Greater Milwaukee Men

(Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) With Giannis officially being the NBA MVP last night, Milwaukee, the 30th largest city in the US, has the current reigning MVP in baseball and basketball. This has happened 23 times before, and the next smallest metro area to do so before was 19th (St. Louis). But what does this mean, if anything? Does it help the city at all, especially for non-sportsballers? The short answer is: yes.

Come see what's brewin'... Oh sorry, wrong team, still, the play on words, I had to. The Milwaukee Bucks and Colectivo Coffee are partnering on a limited-edition Bucks Blend Coffee that will be featured as Colectivo’s Coffee of the Week from Monday, Feb. 25 – Sunday, March 3 at all 13 Milwaukee-area Colectivo locations. Prior to that, the coffee will be available for sampling and purchase at Bucks games tonight and Saturday, Feb. 23, at each Bucks Pro Shop location at Fiserv Forum. In addition, one-pound bags of Bucks Blend Coffee are also available for purchase on a limited basis at shop.bucks.com. One dollar from the sale of each one-pound bag will go to the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation .

Bucks rookie G Michael Brogdon If you are an sports fan you can probably name at least a few recent NBA MVPs, if you are an Association fan most or all of them. Rookie of the Year (ROTY)? Even the biggest fan probably can't name a majority. Maybe that was part of his thinking when Bucks rookie guard Michael Brogdon asked his team to cancel their plans to spend money on promoting him for the award and instead donate the money to charity.

The Milwaukee Bucks and their partners at the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network are teaming up to build a healthier community through the new BucksFit platform, which launches Monday, Jan. 2 and continues through the end of the month. The program is highlighted by a community-wide 30-day fitness challenge in which members of the community who take the BucksFit pledge to incorporate healthy activities into their daily routine throughout the month will have the chance to win unique Bucks prizes including courtside seats, meet-and-greets with Bucks players, and the chance to participate in a community boot camp to be held at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Feb. 11.

It's been a busy, and very sad start to 2016. Deaths of celebrities (athletes and musicians) and many, too many, every day citizens, have dominated my experience so far. But last week I saw something that brightened my spirits, especially for Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Bucks have taken a positive step towards becoming more involved in the community with the launch of the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation .

The Milwaukee Bucks are offering free tickets to Wisconsin military veterans under Milwaukee County's Purple Heart Pass Program . Milwaukee County's Purple Heart Pass program was started in 2013 by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and the Milwaukee County Veterans Service Office  as a way to recognize that award by granting Wisconsin's Purple Heart recipients a free pass to some of Milwaukee County's world class attractions. Any veteran in Wisconsin who has received a Purple Heart decoration is eligible for the pass. The Milwaukee County Veterans Service Office (MCVSO) will administer the pass, verifying eligibility through military service records. Purple Heart Veterans can contact MCVSO Director Jim Duff via phone (414.266.1235) or email (jduff@milwcnty.com) for more information on obtaining a pass.

Join BloodCenter of Wisconsin on March 4 at the 14th Annual Milwaukee Bucks Blood Drive from 7 am to 7 pm at the BMO Harris Bradley Center at 1001 N. 4th Street. As a special thank you for your life-saving gift, all attempting donors will receive a limited-edition t-shirt and a voucher for a pair of tickets for one of the following games: Wednesday, March 5 vs. Sacramento Kings (7pm) Monday, March 10 vs. Orlando Magic (7pm) Free parking and childcare will be provided the day of the blood drive. (Donors should enter at the Potawatomi Gate off of 4th and Highland) Click here to make an appointment.

Score Free Bucks Tickets at the State Fair Park Household Hazardous Waste Collection (For Milwaukee County Residents Only). Ten randomly chosen customers will receive a pair of tickets to the Milwaukee Bucks 2013 regular season home opener just by dropping off unused household chemicals this Friday and Saturday at State Fair Park. Five pairs of tickets will be given away Friday and five on Saturday. Any Milwaukee County resident dropping off compact fluorescent light bulbs, used motor oil, rechargeable batteries and many more approved items at State Fair Park is eligible to win.

Ask and you shall receive, I guess. Just when I questioned the Bucks organization and players on their community involvement, I see a news story that Brandon Jennings (who I did note has been involved) worked with Hunger Task Force  to give a great holiday gift to 200 local children. They rented out Dave & Busters to treat them to a day of fun, games, and of course food and gave autographs to all in attendance. Great to see Jennings prove me wrong and dish it out off the court.

I normally like to keep things positive here - talk only about what good men are doing  versus what they should do or aren't doing. In fact I think this is my first ever negative post. But the more I hear about local professional sports teams the more I ask myself the question "Where are the Bucks?" And I don't mean in the standings, but in the community. What's Missing Here? There may be nothing I like more here at Well-Met than the chance to praise athletes and teams for their charitable efforts. When someone that people consider a hero truly acts as one, the world is all right. And as you can see right here, it happens very often with members of the  Brewers  and  Packers , even the smaller teams like the  Admirals  (involved in  Movember  and more) and the  Wave  with their Wave of Hope program are involved in the community and take ownership of the  communities in their names whether Milwaukee or Green Bay or wh...

While the NBA is on lockout, Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks has been using his time wisely. Since he cannot use team facilities to workout, he asked UnderArmour if he could use their facilities, and in turn they have made him an intern . Not only is he staying physically fit, but as someone who never went to college he is also getting useful experience for his post-pro days. Jennings was the first basketball player to be endorsed by the previously football-centric company.  And he used his partnership with them to make sure he was not wasting his time during the lockout. Sure he is getting some interesting perks as an intern and his title sounds somewhat superficial - 'Curator of Cool', but Under Armour says they are actually using his input. Hey if Willie G. Davidson can be the Chief Styling Officer of Harley-Davidson why can't Curator of Cool be a valid position?

Here is a pretty amazing story about 4 players, one of them a current Buck (Corey Maggette), stepping up to take care of their coach when the team wouldn't. Clippers assistant coach Kim Hughes found out he had cancer. Then it got worse, the team said they wouldn't pay for the surgery. Maggette and several other players stepped up and paid for the surgery. And a good thing because it turned out to be worse than expected. Hughes made a comment that showed that they were truly Well-Met: "It showed you what classy people they are. They didn't want me talking about it; they didn't want the recognition because they simply felt it was the right thing to do."