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It always seemed like destiny for Chloe Marotta to wear a Marquette women's basketball jersey.

There's the well-known family history, with several generations competing for the men's team. She wears No. 52 like her late father, Marc, and her brother, Cam.

Marotta has written her own impressive chapter in that legacy in five seasons, scoring over 1,000 points and being among the program's top 10 in career rebounds as she enters her final regular-season game for the Golden Eagles against DePaul on Monday at the Al McGuire Center.

"I feel like I’ve done a good job on the women’s side of things," Marotta said. "I think that that’s something that’s very special to me. I came in knowing the men’s program a lot, through my dad, through my brother and just being a supporter from before I was even born.

"So I learned a lot about that, but now just doing that on the women’s side has been phenomenal. Seeing the little girls in the crowd is biggest thing for me. Because I was once that little girl who looked up to these players. The fact they send us homemade bracelets and written letters and just how motivated they are to see us and talk about how strong we look. It’s just awesome to see that."

There's just so many MU connections in Marotta's life, including one who showed up when she needed it the most.

Marotta and Joe Chapman met at the right time in each other's lives

Marc Marotta died unexpectedly in April 2015. Chloe was already serious about basketball at Homestead High School, with the same knack for hustle plays and rebounding as her dad.

"I was just going into my sophomore year," Marotta said. "It was just after my dad had passed, so I was looking for a trainer because I had always worked out with him."

Enter Joe Chapman, who played on MU's 2003 Final Four team and was back in the Milwaukee area after over a decade of playing professionally in foreign leagues. He was connected with Marotta with help from Homestead coach Corey Wolf, a former MU women's player.

"My sister (McKenna) will always take credit for this," Marotta said. "My little sister was the first person that he trained, and then I was an hour later. So she always claims ‘They always say you were the first!’“

Chapman was looking for the next move in his career, and it clicked into place when he started training Marotta at the full-sized halfcourt in the Marottas' basement.

"We’d been through a lot of wars with Coach (Tom) Crean (at MU)," Chapman said. "We know how to train kids as far as what kind of level of intensity you want to go down.

"I got lucky enough to have my first client to be somebody who is a hard worker and somebody who is dedicated, who wanted to be in the gym and kept pushing the envelope for me as far as a trainer and a coach."

Chapman Basketball Academy comes out of the bond

Their future paths were set from that meeting.

Marotta's game blossomed into that of a surefire Division 1 player and she committed to MU as a junior. Through word of mouth from Marotta, Chapman started training more young players, and out of that basement grew the Chapman Basketball Academy AAU teams.

"It was kind of a perfect storm," Chapman said. "In the area, they didn’t have an AAU program or a trainer. So my first clients that I had that were fourth and fifth graders and then Chloe’s group. They all asked do you mind starting an AAU program?

"This is our sixth season coming up. We had two girls teams and three boys teams that first year and we’re over 85 teams in Year 6. It’s about 1,550 (players) all together and that’s including three day camps."

Marotta and Chapman also persevered through more adversity when Marotta rehabbed through an ACL injury that robbed her of her senior season at Homestead.

"She couldn’t be in the gym and I was just there every day doing boxing with her," Chapman said. "Doing ball-handling in chairs. Doing form shooting for hours on hours, fixing her form. Working on her first three steps in a cast."

Chapman feels fortunate for the twists of fate that brought them together.

"I was just retiring from playing not knowing what I was going to be doing," he said. "I didn’t know if I was retiring or not. She came along and kind of changed my idea of what I can be. A lot of us play past our prime and play until we’re 40.

"I was 31 and played 11 years and I kind of saw what I could be good at there. It was her first or second year losing her dad and Cam was in college, first year, so it was kind of an easier transition for me to come in and help her through a tough period in her life that we’d all been through. I lost both parents at a young age, so I was able to relate how to get past tough moments, but also dig our heels in the ground and let’s get to work. "

Marotta thrives under coaches Carolyn Kieger and Megan Duffy

Marotta arrived at MU for the 2018-19 season as the lone freshman on a loaded veteran team. She earned playing time through her hustle and her rebounding ability. But over five seasons, she's worked her way into being a highly skilled leader who is averaging 14.5 points and 9 rebounds per game this season.

"I would credit the player development here a lot," Marotta said. "Coach (Justine) Raterman, or Coach J is what we call her, she’s my position coach and she’s helped develop me tremendously.

