Dorothy (played by an actress with Fitzpatrick blood and lineage) was right. There's no place like home. Bucks upset both Detroit and Dallas!

And after dismantling the Bad Boys. Dirk Nowitzki (41) had a few more enemies/friends as TJ Ford (left) scored a buzzer beating basket from Philip Fitzpatrick (right), as the Bucks squeaked past the Mavs.

Yes, He Does Go To Work, But The Pistons Were Lazy Against The Bucks.

What a difference a night makes... After being blown out by Minnesota last night, the Bucks returned the favor onthe best team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons, 104-89, as our hero, Fightin' Philip Fitzpatrick equaled a career high with 27 points while hauling down 13 rebounds. Michael Redd had his usual 20+ scoring night, racking up 24 points while the Bucks bullied Detroit on the boards, as Jamaal Magloire grabbed 14 rebounds, Fitzpatrick 13 and Bobby Simmons 12. By the way, Milwaukee outrebounded 'Bad Boys 2' 51 to 35! Another great achievement for Fitzie was that he made all 5 free throws he attempted! That put Philip at 50% for the season in free throws! Incidentally, the Bucks were 11-for-11 from the foul line. The only bright spot for Detroit was that Richard Hamilton led all scorers with 29 points. 'Bad Boys 2' would like to get their revenge when the Bucks come to Auburn Hills for the next meeting in January, but they must try to stop that 7'1" redhead with size 19 feet, Fightin' Philip Fitzpatrick!

Tuesday, November 29 at the Bradley Center:Bucks 85 Mavericks 83

Even though he only scored 11 points and grabbed just 7 rebounds, while dishing out 3 assists and blocking 2 shots, Philip Fitzpatrick made a difference in Milwaukee's 85-83 win over a good Dallas team. First, in the second quarter, Fightin' Fitzie made a open shot 3-pointer, making him 5-for-5 in three-point territory this season. And, with the score knotted up at 83, Fitzie made a dazzler pass to T.J. Ford, who made the game-winning layup with 0.5 seconds left. Fitzie can surprise you at any turn, whether shooting the ball, grabbing a big rebound, dishing out an assist, blocking a shot, even surprising you with a 3-pointer. That is what makes this 7'1" big fella out of Notre Dame special. Unfortunately, Fitzie's free throw shooting was out of synch, as he was 2-for-6 from the charity stripe, putting him below 50% from the line so far this year. And he was a great free throw shooter at Notre Dame! Anyway, the Bucks were winning ugly, as they made less than 40% of their shots (32-for-82), and it was a very low-scoring game. Michael Redd, the Bucks' leading scorer, scored 20 points, but did a miserable job shooting the ball as he was 6-for-20 from the field, but he did grab 7 rebounds, dish out 4 assists and also had 2 steals. Bobby Simmons was also in a shooting funk, going 5-for-16, but he had 8 rebounds. And Jamaal Magloire was 3-for-9, but for the 2nd straight game, he led the team in rebounds with 11.
The Bucks won, thanks to defense.

They held the Mavs' All-Star forward, Dirk Nowitzki to just 12 points, and Josh Howard was mired in a 1-for-7 shooting disaster. Dallas shot better than Milwaukee, led by the game's leading scorer, Jason Terry, with 25 points and Jerry Stackhouse, with 19, but the Mavs just were not making shots, and that is how they lost. As for the Bucks, they end up with a good start to the season, they end November with a 9-4 record, and as they start December with a game in Washington on the 2nd, one thing is clear: Philip Fitzpatrick will be the NBA Rookie of the Month for November. Congratulations, Fitzie!

Fitzpatrick's family, continued...

Msgr. Hugh Fitzpatrick, is Philip's uncle. Father Sean Fitzpatrick, oldest of the Fighting Fitzpatrick brothers.

An old picture of Finley Fitzpatrick, Philip's grandfather.

Extra: meet the Fitzpatrick brothers!

This is Philip's dad Henry, he's a former basketball player. He played for the Spurs, Nuggets and Kings. He was 6'9"/250 when he started his pro career, now he's 6'9"/300, maybe 310! Here are Philip's other brothers....

Aidan (right) is a defensive tackle for Notre Dame's
football team. Here he is with Patrick "Fat Pat" Doyle!

Philip's other brothers Conor and Colin. Colin is a great chemist, but he is a 6'9", 230 lb. pitcher for the Royals. He has size 19 feet and a 101 mph fast ball!

Don't let Luke's beard fool you. He is a young man, but he and Conor are following in Philip's footsteps playing basketball. Conor is playing for Notre Dame and Luke is playing for Iona. Conor is a junior forward for the Irish and Luke just wrapped up his sophomore year with the Gaels.

