Sweet Among Choices to Succeed Schultz

Judith M. Sweet, athletic director at UC San Diego and a strong proponent of gender equity, was among four finalists announced Friday for the job of executive director of the NCAA to replace Dick Schultz.

The other finalists are William W. Cobey Jr., a former athletic director at the University of North Carolina; Cedric W. Dempsey, athletic director at Arizona and secretary-treasurer of the NCAA, and R. Gerald Turner, chancellor at Mississippi and a past chairman of the NCAA Presidents Commission.

The four will be interviewed Nov. 1-2 to succeed Schultz, who resigned in May under pressure after allegations that players at the University of Virginia were given interest-free loans while he was athletic director from 1981 to 1987.

Basketball

The Clippers waived Wallace Bryant, free agent Fred Lewis and second-round draft pick Leonard White to reduce their roster to 15.

Guard Ron Harper, who sat out Thursday night’s 106-97 exhibition victory over the Indiana Pacers because of a strained calf muscle, was held out of practice Friday, but is expected to accompany the Clippers on a four-game trip next week.

Former NBA and North Carolina State player Chris Washburn, 27, was arrested by police in his hometown of Hickory, N.C., on charges of misdemeanor larceny and forgery. He was accused of passing checks from two stolen wallets.

Last week, prosecutors in Ft. Worth dropped a credit card abuse charge against Washburn.

Denver Nugget forward Tom Hammonds will be sidelined about six weeks because of a badly sprained left thumb.

The Phoenix Suns scored a 145-115 victory over Real Madrid of Spain in the McDonald’s Open at Munich. The Suns, who trailed by as many as 12 points in the second quarter, were led by Charles Barkley’s 24 points.

The head of a Houston-based sports association is denying any wrongdoing in the wake of allegations he is soliciting money from colleges for his help in recruiting top high school basketball prospects.

The Houston Chronicle reported that more than a dozen NCAA Division I basketball coaches say John Eurey, president of the non-profit Texas Superstar Foundation, asked them for donations.

Southwest Conference officials are investigating Eurey.

Miscellany

The United States national soccer team will play Ukraine at 2 p.m. today at Lehigh University.

Vince Coleman’s attorney entered a plea of innocent for his client to a felony explosives charge stemming from an incident at Dodger Stadium this summer that left three people injured.

Coleman, 32, was in court as Robert Shapiro entered the plea to a charge of possession of an explosive. The case against the New York Met outfielder was continued by Municipal Court Commissioner Kristi Lousteau until Nov. 5, when a preliminary hearing will be scheduled.

Baltimore Oriole Manager Johnny Oates and General Manager Roland Hemond signed two-year contracts. Oates, 53, was signed to a two-year contract with an option for the 1996 season.

Tara Cross-Battle and Elaina Oden each had 14 kills as the United States beat France, 15-2, 15-11, 15-8, at Ankara, Turkey, in the first round of a qualification tournament for the 1994 women’s volleyball world championships.

Cross-Battle and Oden, who added nine blocks, were members of the United States’ team that won the Olympic bronze medal in 1992.

Hockey

Steve Yzerman, the Detroit Red Wings’ leading scorer each of the last seven seasons, will be sidelined for at least a month because of a herniated disk. Yzerman, the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer last season with 58 goals and 137 points, was injured Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets.

He began the season with 445 career goals and 1,040 points and has two goals and eight assists in eight games this year.

Edmonton defenseman Dave Manson suffered a separated right shoulder during practice and will be out of the Oilers’ lineup for three to five weeks.

David Sacco scored twice and the United States added goals 16 seconds apart in the third period for a 4-2 victory over Canada at New Haven, Conn.

Names in the News

Norm Stewart, Missouri’s basketball coach, made a special trip from Columbia to St. Louis to complain about a newspaper column that mentioned in jest that he might be part of the city’s NFL ownership group.

Stewart said many took Friday morning’s column by Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch seriously. Stewart made the 120-mile trip to say that he had taken about 100 calls from people--including recruits and even his son in Kansas City--wondering if it was true. He released a one-page statement that said he had no intention of changing jobs.

A memorial service for longtime baseball writer Bob Hunter will be at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Old North Church in Forest Lawn Memorial Service Park. Hunter, 80, died Thursday night. For information about contributions in his memory, contact Chuck Stevens of the Assn. of Professional Baseball Players of America at 714 892-9900.

Dale Earnhardt earned the 22nd starting position for Sunday’s AC Delco 500 and gained a pit on the front straight at North Carolina Motor Speedway at Rockingham, N.C.

High jumper Dennis Lewis, 34, drew a four-year ban for failing to appear for a drug test.