It will be the Milwaukee Bucks against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup championship game.
The top seeds from the East and West both enjoyed semifinal wins on Saturday, with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the Bucks to a win over the Atlanta Hawks and the Thunder outlasting the Houston Rockets in a clash of defensive-minded squads.
The championship is scheduled for Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Las Vegas, with a prize pool of more than $500,000 per player up for grabs. The game will not count for regular season standings or stats.
The No. 1 NBA team in defensive rating is the Thunder. The No. 2 NBA team in defensive rating is the Rockets.
They certainly looked the part at T-Mobile Arena. It wasn’t pretty at times, but the Thunder will take it after outlasting Houston in a 111-96 win.
The first half was slow in particular, which ended with the Rockets up 42-41 and both teams shooting below 33% from the field. It was OKC that woke up first, taking a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter and eventually expanding it to 15 points.
The defensive intensity didn’t stop Shai Gilegous-Alexander from hitting 32 points, his 13th 30-point game of the season, plus eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.
Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort and Jalen Williams also contributed at least 19 points each, with Hartenstein getting the better of Rockets standout big man Alperen Şengün (13 points on 6-of-16 shooting, four turnovers, five fouls).
Antetokounmpo finished just shy of a triple-double with 32 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the win. He shot 10-of-15 from the field, too. Damian Lillard wasn’t far behind with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds, though he went just 5-of-14 from behind the arc.
Trae Young did everything possible to keep the Hawks in it in the third quarter after a tight opening half in Las Vegas. He shot 6-of-7 from the field in the period and put the Hawks in the lead entering the final period.
Finally, though, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks surged ahead down the stretch. They mounted a quick 7-1 run late in the fourth quarter, powered by three short buckets from Antetokounmpo, to finally separate from the Hawks. Antetokounmpo sealed the deal in the final minutes, too, with a wild block on Clint Capela at the rim to break up an alley-oop.
Young led the Hawks with a near-triple-double of his own. He finished with 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for Atlanta, which dropped to 14-13 on the season with the loss. Jalen Johnson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and De’Andre Hunter added 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Here’s how it all went down at Yahoo Sports:
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER55 updates
Among concerns the league has a competition problem, the veteran coach made his stance known after the Bucks advanced past the Hawks to the NBA Cup final: “There’s nothing wrong with saying you want to win something.”
Randy Vargas, an elementary/middle education major at UWL, works with students at the Notre Dame School of Milwaukee through the summer Milwaukee Urban Experiences program.
Student teaching is often the most transformative experience in an education major’s college career — putting lessons taught in the classroom to work in a real-life setting, while having an experienced educator as a mentor.
The collaboration between the UW-La Crosse and the Notre Dame School of Milwaukee has become a model for meaningful professional development, enriching the teaching and learning experience for educators, student teachers and students alike.
Angie From, a seventh and eighth grade math and religion teacher at Notre Dame, has mentored several UWL student teachers. For From, these connections often extend beyond the classroom.
“I really enjoy building relationships with UWL students,” From says. “I still keep in touch with many of them, and it’s rewarding to see how they grow as educators.”
Notre Dame benefits significantly from the partnership. From explains that UWL student teachers provide her with additional support and fresh perspectives, allowing her to focus on instructional planning while also fostering the development of future teachers.
“Having student teachers assist with grading and correcting assignments is a win-win,” From says. “It helps them familiarize themselves with the students — their strengths and areas of struggle — while giving me more time to focus on lesson planning. It’s also a practical way for them to start understanding the balance required in a teaching career.”
For Notre Dame students, the presence of UWL student teachers means more personalized support and expanded educational opportunities.
“The students benefit from having another person in their corner. UWL student teachers bring new energy and ideas to the classroom,” From explains. This support is particularly valuable in her station-based learning model, in which extra educators enhance the depth of instruction.
The partnership also helps seasoned educators like From stay sharp and innovative.
“Mentoring student teachers gives me fresh ideas and techniques that are being taught today,” From says. “They often introduce me to new technologies and methods that keep my teaching relevant and effective.”
From also highlights the professionalism and preparedness of UWL student teachers.
“UWL student teachers have always stood out,” From says. “They come in well-prepared, approach student teaching with enthusiasm and consistently do an outstanding job.”
Each student teacher brings unique strengths to the classroom, From says, from being fluent in another language to designing engaging activities or leveraging sports to connect with students.
By combining the expertise of experienced educators with the fresh perspectives of aspiring teachers, UWL and Notre Dame are cultivating a dynamic learning environment that prepares students and teachers for success.
