IN BRIEF

BASKETBALL

Bucks go to Hong Kong to sign first-round pick

The Milwaukee Bucks signed Yi Jianlian, the No. 6 pick of the NBA Draft, on Wednesday in Hong Kong to a rookie scale contract. The club also gave his former team, the Guangdong Tigers, money in the deal but declined to discuss details.

Sen. Herb Kohl, the Bucks’ owner, made the trip at the request of Chen Haitao, owner of Yi’s former pro team in China.

The Bucks expect the 19-year-old Yi, a 6-foot-11-inch power forward, to be in Milwaukee by October for the start of training camp or shortly thereafter.

Also: Ruben Patterson, a free-agent forward who averaged a career-high 14.7 points with Milwaukee last season, signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. No terms were announced.

The Sacramento Kings signed guard Kevin Martin to a five-year contract extension reportedly worth more than $50 million. He averaged a team-high 20.2 points last season.

The Charlotte Bobcats re-signed point guard Jeff McInnis to a one-year, $1.2 million deal. McInnis, 32, will back up Raymond Felton.

Robert Mitchell, a 6-6 forward who was the Atlantic 10 rookie of the year last season, has left Duquesne University’s basketball team and plans to transfer.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Vols’ Ainge should play despite broken pinkie

Quarterback Erik Ainge has a broken pinkie on his throwing hand but is expected to play Saturday when 15th-ranked Tennessee opens its season at No. 12 California.

The senior jammed the right pinkie taking snaps Monday, and an X-ray Wednesday revealed the break. The injury probably will take three to four weeks to completely heal, coach Phillip Fulmer said.

Also: Florida offensive tackle Phil Trautwein, a senior captain who started every game for the national champion Gators last season, has a stress fracture in his right foot that could require season-ending surgery.

Remaining tickets for UNLV’s Sept. 8 game against Wisconsin at Sam Boyd Stadium will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. Tickets, priced at $60 each, can be purchased at the Thomas & Mack Center or at unlvtickets.com.

MISCELLANEOUS

Beckham leaves game with right knee sprain

David Beckham left the field in the 30th minute of the SuperLiga soccer final against Pachuca in Carson, Calif., after spraining his right knee.

The Los Angeles Galaxy’s star midfielder and Pachuca midfielder Fernando Salazar each went after the ball just outside the Mexican club’s penalty area. Beckham tripped over the ball and fell. He lay face down for a few seconds before hobbling off the field.

Pachuca won 4-3 on penalty kicks after the teams played to a 1-1 tie.

Also: Cuba won’t send a boxing team to the world championships in Chicago, heeding Fidel Castro’s fears about future defections after two fighters abandoned their teammates during the Pan American Games. The competition is one of three qualifying tournaments for the 2008 Olympics.

Four Duke men’s lacrosse players, including national player of the year Matt Danowski, will return for a fifth season granted by the NCAA to restore a year lost amid rape allegations that led to false charges against three former teammates in 2006. The other players are goaltender Dan Loftus and defensemen Tony McDevitt and Nick O’Hara.

The UNLV men’s golf team is ranked 12th in the nation in the Golf World/Nike Golf Division I Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Defending NCAA champion Stanford is ranked first.