Friday tracers

Always a few things to make you go hmmm….

• Not sure what to make of the NBA draft, especially where my two favorite squads are concerned. The Bucks decided to go the international route and drafted Yi Jianlian, a tall, thin, talented fellow from China. The last time the Bucks drafted a fellow with a similar skill set, they immediately traded him for an ostensibly proven commodity. That trade turned out to be one of the stupidest moves in team history, as they sent Dirk Nowitzki away and received the long-forgotten “Tractor” Traylor in return. It appears they will keep Yi, whose representatives made it clear that Milwaukee was not exactly Yi’s preferred destination. Given that the Bucks already have Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva as established “bigs,” I’m not sure what they’ll do with Yi. You could put him at small forward, giving the Bucks a 21-foot tall front line, but then what do you do with Michael Redd? I wonder if there’s more going on here than we know about, although sales of Bucks merchandise should explode in the Pacific Rim. As for the Woofies, they went all Gator on us, drafting Corey Brewer and Chris Richard, teammates on the two-time national championship team. Brewer has a chance to be a Scottie Pippen-type defender and should be able to score as he develops. He’ll be an improvement over Trenton Hassell and I assume that Hassell will be sent away soon. As for Richard, he has a similar game to that of Craig Smith, only not as polished, so I guess I’m not sure what benefit he brings to the team. Still, you have to like Brewer. The big question remains, what happens to KG? That’s still not addressed.
• Ben’s Brewers saw their playoff hopes come to an end last night with a 9-3 loss to the Rockies (not Maria’s squad) at Wilson Park. The game fit the season-long pattern; the opponent streaks out to an early lead and then coasts to victory. Ben was 0-2 with a walk and was thrown out at home attempting to score on a wild pitch; he did play well defensively. They have one more game tonight, against the league-leading Red Sox, at 6:30 at the evil Southpoint Park in North Oaks. The good news is that Ben should get a chance to pitch tonight – as always, stay tuned to this feature for all your Little League highlights. Meanwhile, Maria’s season will continue on Monday, July 9 with a game against an unknown opponent at Lambert Park in Mounds View. Our tour of the northern suburbs continues.
• I’m not lining up to get an iPhone yet; I may be the only adult male in North America who still does not own a cell phone and I think my first purchase of one should be one of those brick-sized jobs with the four foot antenna. The iPhone does look like a pretty cool piece of technology, but Apple may have screwed the pooch by aligning this debut with AT&T/Cingular, renowned and reviled for wretched cell phone service. I probably will need a cell phone by the end of the year, but I’m holding out for as long as I can. My opinion of cell phones generally is not good, especially since they are the cause of more rude behavior than just about anything that’s ever been invented. After all, what’s more pleasant than sitting in a public library when someone’s cell phone goes off with a Two Live Crew ringtone at 75dB? And who doesn’t love having a personal, face-to-face conversation that is interrupted for a cell-phone call? It’s like watching an old Bob Newhart routine, except not nearly as funny. I know this is very well-plowed ground, but I’m pleased that I’m not part of this. Yet.