multiclass champions Julio César Chávez and Juan Manuel Marquez, he hasn’t stopped hitting the bag since.
Blancas was 15, give or take, faring well in amateur tournaments, when he decided he could make a career in the sport. He won a championship for Team USA at the 2017 Junior Olympics.
Now the lanky, 6-foot-3 super middleweight nicknamed “Ice Man” is in his fifth year as a pro. His 14-0 record includes seven knockouts.
Next up is Blancas’ biggest fight and his longest, a scheduled 10-rounder against Raul Salomon (16-3-1, 14 KO), who has fought most recently as a light heavyweight.
“What I know is he’s a tough guy,” Blancas said. “He has some good experience. I know he could take a punch.
“He’s going to be a great fight for me, a great test, and I know he’s going to be ready for it, and so am I. I’ve been training really, really hard, getting ready for it.”
The fight is part of the undercard on a night headlined by the WBO cruiserweight title fight between two-class champion David Benavidez (31-0), the challenger, and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (48-1).
Blancas connected with Benavidez a few years back as the world was starting to return to normal after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and became one of about a half-dozen boxers considered part of his team.
“When I was in Los Angeles, visiting some family, the opportunity came up to actually spar him,” Blancas said. “And I went and did that, and him and his father really liked the sparring session. So we kept in touch.
“And then they reached out to my dad, because he’s one of my trainers as well. And they were like, ‘Come down to another training camp with us. We really liked how you did.’”
The relationship has paid off with training and sparring opportunities with one of the best and chances to fight on the undercard at some of the most prestigious venues in the country.
Blancas has never fought professionally in Wisconsin. The exceedingly few opportunities there might have been as he was coming up conflicted with other, more prestigious opportunities in one way or another.
Considering he spends only a couple of months at a time in Milwaukee between training camps, Blancas is proud of the fan base he has built in the community he still calls home.
“The city, they support me, a lot of the people support me. A lot of my friends support me,” Blancas said. “It feels good knowing that I’m loved back home in Milwaukee and it’s also an honor to represent the city because with everything going on sometimes in Milwaukee it’s a good thing to have someone doing something positive as well.”
This will be Blancas’ sixth fight in Las Vegas and second at T-Mobile.
“I feel really, really blessed because it’s been a long journey,” he said. “Now that I’m able to fight here in Las Vegas, especially on the big stages – like T-Mobile Arena, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay; I fought in all those spots – that’s a dream come true for me and for a lot of boxers growing up, because that’s where the big fights have always happened.
“Just being able to be part of history and being able to live that, it just feels like sometimes unreal.”
Boxing closer to home in Racine
Coincidentally, the same weekend as Blancas’ fight with Salomon, BMB promotions has a Cinco de Mayo program scheduled for Memorial Hall in Racine with amateurs on May 1 and professionals on May 2.
Fights start at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday, culminating with a 10-round super-welterweight bout between Michigan native Joey Spencer (20-2, 11 KO) and Dominican fighter Eudy Bernardo (27-9, 19 KO).
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee Alder Peter Burgelis joins Democrats challenging US Rep. Bryan Steil
A new Democrat has announced he’ll challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District in southeastern Wisconsin.
And while many national Democrats have been focused on flipping Wisconsin’s sharply competitive 3rd District, in the western part of the state, Milwaukee Alder Peter Burgelis said in his announcement Sunday that he thinks Steil’s district is flippable, too.
“We need a candidate who can get national attention, national money to counteract what Bryan Steil and his billionaire buddies are going to put in the race,” Burgelis said, announcing his bid on WISN-TV’s UpFront.
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Burgelis joins a crowded Democratic primary with no clear frontrunner, up against Steil, who has held the seat since 2019 and is a notedly successful fundraiser.
And the district has been in Republican hands for three decades, and notably held by former House Speaker Paul Ryan for 20 years.
But the district has changed shape since Steil first took office. In new congressional maps drawn by Gov. Tony Evers as part of a redistricting lawsuit in 2022, the district became more competitive.
It lost parts of Milwaukee’s conservative suburbs in Waukesha County, and gained ground around Democratic-leaning Janesville and Beloit. Now, it covers Racine and Kenosha counties, most of Walworth County, part of Rock County and a sliver of southern Milwaukee County.
Burgelis stands out from the current crop of Democratic hopefuls, including union nurse Mitchell Berman and Racine ironworker Randy Bryce, in part because he has held elected office before.
Still, it’s a longshot for a Democrat to unseat Steil, said Anthony Chergosky, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
“It would take a very good year for Democrats, plus a lot of money and the right candidate with the right message to be able to defeat Congressman Steil,” said Chergosky.
The district is on the list of 44 Congressional seats nationwide being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in a quest to flip the U.S. House this November. But according to the Cook Political Report, it leans Republican.
By comparison, the battle for western Wisconsin’s 3rd District is considered a toss-up — and has sparked the national fundraising numbers to match.
And according to Chergosky, Steil is a particularly strong candidate.
“He is an excellent campaigner. He has a full campaign war chest, and his approach to politics seems to resonate fairly well — or better, quite well — with the people in that region,” said Chergosky. “So if the bottom truly does fall out for Republicans, then I can imagine this district becoming competitive, but it would take a truly disastrous cycle for the GOP for Congressman Steil to be in serious jeopardy.”
Back in southeastern Wisconsin, Burgelis starts out with one big factor against him: he doesn’t currently live in the district. The Wisconsin Republican Party quickly seized on that fact Sunday, releasing a statement saying Burgelis will be more focused on Milwaukee than on 1st District constituents.
“Southeast Wisconsin can’t afford an out-of-district Milwaukee politician like Peter Burgelis,” stated WisGOP Spokesperson Anika Rickard. “He needs to decide who he wants to represent: the people of Milwaukee, where he lives and serves as alderman, or the hardworking families of the 1st District, where he has never lived.”
Burgelis responded to that critique, saying that his message of affordability will resonate anywhere.
“Voters don’t care where you live or what the driver’s license address is in my wallet. Voters care where you stand,” he said.
Burgelis has served on Milwaukee’s Common Council since 2024, and is the first openly LGBTQ+ alder. Before that, he was on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, during which time he was reportedly chastised for the way he treated female staffers.
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2026, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
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