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Friday News Drop: Where burgers, basketball and babies intersect

In a Photoshopped image, a man in a basketball uniform is surrounded by double cheeseburgers superimposed on the original photo.
Culver's / Giannis Antetokounmpo / Facebook

Milwaukee’s a big city with a lot going on. Catch up before spending your weekend either purposely or accidentally ignoring the news.

Now THAT’S a 50 burger

We usually end the roundup with the heartwarming stuff, but this one deserves the leadoff spot.

In case you’re not familiar with the food reference, Urban Dictionary defines 50 burger as: “Putting up 50 points against an opposing team in a sport that typically does not have such a high-scoring stat line.” In that context, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been eating this week.

On Sunday, he slapped a half-century on the New Orleans Pelicans in a 135-110 win, then put up 54 points for good measure four days later in a 106-105 squeaker against the L.A. Clippers. Following that latter performance Thursday night, he dragged Chick-Fil-A for not hooking him up with free meals (curious complaint, but whatever) and gave Culver’s some nice publicity by saying he’d head over there for 50 cheeseburgers.

Friday morning, the Wisconsin-based burger joint did Giannis one better and donated 54,000 diapers to the Milwaukee Diaper Mission. His partner, Mariah Riddlesprigger, is a member of the mission, and the pair do a lot of high-profile work for the organization.

As of this writing, no word on whether Giannis followed through on his burger haul. For Mila’s sake, we hope he does.

Marquette taps into new beverage options

Just in time for National Marquette Day this Saturday, Feb. 4, the university that for one glorious week adopted the nickname “Gold” announced two pieces of news that will bring a certain golden-hued beverage to its students, alum and other supporters.

Starting tomorrow, beer (and wine) will be available at two of the school’s sports venues: the Al McGuire Center and Valley Fields. According to a release, Marquette did some research before coming to the decision, which “brings Marquette Athletics in line with its peers in the Big East and many other colleges and universities in the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, SEC and other major NCAA conferences that offer beer and wine sales during games.”

One of those beers served at the Al will be a craft offering concocted by three Marquette students with help from a few very well-qualified alumni. Business majors Jackson Cosgriff, Will Dales and Connor Nelson, and advertising major Gracie Pionek (who’s also chasing a minor in graphic design) decided on something accessibly drinkable they dubbed '77 Golden Ale as a nod to the men’s basketball team’s NCAA championship season.

Four college students sit at a long table with four cans of beer in front of them.
Marquette University
Marquette students (from left) Grace Pionek, Connor Nelson, Will Dales and Jackson Cosgriff.

The suds-related alums lending their expertise included David Dupee of Good City, Tim Pauly of Broken Bat, Joe Yeado of Gathering Place and Kevin Brauer of Draught Guard, along with MU innovator-in-residence Chuck Swoboda.

The limited-edition beverage will be available on National Marquette Day at the Al and Fiserv Forum, as well as all three of the aforementioned breweries’ respective taprooms. The university also noted that “limited retail availability is expected soon.”

The groundhogs saw their shadows

Two of them did anyway. Gordy at the Milwaukee County Zoo and his famous fellow rodent Punxsutawney Phil both predicted six more weeks of winter, likely contradicting dozens if not hundreds of other groundhogs across the country. I can’t believe we’re still doing this.

Don’t forget about Mitten Fest this Saturday. Have a great weekend, whatever you wind up doing.