"I think Coach J and Coach (Megan) Duffy looked at me the first couple years, saw what I could improve on and they have helped me from that day forward. That’s kind of what’s happening my fifth year, doing and using the skills that they’ve taught me and we continuously repped over and over again."

Marotta plans to play professionally overseas and then attend law school. She's had a unique experience at MU, going through a coaching change from Carolyn Kieger to Duffy, then her sophomore season was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She played in empty arenas the next season, and then got a bonus year of NCAA eligibility.

"I’m definitely going to remember the people here," Marotta said. "Coach Duffy, all the coaches and then my teammates. I think that’s the biggest thing.

"Yes, we’ve gone to the NCAA Tournament, yes we’ve beat UConn and done all these amazing things and the experience has been tremendous. But the experiences that I’ve had off the court have been even more surreal.

"I think that’s something that, first of all I am going to miss the most, that I’m always going to remember as the people that taught me how to be a great person and a great basketball player at the same time. It’s hard to put into words how appreciative I am of those people.”

Spring training is a wonderful time of year with the promise of a new season and hope for young players to make the big league roster, potentially for the first time. A strong spring can quicken a prospect's timeline to a promotion. The Brewers have several such prospects in this position in spring training in 2023.

The hard work put into building back up the Brewers farm system is finally about to bear some fruit. Milwaukee has several young prospects in camp with a legitimate chance to crack the Opening Day roster or at the very least speed up their timeline to a promotion.

Brewers Prospect To Watch #1: OF Garrett Mitchell

If you weren't keeping a close eye on Mitchell before, after his multi-homer performance against the Dodgers, you certainly are now.

Garrett Mitchell was the Crew's first round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and he has risen through the system quickly. After making his MLB debut last season with much success and a lot of fanfare, Mitchell is the leading candidate to be the Brewers starting centerfielder heading into the season.

Continuing to hit like that will only solidify his grip on the centerfield job.

Mitchell has always had plenty of power but his approach at the plate and swing hasn't been geared toward tapping into that raw power. Because of that, some scouts and prospect writers have downplayed Mitchell's potential and future role. While it's not clear if Mitchell has made specific changes in order to tap into that power more consistently, he certainly was able to in the first game of spring training.

Mitchell is an exciting player to watch regardless, but he's coming into camp looking to lock down that centerfield job and so far, so good on that front. The competition and the battle for the job will only make watching him play that much more exciting.

Arizona Diamondbacks v Milwaukee Brewers / Kayla Wolf/GettyImages

Brewers Prospect To Watch #2: SS/2B Brice Turang

Many people believed that Brice Turang would get a September call up at the end of last season, including Turang himself. It didn't happen. The Brewers opted to bring up Mitchell instead and while calling up Mitchell was a good move, it's led Turang to come to camp hungry.

The Brewers added Turang to the 40 man roster this offseason and traded incumbent second baseman Kolten Wong away. While Turang is a shortstop by trade, he played all around the diamond last season for Triple-A Nashville. Since Willy Adames is entrenched at shortstop, for now, Turang won't be playing there but there's plenty of open playing time at second base.

However, the Brewers added a lot of competition for Turang in the infield over the offseason. They brought in Abraham Toro in that Wong trade, as well as Owen Miller, and Brian Anderson. Plus there's Luis Urias and Mike Brosseau who were already on the roster that can handle second base duties.

The plan at second base is very much up in the air. One thing working in Turang's favor is that he's a left handed hitter. All the other candidates for time at second base are right handed hitters, with the exception of Toro who is a switch hitter. If the Brewers opt for a platoon to split time, Turang is likely to be a part of it and as a lefty, he'd get the lion's share of the starts.

Turang had the best season of his career to this point in 2022. HIs power ticked up, he set career highs in several categories, including doubles, homers, OPS, batting average, stolen bases, and RBIs. He appears ready to make the jump, but the final step is a strong spring training to prove he's ready. Keep a close eye on him as the spring unfolds.

If you’re a fan of travel guru Rick Steves, then you likely know he’s an accomplished pianist. So maybe it’s not terribly surprising that the Washington State-based writer, podcaster, television presenter, tour operator and all-around travel advocate will perform with the the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in March.

However, Steves won’t tickle the ivories during the two performances of “Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey,” the evening of Saturday, March 11 with a matinee on Sunday, March 12 at the Bradley Symphony Center, 212 W. Wisconsin Ave.

