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It’s nearly a done deal that 7-foot-5 Chinese center Yao Ming will be the No. 1 pick of the Houston Rockets. The Rockets received assurances from the Shanghai Sharks that Ming will be able to play the entire NBA season and playoffs. Ming, though, will not attend the NBA Draft due to training obligations for China’s national team … Dodger pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii drove in his first two RBIs of his major-league career on June 19, as Los Angeles beat Toronto 5-2. Ishii, who went 1-for-2 in the game, also struck out nine and scattered four hits in 6 2/3 innings for the win. Ishii is 11-2, the second highest win total in the National League, with a 3.54 ERA … Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki, who leads all American League outfielders in All-Star voting, continues to have a cushy lead in the American League batting race with a .363 average. Suzuki also leads the league in triples with six … University of San Francisco infielder Royce Fukuroku was named to the West Coast Conference second team. Fukuroku, a freshman, was second on the team with a .316 average and hit four home runs with 33 RBIs. The Dons completed the season with an 18-38 record … Manager Lenn Sakata has led his Fresno Grizzlies, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, to a 29-45 record this season. Sakata managed the Single-A San Jose Giants last season … Chin-Feng Chen, considered one of the Dodgers’ best prospects, is batting .270 with team-leading 12 home runs and 42 RBIs … University of Nebraska’s Kim Ogee was one of 34 Division I softball players named to the Verizon Academic All-American team. Ogee, a junior center fielder, led the Cornhuskers in 11 offensive categories. She hit .356 with 10 home runs and 55 runs scored … Hideyuki Fukazawa, who spent the past eight years as trainer and conditioning coach with the Yakult Swallows in Japan, will spend the entire 2002 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an assistant trainer. Dodgers General Manger Dan Evans stated that Fukazawa’s presence will help out the team’s two Japanese pitchers, Ishii and Hideo Nomo.
Reach Ethen Lieser at elieser@asianweek.com.
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