Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 30

I C2 FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 1994 TIMES ADVOCATE a 1 CONTINUED FROM Cl I SPORTS GOLFER SUES AFTER BEING ACCUSED OF CHEATING SLUMP: Study of fensive performance than batting average. Slugging percentage, a reflection of power, is calculated by dividing total bases by the number of at-bats. The study took 62 players from the 1990s and matched each with the player from the 1960s whose career slugging average and age at the time most closely matched his own. Baseball free agency started in 1976. For example, he paired former Padres first baseman Fred McGriff, with a .528 career slugging average, Willie Star-gell, who averaged .529.

And Cal Ripken Jr. (.458) was matched with Vada Pinson I expected to find a sharp decline in performance among former free agents, Lebowitz said. When comparing the two groups, there was no decline. Instead, Lebowitz found a jump in performance by players who are about to hit the market. Players who expected to be free agents the next year generated significantly higher slugging percentages in their contract year the year before 't INSIDER Compiled by Geoffrey Ooley TENNIS BULLETS: Baseball team for women An amateur golfer in Nottingham, England, has gone to court seeking compensation from two fellow club members who accused him of cheating.

John Buckingham, a 57-year-old retired businessman, was accused of kicking his ball into a better position, twice dropping a new ball from his pocket when the original was lost in the trees and moving his ball after hitting into a bunker. The accusations stemmed from a tournament in August 1990 at the Sherwood Forest BOWLING fl Pete Weber won six of eight matches and took a 33-pin lead over Amleto Mona-celli of Venezuela after four rounds of the $210,000 IOF Foresters Bowling For Miracles Open, Markham, Ontar- io. BOXING Unbeaten heavyweight Larry Donald maintained his perfect record by stopping journeyman Bert Cooper at 1:16 of the seventh round in Bay St. Louis, Miss. I that the pitcher be barred from enshrinement in Coop-erstown.

The pitcher issued a statement in which he said, I have just become aware of the request for an apology from the American Jewish Congress. I join with them in calling for an apology for the insensitive remarks attributed to me by Pat Jordan, the man who wrote the article in question. The article has almost no truth in it. I reject it completely. Golf Club.

Reginald Dove and Graham Rusk made the allegations in a letter to the club secretary. A meeting of the management committee found the charges were unfounded. He had been put in jeopardy of being expelled," Buck- inhams lawyer, Patrick Mll-mo, told a Nottingham Crown Court jury on the opening day of the trial. His reputation had been smeared. Milmo said his client was seeking unspecified compensation.

WOMENS HOCKEY! The United States, behind Camml Granatos goal with 6:35 left, rallied past Finland 2-1 to advance to the semifinals of the womens world hockey championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. SOCCER An asylum request by members of Haitis national soccer team was denied by the U.S. Embassy and team spokesman Ernst Jean-Bap-tiste said some may kill themselves rather than return. WAC MAY EXPAND There is growing sentiment among Western Athletic Conference officials to expand the 10-team league to 14 schools, a move that would give TCU, SMU and Rice a good chance to join the league. WAC officials also are considering expansion targets such as Nevada-Las Vegas, Nevada, San Jose State, Tulsa, Memphis State, Cincinnati and Louisville.

Sources inside and outside the league have identified TCU and UNLV as the top two expansion candidates. free agents they entered the marketplace, he said. The following year, their per- formances slipped, but the de- cline wasnt because the player suddenly hit so poorly, Lebow: itz said. It was because the -year before they were hitting so incredibly well. Jim Bronner, who represents more major league players than any other agent, agreed with the findings.

My experience is players are not motivated by the dollars they receive, said Bronner, who represents Cecil Fielder, NL batting champion Andres Galarraga and Larry Walker. They got where they are be- cause there is something inside them that drives them. Their pride is what motivates them. Former Detroit general manager Jim Campbell, who negoti-. ated hundreds of contracts for the Tigers, said generalizations about players are pointless.

That stuff youre talking about will affect one player and wont affect another player at all, Campbell said Thursday. the semipro league tested her a little harder. During Croteaus first season with the Giants, she frequently was hit by pitches. A feature on the NBC Nightly News showed her writhing on the ground after a pitch shattered her ankle. In the background, the pitcher can be seen smiling from the mound.

Silver Bullets coach Phil Niekro said Croteaus defensive skills are her biggest plus. Shes a very good first base-man, he said. Outstanding glove. Niekro added that Croteaus previous baseball experience was obvious. From the very first day she was a bit more polished than everyone else.

Croteau said playing on a team of women isnt very much different than batting with the boys. A lot of times its exactly the same, she said. Were talking about baseball players. sors while he was a player. He entertained clients at last Tuesdays Dodger opener at Dodger Stadium.