For the Wolves, something to howl about. For the Bucks, they cried wolf.

at the Target Center, November 25, 2005:Well, this is a disaster. The Bucks looked very, very flat tonight against Minnesota after a very impressive showing 2 days ago against Philadelphia. The result: A 107-70 blowout for the Timberwolves. Ricky Davis led the T-Wolves with 23 points and (as you all can expect) Kevin Garnett had a big night with 22 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists while Mark Blount had 14 points and 10 rebounds. I just was disgusted by the Bucks' performance tonight. Michael Redd was their leading scorer, but he only had 17 points, followed by Bobby Simmons with 15 and Philip Fitzpatrick with 10. It was a bad night for Fitzy... he was 4-for-12 from the field, a disastrous 2-for-8 from the foul line, and he only had 2 rebounds. On the bright side, he did have 3 assists and 2 blocks, though. What really made me disappointed in the Bucks was that they shot just 30.4 % from the field and 64.3% from the charity stripe compared to the T-Wolves' 56.5% field goal rate and a perfect 8-for-8 from the line, and the Wolves outrebounded the Bucks 55-45 and had twice the assists of Milwaukee, 22 to 11. All told, not a good night to be a Bucks fan. And it gets worse: the Detroit Pistons come to the Bradley Center tomorrow. I'll fill you in on the details in the next post.

Bucks 86 the Sixers, they are now 7-3!

Philadelphia 88

Bucks 111

Iverson hung 45 on the Bucks, but

Michael Redd and Fightin' Fitzie dominated the Sixers throughout the night!

The Bucks are beginning to be the most surprising team in the NBA, as their record improved to 7-3 after their 111-88 win over the Philadelphia 76ers tonight. Michael Redd led the Bucks with 36 points, Bobby Simmons had 18 points and 6 rebounds, T.J. Ford had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and of course, rookie Philip Fitzpatrick had 16 points, 19 rebounds, 6 assists and a block. For Philadelphia, Allen Iverson had 45 points (what else is new?) and Chris Webber had 18 points.Notes on tonight's game:Michael Redd has been an explosive scoring threat after the first 10 games for the Bucks. He is averaging 36.3 points per game so far!The Lumbering Leprechaun, Philip Fitzpatrick, has been the top rookie so far in the NBA. After 10 games, the 6'11", 265 lb. rookie power forward from Notre Dame is averaging 14.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and 5 assists a game!Allen Iverson has had the two highest scoring games for an opposing player so far this year. His 45 points tonight eclipses his 42 point effort on November 1, Opening Night.The Bucks shot exceptionally well tonight as they hit 53.7% of their shots (44 for 82) and 53.8% of their treys (7 for 13). Philly was 35 for 73 from the field (47.9%) and was 3 for 8 from 3-point land (37.5%). The Bucks also did better in the free throw department (Milwaukee:16 for 20, 80%, Philadelphia 15 for 22, 68.2 %.) Milwaukee also won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Sixers 45-35 (thanks to Mr. Fitzpatrick's 19 rebounds-that tied a career high, he also had 19 on November 2 at New Jersey). However, the 76ers had more assists, 21 to 20. In the turnover department, the 76ers committed 10 turnovers while the Bucks only coughed up the ball 5 times.The Bucks outscored Philly in every quarter, and in the 2nd period, the Bucks held the Sixers to a season-low 12 points.So the Bucks are now 7-3, on November 25, the Bucks travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Expect Philip Fitzpatrick to be seriously defended by the T-Wolves' Kevin Garnett in that game...

Bucks win in Salt Lake City, 2-2 on Western swing.

November 21 at Delta Center Energy Solutions Arena: Bucks 113 Jazz 111. Michael Redd had 33 points and Philip Fitzpatrick had a career best 27 points to go along with 15 rebounds, 4 assists and a block as all 5 Bucks starters scored in double figures. Andrei Kirilenko had a double-double for Utah with 25 points and 13 rebounds while Mehmet Okur had 22 points.

The Bucks are now a surprising 6-3 in the season so far, and they host Philadelphia on the day before Thanksgiving.

Bucks win one, then lose one in NoCal...

November 16 at The Arena in Oakland, now Oracle Arena: Bucks 103 Warriors 88. Michael Redd scored a career high 48 points in tonight's game while Bobby Simmons had 23 points and 4 steals to lead the Bucks to the win,as they improved to 5-2. Jason Richardson led Golden State with 27 points and Baron Davis had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Milwaukee's Philip Fitzpatrick only had 6 points, but he hauled down 14 rebounds, blocked 2 shots...and he handed out 11 assists! Not bad for a 6'11", 265-pound big fella!

November 18 at Arco Arena: Kings 101 Bucks 97. Mike Bibby led Sac-town with 30 points while Brad Miller had 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists as the Kings handed the Bucks their 3rd loss in this, their 8th game of the 2005-2006 campaign. Michael Redd followed his 48 point performance in the game against the Warriors with a 44 point effort while Bobby Simmons had a career high 29 points. Philip Fitzpatrick was held to just 6 points, but the 6'11" rookie power forward from Notre Dame had 15 rebounds, 6 assists and a career high 6 blocked shots!
On to Utah to finish the road trip...