Carlton Tops List of 38 on Hall of Fame Ballot

Steve Carlton, who won 329 games during his 24-year career, is one of 18 former major leaguers making their debut on the 1994 Hall of Fame ballot.

With a 329-244 record, he is one of three 300-game winners on the ballot. The others are Phil Niekro (318-274), a holdover candidate, and Don Sutton (324-256), also a newcomer to the ballot.

Results of the balloting, done by 10-year Baseball Writers Assn. of America members, will be announced Jan. 12.

The other first-time candidates are Don Baylor, Chris Chambliss, Dave Concepcion, Jose Cruz, Phil Garner, Ron Guidry, George Hendrick, Bob Horner, Ray Knight, Scott McGregor, Graig Nettles, Joe Niekro, Larry Parrish, Ted Simmons, Mario Soto and Bruce Sutter.

Thirty-eight names appear on the ballot.

Pro Basketball

The NBA and other officials say center Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets will not be allowed to play for the United States in the 1996 Olympics, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Olajuwon was granted “limited eligibility” in a ruling by FIBA, the international governing body for basketball.

But officials said Olajuwon cannot represent the United States in major international competitions because he once competed in an international event for Nigeria.

Tom Chambers of the Utah Jazz and LaPhonso Ellis of the Denver Nuggets were suspended for one game and fined $5,000 each for fighting.

San Antonio Spur center David Robinson left the team to be with his wife, Valerie, who had a miscarriage. Robinson is questionable for the Spurs’ game tonight in Orlando, Fla., against the Magic.

Swimming

Two University of Michigan swimmers set national records at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Royce Sharp finished the men’s 200-meter backstroke in 1:56.63, beating the national record Justin Thornton of the Dayton Raiders set earlier in the day when he finished 1:58.37. Derya Buyukuncu of Turkey won the race with a time of 1:56.53.

Alecia Humphrey touched the wall in 2:09.56 in the women’s 200-meter backstroke preliminaries, beating Linda Jezek’s record of 2:11.02 set in 1978.

Olympic medalist Summer Sanders set a meet record in the women’s 200 individual medley in the Speedo Cup Invitational at Long Beach with a time of 2:01.69.

Names in the News

Nick Faldo of England and Nick Price of Zimbabwe fired five-under-par 67s to share a four-stroke lead after the first round of the Million Dollar Challenge in Sun City, South Africa.

Florida’s Judd Davis, a junior walk-on, was awarded the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s outstanding college football kicker.

Missouri basketball player Jevon Crudup was given a 15-day suspended sentence and fined $300 for alcohol-related charges.

Dale Christensen, a high school football coach who staged a phony shooting to motivate his team, won’t resign over the incident, but Superintendent Donald Gossett said he will recommend that the school board dismiss the coach from his position at Libertyville High School in Illinois.

Leo Paquin, who teamed with Vince Lombardi on Fordham University’s “Seven Blocks of Granite” in the mid-1930s, died in his sleep at 83 in Rutherford, N.J.

Howard Cosell, too ill to appear in person, was inducted into the American Sportscasters Hall of Fame in absentia night by boxing great Muhammad Ali. Cosell, 73, has been battling cancer.

Alexei Kovalev of the New York Rangers was suspended by the NHL for five games for a tripping incident with Dale Hunter of the Washington Capitals.

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Duncan Kennedy of New York won a silver medal in the season-opening Luge World Cup at Sigulda, Latvia.