This week, he was in Detroit to take some Chrysler folk out to Tiger Stadium for some more schmoozing. On the side, Garvey squeezes in a college baseball analyst assignment for Prime Ticket, a motivational speech appear ance, a sports-talk radio interview and the thought that he has a very strong interest in politics maybe five years down the road. And dont think he hasnt' thought about what it would be like as the baseball commissioner. Id love to do it but theyll never give the job to an ex-play-er he said, thinking it over. Business and government leaders in Orlando, tire trying to lure Al Davis and his Los Angeles Raiders.

Negotiations began last month after Davis, attending a NFL owners conference near Walt Disney World, met for two hours at Orlando City Hall with Mayor Glenda Hood. Houston Oilers receiver Haywood Jeffires, an unrestricted free agent, received an offer sheet from the Los Angeles Rams, the players agent told a Houston television station. Sources said Jeffires had been offered $3.9 million over three years, with a $600,000 signing bonus. Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula formally discussed a contract extension with prospective team owner H. Wayne Hulzenga for the first time.

Their 45-minute visit offered an indication that Shula will remain with the Dolphins after his current contract expires following the 1994 season. Former Philadelphia Eagles owner Leonard Tose has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on behalf of liis trucking company in order to save its lone asset, his $1.65 million house. 82 3 Johnny Orr, 66, basketball coach at Iowa State for 14 years, announced he is retiring. He will remain at Iowa State as associate athletic director to fulfill the last year of his contract. Jim O'Brien, whose job was reportedly in jeopardy until Boston College made it to the regional finals of the NCAA basketball tournament, agreed to a multi-year contract extension, the school said.

Terms of the deal werent released. Jay Wright, a longtime assistant for Rollle Masslmi-no first at Villanova and later at UNLV, was hired as head coach at Hofstra. Junior forward Ed OBan-non was given the ohn Wooden Award as UCLAs most valuable player. ASEBALU Former Padre Jerald Clark of the Yakult Swallows was suspended for seven days and fined him $2,900 by the Central League for tackling a pitcher who hit him with a pitch. San Francisco Giants coach Bobby Bonds, the father of Barry Bonds, was hospitalized after suffering chest pains during a game with tie Atlanta Braves.

He will remain overnight at an Atlanta hospital. Motor sports Ayrton Senna of Brazil took the provisional pole position in a Williams-Renault on the first day of qualifying "or the Pacific Grand Prix in Japan. mi THE AIR judge ruled there was no constitutional right to play ball. I remember when I left the courthouse I was really upset, because I didnt feel like justice had been served, Croteau said. Now I feel like its poetic justice: Im playing professional baseball, and I dont think any of those other guys are.

Within weeks after her lawsuit was dismissed, Croteau earned a position on a semipro mens baseball team in Fredericksburg. One of her teammates on the Fredericksburg Giants, Ernie Baker, said he had never before played with women. I really tested her, said Baker, an assistant baseball coach at Hylton High School who pitched in Triple-A in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Baker said that initially, I used to throw as hard as I could to her and she caught it no problem.

Players from other teams in Jim Courier battled for more than 2 Vi hours to beat Jonas Svensson of Sweden 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Nice Open in Nice, France. Top-seeded Michael Chang won a pair of matches and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Salem Open in Hong Kong. Chang beat fellow American David Wheaton 6-3, 6-3 in a rain-delay first round match, then came back to oust Italys Omar Camporese 6-3, 6-3. David Witt, a wild-card entry, defeated Mats Wllan-der 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Ed-dleman U.S. Clay Court Championships in Birmingham, Ala.

American Nicole Arendt defeated Eva Svlglerova of the Czech Republic 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Volvo Womens Open in Michael Chang goes to his forehand during win over Michael Wheaton. Bangkok, Thailand. GARVEY An executive publisher rick Ewing cover. The plan may have been met some resistance by the corporate board, but If you want to roll along at 4 Vi million readers Garvey said with a raised eyebrow. Youve got to start somewhere.

Hes more than a figurehead, said Sport editor Cam Benty, most impressed by Garveys third-place finish in the office NCAArotisserie pool. I run copy past him. Its a great tradeoff because Im learning from him and I can teach him the editorial side. Not to overlook the real duties of an executive publisher, like drumming up advertisers. It didnt hurt that Garvey the corporate spokesman established relationships with spon CARLTON DENIES QUOTES Steve Carltons denial of anti-Semitic remarks attributed to him in a magazine article is good enough for the American ewish Congress.

David V. Kahn, president of the AJC, welcomed Carltons statement disavowing a number of inflammatory positions attributed to the pitcher in Philadelphia Magazine, and said the organization would no longer oppose Carltons induction into the baseball Hall of Fame. The AJC had reacted angrily to the article and asked No, Virginia, there is no Santa and no high-speed sports wire either XTRAs Steve Hartman blew it for all of us kids this past Wednesday. Hartman said something that saps the creative imagination process. He actually said that Lee Hamiltons high-speed sports wire doesnt really exist.

