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Brewers to unveil Uecker's statue Friday

Milwaukee Brewers officials and fans have had Aug. 31 circled on their calendars for some time, and that day finally arrives on Friday.

You know that any day in which Bob Uecker is the center of attention has a chance to be epic.

In an afternoon ceremony at Miller Park's Home Plate Plaza, the Brewers will unveil a long overdue statue of their Hall of Fame radio voice. Uecker's statue will join those of Robin Yount, Hank Aaron and Bud Selig, forming a sort of Mt. Rushmore of Milwaukee baseball.

The ceremony will be emceed by NBC Sports host and broadcaster Bob Costas, a longtime friend of Uecker. Many other luminaries are expected to be in attendance at what promises to be an entertaining event.

"It's a wonderful thing to have happen," Uecker said Thursday. "I'm going to get a chance to see a lot of old friends. I talked to Bob Costas this morning and he's all fired up about doing the emceeing.

"I'm really looking forward to it. For all those guys to come there is special to me. They told me there's going to be a lot of stuff."

Uecker's bronze statue depicts him standing with hands in pockets. He specifically requested not to be holding a microphone because he thought that would look contrived while in a standing pose. And having him seated at a desk behind a mic just doesn't make for a good statue.

"And I didn't want it with a bat because of where they wanted to put it," he added. "It's where I had it most of my career."

That's the kind of stuff that promises to make the statue unveiling a day to remember.