“It's a show where I get to take people on a musical tour around Europe, stopping in in six or seven different countries,” Steves says. “I get to be the tour guide and for each piece I introduce the piece and put it in a historical context, and then the screen comes down and we have beautiful images from that country as the orchestra plays that piece.

“What I'm illustrating, we start off with ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,” and I remind people how all our hearts kind of pitter-patter when we hear something close to our culture like Aaron Copeland or John Philip Sousa or ‘America the Beautiful.’ And then I remind people that every country has that same kind of musical patriotism.”

The musical and informational tour will encompass Norway, Italy, France, the Czech Republic and other favorite travel destinations. The music, Steves says, will focus on the Romantic Era in the 19th century.

That, he adds, is, “when romanticism was the natural cheerleader of national movements.

“And in the end, we just celebrate Europe's passion for self-determination and freedom with Beethoven's ‘Ode to Joy.’ So it's just a real fun concert. I've given it all over the country, and it sounds like we've got a couple of enthusiastic crowds that are going to gather together for two concerts in Milwaukee.”

Is Steves is disappointed he won’t get a chance to play with the orchestra?

“Oh, no,” he says with a laugh. “That would not be good.”

But, despite his modesty, Steves’ musical past is deep, having played in the band at college and given piano lessons.

“My first trips to Europe were going to Germany to visit the piano factories with my dad, who imported pianos,” he added.

Still, Steves is passionate about these performances with American orchestras.

“I'm also a historian and I just love how we can open ourselves up to the same thrills that the Czech people get when they hear ‘Smetana’ or the Viennese, the goosebumps they get when they hear a Strauss waltz or the Norwegians when they feel the beauty of the Fjord country coming through in the music of Edvard Grieg.

“I get to stand on stage and give people the context for this piece, and it's amazing how that little bit of good tour guiding, especially with the images they're going to see, gives the next piece powerful context. And it's just a real way to gain appreciation for music, especially during the Romantic Age. Creative directors and symphonies love this and it's been a popular show.”

The show is a logical extension of Steves’ decades of not only urging people to travel and dive headlong into other cultures to meet people who can lead them to a broader, more open-minded international consciousness, but also of demystifying the practical side of travel and making it seem much more do-able to many, especially those with limited budgets.

Never one just to present a list of popular tourist attractions, Steves has always encouraged traveling "off the beaten path" – meeting people, staying at independent hotels and inns run by locals, dining at family owned restaurants and appreciating history, art and culture.

The MSO show can help us deepen an appreciation for other cultures and to feel a kinship with people whose countries also fought for independence and treasure freedom.

“That is exactly my goal,” he says. “And it's just a fun-loving way to remind Americans not to be too ethnocentric, be open to other cultures.”

Details on tickets, performance times and more for “Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey” can be found here.

During his visit, Steves will also appear at an event in support of Milwaukee PBS at Dominican High School, 120 E. Silver Spring Dr. in Whitefish Bay.

On Sunday, March 12 at 7 p.m. Steves will give a 90-minute talk – called “European Travel: Beyond the Familiar” – about the current travel situation in Europe.

“It's going to be a very practical and entertaining update on what's going on in Europe right now post-COVID and with the war in Ukraine and so on,” Steves says.

“And also just how to have an economic and efficient experience, but also how to have the most vivid experience. What do you do to really have transformational travel, to get the value of travel?”

Ex-Fabula will also be on hand collecting short travel stories from audience members. Some of the stories will be shared at the event.

Tickets can be purchased here.

“Whenever I'm in town, I like to help out with the local public television station,” Steves says. “So this is a fundraiser for Milwaukee PBS. I'm really thankful to have public television as a platform so I can share my passion for Europe.”

Steves notes that he’s spent more than 100 days a year in Europe for the past 40 years and has never run out of new and exciting things to see and do. This summer, he’s headed to Poland and Iceland to film some new episodes.

“I've been there a lot in the last six months. My latest thing is long distance hikes on venerable trails in the Alps,” he says, “and that's a lot of fun. Also, barging on the canals of Bergendal.”

But, Steves says, his talk here will focus heavily on the travel realities of the moment and how to best prepare for them.

“How to travel during the pandemic, as I'm sure we'll be dealing with a little bit of COVID going forward in 2023,” Steves explains. “People do have to understand that there are new ways to travel and there's also going to be huge crowds. How to deal with crowds, because crowds are a big problem.

“The importance of planning a smart itinerary to give people the ability to turn their travel dreams into smooth and affordable reality. Not my travel dreams for them, but help them know that there's many different ways to enjoy Europe. And if they just equip themselves with good information and expect themselves to travel smart, they can.”

