THE SIDELINES : NCAA Suspends Betting Players

Four University of Arkansas baseball players linked to a gambling investigation last fall have had their eligibility restored by the NCAA, but they will be suspended for the first 16 games of the season.

Janet Justis, assistant enforcement director for the NCAA, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that school officials have been informed of the decision involving the four players.

The suspended players include two all-Southwest Conference performers--relief pitchers Phil Stidham and Mark Swope. Stidham, a sophomore, had a conference-record 12 saves last spring, while Swope, a junior, had a 7-1 record.

The other two players involved are outfielder Haden Etheridge, who batted .305 in 56 games, and pitcher Gary Harris, who was redshirted last season.

School officials had ruled the four ineligible, along with basketball player Cannon Whitby and four tennis and golf athletes, after their names appeared on betting slips found during the raid of a bookmaking operation last November in Fayetteville, Ark.