Written by UW-La Crosse
Link to original story: https://www.uwlax.edu/news/posts/a-powerful-partnership-mue/
MILWAUKEE — A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from making large cuts to medical research funding on Wednesday. It’s just a temporary pause.
This comes weeks after the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced it could lose $65 million under a new federal effort to cut down on medical research costs, according to court documents filed Monday.
Some of the university’s largest medical research programs aim to treat Alzheimer’s disease and discover cures to cancer.
The lack of research on Alzheimer’s is worrisome for people like Ben Koenigs. He believes research is vital to find a cure for the devastating disease.
Ben Koenigs
“If someone doesn’t have to deal with what I have had to deal with for so long, then awesome,” Koenigs said.
It’s been a tough decade for his family. They’ve watched his dad, Bernie, slowly suffer from Alzheimer’s.
Ben Koenigs
TMJ4’s Megan Lee asked Koenigs what it’s like to have his dad physically here but mentally fading.
Koenigs said, “I mean it’s hard.”
They moved his dad to a nursing home as his memory started to decline.
“Watching my dad suffer for like ten years with this is making me a little bit stronger but not all the time and it never gets easier really,” Koenigs said.
Ben Koenigs
He isn’t alone in this scary reality. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 120,000 people in Wisconsin had Alzheimer’s in 2020. That number is expected to grow this year.
“What’s scary is like it was my grandpa on my mom’s side and then now it’s my dad, so it’s like oh boy it’s coming for me,” Koenigs said.
Watch: Milwaukee caregiver worried over potential Alzheimer’s federal research cuts
Concerns about potential cuts to Alzheimer’s research
The Alzheimer’s Association says nearly 7 million Americans are living with the disease and research must continue. Especially at research centers like the one at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“I don’t see any reason why it should be stopped at all, it doesn’t make too much sense to me,” Koenigs said.
The Alzheimer’s Association said cuts and changes from the National Institutes of Health will be far reaching.
“I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to try make people live as long as possible, as comfortable as possible with the right resources,” Koenigs said.
Koenigs wants to prevent the next family from watching their loved ones fade away.
“Unfortunately, it might be too late for my father, but like anything that could help with the next person that might be struggling with this stuff,” Koenigs said.
Ben Koenigs
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The split-squad Brewers will take on the split-squad White Sox on Wednesday afternoon as the two teams face off in a home and away series. One game will be played at American Family Fields of Phoenix and the other will be held at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, the spring home of the White Sox.
Freddy Peralta will get the ball first for the Cactus Crew in the home game, making his second start of the spring. Peralta posted an uninspiring stat line in his first outing against the Giants (2 IP, 3 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 3 K), but most of the damage came on a single mistake that Matt Chapman hit over the fence. Bryse Wilson will be the first pitcher for the White Sox in this matchup. He faces the Brewers in his second spring training appearance after being non-tendered by the club in the offseason. Wilson signed a one-year deal with Chicago, where he will get a shot as a starting pitcher after two solid seasons in a long-relief role for Milwaukee.
In the away matchup for the Crew, Tobias Myers will make his second start of the spring after his one-inning outing against the Rangers on Saturday, in which he gave up no runs on one hit with one strikeout. Myers will face 13-year veteran Martín Pérez who signed a one-year, $5-million deal with the White Sox in January. Pérez has been a league-average innings eater for most of his career, but had one All-Star season in 2022 when he posted a 2.89 ERA across 32 starts for the Rangers.
Also slated to pitch today for the road Brewers is Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson, and Grant Anderson. The home Brewers will also deploy Deivi García, Abner Uribe, Nick Mears, and Bruce Zimmermann. Uribe’s appearance will mark his first game back since missing the second half of 2024 with a knee injury that required surgery.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Brewers will keep most of their expected starters at home with Brice Turang, Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, William Contreras, Garrett Mitchell, and Joey Ortiz all staying back to face Wilson. Tyler Black at first base, Caleb Durbin at third base, and Mark Canha as the DH round out the lineup for the home Brewers. Most notably from the defensive lineup is the fact that Yelich will be in LF today, not serving as the team’s DH.
Rhys Hoskins and Sal Frelick will get their at-bats with the away Brewers, featuring a lineup that also includes Vinny Capra, Oliver Dunn, Manuel Margot, Andruw Monasterio, Eric Haase, Jorge Alfaro, and Luis Lara. Dunn will be at third base, with Capra at short and Monasterio at second, as the three compete for a spot on the big-league roster.
First pitch for the road Crew is at 2:05 p.m. with the home game starting at 2:10 p.m. The home game will also be available via radio on mlb.com.
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