milwaukee picks yi jianlian... and other sports news

In a surprise move, the Milwaukee Bucks selected 6-foot-11 forward Yi Jianlian as the sixth pick in the NBA draft, making him the fourth Chinese player to make the NBA: Bucks take risk, select Yi with No. 6 pick. The risky pick surprised a few people, considering that Yi hasn't really been looking at Milwaukee, nor has Milwaukee been looking at Yi in the weeks leading up the draft. I really have to wonder if the Bucks are good fit for Yi. He and his handlers have previously expressed interest in playing in a city with a heavy Asian influence, like Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia or the Bay Area. There are only about 27,500 Asian Americans in Milwaukee. Not exactly heavy. UPDATE: According to league sources Yi's representaties will ask the Buck to trade Yi.

I should also mention that 6-foot-7 Chinese guard Sun Yue was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the draft (number 40 overall).

In other sports news... Michelle Kwan, who turns 27 next month, just finished her first year at the University of Denver, where she is majoring in political science, and generally just trying to lead a normal life. She's also got a budding career as a diplomat, having been tapped by the State Department as "its first American public diplomacy envoy." But she apparently hasn't ruled out a return to competitive figure skating: Kwan Not Ruling Out Comeback Just Yet. Ah, still chasing that ever-elusive Olympic gold medal. Let it go, Michelle.

Here's a New York Times profile on tennis player Meilen Tu, who at age 29 is one of the oldest players in the Wimbledon draw, still hanging in there, and hoping for a last burst of attention before her career ends: Unwilling to Retire, a Veteran Looks to Make a Late Statement

After a rocky post-college career, former University of Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang is now playing for Hamilton Tiger Cats in the Canadian Football League, and is apparently impressing a lot of people: Promising beginning. He will, however, start as the number two: Chang gets the No. 2 spot

Jacqueline Nguyen, a 2007 graduate from the UCLA women's track and field team, has been awarded one of 58 post-graduate scholarships by the NCAA. She was a 2004 All-American in the pole vault and ranks fifth all-time in Bruin history with a mark of 13-7.25. Read all about her achievement here: Jackie Nguyen Awarded NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship