NEW YORK — Mark McGwire's Hall of Fame bid was met with a rejection as emphatic as his upper-deck home runs.

While the door to Cooperstown swung open for Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn Tuesday, Mark McGwire was picked by less than a quarter of voters — a result that raises doubts about whether Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa or other sluggers from baseball's Steroids Era will ever gain entry.

McGwire, whose 583 home runs rank seventh on the career list, appeared on 128 of a record 545 ballots in voting released by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Ripken, the Baltimore Orioles shortstop who set baseball's ironman record, was picked by 537 voters and appeared on 98.53 percent of ballots to finish with the third-highest percentage behind Tom Seaver (98.84) and Nolan Ryan (98.79).

Gwynn, who won eight batting titles with the San Diego Padres, received 532 votes for 97.61 percent, the seventh-highest ever, also trailing Ty Cobb, George Brett and Hank Aaron.

NEW YORK — Pittsburgh Penguins phenom Sidney Crosby topped all vote-getters and will join three Buffalo Sabres in the starting lineup for the Eastern Conference in hockey's midseason classic later this month in Dallas.Crosby, at 19 years, 5 months, is the youngest player ever elected by fans. He headlines a team that includes Sabres center Daniel Briere, defenseman Brian Campbell and goalie Ryan Miller.Crosby, who earned 825,783 votes, is six months younger than Jaromir Jagr was in 1992 when he started for the Wales Conference. Only Jagr, who earned 1,020,736 votes in 2000, has picked up more than Crosby's total this year.The Sabres are the first team to place three players in an All-Star starting lineup since fans got the vote.

DENVER — The U.S. Olympic Committee intends to bid for the 2016 Summer Games, clearing the way for Chicago or Los Angeles to become the country's official candidate this year.The USOC decision Tuesday was the latest of several important milestones.The next one comes Jan. 22, when the cities will submit detailed analysis of their plans — the so-called bid books. About five weeks after that, a USOC evaluation team will conduct two-day technical evaluations in each city.The candidate city must be submitted to the International Olympic Committee on Sept. 15. The host will be chosen in 2009.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville introduced Steve Kragthorpe as its new football coach Tuesday, less than 48 hours after Bobby Petrino left for the NFL.Tulsa's Kragthorpe and Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich agreed to a five-year, $1.1-million deal that runs through the 2012 season.