Maybe Barkley Is Not a Fan of the Bullets

From a knight to a governor?

That’s the step “Sir Charles” Barkley seems intent on taking, despite Republican attempts to persuade him to launch his political career with a congressional race.

Roger McConnell, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said the Phoenix Suns player is cool to the idea of challenging U.S. Rep. Earl Hilliard in the 7th Congressional District. Hilliard, a Democrat from Birmingham, is the only black member of Alabama’s congressional delegation.

“My gut feeling says he’s thinking more toward governor,” McConnell said after meeting Barkley this week. “He doesn’t seem that interested in the congressional race.”

Montgomery, Ala., it seems, is more appealing than Washington, D.C., these days.

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Trivia time: Jackie Robinson and Richie Ashburn both were National League rookies of the year and have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. What else did they have in common?

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Once in a lifetime: After Boston Red Sox center fielder Troy O’Leary hit a game-winning home run in extra innings to beat Seattle, he was asked when he had done it before.

“This was my first, and that goes back to Little League and T-ball and everything,” answered the rookie from Compton.

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School first: Much of Japan was in front of a TV set when Hideo Nomo took the mound in the All-Star game, but not students from Nomo’s alma mater, Seijo Industrial High School in Osaka.

“We have examinations scheduled for Wednesday morning,” a school administrator said. “Nobody here is going to be watching a baseball game.”

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Are you one? Knuckleball pitcher Tom Candiotti of the Dodgers is looking for new members for his Knucklehead Club International. Prospects who sign up today at 11 a.m. at the Glendale Galleria will benefit the Orthopaedic Hospital, a favorite charity of Candiotti’s.

They will also get subscriptions to the Knucklehead Knews.

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That’s not nice: With the Rams and Raiders gone, comedy writer Alex Kaseberg says: “At this rate, the only contact sport left in L.A. will be resisting arrest.”

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Remembering Pat: Besides studying film and assessing the talents of the New York Knicks, his new team, Coach Don Nelson is conscious of the image of previous Coach Pat Riley.

“I guess I better go get some Gucci shoes,” he said.

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Trivia answer: Both were all-star catchers in high school, Robinson at Muir Tech in Pasadena and Ashburn in Tilden, Neb., and both were track and field stars, Robinson a national junior college record-holder in the long jump and Ashburn Nebraska’s 100-yard dash record-holder.

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Quotebook: Manager Jim Fregosi of the Philadelphia Phillies, after his team had hit .192 in series with Atlanta and Cincinnati: “If I rested all the players who are not swinging the bat well, we would not have enough to play.”