David Yocum

Recruited to punt for Nebraska's football team, Darin Erstad decided to play baseball for the Cornhuskers because he loved the sport. The decision paid off for Erstad on Thursday, when the Angels made him the No. 1 selection in the amateur baseball draft. "It's kind of hard to believe," he said. "The money's not going to change who I am. I play the game because I love it." Catcher Ben Davis of Malvern Prep outside of Philadelphia, the second player selected in the draft, received a $1.

Recruited to punt for Nebraska's football team, Darin Erstad decided to play baseball for the Cornhuskers because he loved the sport. The decision paid off for Erstad on Thursday, when the Angels made him the No. 1 selection in the amateur baseball draft. "It's kind of hard to believe," he said. "The money's not going to change who I am. I play the game because I love it." Catcher Ben Davis of Malvern Prep outside of Philadelphia, the second player selected in the draft, received a $1.

Actor D.W. Moffett, who plays an evil football dad on "Friday Night Lights," and his wife, Kristal, have sold their longtime Beachwood Canyon home for $1.75 million. The 1926 Mediterranean, designed by lead Hollywoodland architect John DeLario, has four bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms in 2,506 square feet. It sits on a third-acre lot with a heated swimming pool and a walled garden. The formal living and dining rooms have French doors that open to the pool, patio and garden areas.

The Dodgers are not happy about ESPN highlights from their last game against the San Francisco Giants, which showed baserunner Delino DeShields moving around on second base, implying that he was tipping pitches to Eric Karros at the plate. The danger, Dodger hitting coach Reggie Smith says, is that opponents may retaliate by intentionally trying to hit DeShields or Karros. "To report that on ESPN is totally irresponsible," Karros said.

Atlanta Brave starter Greg Maddux, tentatively scheduled to start the All-Star game, said he's willing to step aside and provide Dodger pitcher Hideo Nomo the honor. "It doesn't matter to me," said Maddux, the three-time Cy Young winner who started last year's All-Star game. "Just being selected is a great enough honor for me. Whether I start is just icing on the cake." "Nomo certainly deserves to start. So does [Pirate starter] Denny Neagle, for that matter.

Dodger coaches and executives met privately with left fielder Billy Ashley to discuss his batting woes. Fred Claire, executive vice president, Manager Tom Lasorda and hitting coach Reggie Smith told Ashley to relax, that there is no need for him to feel pressure and that the organization is counting on him. "Our goal as an organization is to do everything we can to take the pressure off him," Claire said. "This shouldn't be the seventh game of the World Series.

The Chicago White Sox selected Jeff Liefer, a power-hitting third baseman at Long Beach State, with the 25th pick in the first round of major league baseball's amateur draft Thursday. Liefer led the 49ers in almost every offensive category, batting .354 with 13 home runs, 56 runs batted in and 63 runs. Liefer was chosen first-team All-Big West Conference and Baseball America named him to its All-American second-team. He is the 49ers' third first-round selection, but first position player.

Here is a look at the teams battling Cal State Fullerton and USC at the College World Series, which begins Friday in Omaha, Neb.: CLEMSON * Record: 54-12 * Series opener: Saturday against Tennessee * Noteworthy: School makes seventh trip to Omaha, last in 1991. Best finish was tied for fifth (four times). Shane Monahan leads offense with .396 average, 12 homers and 52 RBIs. Rusty Rhodes hit .390 and David Miller .383. Miller also has team-leading 78 RBIs.

"They're going to have to rip these jerseys off us this season," Cal State Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido said at the start of postseason tournament play. No team has done it yet, and the College World Series begins today in Rosenblatt Stadium with the Titans ranked No. 1 in the nation and top-seeded in the tournament. But Fullerton, with a 53-9 record that is the school's best, will face what is regarded a particularly strong, experienced field.

Cal State Fullerton junior pitcher Ted Silva has 16 victories, more than any other pitcher coming into the College World Series. But already, before his first Series pitch, he has been somewhat overshadowed by the fact that three other pitchers were chosen Thursday in the first round of the amateur draft. Florida State has two of them, Jonathan Johnson and David Yocum, and Oklahoma has the third, Mark Redman.

Before the season, I picked Orlando to beat Houston in the NBA finals. . . . I'll stick with that. . . . The fact that I switched my selection before the playoffs to San Antonio over Orlando no longer counts. . . . The slight edge in a marvelous matchup in the pivot should go to the Rockets' Hakeem Olajuwon over the Magic's Shaquille O'Neal, but the difference in, say, a six-game series will be O'Neal's superior supporting cast. . . .