What? No high-speed sports wire? All those visions of this thick telephone wire where stories speed from their origin to Hamiltons microphone erased just like that. Next thing you know, Hartman will try to tell us that Hamilton really doesnt have a table to Ozzie Smith just made another play that Ive never seen anyone else make before, and Ive-seen him make it more than anyone else ever has. Quick shots: Nice to see the NFL join the mod-' em era and allow TV sideline reporters on the field during games. Lynn Swann should be a good addition as ABCs sideline reporter on Monday Night Football, but why the need to make Brent Musburger a halftime studio host? ESPN switched from Giants-Braves on Wednesday to the feed of Montreals broadcast of Pedro Martinezs attempt to pitch a perfect game against the Reds. The only flaw was Expos an- nouncer Dave Van Home referring to Pedro as Jose Martinez during the brawl When will this figure skating fetish end? TBS live broadcast last Saturday earned a 2.6, the same rating that the Braves average.

And Braves ratings are up 1 1 percent from a year ago. huh Rome revisited: XTRAs Jim Rome may have been smacked around by media critics nationwide, but his jungle of fans were supportive all week. Rome also recefved on-air praise from John Lynch, president of Noble Broadcasting and chief executive of XTRA. Of course, all this extra exposure good or bad didnt hurt the station. He had a lot of exposure and the station had a lot of exposure, some of it at his expense, said XTRA program director Howard Freedman.

I think its calming down. Whats done is done and hes moving on. Hes a forward-looking guy. Its too early to tell if the Jim Everett incident will affect Romes ability to attract guests on hi3 ESPN2 Talk2 show. But last Friday, when Dukes Grant Hill was a guest on XTRA, Hill asked Rome when he could be on the TV show.

Rome said anytime, then without missing a beat, added one qualifier: As long as you stay on your side of the table. XTRA tidbits: The station will feature nearly five hoims of live NFL draft coverage on April 24, beginning at noon. Lee Hamilton and Jim Laslav-ic will be stationed at Players Sports Bar, located off 1-15, just north of Ted Williams Parkway. Bill Wemdl and John Chlesnick will be at the Chargers headquarters at Jack Murphy Stadium. XTRA will also send someone out to both the Rams and Raiders offices.

The latest timetable for a new hire as nighttime talk show host is July 1. Our real goal is to find somebody in Los Angeles, Freedman said. John Ireland and Chlesnick have been pinch-hitting. XTRA is also airing the national CBS radio baseball game of the week Sunday nights and will broadcast the Long Beach Grand Prix this Sunday. Mastering coverage: Not much not to like about CBS coverage of The Masters.

Somehow, there always seemed to be a camera that could see even the trickiest spots on the course, especially Saturday, when the winds played havoc with the golfers. Ray Floyd finished his round Saturday and then joined the telecast and supplied the best line of the day Referring to surprise leader-at-the-time Tom Lehman, Floyd told Jim Nantz: He doesnt realize it yet, but hes hot going to sleep real well tonight. Sundays final day earned an 8.5 rating, an increase of 25 percent over last year. Who are these Former Mets manager Jeff Torborg, the color analyst on last Sundays CBS radio national broadcast for Padres-Mar-lins, didnt recognize very many of the 1994 Padres. I looked at the roster and theres five or six guys Ive never heard of, Torborg said.

When I was with the Mets in 92, they had a real good lineup. Archive Colemanlsm: From sometime during Ozzie Smiths days with the Padres (1978-81): stack topics on. And what about those road trips to Trophys? Does that mean Hamilton doesnt bring a hopper with him to pull out a contest winner? And what of those communities in and around San Diego County? Would we not find Ocean-side-Carlsbad, Vista-Escondido, Scripps Ranch-Tierrasanta or Palm Springs-Yuma in the updated Thomas Brothers map? Next thing you know, Hartman will try to tell us theres no Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. Or that Lee Hamilton wasnt a name given at birth. Us kids will learn not to fall for stuff like that again.

Cut-In: Evander Holyfleld defends his WBA and IBF heavyweight championship belts on April 22 against Michael Moorer In a live pay-per-vlewtelecast by the San Diego Cable Sports Network. 1 Cost is $35.95 through April 21 or $39.95 the dayof the fight. Paul Sunderland and Chris Marlowe will be the announcing duo for the USA team In the World League Volleyball competition fn May and June. The six USA home matches will be played atthe San Diego Sports Arena. Mike Sullivans On Advocate.

The Air column appears Friday In the Times i i I.