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He can be heard weekly on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories.

Three wins in a row has Kentucky rising in the updated USA TODAY Sports NCAA Tournament bracket and a few wins away from locking down a place in the 68-team field, something that was unthinkable earlier this month.

Two of these three wins have come on the road, including Wednesday night's 82-74 victory against Florida. This winning streak has put Kentucky on firmer tournament footing after an ugly loss at Georgia on Feb. 11 dropped the Wildcats into the middle of the pack in the SEC.

With three games left in the regular season, including two against SEC teams currently in our bracket in Auburn and Arkansas, Kentucky is in position to finish third in the conference standings and be a trendy pick to make some noise come tournament play.

LOOKING AHEAD:Big 12, Big Ten showdowns lead weekend's top games

CHASING HISTORY:Unlikely star nears Pete Maravich’s scoring record

Follow every game: Latest NCAA Men's College Basketball Scores and Schedules

TRAVELING MAN:College basketball fans sees every Division team in person

There are no changes to the No. 1 line — Alabama, Houston, Kansas and Purdue — but one change at No. 2, with Marquette replacing Baylor. The Golden Eagles are now two games up in the Big East after beating Creighton and close to securing the program's first conference championship in a decade. The Bears have fallen into fourth place in the Big 12 after road losses to Kansas and Kansas State.

The Big Ten has nine teams in the bracket, with Wisconsin moving out of the play-in round after Wednesday's 64-52 win against Iowa.

Last four in

Memphis, Southern California, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State.

First four out

North Carolina, Texas Tech, Utah State, Penn State.

Next four out

Michigan, Arizona State, Oregon, New Mexico.

Conference breakdown

Multi-bid leagues: Big Ten (9), Big 12 (8), SEC (8), ACC (5), Big East (5), Mountain West (3), Pac-12 (3), American Athletic (2), West Coast (2).

Milwaukee's combined sewers were opened up for overflow into local bodies of water late Monday morning, after more than two inches of rain fell in some areas. These water bodies drain into Lake Michigan.

According to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, an overflow started about 11:10 a.m., after the Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility reached 100% capacity.

As of 12:40 PM Monday, the South Shore Water Reclamation Facility also reached 100% capacity, and the deep tunnel was at 82% capacity.

More:Climate change is bringing heavier rains. Here are steps Wisconsin communities are taking to combat flooding.

Because the ground is frozen and covered in snow and ice, water can't seep into the ground like it normally would, according to Bill Graffin, the public information officer at MMSD.

It's unclear when the overflow will stop, he said.

MMSD has the ability to allow overflows to happen in order to prevent sewage backups into homes and businesses. Overflows are used after MMSD's Deep Tunnel fills during heavy rain and more water is flowing into the treatment plants than can be processed.

The overflow followed on the heels of the announcement of a flood advisory for all of Milwaukee County and parts of Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha Counties Monday morning.

Though heavy rain is expected to continue throughout the day the National Weather Service has said widespread flooding is unlikely at this time. However, experts have identified areas that are more at risk of flood during this storm.

More:Interactive map pinpoints Milwaukee areas most at risk for flooding, related health risks

These include small streams, low-lying areas and urban areas where drains and downspouts may have been blocked or clogged by snow.

The weather service also issued a flood warning for the Root River Canal at Raymond in Racine County where minor flooding is forecasted. The warning is expected to last until the early hours of Wednesday morning.

MMSD has started work on programs that promote the preservation of land along the bodies of water within the watershed, allowing more rainwater to soak into the ground or be otherwise temporarily held before being released into the system. But when the city itself receives large amounts of rain, there is nowhere for it to go when it falls on impervious surfaces, like concrete, before it runs into a storm sewer.

More:Green infrastructure soaks up rainwater, reduces pollution and helps redevelopment. More Milwaukee-area projects are coming.

One inch of rain within the departments service area equals about 7.1 billion gallons of water, all of which can't be handled by the department's green infrastructure, leading to an abundance of water in the combined sewer system.

The combined system, which includes both storm sewers and sewage from homes and businesses, is then allowed to flow into local bodies of water, to prevent sewage from backing up into buildings and causing issues for owners.

In the meantime, MMSD is asking residents to use less water to reduce the amount of water overflow. The department is asking residents to hold off on washing dishes and laundry, take a shorter shower and empty your rain barrel regularly.

For more information about the overflow, visit www.mmsd.com.